Valentine’s Day

Posted on February 12, 2018 by janicekinne

photo by Keenan Shoal for Journal del Pacifico

Are you ready for Valentine’s Day?

Chocolates La Laguna, behind the bookstore in Todos Santos, has just the right treat for Valentine’s Day. If you’re looking for a Valentine’s night dinner, there are delicious options available at Pura Vida, La Esquina and Garden by Rancho Pescadero.

There are also great gifts available for men and women at Nomad Chic and Étnica in Todos Santos.

Todos Santos resident, Keenan Shoal, provided our cover photo for the Winter 2018 issue well as the interior shots for the start of the Historic Home Tour article and the Camp Cecil on Isla Espíritu Santo on our La Paz Beaches page. You may remember that Keenan’s stunning Pacific Ocean view from La Poza hill was our cover for the Summer 2016 issue of Journal del Pacifico. You can see more of Keenan’s photography at Gallery Ezra Katz in Todos Santos.

Dr. Jon P. Rebman, Baja, Mexico

In this issue, Bryan Jáuregui of Todos Santos Eco Adventures, interviewed Dr. Jon P. Rebman, renowned author of the Baja California Plant Field Guide, about the ‘lost plants of Baja.” It’s a fascinating look into the search for Baja California plants that have not been collected or scientifically documented for decades. He covered part of the territory near Loreto by mule with Trudi Angell of Saddling South.

Also, in this issue, Kaia Thomson of Todos Caballos shares her story and photos in The Banana Chronicles with a bunch of fun facts and fabulous pictures.

Café Santa Fé is celebrating its 28th anniversary. I remember meeting Paula and Ezio Colombo when I first came to Todos Santos in 1993 and marveling how such a small town could have a restaurant of this calibre. As Michael Mercer wrote on the occasion of their 20th anniversary:
In late 1990, when the Café Santa Fé opened, there was one restaurant in Todos Santos, a modest Mexican place called the Santa Monica. There were no art galleries (apart from Charles Stewart’s living room). Very few tourists, even fewer gringo residents.
“Our first night, we had 15 or 20 people from the trailer park,” Paula remembers. “One dish, a putanesca.” Everyone loved it, but the peso had just been devalued and no one could afford to pay. “So that night was free.”
Eight years later, they are still serving perfect pastas, pizza, salads, seafood and local meats.

Artist Carlos Diaz Castro is well known for his vivid paintings of Baja and ranchero life. You can see more of his work at his Diaz Castro Studio & Fine Art Gallery on 5 de Mayo in the historic district of La Paz.

La Misión Restaurant at Hacienda Cerritos is now open every day for lunch and dinner, from noon to 9 pm.

Carlitos Place in Pescadero has added Chinese recipes to their expanded menu– Peking duck, Mongolian beef, sweet & sour shrimp and chicken, beef broccoli and fried rice. Cooking classes are coming soon too! See our feature in the issue.

Kimberly’s Supermarket & Café on the road to Cerritos Beach has groceries, coffee and snacks from 7 am to 8 pm. And Shakas restaurant next door, will be open soon!

Sugar Shack is also now serving snacks, including birria, wings, guacamole, onion rings and more and have expanded to outdoor seating in the back.

Las Olas Recovery provides personal attention for their clients’ addiction solutions with medically assisted detox and 24-hour care. Results are their ambition. See their ad for more information.

La Curandería Health and Wellness Centre in Pescadero has lighthearted, Community Yoga Saturdays at 8 am. 100% donations are given to different area groups. Also, at La Curandería, you can enjoy Hesed Najeera’s deep, holistic massage and Ayurvedic bodywork.

Do you drive on the beaches? Do you know it isn’t legal? The Friends of the Todos Santos Dunes ask that you please show some respect for the beauty and magic of Baja and help protect the sea turtles nesting and hatching. You can read more about how the coastal dunes are an important part of the ecosystem in the article in this issue.

by Keenan Shoal for Journal del Pacifico

We hope that you enjoyed the Todos Santos’ Artist’s Studio Tour! The next fun tour will be the Todos Santos Historic Home Tour on March 4. Both give a different view of the pueblo mágico and benefit the programs of The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C.

The Baja 100 art walk/drive is another fun downtown Todos Santos event. Check out the The Baja 100 Facebook page for updates on their March events.

Don’t forget, you can see the current issue and every issue online. We will see you next with our Spring issue. Deadline is March 5.

