Big Sweet Tooth

Vieques in a Few Paragraphs

Vieques...is it worth it?

I somehow always end up making it to places I read about.  Might take me some time, but if it catches my eye in one of my many travel mags, well it's ripped out, tucked away and stored for a rainy day of escape planning. 

The latest was Vieques.  It's a tiny, hard scrabble off the coast of Puerto Rico that has been on my big list for years.  And, from NYC, tickets are a couple hundred bones.  Also, it's just a few hours away non-stop.  You could literally pop down for a day or two and feel like you've really gotten away.  Now, I can't say I'd ever go back, but still...

I did the bio bay - kayaking out on a moon rich night, hopping into the ocean and watching the water light up around you with every move you make (pretty dang surreal).   I ate my way through so much sub-par food, only to find the very best fish and shrimp at a steamy joint in town - El Patio (on my last night!).  I rented a jeep and cruised the whole island, finding "secret" beaches and literally being surrounded by a school of fish just off shore while snorkeling (never seen anything like it).  Everywhere I went, they followed.  I found the coolest bar in town full of pirate like expats, complete with eye patches, arms missing and camera phobias.  Everyone ducked and ran when I pulled out the cam.  What have these people done in past lives?  

I ended up staying at the new W Vieques cause once I went onto their immaculate grounds, well good lord!  Just a really special, don't-wanna-go kinda place.  I chowed on tofu tacos, found organic stores with soba noodles and pickled herring, met folks desperate for the NY Times, drank liters of rum punch, met sailors from all over the world, ate piles of grilled lobster dunked in butter, got sunburned to the point of not moving, and read 3 books in no time flat.

Not too shabby for a shortie vaca.  Now, though, it's off the list.  And, frankly so is most of the Caribbean (too expensive).  I'm back on SE Asia, Central American grounds.  It's just been a long run, this TV show. 

Done out here in Jersey come early August though...so CLOSE!  Time to check back in on my sailboat, my floating home, my empty Chicago condo, my LIFE for God's sake.  Where'd ya go??

 

Been So Long - Where to Even Begin? NOODLES!

It always rolls back to food.

Since being on the East Coast all these past months, I've become obsessed with fire and noodles.  I've been whipping up homemade chili oil by the half gallon on dousing it on everything.  I've been salivating over this coconut curry I dreamt up - it has about 40 ingredients, yet its the simplest thing in the world to make and slurps down like nobodies business.  I've become addicted to fiery dan dan noodles that are once again, a piece of cake to put on the table. 

I think I can blame the dan dan for the noodle freak out.  It started there, then led to a small storefront in Chinatown where they hand twirl fat batches of noodles by the truckload.  I craved their cumin scented chew days and days after I first tried them.  I told everyone about them.  I tried to recreate them...and ending up concocting noodles far superior, if you can imagine.

Asian markets were hit up.  I made noodles for the office crew every coupla o days, to the great delight of all.  Now, after sinking into noodle world for a few months, I've not seen the magical captivation subside.  Instead, it's only grown.  My cooking skills have reached a new level due to a fantastic wok purchase.  Spices - herbs - ideas - books - magazines - Asian greens - blissful research - all about noodles, food, fire marches on.  New trips are being planned around all these damn noodles.  They just call my name, night day. 

I love them.  Every chopstick twirl of them. 

Oh, and PS - I'm back West in 6 weeks.  It'll fly and I simply cannot wait.

San Miguel de Allende - Will I Ever Be Back?

Vintage trailer makes its way across the USA border!

Who knew life would take such a drastic spin when I left my little solar trailer in SMA a few years ago.  I was simply jamming back to LA to do a quickie job on the TV show Last Comic Standing....just to make a bit of cash...and then...

Somehow, 2 1/2 years later I am still working and haven't had a real break to get back to get my trailer (which was stored safely in the middle of town at the San Miguel Tennis Courts Trailer lot -- who by the way I love).  My gal was just waiting on me to get back God kows when, and, then came along super-sonic Caty.  She was a Toothie reader and had emailed me inquiring about where I'd found my trailer.  She was doing loads of her own research on vintage trailers and couldn't find one like mine, bud wanted one badly (I had the same prob til I found mine).  The minute I got her email, and purely on a MST whim,  I said - "Why not buy mine?"  She was elated, the cashola was transfered and now she owned my trailer.   She's so much like me, jsut trusting whatever way the wind blows.

