Originally Published the Week of Jan. 26, 2022 in Western Outdoor Publications
Well…check any source and you’ll find that the number one travel destination since covid started is (drumroll)…MEXICO!
This is not just for Americans. It’s apparently the top spot for the whole world.
It’s pretty easy to get to, especially for Americans. There’s lots of flights. Or you can drive or jump a cruise ship.
It’s pretty economic. Foreign currency against the Mexican peso is pretty strong. For Americans, the dollar is huge. It’s 20 pesos to the U.S. dollar. International money goes a lot further than in many other countries.
It’s easy to come home. That’s pretty important. When you’re ready to come home…you come home!
Your chances of getting stranded there are pretty slim because of Covid. Your own country might put the pinch on you, but not Mexico.
In fact, there have been some new changes in Mexican restrictions.
As of this month, Mexico has completely dropped all entry requirements. Gone! Deleted! You are welcomed with open arms.
You can argue whether that is good or bad, but it is what it is. I make no judgements. Don’t kill the messenger.
However, borders are now open. In fact, many would ventur that they were never really closed at all. It was pretty leaky.
You also no longer have to fill out either the paper or digital health-care form to enter Mexico. This was the form asking thing like whether you had been in contact with a Covid person or whether you had Covid.
I always thought it was silly. I mean…who is going to answer “yes” on the way to their vacation? Who wants to get told they have to go in the little back room for secondary questioning when the tour bus to the hotel is waiting outside and your luggage is spinning mindlessly on the carousel?
Additionally, Mexican President Obrador has said he doesn’t plan to ever ask for proof of vaccinations.
But, there’s a small caveat.
Individual states, areas or businesses like restaurants, bars and casinos might ask for your vax card. However, according to sources, it’s just like many places in the U.S. with masks. It only applies if the rule is enforced and no one seems to really enforce it.
In lieu of that, proof of a negative covid test within 48 hours will also work. Jalisco is one of the states that recently implemented the rule about showing a vax card.
So, basically, it’s time travel. Mexico is back to pre-covid 2019 in terms of travel.
As of right now, the only real bump in your travel road is coming BACK to the U.S. or entering the U.S. if you’re a foreign national.
The U.S. requires that within 24 hours of your flight back to the U.S. you need to take a rapid Covid test. And, of course, it has to come back negative.
The test takes 15 minutes and you get your results usually within the hour on your cellphone. The airports all have facilities as do many hotels. Or the hotels will have someone come to the hotel.
There are also a plethora of labs that sprang up all over the place understandably.
This applies whether you are vaccinated or not.
If you are a foreign traveler headed to the U.S., the new rules mandate that you must show proof of vaccination now.
Stay tuned. The picture changes all the time!
That’s my story!
Jonathan
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter.com.
They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!
Someone had a dream at one time…or at least a good idea!
DESERT GHOSTS
Originally Published the Week of Jan. 12, 2022 in Western Outdoor Publications
I’ve always had this weird (not creepy) thing about looking at (and into) people’s houses.
At the time I’m writing this, we’re driving across country to the fishing and hunting shows in various cities around the western U.S. We’ve exhibited at these shows from January to April for almost 30 years to talk to folks about fishing with our company in La Paz.
We have our booth packed up and are on our way to the Wild Sheep Foundation Show in Reno, NV. Over the past 3 days, we’ve driven across Texas, New Mexico and Nevada.
My wife Jill is driving and I’m tapping out on my laptop.
And looking at people’s houses.
I like to guess what they do. I’m intrigued by their story.
Why they happened to plant themselves in this particular area near that particular town.
Or in the middle of nowhere.
I look at what’s in the yard. Kid’s toys? A rusty swing? A bunch of old cars? An RV? Five later model cars and a mini-van? Or 5 cars on concrete blocks?
Is the yard done? Is there even a yard or just tumbleweeds and a cotton field in the back.
There’s a washing machine on the front porch of a single-wide modular. Or is there a swimming pool out back?
You can tell a lot.
Driving up and down Baja, I have that same fascination.
But, it’s not the occupied homes that I focus on.
