Month: January 2016

Monday, January 11th, Zacatitos into San Jose for Supplies

At the women’s gathering yesterday Raven mentioned that she needed 20 minutes of help moving some panels at her house so we stop by her house on our way into San Jose. She shares a driveway with Renny Yater, a long time Zacatitos resident and a renowned surfboard maker. Renny is up on a ladder painting his house and shows us the panels that Raven needs moved. The boys have them moved in 15 minutes and we head into San Jose for supplies spotting a large flock of Cara Cara along the way.

Our errands take longer than we want. The wait at the public court house is long so we decide to try another day and I am tempted to pop into a few opal shops. Will wants to buy a hat and instead of driving, we make the mistake of walking the half mile uphill to the local Mexican hat shop which requires the time to walk back. The walk is pleasant enough but we are are anxious to get back to Zacatitos and we still have water, the fishing tackle shop and supplies to buy. We go to Soriana instead of the Mega and Soriana is out of ice, they have no mushrooms and the avocados aren’t ripe; all small problems to deal with in paradise. John buys new bands for a disabled spear gun while Art has our water jugs filled near by. We have a late lunch at the Marina and while we wait for our lunch, Will and John walk over to the marina to inquire the prices for going deep sea fishing. It is $180 for the two of them including bait but they will need to buy their fishing licenses at the Mega store. We take the highway back to Zacatitos and the boys are on the beach by 4:00 P.M.

Sundowners before Cinema in the Sand

Sundowners with Dr. Dave & Marshall

Art has invited Dr. Dave to our house for sundowners and he arrives shortly after 5:00 P.M. Marshall makes his impromptu appearance and I serve the men strong margaritas. It is very windy and the men move the  table to the front of our deck where it is much less windy, a precarious balancing act when loaded with drink glasses and bottles of liquor.  Art has whipped up a simple pot of onions, a few vegetables, rice and beans and serves everyone heaping bowls of the stew before it’s time to leave for Cinema in the Sand. The Martian is playing tonight and since Art and I have seen the movie, John and Will, will drive on their own. Maha comes over later, we offer her a bowl of the bean stew and sit and visit in the light of the stars with a sliver of the moon hanging in the sky. Maha is 4 months pregnant with a girl to be named Tara, so we pour her a carrot juice; no sundowners for her and baby Tara.

Sunset in Zacatitos

Sunday, January 10th.  Zacatitos. 

We spend the day in Zacatitos. Art and I take a morning walk along the beach and watch the sunrise. Will cooks veggie, egg and cheese burritos for our breakfast. 

It’s laundry day and the boys do their wash with Art’s special washing plunger and hang their laundry on the roof top. John and Will have spent the past two nights sleeping inside the house but this morning the weather is glorious and John sets the tent up on the roof and the boys make the rooftop their domain. 

Saturday, January 9th, Zacatitos to the Organic Market

I make the coffee and Will cooks egg, veggie and cheese breakfast burritos. He is a good cook and seems to enjoy it and I agree to be the clean up crew, a job that I don’t mind. After breakfast, we drive a few kilometers south on the coast road to the Cinema in the Sand arroyo.  There are already nearly 15 people working and we all jump in. I grab a rake and begin to rake the debris from the sand and John and Will and Art gather up handfuls of the rubble and take to the burn pile. Happily, within a few minutes I am assigned the job of repainting the Shipwreck, Cinema in the Sand Sign. Moes hands me a small paint brush and I go to work darkening the already crudely painted letters. It’s much easier than raking the sand. Men hammer and string lights and soon it is time to paint the screen. This is another rather fun project and takes no time with 4 paint rollers. Within an hour the screen is ready to be erected and everyone’s muscle power is needed. I tell Moes that I don’t have good upper body strength and he tells me to video tape the erection. The boys are each given Cinema in the Sand T-shirts and we are off to town. We drop Art at the house first and John drives the dirt road into San Jose.

Cinema in the Sand Work Day

Tyler, Cinema in the Sand

Cinema in the Sand Work Day

We drive to the Organic Market which is bustling. This is the prime time for the market and the boys are delighted with the scene. Music plays and kids twirl and wiggle their hula hoops. We stroll the many tiny craft stalls, buy a few vegetables and order lunch from two of the food stalls. John orders a carnitas torta for himself and a chicken torta for me but they run out of chicken so we have one carnita and one cactus torta. The cactus torta is not my favorite, but interesting.