Thing is, we had to get it from Mexico to the USA since she was nervous to travel all thru Mexico with a trailer titled in my name on her own.  Cut to - months of dead chaos and drama trying to get it to the border or somewhere in TX for her to grab it from.  First I enlisted the help of Carlos, my surfing bud in Baja but something came up and he couldn't do it.  Next up, my pal Deb down in SMA (who was in the middle of an international move herself) stepped in to help out and after weeks and weeks of insanity, she finally managed to get it delivered to Caty in San Antonio!  Now the only thing left is for Caty to unpack my world from her new trailer, ship me my goods and to head out on her own wily adventures.  Freaking nuts. 

This is why I love this blog, travelling, adventure and all the mishaps that come along with living a funky ass life.  You just never know what the heck is coming down the way.  You don't know what path people are out there desperately hunting for.  You just really don't even know your own road and where it will take you.   If you remember, 2.5 years ago, I was in San Miguel de Allende, studying Spanish in dark bars, eating my way thru the town and slowly making my way to the Darien Gap in Panama, volunteering the whole way down Central America. 

Now I'm working on two TV shows in Jersey and wondering if I will ever return to SMA.  But, at the same time, I'm conspiring on how to flip my beast of a floating home in LA, revamping my sailboat for what I know will be an upcoming Southern Pacific crossing, wondering if I should just ditch my condo in Chicago, regrouping about buying an Airstream (with a toilet on this one!), and eating my way through a ton of good food in NYC.   Among other things of course...but it's good to know that adventures keep getting lived and sojurns keep getting traipsed.

This is to Caty - I hope you love that little trailer as much as I did and it takes you as far RTW as you want to go...enjoy el camino, and I bet I see you some day out there, just when we both least expect it!  (PS - That's Caty with the trailer...sure, she's dusty, but give her one good cleaning...and she's OUT!).

Things That Catch My Eye

See, now...these pix would make me hit the road pronto.

I think it's a mix of the rawness, the simplicity and the "do you see what I see" factor that makes me snap the pix I do.  Landscapes are ok.  I never got Ansel Adams and B & W.  Nor do I care to.  It all seems so cold and lonely.  I like shocks of brightness.  Blasts of color.  Images that transport for a second. 

I think you should be able to blink and witness an entire lifetime take place in that tiny fraction of a second.  Try it.  Maybe that's just me though.  What a harsh judge I am.  Scary.

In Times Like These, I MUST Remember My Boat

What a pretty, pretty boat. 

Some day, in the near future I pray, I will sail her to a faraway land and never look back~

Again...Rancho Pescadero Slays Me

Hide in a bit of luxe...

At the end of a billion mile trek thru Baja, there is really no finer place to check into than Rancho Pescadero.  It's on the Pacific side of the peninsula - and really just a perfect patch of heaven.  Very quiet, chill music spread evenly poolside, incredible design, thoughtful touches (cowboy hats and plush peach towels by the pool; homemade soaps and lotions cultivated from desert plants; welcome 1st drink on them; free bikes to troll about on; very close proximity to Carlitos - home of best food in Baja), and a killer view anywhere you look.

They have these comfy little day beds out on the beach where you can plop into, draw back the curtains, read a spy thriller and watch the whales cruising by on their way to lay some babies.  Super private.  A set of binoculars are in each room and you can get very close to seeing their heads poppin up every morning.  Watching whales spew water is definitely something to witness in this lifetime.

The yellowtail coming out of the kitchen is mega-fresh.  Just caught and grilled.  And, with a chilly margarita alongside, it's really difficult to leave the joint.  There are reading nooks everywhere - on your front porch, by the sparkly pool, down on the beach, upstairs in the dining area.  Just a haven for all who want to escape and not have anyone bother you.

The list goes on and on about this place and next time I'm down there, I might not go anywhere else.  Just there.  Hidden among the palm trees and tucked into a good book.  Watching stars by night and getting tan by day.  Sipping the hours away.

Baja Beauty - A Perfect Snowbird Location

Between Mulege and Loreto is this insane view...

Every time I go to Baja, I take the same dang photo.  There's a point when travelling on the Sea of Cortez side of the peninsula that this vista appears.  It's slam-on-the breaks beauty, like a full mirage.  Especially after hauling across a torn-up desert. 