Spring 2017

Posted on April 11, 2017 by janicekinne

Journal del Pacifico Spring 2017 cover by Kate Turning with model Divier Guive

Our last issue, with the textured octopus cover and story, continues to receive rave reviews. Also the feature articles, in that previous issue, on some of Pescadero’s innovative businesses has brought new customers to their doors. One happy client recently told us that all of her business comes from her ad in our publication (we love to hear that).

We are sure that you will enjoy this issue with its glamorous Kate Turning designed cover, the fascinating feature story by Bryan Jáuregui of Todos Santos Eco Adventures on Baja medicinal plants with stunning photos by Kaia Thomson and more!

The popular GastroVino Festival takes place from May 5th through to 7th uniting the best Baja wines with the best Baja cuisine, music and art. It’s always a fun-filled weekend that brings hundreds of visitors to enjoy the tastes, sounds and sights in the Pueblo Mágico of Todos Santos. See our feature article and events for details. ¡Salud!

Check out our story about the grand opening of the new Palapa Society of Todos Santos library, Biblioteca Elena Poniatowska, named in honor of the Mexican-French-“grande dame” of Mexican literature. The Palapa Society will be hosting book groups in English and Spanish to introduce the community to some of her most famous works.

Besáme Mucho Bazaar is now open in their spectacularly restored location on the plaza in Todos Santos. This high end bazaar features carefully selected, one of a kind jewelry, fashions, decorations and gift items that you won’t find anywhere else.

The Tasting Room and Distillery in Todos Santos feels like an old mission in a vineyard setting. They have draft beer, wine and spirits. The beautiful events center with a world class kitchen has weekly pizza nights, dinner and a movie, guest chef dinners, a bocce court and lots of parking. It is available as a music venue or for special events including weddings. Locals and visitors have been enjoying the plant-based Noche de Super Salud events there. Check out our events section for more details.

Corazón de Té, waffle house and tea room, on the otro lado of Todos Santos, has tasty breakfast and lunch waffles, sandwiches and soothing and aromatic teas. Owner Abigail Amezquita has shared the art of tea with our readers in this issue.

Looking for an Easter or spring treat? Chocolates La Laguna, behind the El Tecolote Bookstore, has chocolate mendicants, pistachio truffles, chocolate covered candied orange peel and more scrumptious handmade delicacies. Yum!

The Centro de Salud in downtown Todos Santos is closed for construction. The temporary Centro de Salud is located on Cuauhtemoc street, on the same block as Carnitas Barajas.

Gypsy’s Beach House Rentals has low season special rates on a variety of homes in Pescadero and Todos Santos.

Tony’s Arte, Decoración y Muebles in Todos Santos has a large variety of home decorations and furniture including carved wood, colorful ceramics and cement pots and planters.

The popular Asian restaurant Rumi Garden is open through the end of May and then will be closed for the summer.

Did you know that you can support the Padrino Children’s Foundation and help children in need in Todos Santos when you buy something at Amazon via Amazon Smile? Sign in to smile.amazon.com, choose ‘Select a charity,’ ‘pick your own charitable organization’ and type in ‘Padrino Children’s Foundation’ and click on ‘Select.’ 0.5% of your purchase will be donated to the non-profit by Amazon. For more information visit: http://padrinocf.org/en/ or email: info@padrinoCF.org,

Dr. Carlos Young on calle Militar in Todos Santos, has ultrasound, electrocardiogram, lab services and more.

Delight in the ocean and huerta views from downtown Todos Santos at the Sky Lounge in the Boutique Hotel Guaycura and enjoy 2×1 margaritas and beer from, 2 to 4:30 pm, when you mention that you saw it in Journal del Pacifico!

You can read the entire Spring 2017 issue online here. We’ll see you next time with our Summer issue. Deadline is May 10.

Fall 2015

Posted on October 23, 2015 by janicekinne

It was a long, hot summer with lots of changes, but Journal del Pacifico, your ultimate guide to Baja California arts, culture and adventure, is back and ready for an exciting new season!

Once again, in our Fall 2015 issue, Bryan Jáugerui of Todos Santos Eco-Adventures has written a fascinating article on the importance of mangroves to our fragile coastal ecosystem and how they are threatened by developments. Bryan and her husband, Sergio, will also be speakers at this season’s Todos Santos Writers Workshop in January 2016, “Earth Needs Writers!” See our article in this issue for more information.