It’s the empty houses.
Empty buildings have a story as well. And sometimes they talk.
These are the abandoned homes and buildings standing ( or leaning) in the middle of the Baja landscape. You find them built on the side of a hillside. Or they are tucked onto the bank of an arroyo or still standing observant by the side of the highway.
Dilapidated. Wind, sun-baked and weather torn. Collapsing roofs and leaning walls. Warped and sandblasted wood. Maybe some leftover traces of color or paint.
The Baja is not kind to old buildings left unattended.
Fascinating head-scratchers. I wonder about those stories.
Why here? It’s the only house for miles. What were they thinking?
No obvious source of water. No towns or communities nearby to drive to…or if the house is that old… nothing nearby to walk to…or ride a cart or burro to.
Is this as far as the got? Is this where the donkey cart finally busted an axle?
Maybe the few small tree trunks stuck in the ground at crazy angles are evidence of an old corral.
Stone, bricks and adobe are handy.
How did the even get the wood to build? It’s not like Baja has a lot of treeworthy lumber around. Did the haul it here? From where?
Baja isn’t exactly known for its forests.
Occasionally, you find a small cluster of buildings. Or what’s left of them.
Perhaps an extended family. Again, why here? And what happened to them.
Maybe as often happens, parents settle. Raise kids in the hardscrabble environment. Kids move on as they grow up. Parents pass.
Or the parents pass and the dream of living in the middle of nowhere is not the dream of their progeny. They move on.
Buildings are abandoned.
I’ve never trespassed, but if it looks like it doesn’t matter, I like to stop. Normally, it’s not like anyone cares. There’s no one around for miles and I doubt the tumbleweeds or jackrabbits care.
But, poking around old buildings…they sometimes talk to you if you look.
A blackened brick outdoor firepit. A sign that there was probably no electricity when these folks lived there. They cooked outside.
No signs of plumbing of any kind.
Rough carpentry. Uneven door and window frames. No signs that glass ever filled those windows.
Old uneven hammered rusty nails protrude from splintering dried wood. These didn’t come from Home Depot. They look like tiny sharpened spikes…handmade. Probably pretty precious back in the days.
In fact, there are signs that furniture and parts of the buildings may have been bound together with what remains of rope or old leather strips.
I find an old bent spoon in what would have been a dirt floor.
I have found an old coin or almost rubbed smooth and largely unidentifiable.
There are dark patches along walls where perhaps candles or old fuel lanterns once burned.
I found lots bleached fish bones around the back of one building. They ate fish? We were 10 miles from any body of water.
I once found two old crosses and a weathered upright stone marker side-by-side. They were in the shade of an old scrub tree back behind what may have been an old shed or barn.
Nearby the remains of a cracked clay vase that long ago may have held desert flowers. A family cemetery?
Whoever lived in these places are long gone and forgotten. But, there was a story here at one time.
I think in some sense, moving through these old living spaces makes them somewhat more real. A reminder that real people and families once lived here. Had dreams here.
And moved on. While the desert moves back to reclaim everything.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter.com.
They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of Jan. 3, 2022 in Western Outdoor Publications
Back in the day when I lived close to the somewhat remote East Cape area of Baja, I loved getting invited to someone’s house for dinner. It was a special treat.
First and foremost, it sure beat the one-pan meals I would usually cook for myself. The food at these gatherings would be simple, but they were always the best-of-the-best spread they had to offer and tremendously delicious.
I remember barbecued meat or fried fresh fish. Often it was something they had caught or one of their own animals.
I was a grateful beneficiary to the sharing of the largesse.
Of course handmade tortillas, beans and rice and maybe grilled vegetables or fresh cheese! Dang. I secretly always hoped there would be that fresh farm cheese.
Plates and cups never matched. Lots of well-used plastic. The cups seemed to be those indestructible plastic/ acrylic things we all had in our cupboards back in the day. Free with a fill-up of gas (or a steak knife) or were bought from the neighbor’s kid raising money for school.
Somehow, those same cups magically migrated to Mexico!
Silverware was burnished and scratched. No big thing. Lots of paper napkins. No matter.
