Spring!

Posted on April 16, 2014 by janicekinne

Happy La Semana Santa (Holy) week!

Journal del Pacfiico Spring 2014 cover by Emanuela Gardner

A recent visitor to the Todos Santos / Pescadero area was amazed at the quantity of “really good restaurants“ here and we are inclined to agree. In this issue, we interviewed several local chefs and restaurateurs and found it a lot of fun and tasty! We hope that you enjoy the chef and restaurant profiles in, this, our first annual Baja “Restaurant Issue.“ For the complete text of the interviews, visit: http://journaldelpacifico.com/blog/features
¡Buen Provecho!

There is no better way to sample the wines of Baja and the gastronomical delights of Todos Santos than at the GastroVino Festival. This year’s 3rd annual Festival includes wine pairing dinners, wine tasting and a bubbly brunch. Don’t miss the main festival that takes place in the plaza pública on May 24, featuring wineries, wine tasting, delicious morsels from area restaurants, live music and more!

There’s more than good wine in Southern Baja—you can learn about the great coffee and fresh baked goods at Baja Beans Roasting Company and the artisanal spirits being brewed at The Distillery in this issue’s profiles as well.

Porfirio Zuñiga displaying a hand-caught sand bass. Photo: Carlos Aguilar

Fresh, quality fish and sustainable fisheries can go hand in hand. A report by Oceana uncovered the staggering amount of wasted seafood and marine life, known as bycatch, in several U.S. fisheries. This is a concern for communities and chefs in Baja as well. This issue, Bryan Jáuregui of Todos Santos Eco Adventures writes about two men’s quest to educate fishermen and restaurants and help make Baja’s fisheries sustainable with a program called SmartFish.

May 1, Restaurante Tre Galline is moving to share location with Caffé Todos Santos. Don’t worry! You can still get a great cup of coffee and a hearty Caffé Todos Santos breakfast or lunch, then come back for an elegant Italian dinner, pizza or scrumptious dessert in the evening.

Gallo Azul is now open in the stunning new blue building on Zaragoza, just a half a block up from the park in Todos Santos. Gallo Azul serves pizzas and salads, has a full bar and art too!

Artist Steve Thurston has opened his new Gallery 365 on calle Militar in Todos Santos. Pop in if you see the door open. This season it will be open “By Appointment or By Chance.”

You’ve probably noticed the colorful Dana’s Diner in Pescadero, next to the Pemex. Next time you’re passing through, stop in and enjoy old style hamburgers, hot dogs, veggie burgers, with French fries, onion rings, jalapeno poppers and more. Full bar with live music coming soon.

Baja isn’t all art, wine and great food. Many authors also make their home here. Karl Eysenbach’s book, The Story of the Century, set in in Baja and Los Angeles with romance, intrigue and suspense, is available at El Tecolote Bookstore in Todos Santos.

Do you have aches and pains in your body? Do you need relief from an injury or pain, new or old? Look into Yamuna Foot Fitness and Body Rolling taught by certified instructor Emily Gable at Estudio Baja located across from Shut Up Frank’s in Todos Santos. Roll out your knots, open your joints and elongate your spine!

Certified Ayurvedic practitioner, Valma Brenton can assist you with natural well-being through yoga, Ayurveda and sustainable living. Call or email for a consultation.

photo by Kaia Thomson

May 11, take part in the first annual Hummingbird Festival, to be held at the Centro Cultural in Todos Santos. It’s sure to be fun with art, music, food and guest speakers. There is also a hummingbird photo contest. Check out our article, in the Spring 2014 issue for more details.

FANLAP, Fundación Ayuda Niños La Paz A.C., is an non-profit organization that helps keep children in school in La Paz. They operate a dining room and library in Colonia Laguna Azul, one of the poorest neighborhoods within the jurisdiction of La Paz and raise funds to keep children in school.