The multi-talented Kaia Thomson provided many of the photos for species living amongst the mangroves, this issue’s dramatic cover shot, plus a little fun with area rock formations. She also took the stunning lunar eclipse photos from September 2015 for “El Cielo.”

Mangrove Collage by Tori Sepulveda and Students

We’d also like to thank the art class of Tori Sepulveda for their lovely collage of the mangrove lifecycle, which was created just for this article. The artists who created this collage were: Tori Sepulveda, Monica Devine, Carol Bailey, Susan Willison, Joanne Spinoza, Christina Douglas and William Dubroraw.

Michael Cope of Galería de Todos Santos shares his experience over the past 20+ years painting and running a gallery in Southern Baja in this issue’s Art Talk.

Also in this issue, Bruce Bennett of Allende Books in La Paz reviewed the bilingual photographic book Tendiendo Redes / Tending Nets by La Paz photographer Alejandro
Rivas Sánchez.

We’d like to welcome Snell Real Estate to Todos Santos. You can find their offices on the newly repaved calle Juárez in Galería La Poza.

Rancho Pescadero is excited to announce their Guest Chef Weekends, a series featuring top culinary talents offering cooking classes, special dinners and more. The series starts November 12-15, with Renee Erickson, author of A Boat, a Whale and A Walrus and Chef/Owner of The Walrus and the Carpenter, The Whale Wins, and Barnacle in Seattle, plus three new projects opening this fall. In March 2016, Jessica Koslow of the Los Angeles restaurant Sqirl and the soon-to-open Sqirl Away, will be the Guest Chef. Following Knowles, in April will be Executive Chef/Partners Thomas McNaughton and Ryan Pollnow of Ne Timeas Restaurant Group in San Francisco (flour + water, Central Kitchen, Aatxe, Café du Nord, salumeria). In May, the resort will host Greg Denton and Gabrielle Quiñónez Denton of OX Restaurant in Portland; the couple will be releasing their first cookbook Around the Fire in March 2016.

This November, Pescadero Surf Camp presents Desert Moon—a new hotel right on the Cerritos beach surf break—the perfect location for relaxation and sports activities.
Each of their large rooms with kitchenettes has an ocean view.

Just up the road, FreeSouls offers an amazing culinary experience at Cerritos beach, featuring wood-fired pizzas, fish, lamb, steaks and homemade desserts. Not to mention
the rooftop, ocean view Mediterranean bar and heated swimming pool.

Need a ride? Todos Santos Private Transportation provides professional airport transportation, private car service, transportation for wedding parties, and shopping
services to La Paz or Cabo at daily and hourly rates.

Shut Up Frank’s, Todos Santos’ first sports bar, is under new management. John Brown, with over 40 years bar and restaurant experience, has partnered with Frank Henley. In
addition to the locals’ favorite menu items, John has added his family recipe for Southern fried chicken, homemade meatloaf, world-famous chili, chili dogs and chili cheese
fries—as well as many new specials to come during the season.

Start your NFL Sundays with 2×1 Bloody Marys at Chill N Grill. They’ve also added tasty grilled French bread pizzas topped with pepperoni, veggies and cheese to their menu. Check their facebook page for upcoming live music events. Like their Halloween Party, Friday, October 30th.

Hosting a party or celebrating an upcoming event? Baja Pastry Girl makes custom desserts, cakes, ice cream and pastry with locally sourced and organic ingredients. Her
specialties include pumpkin pie, apple pie, three-berry pie, key lime pie, cheesecake, ginger rum Bundt cake, pumpkin cream pie, fudge, holiday cookies, macaroons, red velvet
cake and fruit tortes. Baja Pastry Girl needs three day notice for an order—call or email now!

New this season, The Todos Santos Speaker Series. This series features six different speakers covering Baja California natural science subjects. Author Graham
Mackintosh, starts the series on December 4, at the Centro Cultural “Prof. Nestor.” Upcoming speakers include: Dr. Jon Rebman, author of the 3rd edition of Baja California
Plant Field Guide; Stephanie Rousso of ProFaunaBaja; and “Indigenous Rock Art of The Baja Cape Region” with Anibal Lopez. Advanced tickets are available at El Tecolote
Bookstore.

ATV Adventures in Las Playitas (north of Todos Santos) provides ATV rentals, fishing and horseback riding. Call their cell (612) 156-4213 for more information.