San Jose’s Organic Market

San Jose’s Organic Market

We run our other errands; the A.T.M, picking up the laundry and a trip to Mega where we stock up on supplies. They don’t have the tequila I am looking for or carry Grand Marnier so we go to Europa where I hope to buy a special Añejo tequila but they are sold out. I buy Grand Marnier and John buys a cheap tequila in a very pretty bottle which actually proves to be quite nice. We make a stop for gas on our way home and drive the highway back home.

Burros and Bananas

Burros and Bananas

Friday, January 8th, Toto Santos to Cabo San Lucas to San Jose to Zacatitos.

Art and I walk to a nearby cafe leaving the boys to sleep off their night before. When we wake them, John is still suffering from too much excess. We return to the cafe for breakfast, stop briefly at an art gallery and then head to Cabo San Lucas, an hours drive away. We park in the underground parking garage that services the Puerto Paraiso Mall adjoining the Marina and walk quickly through the high fashion mall, popping out at the sunlit Marina. The Marina is lined with restaurants and street vendors shove handfuls of beads and silver jewelry at us as we pass. At every corner, we are offered a boat ride out to Land’s End for 100 pesos each. We decline all knowing that John and Will will return here next week for a night in the party town. We walk the touristy strip and circle back around, past souvenir shops on our way back to the garage.  As we leave town, we can see the arches of Land’s End behind us. We make a quick stop at Costco only to discover that Art has left his Costco card at home. Surprisingly, they are able to look up his membership and we are allowed entry. Art checks for golf batteries and I purchase two bottles of the Casa Madero 3V for 250 pesos each.  

Our next stop is for supplies in San Jose. We successfully get money at the Santander ATM, compatible with our B of A checking accounts. We drop dirty laundry off at the laundry and stop at the Mega Store. I will return to San Jose with Will and John tomorrow, Saturday, for the farmers market so we get only basics, intending to check our stored supplies at the house before a more extensive shopping trip. We stop for a late lunch at a restaurant down from the main strip of San Jose but fish doesn’t taste very fresh and I am disappointed.

Thursday, January 7th, Loreto through La Paz to Todo Santos

We have breakfast burritos at a nearby restaurant and start off for the longish drive to La Paz. 

The highway takes us along the Sea of Cortez and Isla Carmen where one day, before I am too old, I hope to kayak among this multitude of islands. It is late morning and the sun is magically blinding, the islands striking and starkly silhouetted.

The road cuts inland and the desert unfolds and I notice Alien pods of vegetation clinging to the phone wires. I point these out to Will, our traveling botanist, and he tells me they are Tillandsia recurvata. It’s good to have a botanist and a marine biologist along on this road trip. We stop in the middle of nowhere, at an family owned woodworking shop and restaurant and have a truly authentic lunch of machac burritos, stuffed with a shredded beef. I take a delicious bite of the machaca burrito, but order a plain quesadilla for myself. 

We power along the highway with plans to stop at La Paz for the night but there is still daylight and we decide to drive on to Todo Santos. John drives us into Todo Santos and we arrive just after 4:00 P.M. The town is crowded and I am worried that we won’t be able to find accommodations but we inquire in the bare bones hotel across from Hotel California. They have a room available with two queen beds for 500 pesos, about $30. It is less than charming but we take the room, moments before a backpacking couple takes the last available room.  

With our accommodations secured we wander along the main street popping into a few tourist arcades. Naturally, the all the salesmen do their best to entice us into their shop and when asked, I always tell them that I am looking for loose opals. Four years ago, I purchased a stunning Mexican Fire Opal here and look for the same shop. In one shop, I find some opals of interest but the very best one is in a gold pendant setting. I show Edwardo my card and he begins to take me seriously and offer me realistic prices instead of inflated tourist prices. Eventually we settle on a price for the opal without the gold setting and he leaves to go to the workshop and remove the stone from the mounting. In the meantime, another sales man enters the shop, not knowing that I have already purchased an opal and  assesses me as a good catch. He is fat and obnoxious and repeatedly calls me “My Queen” as he pulls inferior stones from the showcase. My salesman, Edwardo is gone nearly 30 minutes and I must suffer the other man’s offensive sales pressure. I want to tell him that I am definitely not “His Queen,” but do not.  Edwardo is my man!  The 7.5 carat opal is gorgeous and I leave with the golden treasure tucked securely in my bag.