These folks might not have much, but everything was always spic-and-span and pridefully clean in the home.
It was not only a treat, but an honor to be invited to the family home.
Often, there might be another family or two… or extended family member at the table as well. A few cousins. A tio or tia (uncle or auntie). Maybe some neighbors.
Again, sharing the wealth.
It was typically a pot-luck kind of affair from what I could tell.
Cousin Jose and his family might bring some fresh ceviche. The neighbors ferried over a Tupperware of salsa fresca.
It seemed the uncles would ALWAYS bring beer. Always welcome and they seemed to drink the majority of it!
After dinner there was always talk.
Just fun and interesting conversation and b.s. directly dependent upon the level of beer consumption taking place.
My Spanish at that point wasn’t full-speed, but it was enough to participate and I often became the center of the chit-chat. It was usually something of an enjoyable question-and-answer session.
Parents…well, the moms asked about food and markets and clothes. Dads would talk about fishing or travel.
Politics were big. So were sports. The New York “Yonkeys” and the Los Angeles “Doyers.” Andale!
Recently, I was thinking about some of the great conversations with the kids.
The younger girls would ask about celebrities, fashion and movie stars.
Did I really see movie stars all the time and every day?
What is Hollywood like and tell them about a shopping mall.
The boys naturally wanted to know about American cars. American music. Of course…American girls.
Remember, these were the days before the internet was rampant and everyone had a cell phone. Often folks didn’t even have TV’s back then out there.
I was sort of the welcomed travelling bard. Folks were anxious to hear what was going on “out there.” Tell us some news. Tell us a story.
With the kids…
Often, we’d get into the typical, “What do you want to do when you get older?”
At the time, it was just fun conversation, but looking back, the responses were really eye-opening.
American kids talk …doctors…lawyers…executives…business owners…teachers…travel…own a ranch…own a sportscar…be a firefighter…engineer…computers…be a rockstar…attend a great university…be a pilot…marry a rich doctor…lawyer…blah blah blah!
For these, mostly rural Mexican kids, the bar wasn’t quite so high.
Most wouldn’t get past the mandatory 6th grade. So, like all kids, many were eager to “get outta school” to go to work.
Not so much to be independent like American kids…move out…have a car…get an apartment.
These Mexican kids were eager to work so they could help the family.
The aspirations weren’t so lofty.
“I will help my father catch fish for the market.”
“I will go to work at the farm picking vegetables.”
“I would like to move to the city. Maybe work at a restaurant or a hotel. Maybe clean rooms or wash dishes. I can stay with relatives.”
“I have a boyfriend and we will get married and have kids. He has a good job driving a truck for the market.”
The ambitions were much more tempered. Perhaps much more pragmatic in the big picture.
The big difference is that these are somewhat the kind of jobs American kids might do “on their way” to do something else. Like while they are in school.
Or a summer job.
Or for some pocket money.
For these Mexican kids, they are not jobs before they move onto something else. These are their CAREERS.
This is what they will most likely do for the rest of their working lives.
Forty or fifty years from now, it’s very likely, many will still be washing dishes or cleaning someone’s hotel room. Some will still be trying to catch enough fish to sell to the market and feed the family.
That fruit or vegetable farm still needs laborers.
That girl wanting to be married has raised another generation herself.
These “occupations” are the end game. There is no “glass ceiling” because there is no glass. That solid ceiling they see is the height of ambition and opportunity.
I’m trying to imagine some of the summer or school jobs I took in younger days. Could I have worked in a warehouse the rest of my life? Or driven a taxi? Or sold vacuum cleaners door-to-door?
Nothing wrong with good honest labor.
For Americans, we have the ability to envision better things. We can hope that around the corner our ship will come in. We have that ability to dream. It may never happen, but we can strive and hope.
Our end game has continuum.
For these youngsters, their aspirations are limited to immediate and restricted finite opportunities. The end game is for life.
Do not pass GO. Stay in the same square. Repeat.
That’s my story
Jonathan
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter.com.
They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!
Originally Published the Week of Dec. 27, 2021 in Western Outdoor Publications
I’m a chips and salsa guy.
