Happy Holidays 2014 / 2015!

Posted on December 20, 2014 by janicekinne

Our Holiday 2014 /2015 issue is out and we’re ringing in the New Year with lots of new faces and new places…

We’re getting lots of compliments on this year’s special cover by Cedric Volon of La Sonrisa de la Muerta gallery in Todos Santos.

Dooney Real Estate Group, part of the Los Cabos division of Sotheby’s International Realty, is opening their new office Todos Santos office in Gallery La Poza on calle Juárez.

Bistro Mágico is back! For their third season, they’ve moved around the corner to the garden patio of the Ezra Katz Gallery at the three way stop in downtown Todos Santos. They serve up lots of fun multi-ethnic healthy cuisine for lunch, and Monday night special theme dinners. Visit bistromagico.com for details. Also available for private parties and catering.

La Gitana Mezcal Bar in the Todos Santos historic district serves mezcal like you’ve never tried it. Mezcal is a distilled alcohol made from the maguey plant. The word mezcal comes from Nahuatl word mexcalli which means “oven-cooked agave.” Try it straight or in one of their specialty drinks, and you’ll agree with the saying, “para todo mal, mezcal, y para todo bien también” (for everything bad, mezcal; for everything good, the same!)

Chez Laura, on Hidalgo between Rangel and Cuauhtémoc, is the affordable French restaurant in Todos Santos. Enjoy a chilled glass of white wine and appetizers in their lovely garden setting, or order from their entrée menu. Wine by the bottle and a selection of beers are also available and remember to save room for their delectable desserts!

Restaurant Mi Pueblito serves traditional Mexican Cusine in the heart of downtown Todos Santos. Stop in for their great food and try one of their killer margaritas!

Have your friends overstayed their welcome? For affordable accommodations send them to Perro Surfero on the otro lado of Todos Santos. Owner Mauricio, “Mao” also offers Crossfit classes on the San Sebastian beach. See our groups section for my details.

Turtle hatchling releases are happening at sunset several times a week at the bocana in Las Tunas. Look for the Tortugueros Las Playitas logo, #15 on our otro lado map.

The Museo de La Ballena y Ciencias del Mar is yet another good reason to spend a day or two in La Paz. Bryan Jáuregui of Todos Santos Eco Adventures spoke with the museum’s executive director, Francisco J. Gomez, for this issue’s story. Bryan and Kaia Thomson also have shared more interesting whale facts and photos in this issue. Todos Santos Eco Adventures is offering a new “glamping” experience on Isla Espiritu Santo with walk-in safari-style tents that feature raised cots with mattresses, sheets and pillows, fabulous food, sun showers, and terrific adventures such as standup paddle boarding, kayaking, hiking and swimming with sea lions. Spend the night or the week. It’s great fun for families and groups of friends.

La Sirena Eco Adventures and Explora Baja in the Todos Santos Surf Shop also offer different packages to see whale sharks, sea lions, visit Isla Espritu Santo in La Paz, day trip whale watching in Todos Santos and overnight trips to see the gray whales up close and personal in Mag Bay—it’s once in a lifetime experience!

The fourth Todos Santos Music Festival returns for two weeks in January with an exciting new lineup and some of our favorites from past years. In this issue, Doug Newcomb interviewed Peter Buck about the festival and how it has grown and changed. One of the new bands in this year’s festival will be Drive-By Truckers. La Paz musician Terry Townson asked band member Patterson Hood a few questions about his musical background, the band’s new album and their link with R.E.M.

El Mirador restaurant, overlooking the Pacific Ocean, is serving Sunday brunch and full moon dinners. For more information or reservations, call, email or check at the front desk at Guaycura Boutique Hotel.

Casita Anita, behind the El Tecolote Bookstore, is having Fixin’ Fridays–Bring in your broken or unwanted jewelry to be repaired and/or refurbished. Check with Anita about upcoming jewelry making classes.

