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Hotel, Motel, Tour & Business
Guide to: M U L E G E

CONTENTS:
  • 1.. ORIENTATION PAGE 
  • 2..The BACK COUNTRY 
  • 3.. The MOUNTAIN & RANGES 
  • 4.. TO THE LIGHTHOUSE 
  • 5.. ACCOMMODATIONS: Campsites, HOTELS, MOTELS, TRAILER- PARKS, GUEST HOUSES Reservations
  • 6.. RESTAURANTS & EATERIES 
  • 7.. ACTIVITIES - click on the underlined activity for more details; CAVE-SPELUNKING,  HIKING, MOUNTAIN-CLIMBING,  F I S H I N G,      SAILING,     D I V I N G   SWIMMING... 
    •  
     
     
     
    Introductions in
    Story by Mike Roloff 
     
  • 8.. SERVICES:  AIRPORTS, BANKING,  CAR-PARTS & REPAIRS, ELECTRONICS,  FAX & TELEPHONE,  GROCERIES, INSURANCE,  RV & MARINE SUPPLIES,  SHOPPING. 
  • 9.. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Mulegé seasonal  Newspaper  in english
  • 10. the normal  F I S H I N G  Calender for Mulegé,  WEATHER weekly Report for BAJA, ..  WEATHER .  FISHING    ...TIDE TABLES 
    •
  • 11. LITERATURE 
  • 12. HISTORY 
  • 13. HOLIDAYS 
  • 14. TRAVELINFORMATION :  5  NEARBY POINTS OF INTEREST:    BEACHES LORETO       ST.ROSALIA,       SEA OF CORTEZ &       BAHIA CONCEPTION. 
  • 15. INDUSTRY 
  • 16. MAP OF MULEGE & LEGENDS  
    • Where to Stay, Eat, get Service ?
    Top of Page
    The Mulegé Scene

    Letter to the Editor from Rick Barber
    Mulege got hit badly by the Hurricane

    Hi again Folks, It is now Thursday morning. I was just too tired last night to write. I've added a couple of friend to this list so I am going to be a bit repetitive for their benefit. I am also going to be general and will send individual messages to those directly affected by Marty. For you new folks, as you may or may not know, Mulege got hit by a hurricane on Monday. The park where I live (Jorge's Park) is right where a large valley narrows to an arroyo that leads to the sea.
    A flash flood hit us about 10:30 Monday night and, to make a long story short, almost wiped us out. I think Joy and Scotty's house (my #2 daughter and her husband) suffered the least damage. Their trailer is up on a raised patio at the high end of the park and the water and mud entered their trailer to a depth of only 2 feet or so. Every other house or trailer in the park, except two (Traci's and Herman's), had water to a depth of at least five feet. Everyone, except Joy and Scotty lost almost, if not everything. Furniture inside was turned over and floated around the room or, if outside, down the river, contents strewn about, TV's dumped, refrigerators and freezers floated and contents dumped.
    There is a small building at the entrance to the park which furnishes purified water to us and the residents of Mulege. A 40 ft. semi-trailer was moved about 50 yards by the force of the water and thrown into the water plant building. Luckily, it hit the side away from the equipment so the plant is or will be back in operation soon. Two boats (on trailers) inside the park were picked up and moved. One was moved about 10 yards and thrown on a wall and "stuffed" between Joy's house and her neighbor. Another, a 19' fiberglass cabin cruiser, was moved over 50 yards, through a steel fence and into the back yard between two other houses. I think that justy about describes the physical aspects of the event. On the personal side, I was inside the house when it hit. My wife and her daughter were on higher ground.
    All I had time to do was grab my parrot, dog and computer and climb up the hill out back to the highway. I tried to drive out before the water got too deep but had to abandon the truck in front of the house. Water got inside to the top of the dash completely covering the seats, Ham Radios and motor. It went to a mechanic yesterday morning and I was informed that he had it running again yesterday afternoon. I was dumbfounded to say the least. The transmission needs to be drained and the filter changed before it can be moved but that should happen by noon today.
    The Ham and Marine-band radios, I am sure, are gone as is the scanner inside. Don't know about the car radio but it was under water too. As for the house, everything is gone. I had to destroy the wood furniture to get the contents out (clothes, papers, photos, pots & pans, kitchen appliances (all drowned, of course), etc.). The only thing which we may be able to salvage is the bed since it floated and only the box spring and one small corner of the mattressw got wet. Lucia is also trying to salvage two stuffed chairs that were on the patio. I have my doubts. We're on a wait-and-see basis for the refrigerator, freezer (which had its door torn off) and washing machine. Maybe, with a good fresh-water washdown, they can be salvaged. The store room was also under water. The only major things inside that got destroyed or damaged (if they can be restored) were two Ham Radio power supplies, a NEW KitchenAid mixer, and an 8-hp outboard motor. Both my tackle boxes drowned but most fishing stuff is designed to get wet. Not so my depth finder and GPS which also drowned. The rods were on the deiling so they're OK.
    My Ham Radios and their power supply in the trailer were high enough to be OK, I think. They got their feet wet but I think they can be salvaged. Two hand-held radios drowned though. Yesterday was spent taking everything out of the house, trailer and half of the store room and beginning the fresh water washdown. What isn't salvageable is being trashed. The trash pile is a lot bigger. We had a lot of clothes (30-40 trashbags) stored for the poor people of Mulege. We were going to give them out at Christmas. The schedule got moved up and we gave them away yesterday, wet but still usable. They got to the right people but not in the way we intended. Hopefully, we can finish the cleanup today. I need to get at trying to salvage electric appliances and tools but that will have to wait its turn. That's the story. Gotta run... things to do and time's a wasting.