January 2016, Peter Buck and friends will be back for the 5th Annual Todos Santos Music Festival in partnership with The Palapa Society of Todos Santos, A.C. featuring
the strongest musical lineup to date. See our exclusive stories next issue, Holiday 2015/2016. For more information and VI P tickets visit: http://todossantosmusicfestival.com/

We were saddened by the sudden passing of local graphic artist, Jan Piere on October 5. Jan was a frequent Journal del Pacifico advertiser, creative, strong willed and a
memorable person in our pueblo.

Festival 2014 issue

Posted on February 19, 2014 by janicekinne

Celia with Festival 2014 issue of Journal del Pacifico

We’ve been busy delivering the Festival issue of Journal del Pacifico–it’s hard keeping the new issue in stock! People are loving the Manta Ray feature story by Bryan and Sergio Jauregui and stunning photographs by Kaia Thomson and Iker Algorri.

Festival de Cine de Todos Santos program cover by Gloria Marie Von Jansky

The 11th annual Festival de Cine de Todos Santos begins Thursday, February 20 and will fill the town with famous Spanish and Mexican actors, distinguished Spanish diplomats, daring international directors, budding local film-makers, and dozens of great movies. And you won’t even have to work very hard to get to it; this year the festival will show films not only in Todos Santos, but Pescadero and La Paz as well.

Carnaval takes place February 27 through March 4 on the malecón in La Paz.

The festival spirit continues with the Todos Santos Historic Home Tour on March 16 and the first Greenfest in Cabo March 27 through 29.

March 17th, Shut Up Frank’s will have their Lucky 17th Annual St. Patrick’s Day party with green beer and homemade Corn Beef and Cabbage with all the sides.

A lot is going on in Todos Santos’ historic district. Guaycura Boutique Hotel will be opening their new Beach Club at the restored lighthouse on Todos Santos’ southwest beach. They are also making changes to the restaurant at the hotel and will be having live music every other weekend at the Sky Lounge and Tapas bar.

At the Todos Santos Inn, La Copa Cocina is open and serving a delicious variety of small plate dishes—perfect for sharing while enjoying the jazz music of “Pepe and Friends” at the upstairs bar, Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. La Copa Cocina is open from 5 to 10 pm, closed Wednesday.

Artique Boutique is open! Alexis carries unique women’s clothing, swimsuits, jewelry and accessories. Check out her store, located in Plaza Antiqua at the three way stop on Juárez street—now with a special on many items!

IndiO Spirit Native Culture Arts, across the street from the Guaycura Hotel, has museum quality and custom leather art, paintings, clothing, accessories and more. While there, inquire about their Turtle Island Healing Lodge and upcoming seminars.

People stop in Todos Santos to shop at the two organic / fresh food stores, ¡Que Rico! and Pura Vida. ¡Que Rico! stocks a variety of specialty products like organic meats, cheeses, homemade spreads, breads and more. Their new facebook page is QueRicoFoods.

Not only does Pura Vida carry those hard to find organic, health and local products, they also serve healthy fare at the restaurant. If you’re interested in buying this family minded venue with a commitment to community health, contact Joella Coronado.

MerciTodo is the Todos Santos’ “notions” store with materials, thread, ribbons and many of your sewing needs. They also custom make curtains, pillows and many more home furnishings.

If you’re driving south, stop at Vicbi’s on the way out of Todos Santos for natural homemade ice creams like mango and pitahaya. They are also open early with coffee, burritos and other food for the road.

Baja’s first and only Float Spa, Joy of Floating, is located next door to Baja Beans Roasting Co. in Pescadero. Relax in the luxurious warm Epsom salt tank and emerge rejuvenated. Flotation therapy is a luxurious escape and an extremely powerful tool for strengthening the immune system and improving health.

If you missed the well attended Todos Santos presentation and book signing for Todos Santos Eco Adventures’ and Kaia Thomson’s photographic book, Birding in Baja California Sur, on February 16 at the Guaycura Hotel, you’ll get another chance to attend March 8 at La Encantada in La Paz. The book is available at El Tecolote Bookstore in Todos Santos and Allende Books in La Paz.

We’re starting on our Spring “Wining and Dining” issue soon. Deadline is March 1. Contact us for more information!

Journal del Pacifico

La Revista de Baja California Sur

Category Archives: Kaia Thomson

Valentine’s Day

Spring 2017

Fall 2015

Festival 2014 issue