Wednesday, January 6th, Mulege to Loreto

We eat a hearty breakfast at a cafe around the corner; cappuccinos, fresh pastries, omelets and burritos. The coastal drive along Sea of Cortez is breathtaking; offshore islands, intoxicating turquoise water and sandy coves. The scenic road winds along the Bay of Conception. We stop at one camping playa and a man approaches us asking if we would like to motor out to the islands. We decline for lack of time, but this looks like an amazing place to spend a few days. 

We need to get our tourist visas in Loreto and when we called La Damiana Inn to confirm our reservations, we are told that the visa office closes at 1:00 P.M. We pull into Loreto about 11:30 A.M. find the tourist office with difficulty and pay for our visas. The price for 4 visas is $295 pesos each and after we all fill out the forms, I pass the official 1200 pesos. I wait for the 20 pesos in change but he is not forthcoming with the change so we leave, happy to finally have our visas and chalk it up to a small bribe. 

The Damiana Inn is funky but charming.  We are on the second floor, up a somewhat treacherous stairway but with John and Will as our “Sherpa’s,” carrying the luggage is left to them. We have two connected rooms, colorfully decorated and a shared bathroom. There is a separate sitting area shared by other guests on the second floor, but there are no other guests so we have the sitting area to ourselves. The cheerful and helpful owner, Donna shows us the lay out of the inn and the boys immediately take up residence in two of the garden’s hammocks. Art parks our car in the secure courtyard and stashes his bicycle safely upstairs and we all head out together to explore Loreto. The Mission is just a block away. It is the first of all of the missions and the beginning of the Camino Real. 

We part ways with the boys and Art and I eat lunch at a recommended corner restaurant. It takes entirely too long for our salads to arrive although they are tasty enough. After our late lunch, I want to stroll the tourist shops and Art wants to go on a bike ride around the town but we have plans to all meet at 5:00 P.M. at the Oasis Restaurant and Bar at the end of the Malecon.  I’m happy to be on my own but am soon bored with the tourist shops but see a photography shop at the far side of the main plaza. It belongs to Rick Jackson, acquaintances of mine from the Harvest Festivals in years past. I pop in to say hello but Rick is closing his shop early to go to a party and suggests that we meet at the Oasis later tonight. 12 years ago, Rick and Jill bought property in Loreto and have been developing their B & B ever since. I look forward to connecting with them this evening and head back to the Damiana Inn to shower and change. 

As I head back, John and Will, freshly showered, are just exiting the inn. As I dress, Art enters the room, sweaty from his bike ride and takes his turn in the shower. Shortly after 5:00 P.M. we walk together along the Malecon to the Oasis Restaurant and Bar.  Although we can’t see the sunset, it casts a rosy glow over the offshore islands and the ocean shimmers a steely reflective blue. We find a table on the patio of the Oasis beside a party of 4 seasoned Baja travelers or residents. The smoke from their cigarettes drifts our way along with threads of their conversation. They are from Florida and not of our tribe but I somewhat enjoy the rare second hand smoke, the rosy glow of the mountains and the warm glow of the margaritas that we are sipping on the edge of the Sea of Cortez. Jill and Rick do not appear but when the all one can eat, Wednesday night buffet is set up, the 4 of us secure a table inside and enjoy a remarkably delicious dinner of salad and pasta, cooked to order.  When I check e-mail later, there is an e-mail from Jill apologizing for not meeting with us at the Oasis. 

Tuesday, January 5th, San Ignacio to Mulege

The breakfast at Ignacio Spring’s B & B is exceptional. Art and I walk to the family style dining room at 7:30 A.M. and drink coffee and check our e-mail for an hour before waking the boys. The country style bread is home baked, the jam home made and the sausage ground and smoked by the owner. For those who wish there are thick slices of ham and bacon. I take a sample bite of the sausage and it is delicious but I stop with just a bite since I am trying not to eat meat except for chicken and fish. 

The four of us discuss our plans for the day. The boys do not want to spend a second night here but we can leave our luggage in the office and pick it up when we return from visiting the cave paintings.  We are cautioned that the roads may be very bad due to the rain but we retrace our route an hour north on the highway to the turn off to San Francisco de Sierra. We find the turn off easily and follow the well paved road 25 Kilometers up into the mountains. 