    Regards, Rick - XE2/WB6EZI Live where you Play !!! Mulegé, BCS, Mexico

    Recent Changes

    Downtown Mulege boasts a really good charbroiled hamburger. THE HOOK-UP, located right at the central plaza, imports Texas beef, does a good job with it, and has really cold Tecate on draft. Price, about $5.00.

    The former Almeja is open again under new ownership as EL PATRON (the boss!) It is right on the beach by the lighthouse, features seafood. A short taxi-ride down to Santispac, about 10 miles, takes you to a beach palapa called if memory serves me, RAYS will offer Cuban styled Coconut Prawns and similar dishes in a great rustic setting.

    Delicious! Ramon's Asadero features tacos like your grandmother wished she could make. It takes about five, either beef, chicken, battered fish, or on Saturday AMs CARNITAS.... to fill you up They are great.

    Alonzo is still looking for a location in which to reopen for his terrific tortas. A new fish restaurant is open on the highway near the Pemex station, have been there once, and would go back.

    Hotel Serenidad has the best jumbo scallops, done in garlic butter, in the area. Las Casitas chef Javier features unusual gourmet styled foods, lobster always available, surroundings boutique like and cute...good place to take the ladies. El Candil is now featuring roast Prime Rib, and business is brisk.

    Equipales remains popular for steak and seafood. Doneys tacos has Papas Rellenas, an indescribable meat,potatoes,corn dish in a sauce. Great guy food, good and plenty. About $3.50.

    One can find pizza, Chinese food, and more, right in the Mulege area. In the winter season, Casa Granada offers dinners by reservation only, both to guests and outside diners.

    Mulege now has an Internet Cafe via Satellite
     
    Adrian Cuesta, Manager at the family owned Hotel HACIENDA has just upgraded his equipment to 2way Satellite by Direc2Way. He has a very strong and stable signal and the system is running nicely.

    If you are interested in a similar system for you, in the Mulege area, please contact Adrian at the Hacienda Hotel./b>
    >
     
    Sleepy time down south

    Fred Hoctor's Column

       My neighbor Don Martin came over the other day with some dorado for me. He had just spent a week in Mulege and was so full of stories about the fishing down there that he had me itching to go. If I can get someone to watch my house and feed the dogs, I might just do that next week. It would be my first prolonged visit to Mulege in several years, and I miss the place.