Dana’s Diner and Cantina in El Pescadero has moved to a larger location and have not only expanded their menu, but also have a fully stocked bar, a Monday through Friday Happy Hour and feature live music.

Metaphysical Odyssey into the Mexican Revolution: Francisco I. Madero and His Secret Book, Spiritualist Manual is C.M. Mayo’s new book, and it knocks the huaraches off the official story of Mexico’s 1910 Revolution. On December 2, Mayo spoke about Madero’s secret book, which she translated into English for first time, at Mexico City’s National Palace. Look for more about that on her webpage www.cmmayo.com.

Happy Holidays to all!

Valentine’s Weekend

Posted on February 12, 2014 by janicekinne

Whatever you’re looking for, we’ve got it here!

This Friday, February 14th, from 5 to 6:30 pm, IndiO Spirit in Todos Santos will host a “Valentine’s Day Sunset Sound Meditation for Worldwide Day Of Sound Healing–A Harmonic Heart Realignment for All.” Immerse yourself with the transformative vibrations of the planetary tones of the Acutonics Healing System with The Ohm Gong, Tibetan Bowls, Bells, Chimes and Tuning Forks—for balance, harmonic healing and reconnection with the divine harmonies and rhythms of the universe.

Across the street at the Restaurant at Guaycura Boutique Hotel you can enjoy a Valentine’s weekend for two, February 14, 15 and 16th, starting at 1 pm daily, the chef will be preparing a romantic “prix fixe” meal for two using only the freshest local ingredients.

For cool listening to hot jazz, there’s no better place than La Copa at The Todos Santos Inn. This Friday, from 7 to 11 pm, “Pepe and Friends” will welcome Grammy award winning artist, Terry Townson. Share a delicious variety of chef Patricio’s small plate dishes from La Copa Cocina with your loved one.

Amigos de El Pescadero will be holding a Valentine’s Day Fundraiser, February 14, at 6 pm, at Mariscos El Pescadero Restaurant on Highway 19, Pescadero. Raffle tickets for whale-watching trip to Magadalena Bay for 2. Raffle tickets are 10 pesos and can be purchased at Pescadero Life Booth at Baja Beans Sunday Market or online: www.PescaderoLife.com. Amigos de El Pescadero is a non-profit multi-cultural, community organization that undertakes projects that benefit the community, such as infrastructure improvements, neighborhood security issues, and support to health programs.

Sunday, February 16th, at 4:30 pm, will be a Presentation and Book Signing for Todos Santos Eco Adventures’ and Kaia Thomson’s stunning Birding in Baja California Sur. Books will be available for purchase. You won’t want to miss this one!

Birding in Baja California Sur is available at El Tecolote Bookstore in Todos Santos and Allende Books in La Paz.

Fall / Otoño 2013

Posted on October 24, 2013 by janicekinne

We’ve received a lot of great feedback on the Summer issue White Sand Massage and Day Spa feature story. I’m glad that our readers enjoyed learning about facials as much as I enjoyed getting one. This issue I sat down over a couple of beers with local artist “Indian” Dennis to talk about his popular painted cow skulls.

Reading Rainbow producer Kyle Rohrbach filming biologist Stephanie Rousso

This fall I also had the opportunity to spend a night at “sea turtle camp” with Todos Santos Eco Adventures and their wildlife biologist Stephanie Rousso, who wrote “Moon Dance of a Sea Turtle” (JDP Summer 2013 issue). Reading Rainbow producer Kyle Rohrbach was along filming the night patrol for an upcoming episode. We had a lot of fun, learned a lot and saved four Olive Ridley turtle nests.
I hope to share more of my adventures with our readers in upcoming issues.
In this edition, look for our feature story on water—an important issue for all of us living in Baja California Sur. Local artist Nanette Hayles’ “Sea un Avatar” posters benefit the groups working against mining in the Sierra de la Laguna mountains (the source of our water) and are available at Galería NE Hayles and La Esquina in Todos Santos.

We’ve also included a sampling of fun restaurants in Todos Santos. For the complete series of reviews, visit Todos Santos Eco Adventures’ blog.