The canyon vistas are breathtaking and the expansive desert plains below and beyond look like a museum diorama. We stop several times to inhale the views, take photos and examine the plant life. Will is once again down on his hands and knees examining flowers and seeds with his field lens. A steer skull and carcass, the flesh not completely picked clean, lie in the dirt. Our second stop is at the edge of a steep canyon and John and Will scramble up a rock pinnacle above the canyon. I shout at them, begging them not to risk the climb but my warnings go unheeded and I am relieved when everyone is safely back in the car.

After about 25 kilometers, the paved road turns to dirt and mud. Our vehicle slithers through a few slippery places but makes traction and Art maneuvers the questionable road for another 6 or 7 kilometers. There is a narrow stretch where the edge of the road drops steeply away into the canyon but we are crawling along and I am not too worried.

We drive with our guide several miles back to the cave entrance, protected by a high chain link fence and topped by wicked curls of barbed wire. This is just one of many petroglyph sites in the region and is a Unesco World Heritage site. Our guide unlocks the gate and we climb the rock stairway up to the cave. Faint images of deer and human figures in ochre, red, black and white decorate the overhanging roof of this remote cave. We linger 20 minutes examining the paintings. I do not realize that Art has already paid the guide fee and pass Art him 100 pesos to pay our guide. The man is immensely pleased with the tip and he volunteers to walk the 2 or 3 kilometers back to the rancho, saving us 30 minutes of driving. 

Art drives the treacherous section of road back but turns the driving over to John when past the section of road dropping into the canyon below.   An hour later we are back in San Ignacio and have a simple lunch at Victors restaurant, off of the Zocalo. 

Dave Z has told us about a warm spring just a quarter of a mile east of San Ignacio and we find the hand painted sign propped off to the right hand side of the road. It reads: Los Alamos – 400 Meters. We make the turn and drive a dirt road past several houses until we come to the Lost Alamos “ Park.”  The park is overgrown and strewn with trash but ahead is a oasis of palm trees with pools of crystal clear water fed by the spring. These clear pools feed into the murky lake further down and we spend a pleasant 30 minutes exploring the oasis. I walk the low wall of the cracked aqueduct taking photos while John, Will and Art soak in one of the warm pools, the bottom sparking jeweled colored pebbles. John puts on his snorkel and explores the shallow waters of the spring, seeing schools of tiny fish that nibble and bite at everyones skin as they soak. 

When we leave the springs, we return to our B & B and quickly load up our luggage and begin our late afternoon drive to Mulege. The road winds through the mountains, popping out at Santa Rosalia, an industrial town on the Sea of Cortez. It is dusk when we arrive in Mulege, check the guidebook for suggested accommodations and check into the Hacienda Hotel. The hotel is extremely basic and we get two rooms, unload and walk into town to find dinner. The Hacienda is in the center of town and we find dinner around the corner at the El Candil where we enjoy a round of margarita’s, fresh fish and beer and wine at the bar.  After dinner we stroll the small town and Art and I head back to the hotel and the boys return to the restaurant and play a game of pool.

Monday, January 4th – Guerrero Negro to San Ignacio

Our alarm is set for 6:30 with breakfast scheduled for 7:00 A.M. and our whale tour at 7:30. John and Will look a little bleary eyed from a long night in the bar and the cook hasn’t arrived so there is no breakfast. The day is overcast and it is raining. Our whale tour is postponed an hour and we have serious misgivings about going at all. The cook arrives and after huevo ranchero’s and coffee everyone feels a bit livelier but we decide to cancel the tour. We pass an hour in our rooms and at 9:00 A.M. drive to the security checkpoint where we hope to get our tourist visas but the office is closed. The morning is not off to a very good start. 

There isn’t much to Guerrero Negro but I read in the guidebook that there is a cafe worth visiting that is just down from our hotel. We pass another hour drinking remarkably good cappucchino’s, check e-mail and Facebook and watch the rain drizzle down. Around 11:00 A.M. the sun begins to break through the clouds and we set out driving towards San Ignacio. We look for the turn off to Laguna Ojo de Liebre, where the whale tours originate, find the turn off easily and drive the well graded dirt road towards the lagoon. About five kilometers in there is a guard station where we register our names and our vehicle’s license plate and are waved on with vague directions to the lagoon. The alien salt flat landscape is starkly beautiful. Low clumps of foliage are lightly dusted with sand and salt and the compacted dry sand is etched with evaporated water ripples. Stagnant pools of water are a stained and iridescent with various mineral deposits; red, ochre and green. We drive 15 kilometers on the wide and well graded dirt highway, keeping a look out for the whale logo and arrow when we come to forks in the road.