       Mulege has been on its back ever since the Mexican government slapped a bunch of new fees on flying in Baja. The town always depended on the fly-in trade. Pilots, who are tired of being squeezed, have simply stopped going. There were times in past summers when the runway in front of the Hotel Serenidad had as many as 30 private planes parked along its perimeters, and last week there were none. 

       Some Mexican politicians in Mexico City have in effect put a whole town out of business just because they think pilots have bottomless pockets and can be an even greater source of revenue than they have been in the past. The result, of course, is a nearly total collapse of one of the major revenue sources in the tourism sector. 

       One can understand unabridged greed, but it is difficult to figure why they would continue on such a disastrous course after two years of trial has proven that the new fees are counter productive. We are hopeful that this will be one more broken wheel that the new Fox administration will fix after it takes control in December, but we are not holding our breath. It seems to take Mexican politicians a longer time to get the message than might reasonably be expected.

       In the meantime, my favorite place in all of Baja is rapidly going broke, and there seems to be nothing anyone can do about it.

       Mulege in dorado season is a fisherman's delight, but it is especially enjoyable during a season like this one. Not only are there unlimited fish, but it is actually possible to get a room, and the pace of life has slowed down even further than usual (it was already nearly at a standstill). Mulege is the only town in Mexico where the siesta is from noon to five and everyone is an orthodox slugabed. The stores shut down, dogs stop barking and all one can hear is the soft hum of communal snoring. Even the flies go to sleep. 

       Some people are so profoundly affected by this change of pace that they fall into sort of a stupor. My wife, for example, finds it difficult to even speak, begrudging the effort it takes to organize the words into coherent sentences. So after a morning spent playing games with 20 or 30 dorado, we kind of kiss the rest of the day goodbye. We make a valiant effort at continuing to function, but the Mulege torpor finally consumes us, and after lunch we retire to an air-conditioned room where we alternately read and sleep until it is time to go and have a pitcher of iced tea at a table near the swim-up bar, where we can hear the breathless stories of newcomers to the Mulege dorado scene. 

       "It jumped 12 times."

       "Most exciting day of fishing I've ever had."

       "I had to come in early. My arms just couldn't take it any more."

       Then we stroll along the river bank, watching the night herons settle into the mangroves and oohing at the mullet jumping. We usually wind up in the village, where we go by Blanca's ice cream store and have a cone, or wander around the silent streets contemplating the quietude. There is one vacant lot across from the school where there is a huge tabachin tree. We usually stop there to rest before getting back to the Serenidad where we can rest some more before dinner. Dinner takes about three hours, after which we rest some more before going back out to the bar to hear a few more fish stories. Then we sleep like babies, rise at five and start all over again. 

       It is all very tiring. We always wonder why we feel so good when we get home.


    What is it that brings us back to Mexico?
    by Summer
    When you meet a person for the first time, there are a few things that create that first impression. It's the same when you travel to Mexico.
    The Eyes
    Such an devine design.... They tell a whole story in an unspoken exchange.The eyes of Mexico are deep and broad, yet old and wise. These eyes have seen more history than can be told in a book. Even in our imaginations we can't begin to travel where Mexico has been.
    The Smile
    How a person smiles or if they smile at all can unravel their own story....People sometimes hide behind a smile, not realizing we see through the disguise. Mexico doesn't hide behind it's steadfast smile. It is there for the taking. We receive smile after smile, everyday of our visit. Even in the face of adversity, we can depend on Mexico to give us the gift of a warm smile. And we respond with our hearts.
    The Voice
    Is it high pitched? Is it deep and rough? A voice can be a cruel joke, not matching the landscape.....For me, the voice of Mexico is a warm whisper that can't be heard. It is something you feel inside. It is a silent sensation that speaks of heritage, simplicity and rich colors. We experience an endless season of celebrations through this whisper. I fell in love with the voice of Mexico many years ago. This love grows stronger with each visit.
    Something Else.
    Put the eyes, the smile and the voice in a bookmark for a moment. There is something else that keeps calling us back. Is it the scenery and the recreation we experience? Of course, but even that isn't it. It's the one thing that keeps Mexico stranded in our minds for endless hours....
    Pace. 
    The pace of Mexico gives us permission to live each day, one at a time.
    We don't have this privilege in our everyday lives. We are far too busy preparing for the next step, the next meal, the next day. We are not happy unless we are predicting tomorrows problems and preparing for every possible disaster that may fall in our path. We spend our life preparing for life but we are far too busy being "productive" to live it. When you wake up in Mexico the pace will greet you and it will remind you. At breakfast you'll be enjoying the morning, not worrying about the afternoon. At lunch, you will simply enjoy the afternoon. There is no need to worry about dinner. It will arrive. If you need to look at your watch to be reminded go ahead, but why bother? Evening will arrive without a clock and you will often find that you are still enjoying the afternoon when it does.