So quiet, so peaceful.  Beyond special. 

I can't believe I didn't kayak this trip around - how did that happen?  It all just went down so quickly in a tequila haze.  Guess I have the rest of my life for it, though.

How do you pick the next adventure?  It's like I want to explore all the new spots I've not been to yet, and at the same time, spend so much more time in my fave places round-the-world.  The never ending quest for permenant freedom.  I love the decisions).

 

Whales, Margaritas and Dirt Roads

The largest animal migration in the world...

One of the main reasons to go to Baja in January is to witness the epic whale migration.  For real - just the most insane thing ever.  Right now is right about the time when the mama whales give birth to their babies and they spend time flip-flopping around the San Ignacio lagoon, teaching these newly born pre-historic beasts how to swim, breathe, live on their own (they weigh 3 tons when born). 

I camped out right on the beach at a very remote spot about 2 hours down a dirt road from the date tree filled village of San Ignacio (best date pie ever).   Here's how it's done.  Basically, you make a reservation with the eco-outfitter in town for a tent spot (or a cabin spot).  You then drive down the ROUGH road not seeing a soul for almost 2 hours, swilling sake the whole way.  You pop up a tent once on the beach and then join the other folks who dared pop down that way for dinner in the cozy dining room.  Fish or meat, only.  And hard-core, heavy duty margaritas.  Where they get ice, lord knows.  But, they have lots of it.  After a mega-buzz hits, take a shower in the no-lights, but crazy clean shower hut and hit the hay.  The next morning you wake up at the crack, slam some eggs and tortillas and roll out to see mega whales, their babies and chirping dolphins. They come up super close to the boats and want to be petted. Can you imagine?  They're called "the friendlies."

Just a bloody miracle. 

Back on shore after about 3 hours and bam!  Back on the road to points north or south.  One more killer margarita down, first, of course.  Heading out of there, you're surrounded by all these eerie red pools and lakes.   Coulda been Mars.  Alone again.  Nice.

The Best Tequila in the World Found in La Bufadora

Regular tequila no mas.

La Bufadora, Baja is famous for being the home of an enormous blowhole that spits water hundreds of feet up in the air.  

On this latest trip down the peninsula I wanted to see places I've never been so, I went trekked down the curvy, mountainous road to check it out.   How I ended up swilling the most delicious house-made tequila I've ever had instead of seeing a world famous blow hole is beyond me, but who cares.  So some water shoots up in the air; MY GOD, did you even know tequila like this existed? 

I  wasn't even on a tequila quest at that point in the trip.  Hell, La Bufadora is just barely south of the border, but once the old dude sitting alone with a beer told me I had to try the tequila cause it was the best he ever had...well, that's all she wrote.  

I bought a big bottle of it ($50 for half bottle) thinking I'd haul it home to add to my liquor cabinet, but dontcha know I drank the whole beast before I even hit the southern tip of Baja.  Never has a sipping tequila gone down so good.  I could make mucho dinero off this tequila here - they infuse it for weeks with raisins, lemon and orange peels.  The color is so bright and fresh.  The legs just rich.  The taste is unreal.  

I wish my computer could squirt out scents.  This tequila would bowl you over.  Find it at the restaurant at the top of the hill just before you park and head down to the blowhole.  Trust me, buy the whole bottle.  Half will be gone before you even hit Guerro Negro.

Baja Roadkill vs Desert Tequila - Both Pull Ya Over

I like me a long lens

The swooping buzzards signal the road kill.  Carcasses picked to the bitter bone.  Every few hundred miles or so - dogs, cows, horses.  Matters not.  The desert always grabs you and spits you back out.  Birds scream and scatter. Dust whips all around.  Semi trucks shriek by.  Clouds float past.  You can always see the buzzards creeping their way back in the rearview as you tear away down HWY 1 toward the next cold beverage.

Margaritas are always inviting you in every door - and no matter the establishment - somehow there is always a blender in house ready to whip up a fresh batch of booze heavy refreshments.  I'd say 4 a day is the norm.  Pending on the potency, could be right in a row like slugs of wheatgrass at the farmers market.  It's inched its way up to 6/7 at times.  Eeeeee!  Nary a day passes without one slipping thru the lips. 

Baja is just good like that.