More of the Baja Trip

In response to yesterday's posting, I received a lovely email from Margarita Carrillo de Salinas, Don Emiliano's Chef and owner. She is in Mexico City preparing to leave for an International food conference in Ireland. Margarita is a leading proponent of the Slow Food movement. Here are a few more shots taken at our two dinners with her...

An evening spent on her patio is a must if you visit San Jose del Cabo!

Back at the Hacienda del Mar there were many places to explore. We took several walks with cameras in hand. You never know what you might see there...

There is a story about the upside-down saint on the altar....

On the property, actually on the hotel side (Sheraton) there is a chapel with a lovely door and vaulted ceiling. Who knew they had wireless?

The plants are amazing!

The pools were lovely!

..and the beach

Oh yes, we'll be back here!

I promise to include more knitting related items in the future! This little fellow was propped up at the table next to us at breakfast one morning. He travels with a young couple from Boston. Wherever they are, they costume him appropriately ....

Back From Baja

We took two whole weeks off this summer! Yea!!!!

The first week was spent at our timeshare close to San Jose del Cabo and the second week was at the Hacienda del Mar, closer to Cabo San Lucas. When we were near San Jose, we took advantage of the Urbano (city bus) into town. The rides back were usually in a taxi because were were either coming back late from dinner or laden with purchases. Twice we went to our favorite restaurant in S.J., Don Emiliano's. If you are ever in the area, don't hesitate to stop in for dinner.

Perhaps the most unusual dish we tried was "Mexican Caviar". It is called Escamole and you might be surprised what the main ingredient is....

The Grand Mayan just outside of S.J. is a beautiful resort with an exceptional staff, well maintained rooms and pools. We have never been disappointed with their properties.

Our other timeshare, Hacienda del Mar, has stunning architecture, beautiful grounds with mature plants and the Pitahayas Restaurant, another favorite. The seating is open air, on a terrace overlooking the beach.

It is hard to see, but at the bottom of the evening beach picture, there are whale bones.

Since Greg and I usually split meals, were were able to enjoy some delightful dinners!

Perhaps you are wondering, did she do any knitting?? After all, this is a knitting blog....

We're Back...

Greg and I took some much needed time away. We visited Baja and spent a week at each of the "cabos"- Cabo San Lucas and San Jose del Cabo. Over a year ago I purchased two timeshares on ebay(sounds crazy, but I researched them before bidding). One of them, the Hacienda del Mar, is located closer to Cabo San Lucas and the other, the Grand Mayan, has several locations sprinkled throughout Mexico. The newest Grand Mayan, located just outside San Jose, was completed a year ago. We stayed at the Hacienda del Mar for the first week and enjoyed the lovely grounds, architecture and pools.

The beach was beautiful, too.

Before moving on to our next stop, we visited Todos Santos up Highway 1 on the Pacific side. Todos Santos is called a "Magical town" in the tour books. There are many galleries..we purchased two prints by Jill Logan and spent some time chatting with her 

...before stopping by the Hotel California for a pleasant lunch on the patio. 

 As we transitioned from one hotel to the other, tropical storm Julio hit Los Cabos. We encountered flooded streets and experienced high wind and rain for a day.

Our second week was spent at the Grand Mayan, just outside San Jose del Cabo. It is much smaller the GM in Cancun but the staff and accommodations were perfect.

I did manage to do some knitting on this trip. The second Zombie Sock is well on the way and should be finished later this week. Another project that I knit on can't be mentioned yet as it will be a gift for someone special.

When we arrived home a package containing yarn was on top of the stack. I volunteered to to test knit a hat pattern for Cathy (a friend from sock camp). Currently it is called The Hat With No Name. It starts at the top with a circular cast on that is new to me...another challenge. Should be fun! More about this in days to come...