    The pace of Mexico is what draws us back year after year. If you don't take the time to savor it you just might return home with the wrong impression.
    reprint from the Cancun Net

    You now can get a Touristcard stamped or issued at the Guerrero Negro checkpoint. 
    The AIRPORT in San Bruno / Palo Verde is not open to the public any more!!
     
    1]-ORIENTING YOUR SELF 

    The easiest way to orient yourself in every which way upon your arrival in Mulege is to take the map [# 16 in back] and climb, or drive, or imagine that you are on the top of the hill that has that huge white old building, the old prison, and now museum, threequarter up its hillside. From here you will have a fine view of Mulege itself, of its back country and mesas, of the northern and southern ranges, of the palm forest, of the lagoon and of the Sea of Cortez. Contemplating Mulege which lies close below, you will notice how very green it is with its myriad fruit, palm and flower trees; that the town saddles and slopes this way and that and fits comfortably into the nooks, side valleys and curves of its faceted arroyos and hillsides. The town literally spread-eagles its limbs as it yet holds together; and if you did not notice it on entering town, it will be brought home to you, on top of that hill, that the Mulege street plan is organized not on the principle of the grid but of the Y; so that, before you have gotten used to all those Y turns, you will be relieved to discover that the town also has one or two regular intersections. From the top of the hill, or looking at the map, you can do Y watching and discovering to your heart's content but will also notice that Mex One, the Carretera Peninsular, which keeps the usual tourist quite well confined, describes a long sinuous curve through the Southside of town, and that it cuts through the palm forest which, following the the St. Rosalia de Mulege river, spreads on an East-West diagonal. Nearly invisible though not inaudible [trucks drive at night, especially during the hot summer months] Mex One does not intrude overly into the life of a town which until l973 was fairly inaccessible except by sea and air. Looking south-west you will see the 300 year old mission's grey stones --never caulked or gypsumed as was the old prison but hewn out of the same surrounding granite & basalt as compared to the rather barren modern church in town (which is modeled on the famous Eiffel-designed cast-iron church in St. Rosalia) the nearly three hundred year old frontier mission church, sparse as it is too, bears many of the marks of its baroque origins; especially its arrow, high-vaulted ceiling. It is a very special place in every respect. Next to the church, is a rocky vista point that is great for contemplating the Western Part of the lagoon and getting perhaps the best of all all-around views of Mulege -- you can look all the way to the Lighthouse,and beyond the back country to the mountain range in the West. Two ways of getting to the Old Mission Church are to drive underneath the Mex One overpass, and then an immediate right through the palm forest; or to walk a little ways north out of town and then to take a left across the formidable dam across the lagoon. At any event, at one time, prisoners and church goers could wave to each other from their respective perspectives. Now the magnificent old Prison [compare it to the modern pen just south of St. Rosalia!] is becoming a museum. The museum IS being prepared by the fine Mulege artist, Homero who devotes hours upon unpaid hours to assembling the artifacts and implements Mulege's primeval hunting, fishing, farming and mining industries. His own paintings, especially of historical events, bring some of these scenes to life. The various dungeon cells -- there are approximately fifty -- bear the deeply scratched graffiti, also of ancient days. But the old prison's architecture is what is worth contemplating at greatest length, from all angles, both from the in and the outside and from various angles and all distances. (Back) 
    2) -  THE BACK COUNTRY .From that hill top you will have a fine view of the 100 square mile back country with farmland and table mountains where the summer storms deposit their riches to replenish the underground reservoir that is the Rio St. Rosalia de Mulege. The table mountains have the canyons where the Cochimi used to live until the variety of Catholic Orders began to convert them, leaving behind little else but arrow heads, deposits of sea shells, cave paintings and petroglyphs for the modern tourist. The visitor may find a trip to the caves his most worth-while experience, first of all for what you see on the way to the caves; secondly, for the drawings inside the caves. These may appear "simple" to the beholder, who however may give some thought to the meaning of these drawings of turtles, whales, deer and fish: are they imprecations for the providers to bring more food? Mom, more turtles please! Pa, bring me another mulee? Or are they celebrations of a successful hunting or fishing expedition? Are these signs the beginnings of a written language? The initiation of a system of hiero-glyphics. Are they representations of what was on the tribes mind also at nite? Were they hungry a lot and dreamt of food? In which case these drawings would be as rich as any symbol. Are they the playful work of people with no end of time to idle away? Simplicity may be in the mind of the beholder only. Five miles into the back country begins the cactus forest, which starts blooming in February and