I go into a Mexican restaurant and I look forward to ruining the rest of my meal filling up on the chips and salsa that get plopped in front of me.
In fact, I judge the restaurant based on their chips and salsa.
It’s the opening round. First impressions are everything. Usually, the chips and salsa are a pretty good reflection on the rest of the meal-yet-to-come.
The problem is that in most Mexican restaurants in Mexico, you don’t get chips unless it’s a tourist place or you ask for the chips. And, even then, chances are you definitely don’t get the typical big basket.
You get a little bowl. Like a peace offering of chips!
But, there’s still the salsas. And every place worth it’s chili peppers makes their own.
I’m not talking about stuff you pour out’ve a bottle like Tabasco, Cholula, etc. Those are hot sauces, not technically salsas.
That’s for a different column. If the salsa comes out’ve a bottle or jar, move along. Those places don’t last anyway.
I have a rule or two when I hit a new place and try their salsas.
First, just because it looks mild doesn’t mean anything. Conversely, a very tasty benign salsa could appear like Satan’s own brew.
Even at a regular place that you visit often.
Their homemade salsa can change from day-to-day. That’s because the quality and flavor of the ingredients can change.
For example in our restaurant in La Paz, we would make green salsa verde from green tomatillo tomatoes. One day the salsa would be sweet and mild.
The next day, it could be very bitter and we would have to adjust the recipe. That’s because the quality and taste of the tomatoes would change from our delivery guy.
All tomatoes are not created equally. Nor or chilis or onions.
So, as a rule, no matter what the salsa looks like, I put a little dab on the tip of my little finger and taste it. Or on the edge of my plate.
Knowledge is power and better to know up-front before I slather my taco with a sauce that I won’t like or will cause me physical damage!
There are several main salsas to keep an eye-out for. They’re the standards at most any restaurant or taco cart you visit in Mexico.
SALSA FRESCA/ PICO de GALLO– Usually pretty mild and can surely vary from place-to-place. Usually bright red and green.
Typically consists of chopped red tomatoes, onions, salt, cilantro and fresh jalapeno or serrano chilis. This is the universal salsa. Stuff it in a taco. Divebomb it with chips. Spoon it over your huevos rancheros, fish or steak.
SALSA VERDE/ TOMATILLO SAUCE – Made from green tomatillo tomatoes, this can range from tart to sweet and savory. If the tomatoes are first grilled, roasted or boiled, then blended with the other ingredients such as the chilis and onions, you get a bolder full-bodied salsa. In fact, all of the ingredients are sometimes cooked then blended together.
Using uncooked ingredients produces a salsa on the tart side. Not necessarily a bad thing. Just deliciously different.
AGUACATE – This is avocado salsa. My personal favorite.
I can put this on everything in sight. Remember, the “taquitos” they sold at your little league games as a kid and the green sauce that came out’ve a plastic jug? Aguacate is a 5-star creamy upgrade.
It’s got the coolness of avocado blended with cilantro, a bit of lime, salt, onion and garlic contrasted with the serrano peppers. It also has tomatillos in it very often.
Guacamole…another favorite for other reasons…isn’t so creamy and is primarily avocados without the tomatoes and has a thicker consistency.
SALSA ROJA – This is often the signature sauce at any local dining spot. I’ve encountered places that guard “grandma’s recipe” like Colonel Sanders safeguarded his finger-lickin’ good chicken recipe.
The main thing is roasted or boiled chili arbol. It’s got more kick than other salsa chilis and cooking brings out spicy smokey flavors and deep red colors. It’s then blended with the onions, garlic and other ingredients and can be served hot or cold.
This is definitely one you should taste ahead of time before spooning it on your food. Sometimes, a little goes a long way.
Everyone makes their salsas differently and part of the fun of eating in Mexico is sampling all the different types.
That’s my story!
Jonathan
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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004. Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter International Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico www.tailhunter.com.
They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront. If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is: jonathan@tailhunter.com
Or drop by the restaurant to say hi. It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!
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His articles also appear in:
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That's My Story 