H2O Water Professionals sell and install state of the art water purification and conditioning systems for homes and businesses. Visit their showroom on Calle Madero in La Paz, or contact their Todos Santos / Pescadero representative.

Rancho la Venta is one of the oldest ranch sites in Southern Baja, located in a greenbelt between San Bartolo and San Antonio. You can enjoy horseback riding, hiking and bird watching on hundreds of acres of mountain trails, swim in their spring-fed granite pool, and lunch on authentic ranch fare including organic veggies from the garden. Touring the wine cellar, vineyard and art studio makes a great day trip, or stay overnight in one of their cozy casitas if you’d like to experience it all.

Many of Journal del Pacifico’s contributors have books coming out soon. Photographer Claude Vogel’s new collection of stunning photographs from the Hotel California is due out in November. Also in November look for Pamela Cobb’s Tales from Tiny Town, a compilation of her experiences since retiring to Todos Santos and illustrated by local artists.

Photographer Kaia Thomson has shared some photos from her 12 years of birding in Baja California Sur on this issue’s cover and in our feature “Birding in Baja.” Her book Birding in Baja California Sur, published by Todos Santos Eco Adventures and produced by Journal del Pacifico, will be out soon!

You’ll be able to find all the above books at El Tecolote Bookstore in Todos Santos and Allende Books in La Paz. El Tecolote also serves up the best espresso in town at their Juice/Espresso Bar. Enjoy a latte, mocha, or Americano coffee or have a delicious juice or smoothie made to order from their large selection of local fruits and veggies! Mmm…

Just behind El Tecolote Bookstore you can find the best handmade chocolates in Todos Santos at Chocolates La Laguna. This year they will also have full-size chocolate bars, including dark chocolate/peppermint, dark chocolate/orange and 66% Mexico Origin dark chocolate.

Jackie Scherer and Keith Van Cleve have published the 4th edition of Some Birds of Baja / Algunas Aves de Baja California (see article in JDP Spring 2012 #4 issue). This book is for sale at the San José Organic Farmer’s Market and at Liga MAC bookstore in San Jose del Cabo.

The improvement project in the “pueblo nuevo” part of Todos Santos has been completed and all the newly paved streets are one way streets now. We’ve highlighted all the one ways in yellow on our Todos Santos map with arrows showing the correct driving direction.

Rancho Pescadero is open again after their summer remodeling. November 14 through 17, they are hosting “The Best of Baja Culinary Weekend.” A “mix + mingle” with Baja’s top chefs and renowned winemaker, Phil Gregory of Vena Cava. Activities include cocktails and cooking classes, demonstrations, wine and tequila tastings and, of course, gourmet dinners.

Hotel Guaycura was also busy remodeling this fall. Their beautiful boutique hotel, restaurant, pool and sky bar are open again in the historic district of Todos Santos. All that is missing is you!

Insurance agent Gaby Trujillo Coronado has opened a new office on the “otro lado” of Todos Santos, called Coronado & Fernandez. They can help you with your auto, home, health and life insurance needs. AF Design & Construction will be sharing the new office space.

Baja Zen yoga studio is now open near Los Cerritos beach. They have morning and evening yoga classes and many interesting workshops scheduled for the upcoming season. Visit their facebook page for details and a map to their location.

Brody’s Pizza, on the road to Cerritos beach, will be serving breakfast in addition to their tasty pizzas this season. Look for them to re-open in November.

Baja Retreats is a new retreat center in Pescadero. Yoga, art, surf, meditation, skim board, nature… Vacation with Inspiration! Call or visit their website for information.

The third Todos Santos Music Festival will take place at the Hotel California January 16 through 25, 2014. For more information, see our blog post and be sure to check out our great feature in the next issue of the JDP about the bands and festival.

If you’ve missed any of the articles or issues mentioned above, you can find them all online, read our blog and find our publishing schedule at: journaldelpacifico.com

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/