where, if your heart desires, you can spend days in absolute quiet, and find a cave your very own if you feel in a reclusive mood. On the way there perhaps you will see a vaquero bop by on his burro; or, during the cool months catch a back country quarter horse [first rate] or a dirt road drag race at their respective tracks. Or watch a baseball or soccer game or a cock fight. But at all times of year you will be able to admire no end of Ford and other pickups that have developed a lot of ' character" on those ranchero roads...If you are from "pick-up country" in the Western United States, you will feel right at home. All this is accessible on foot on soft dirt roads, on rentable bicycles, burros or horses, and of course by car. Mulege and its surround is made for walking, but also for mountain climbing if you so desire. Not only for kayaking, sailing, swimming or fishing. The importance of cold beer over other possible signifies in this part of the world is brought home to you by the main road to the Back Country -- St. Estanislaus  46 Kilometers --in that that road is called Ice House Road and not, as it might also be, Farm Road, Irrigated Land Road, Citrus Fruit, Maize, Swiss Shard, Ajo, Cow or Goat Milk, or Progressively More Rural Road. (Back) 
    3) - THE SOUTHERN AND NORTHERN RANGES To the North you will see a set of mountains known as Rojo -- evidence of iron ore and of copper, and where there is copper, gold dust is not far behind. The Southern Range has volcanic outcroppings of all kinds, and there are roads and paths leading to the valleys further south, which have slate and deposits of semi-precious stones. (Back)
    4]-THE VIEW EAST -- TO THELIGHTHOUSE, THEN SOUTH: Through the palm forest along the mangrove-fringed lagoon to the Bahia Concepcion -- shows you, two miles off, the LIGHTHOUSE at the mouth of the lagoon. There the narrow Mulege gorge widens by the Sea of Cortez. The way to reach the Lighthouse, which affords another excellent survey point for the surround, is to take Calle Playa on the North side of the river and this may easily become your favorite walk especially at dawn and dusk when the light magics among the colors of the lagoon and mangroves and palms and of the always nearby barren mountains and when no end of birds -- pelicans, herons, egrets, Ospreys, and all kind of songbirds are about.. There are a few breaks in the mangrove along Calle Playa [the north side of the lagoon] where the pescadores secrete their pangas, those l5 foot five compartment craft that are more than adequate for the Sea of Cortez. But these few breaks along the North Shore only allow a very imperfect view of the south side of the lagoon which is dotted with little docks with small fishing craft tied up to them with names like Escrow Closed, Blue Booby II, Hells-A-Poppin. Much of the mangrove on that south side of the lagoon is already well kept and decorative, and many of the trailer parks [see ACCOMMODATIONS] have been placed in a truly park-like setting. Nearing the mouth of the lagoon you notice the fluted blue minaret of the recently completed Loma Azul Church jut up above a moraine to your left at about the same moment that you get your first glimpse of the Sea of Cortez and of the Lighthouse. From on top of the Lighthouse you will note the following matters:That the cove to the north has a 50 foot cliff-side and a wide stretch of boulders along the beach... the far off point of Punta Chivato... a favorite with surf sailers and kayakers... A istant perspective of Isla San Marcos where gypsum is mined on a company island... A slither of some other island jutting out prow-like, another sunken warship just like the Santa Barbara of California's Channel Islands ...Some rusty shrimp boats parked off-shore, their drag-lines & boards raised half way up both sides... Your eye can sweep south into the mouth of the BAHIA CONCEPCION [# 14] which you may wish to explore by boat, where you may wish to fish or go kayaking; or whose many playas you may wish to access by car. [See Page #14 for a listing of the individual playas (beaches).] The Punta of the Bahia Concepcion Peninsula which looks to be floating on air five miles out, a mirage-bubble effect of sun on water, but binoculars regretfully keep confirming the realistic but unpoetic estimate that the Punta is not a huge missile-head sticking out over the the sea, a monster crocodile's maw or something even more fabulous... Boats of all kinds tied up below on the southside of Harbor Lighthouse Island... The controversial Señor Naranjo's fishcamp on the opposite, the south-side of the lagoon entrance, looking a mess even from this perspective, with swarms of birds perched on the pangas, sorting the mud flats or fighting for the scraps the pescadores throw the screechy bunch....Beyond, and continuing to look south, a fine halfmoon bay with an excellent sandy beach for swimming, as there is one if you are willing to trek north a little beyond the bouldery stretch there. The La Serenidad airstrip running north- south and its wind catch... The wall of the splendid La Serenidad compound with its palms, red tiled roofs and cabanas and main house. Mountains ranging all the way down: down the craggy yellow multi-faceted peninsula, then on the mainland ranging south-east to north-west. And looking directly West, you will note that the lagoon splits after entering the harbor, a kind of a twin stomach, the left one false, or at least short.. and you will have yet another perspective on the table mountains. (Back) 
    5]- ACCOMMODATIONS : 