We arrive at the lagoon, park our car next to one of the other two cars in an immense parking area and walk to the staging building to investigate our whale tour options. One can go on a 1 1/2 hour boat tour out in the lagoon for $45 each. The clouds are still threatening but we decide to give it a go and I buy 4 tickets for the tour. We carry our life vests out the narrow pier and climb aboard a large open panga. A Mexican family of 6 buys tickets right after us and are with us on the tour. I am hopeful that we will have a whale encounter of an awesome kind but we are too early in the season. We motor out across the flat water of the bay, our boat washboarding roughly as it speeds over the water. On several occasions the thump is hard enough to hurt my back but nothing that 3 Advil doesn’t cure. We do see whales and get fairy close to a few, but the stories told by friends of ours, of mother whales with their babies coming right up beside the boat do not unfold. Nevertheless, our nearly two hours out on the water is pleasant, it does not rain and we are happy to have taken the tour. 

Whale Skeleton – Laguna Ojo de Liebre

On our return drive across the salt flats to the main highway we stop several times for Will to examine the unusual plant life of this ecosystem. A sight that I am getting used to seeing is Will down on the ground, butt in the air, examining a flower or seed through his field lens. He points out an especially beautiful plant; the crystalline ice plant, a peachy rose colored succulent with delicate sprays of star like flowers.

Will and John Examining Plant Life

Crystalline Ice Plant

We power onto San Ignacio stopping for a very late lunch in Vizcino. The restaurant is very cute and we leave full but the the food is not inspired.

Lunch Stop in Vizcino

Lunch Stop in Vizcino

Because of our late start, we arrive in San Ignacio at 5:00 P.M. and stop at Beans and Rice Motel to ask about accommodations. I am not impressed with the bare bone drafty rooms and suggest that we drive into town to investigate other options. We drop down into sleepy San Ignacio, an oasis of palm trees clustered along the river. We pass by the Canadian run San Ignacio Springs B and B and are fortunate that they have a family room available with two queen beds, a day bed and a separate sitting room. Because we own a house in Baja she extends us a 10% discount so the rate including taxes and breakfast for the 4 of us is $U.S.114.00. Except for Art’s bicycle, we have packed lightly and we are unloaded quickly. It is a short distance into San Ignacio in search of dinner. At the suggestion of our B & B host, we go to her daughters restaurant for dinner. Tootsie’s Bar and Grill is tucked away on a back street off of the Zocalo. Because of our late lunch, none of us are terribly hungry and John and Will share a quesadilla. I order a beet salad which is an uninspired plate of overcooked, pickled beets, not what I hoped for or expected. Art orders a different salad and unfortunately none of us are impressed with our meals.

Tootsie’s Restaurant, San Ignacio

January 3, Sunday – San Quintin to Guerrero Negro

I wake around 7:00 A.M. dress in as many layers of clothing as possible and slip out of our hotel room. Art, John ad Will are still sleeping. I sit in the courtyard just outside our room and check e-mail and send some photos to family and friends. It is a chilly morning and my exposed fingers become numb, typing on the cold keyboard.  An hour later, I tiptoe back into the room and find Art awake and dressed.  We walk to the lobby and help ourselves to weak but hot coffee and stroll the lush grounds of Hotel Jardines. 

It’s just after 9:00 A.M. when we leave the oasis Hotel Jardines in San Quintin for our drive to Catavina. I drive the first leg of the trip to El Rosario.The paved ribbon of highway is much too narrow and I white knuckle it past semi-trucks rushing at us head on. In most stretches of the two lane highway, there is no shoulder and a significant drop off to the right.  The highway is well maintained but I understand all too well why there are memorial cross markers in so many places along the road.

El Rosario Restaurant

Breakfast at El Rosario

El Rosario Restaurant

El Rosario is a small town and we stop for breakfast at Mi Casa Restaurant. It is on the left hand side of the road between a tire center and the police station.  It is painted a cheerful orange, the outdoor patio edged with cacti and we sit outside and order coffee and breakfast. There are no prices on the menu so Art asks, and a less than charming waitress tells us that each breakfast is 95 pesos. My Mexican eggs, scrambled with tomatoes, onions and chiles is reasonably good and the homemade salsa is excellent.