According to the latest NOAA/CPC report, there is a 50% chance that equatorial waters in the Pacific will warm sufficiently to meet the criteria for an El Niño (warmer than average sea-surface temperatures). As a result, NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center has issued an El Niño Watch for summer 2014. Make sure to protect your windows, doors and home interior with Baja Hurricane Screens. See their ad for more information.

We will see you soon with our Summer/Verano issue—the deadline is May 1.

Summer Issue

Posted on June 9, 2013 by janicekinne

The new issue of “Journal del Pacifico” is on the streets in Todos Santos and Pescadero and in select locations in Cabo. We’ll be distributing in La Paz in the coming week. Already we’re getting great feedback on the beautiful cover photo of an air plant by Laurie Pearce Bauer and our Spa and Eco Adventure feature stories–such as Baja Rock Art, Swimming with Sea Lions and Saving Sea Turtles.

The water is warm here in Baja California Sur and there’s a lot to do from eco-adventures to being pampered at a day spa. Those who know me may be more accustomed to seeing me leading a yoga class, out running or riding a horse on the beach, but for a change I tried out the White Sand Massage and Day Spa signature facial for a feature story in this issue. Photographer, Laurie Pearce Bauer, provided the photos for the story. ‘Tiny Town’ also tells the hilarious tale of the author’s decision to get a fresh new look.

ÉTNICA is a new store in the historic district of Todos Santos, across the street from La Copa / The Todos Santos Inn. They have beautiful handmade Mexican blouses, dresses, leather handbags, sandals, belts, shirts and guayaberas for men, unisex hats and espadrilles.

Santo Vino in the Hotel California will only be open for another week, so hurry in to get one of Chef Dany Lamote’s special creations. Citlalli Martinez Cano of Santo Vino wrote an article for this issue on wine pairing.

If you’re looking for some Baja wine, La Bodega de Todos Santos will be open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 2 to 8 pm through June and July. La Licoreria is open all summer with over 400 wine labels from the US, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, Germany, France, Italy and Portugal.

Joseph Arthur, one of the very talented artists from this past year’s Todos Santos Music Festival, has a new album out. You can listen here:
http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/av/2013/06/album-stream-joseph-arthur—the-ballad-of-boogie.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

The children’s library at the Palapa Society of Todos Santos, Rincon de Cuentos, will be open at the same time as the adult library–Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 1 pm. The children’s library is free and stocked with lots of great books.

There’s a new Mexican restaurant on the otro lado next door to Mercado Pinos, Restaurant Horizonte, serving breakfast and lunch daily from 8 am to 5 pm.

Royal Palm Property Management provides homeowners from Elias Calles to Las Tunas with professional and reliable service along with an exceptional vacation experience for travelers.

If you’re in La Paz, stop in La Encantada to see the beautiful murals painted by young, Paceños artists. Kat Bennett of Allende Books shared her photographs, that show details of the murals, on page 42 of the current issue.

The Cortez Club in La Paz is fully equipped to take you on a variety of adventures in the world’s largest natural aquarium, the Sea of Cortez. Go SCUBA diving, snorkeling, kayaking, water skiing, windsurfing, wave running, sailing, a day of sport fishing or ‘Dancing with Sea Lions’!

Staying in an air conditioned room at Sr. Mañana in the historic district of San José del Cabo is a great way to start or end your visit to Baja Sur. Todos Santos and Pescadero have a variety of accommodations in different price ranges all with swimming pools! Check out Hacienda Todos Los Santos or Hotel Casa Tota in the historic district, Hotelito, just outside “downtown” on La Cachora road or Serendipity and Casa Rancho on the otro lado. In Pescadero you can relax on the beach or spend the day surfing at Rancho Pescadero, or hang out with fellow travelers by the pool at Pescadero Surf Camp. What could be better?

Thanks to our clients, contributors and our readers for making the second season of Journal del Pacifico–La Revista de Baja California Sur such a success! We’ll be back in the fall with more great stories about the best that Baja has to offer. You can follow us through the summer at journaldelpacifico.com and on Facebook at JournaldelPacifico.