    A] HOTELS, MOTELS, GUEST HOUSE ;From top to bottom in order of a price range from approximately $ 50.00 per night, double occupancy, to$ 6.00 for the guest houses... (La Serenidad is closed at this time) , Las Casitas, La Hacienda, La Siesta, Motel Rosario, Motel Hotel Terraza,Casas des Huespedes [Guest Houses] Nachita ect. 

    B] TRAILER PARKS :IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER SINGLE NIGHT HOOK-UP RUNS APPROXIMATELY $ 10.00. 

    Jorge's (under the Bridge, permanents; 22 Spaces), La Serenidad (permanents only at this time)," Maria Isabel; 30 Spaces", Oasis Rio Baja (permanents only); 80 Spaces,"Orchard (Saucido); 70 Spaces", Huerta de La Fortuna [on the north shore] (permanents only).

    (Back) 
    6] RESTAURANTS & EATERIES 

    PRICES VARY NOT ALL THAT MUCH AND PROXIMATE THAT OF MID-LEVEL UNITED STATES RESTAURANTS. 

    El Almaja, El Candil, Eduardos, Hotel Terraza, Hotel Serenidad, La Hacienda, Las Casitas, Las Palmas, Los Equipales, Tacqueria Doney, La Cabana, and La Michoacana . Various taco stands & hot dog carts...The Pemex Bar and Restaurant Outside Town. Some taco stands around the Big Y entrance to town stay open nearly all nite. Next to the now closed El Nido is an excellent Taco & Carnitas place.

    (Back) 
    7 -  ACTIVITIES : BICYCLING, DIVING, FISHING, HIKING, HORSE BACK RIDING,
    KAYAKING, TOURS TO THE INDIAN CAVES AND PETROGLYPHS, FIESTAS [SEE HOLIDAYS], CAR RACES AND HORSE RACES, IN THE BACK COUNTRY DURING THE COOL MONTHS.. WALKING . (Back)