BUT IT’S A DRY HEAT!

August 19, 2023 by riplipboy

BUT IT’S A DRY HEAT

Originally Published the Week of Aug. 11, 2023 in Western Outdoor Publications

“It ain’t the heat. It’s the humility.”

—-Yogi Berra

So, there we are at our Tailhunter Restaurant in La Paz. It’s summertime. It’s vacation time.

The height of the tourist season.

And it’s “the evening rush” for dinner. The Baja sun has just splashed another masterpiece sunset across the horizon. Stars start to peek and sparkle.

The blender in the bar is noisily and happily whirring up those frosty mango margaritas. The savory fragrance of sizzling carne asada and garlic shrimp are wafting out to the sidewalk diners.

Dishes are clanking. There’s a wonderful ambience of conversation and laughter at the waterfront tables. Fishermen are re-telling stories or making up new ones .

Servers are quick-stepping back and forth and weaving around patrons with trays and plates.

Some folks are enjoying tall cold ones and munching tacos watching a baseball game.

The house band for the evening is tuning up with a bit of “Oye Como Va” by Santana.

Just another nice evening on the La Paz waterfront in Baja. Yes, It’s gonna be a good night.

Then…NOTHING.

In an instant. The buzz and hum are gone.

The band goes silent. The TV’s blink off. The blender shuts down…and so do all the lights. Everywhere. On the whole street!

Blackout.

Streetlights. Air conditioners. Everything!

It takes a moment to absorb. Amid a chorus of “Hey!” And “What the…?”

We dash around…”It’s OK, folks! Just a little jag in the city electrical system. I’m sure it’ll be fine in a few moments!”

But, inwardly, it looks eerie to see a busy city waterfront completely dark and we’re running a business. Anxiety levels are clicking higher.

We rush around calming folks and lighting every candle we can find. We try to roll with the punches. They say food tastes better in candlelight!

We start telling folks we’re making it more “romantic” with the candles! We tell the kitchen staff to keep cooking and the bartender to put all cocktails “on the rocks.”

The band got cut off in midsong. To their credit they grab acoustic guitars and try to keep playing some romantic Spanish ballad. Props to them for the effort!

We just all try to keep smiling. And looking up and down the street to see if any lights are coming on. Anywhere.

But, for blocks along the waterfront, the only lights are the headlights of cars. And lots of honking!

We put our best faces on it, but there’s only so much you can do without electricity in a restaurant.

Our cooks can’t keep cooking by flashlight. Water for cooking, dish sinks and bathrooms depends on an electric pump. We can’t keep opening and closing refrigerators and freezers.

It’s 90 degrees out tonite.

We don’t know if the outage will last 5 more minutes or 5 days. It’s Mexico. Opening and closing things like freezers and the frig jeopardizes all the inventory that depends on keeping things cold.

The poor band…with no microphones and just acoustic guitars, they do their best as the crowd starts to filter out.

But, now with no electricity, the computer on the cash register don’t work either. Can’t run credit cards charges!

We throw our hands up and surrender to the darkness.

All our customers have left. We sadly start to fold up. The staff starts to split their tips by flashlight.

Then POP…with a WHIRRRRRR…everyone slams back on! And it’s like we’re back in the 21^st Century from the dark ages. Music, TV’s, ceiling fans and lights crash back to life.

But, it’s too late to save the evening for the restaurant and we close it up. Tables and chairs get stacked. Tablecloths are folded. We turn off the lights and padlock the doors.

Sigh…we’ll give it a go again tomorrow.

But wait!

Over the next 3 days, this happens again. And again. For 1-2 hours or longer. Different parts of the city, but always our part of the city and always at the busiest times.

C’mon, man!

As it turns out, it’s the strain on the local power grid.

With all the heat that we’re getting, the city power grid just can’t hang with the demand. Especially in a city like ours…and many other tourism-based locations.

It’s becoming more common this summer.

With thousands of hotel rooms all over the states where no one ever turns off the A/C…with restaurants running everything full speed… and freezers and refrigerators straining to keep ice frozen; beer cold and diners happy…shopping centers and grocery stores doing the same…

On-and-on…

The system just pops. Boom!

And Mexican officials are warning of more of the same to come as the heat continues and waves of tourists flood to Baja on vacations.

Many choosing Mexico to ironically escape the record heat in the U.S. that has been roasting many states.

Nothing to do, but keep calm and be advised to stay in the pool!

That’s our story!

Jonathan

______________

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!

_____________

Jonathan Roldan’s

Tailhunter International

Website:

www.tailhunter-international.com

Mexico Office: Tailhunter International, 755 Paseo Obregon, La Paz, Baja Sur, Mexico

U.S. Mailing Address: Tailhunter International, 8030 La Mesa Blvd. #178, La Mesa CA 91942

Phones:

from USA : 626-638-3383

from Mexico: 044-612-14-17863

Tailhunter Weekly Fishing Report: http://fishreport.jonathanroldan.com/