As we head out of El Rosario, Art sees a sign warning us that the next gas is 318 kilometers away. With just half a tank of gas, we turn around and fill up at the Pemex station a couple of miles back.

Desert Vista and the Ribbon of Highway

John, Marty, Cardon Cactus

The road takes us up into the high desert with breathtaking views of the surrounding mountains. It is a painted desert of red, orange and sage green. There are pockets of large cardon cactus, nopale cactus and a type of Joshua Tree.  Dr Suess like Foquiera plants dot the landscape, each topped with whimsical flowery tufts. We pull off at a high ridge and are happy to have this 4 runner as Art drives a barley discernible dirt road, alongside the highway. We get out to stretch our legs and Will, a botanist, takes off downhill to examine the plants in the area. I inhale the remarkable beauty of this desert and think of my father, wishing that he could be with us on this Baja road trip and grateful that he and my mother, taught me to appreciate nature and geology.

Catavina Landscape

As we near Catavina, the expansive vistas morph into a rocky landscape. Plateaus rise in the distance and there are mountains of rounded boulders much like those at California’s Joshua Tree National Park. We pull over and the boys scramble and climb the boulder ridden landscape. Unfortunately, many of the  boulders are sprayed with graffiti. It’s roughly 2:00 P.M. when we arrive in Cativina, barely a dot on the map. Our plans were to spend the night so we stop at El President Hotel to inquire the prices as well as the Santa Ynez Rancho, several arroyo’s further on. The tiny rancho is deserted and the boys seem anxious to drive onto Guerrero Negro for the night. Before driving on, I re-read Dave’s instructions and we back track to the last wet arroyo where I hoped we could hike up the canyon and anoint ourselves with desert spring water. Unfortunately, since we don’t have a hotel room to stash our valuables, someone must to stay with the car since we have Art’s new bicycle and my computer aboard. I volunteer to stay and settle down with my computer to write while the three boys start up the canyon. Art returns grinning a few minutes later, puts our Toyota into 4 wheel drive and we drive up the sandy wash as far as possible. It’s great fun to have this vehicle and I think the good times I had as a young girl, 4 wheeling up sandy washes with my father.

Catavina Graffiti

Catavina Cactus Landscape

Catavina Wash

Will, Catavina

We drive on to Guerrero Negro for the night and check into the Malarrimo Motel. Although it is a recommended option in the guide book the rooms are rather shabby. We have two rooms for tonight, each with two queen beds crowned with brightly painted and crudely carved whale motif headboards. Our fish dinner at the Malarrimo hotel restaurant, is reasonably good and afterwards we migrate into the bar where we visit with another family who are going on a whale watching tour with us in the morning. Art, John and Will play pool but Art and I retire early to our room leaving the boys to be boys.

Pool at La Malarimmo Hotel Bar

January 2nd, Saturday – Chula Vista to San Quintin

Art drives the final leg of today’s road trip to San Quintin. We have reservations at Hotel Jardines  and following Dave’s directions find the turn off  on the right, at the far side of town. We follow the well graded gravel road 900 meters to the west and are surprised and delighted to find this garden oasis in dusty San Quintin. We have reserved a family room with three queen beds and we maneuver our suitcases and Art’s Bicycle into our room before exploring the lush grounds and surveying the restaurant. 

Father and Son

The boys are a minute ahead of Art and me and when we catch up to them at the restaurant, we find them sitting at a table in the bar having already ordered a pitcher of margaritas. We settle into Baja time. It’s much too early for dinner but we peruse the dinner menu and order a platter of barbecued sea snails as an appetizer, in honor of John’s Moorera project. They arrive sliced and barbecued, piled in the center of a large platter rimmed with toasted bread. They are chewy, flavorful and surprisingly good. We ask our waiter the kind of sea snail and he confesses that they are from a can, but in the process, he tells us that it’s just a short drive down to the oyster beds where we can eat fresh oysters. His instructions take us a kilometer north on the main highway with a left turn just before the military base. We are instructed to follow a dirt road several Kilometers down towards the beach and that the road will go between two “volcanoes.”  Miraculously we get his directions right and find the oyster  beds and the makeshift beach side restaurant. There are a several plastic tables and chairs and a barbecue grill.  Art orders a dozen raw and a dozen cooked oysters. I sample one of the raw oysters but oysters are not my thing and I leave the rest for the boys and enjoy watching them slurp down their slippery treats as the sun sets and the water turns a steely silvery grey.