If you can’t be in Baja to pick up the latest issue, you can always get the PDF online at: http://journaldelpacifico.com/blog/issues-online/summer-2013/

GASTROVINO 2013

Posted on May 1, 2013 by janicekinne

The second annual GastroVino Festival takes place in Todos Santos this weekend. The main festival will take place in the Plaza Pública Sunday May 5^th, from 2 to 6 pm. This year, there will also be a special pairing dinner at Santo Vino on Friday, May 3^rd, a pre-celebration bubbly tasting at La Bodega de Todos Santos on Saturday, May 4^th, from 2 to 4 pm, and many more related events.

All tickets are available at La Bodega de Todos Santos on Calle Hidalgo. Tickets for the main event on Sunday can be purchased at El Tecolote Bookstore and La Bodega de Todos Santos.

The Festival is dedicated to celebrating the gastronomy and wines of Baja California. Designed for lovers of fresh local cuisine and quality Mexican wine, this is a time to get to know local chefs from the Todos Santos area and their creations and also winemakers and their wines from the North of Baja in a festival atmosphere.

Some of the Peninsula’s best winemakers from Cavas Valmar, Cavas Maciel, Las Bodegas de Santo Tomás, L.A. Cetto, Baron Balch’é, MD, Viña Doña Dolores of Querétaro and Todos Santos’ new Sierra Laguna winery are just a few of the wineries who will be at the festival. Entrance fee is 300 pesos at the door and includes a festival-engraved wine glass to taste wines and also five free samples of any of the restaurant’s specialties. All wineries and restaurants will also sell wine by the glass, by the bottle and food by the plate at special prices. The festival also offers excellent live music and entertainment all afternoon long.

Last year over $6000 USD was raised for the local Internado, an organization dedicated to housing children who come from the surrounding ranches to attend school in Todos Santos. These funds enable big improvements in their facility such as adding a water purification system, new restrooms, newly painted classrooms/dorms, and more. This year 100% of the funds raised by the silent auction will go to the local Bomberos Fire Department which is in great need of new equipment.

Gastrovino Events:

Friday, May 3, 7 pm
Pairing Dinner at Santo Vino of Hotel California with Cava Maciel – (Eclectic regional cuisine of 4 courses from Chef Dany paired with 4 excellent Baja Wines). 30 seats only. 1000 pesos

Saturday, May 4, 2 – 4 pm
Bubbly Time at La Bodega de Todos Santos – Bubbly Tasting with Enologist and Manager of Freixenet Querétaro and Fresh, Organic Tapas with Claudine from Stiletto and Spice. 300 pesos

Saturday, May 4, 7 – 10 pm
Fiesta de Vinos – Exclusive VIP Party at Hotel California featuring 8 select wines and the winemakers from Cavas Valmar, Vinos Shimul, Freixenet, Vinart and special appetizers prepared by Chef Dany Lamote. Live Music and lots of gourmet fun. 800 pesos.

Saturday, May 4, 7 pm –
Movino – Themed Movie and Tasting at The Distillery with local wines from Sierra Laguna Vineyards, L.A. Cetto, Casa Madero, MD Vinos and more! Reception: 7 – 9 pm, Movie: 9 pm; 150 pesos

Sunday, May 5, 2 – 6 pm
GastroVino Festival – in the Plaza Pública of Todos Santos. Includes your very own commemorative wine glass, tastings of numerous Mexican wines, appetizers and special plates from local restaurants at only 60 pesos, special by-the-bottle prices, silent auction to benefit local charities, Live Music and a fashion show. Tickets are 300 Pre-Sale; 350 Day-Of-Event.

Sunday, May 5, 7pm – close
GastroVino After Party – on the SkyDeck of Guaycura to enjoy the sunset and complete a fun, vino-filled weekend!

For more information visit: www.gastrovino.mx