Telephone FAX -- pay phones, dial 09, phones dial 0 (very expensive !) to get the internacional operator, though there are also Larga Distancia offices, in town, at the Pemex station just south of town and at "El ALEMAN" where you can get Fax & direct lines or use your calling cards via ATT, SPRINT, MCI and to CANADA, collect calls ok, north of town on Mex One.

Telegraph office....

1. Bonita (white):  Apr.-Aug.
2. Cabrilla: All year; closer to shore in the winter
3. Dorado: May - Nov
4. Grouper: All year; bottom fishing with bait
5. Halibut: All year; seldom fished
6. Jack Crevalle: Dec. - Apr.
7. Marlin: June - Sept
8. Pargo: Nov. - April
9. Pompano: May - Sept
10. Red Snapper: All year; bait or yo-yo
11. Roosterfish: Mar - Sept; a few in winter months
12. Sailfish: June - Sept
13. Sierra: Oct. - May; plentiful
14. Skip Jack: Dec. - Mar
15. Squid: All year
16. Triggerfish: All year; plentiful
17. Yellowfin Tuna: July - Dec.; scarce the last few years
18. Yellowtail: Nov - Apr
19. Wahoo: June - Sept, scarce
20. live bait avaible by order only
21. Best lures: Rapala Bomber Micro lure,
22. Darts and Salas Jigs for yo-yo fishing
23. generally feathers used on warm water fish.
24. Compiled by: Martin Robinson, Oasis Trailer Park.
25. Actual weekly Fishing and Sea Report
26. . THE WEATHER : Unless lolling in that huge bathtub known as the Sea of Cortez or on a permanent Mexico Manana siesta, the tropical summer months -- June through September -- are best spent just weather watching: the stiff breeze from the Sea of Cortez builds huge thunderstorms over the mesas 15 miles to the West, and occasionally one of the thunderstorms will move all the way east into town. Similar storms in the East pretend to threaten the town but invariably sail off to the north into the prevailing breeze. Anyone who can figure out the wind patters in Mulege at that time of year gets a 100 dollars from Jens, who doesn't know either. In the winter Mulege can be quite cold at nite, since the air from the Mesas drops down into the back country valley. At all other times of the year, the weather could not be more temperate. The sun is strong, at all times of year. (Back)

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    11 - HISTORY : As John Steinbeck already noted: "it takes no more than a spring to make for a settlement in Lower California," and where there was a settlement there came a mission, and there were Indians at one time, and now there are no end of signs saying "abandoned mission" on the maps; and this general history is also the story of the beginning of Mulege at the very beginning of the l8th century. Thence, you will learn, Mulege became a penal colony for mild offenders, your kind of town, at a time when prisons were still built like churches -- or church fortresses were the only architectural models; a benign prison, a prison in an oasis that imported the date palm and the pig that became sweet meat eating dates; and some of the families here are descendants of those who followed the prisoners: if you misbehaved badly again off you went to the mainland dungeons; and the occasional miscreant is still held in these huge holding tanks with 30 foot ceilings, scream because they can't watch color television & make pretty babies... How many miscreant Indians could beinterned may be thought that will occur to you on beholding its huge court yard... But the muzzenin no longer blows the trumpet to call the workers back to prison at night. Supposedly no one ever escaped because all were punished for the individual's misdeed... and anyway, where would you escape to? In the l880s, during the copper rush to Santa Rosalia, Mulege lost much of its population, and half its name; and remained rather more cut off from Sea of Cortez traffic and traffic of all kind until the completion of the Carretera Peninsular in l973. Currently the visitor can look at and experience Mulege from the often ambivalently expressed perspective of the gradual merging of North-American and Mexican cultures. The driving force, as so often, are the commercial links. Loma Azul has a plaque on a small monument... something about blood and lives sacrificed recounts the heroic defense of Mulege... and if you wonder about the inscription Heroico Mulege at the big modernist but otherwise thin curved M monument at the big Y as you enter Mulege from Mex One, the legend Heroico Mulege on the Delegacion Municipal, or the H. Mulege as you see it abbreviated on blazers, and H. Ayuntiemento [county]: that H. commemorates an event on October 4, l847... Don't have the full story yet, but suspect that the Heroicos are called heroicos, here as everywhere, because they had their ass kicked here by one Jimmy Walker the Ollie North of the day who acquired even more notoriety further south, one of these chaps who took manifest destiny personally, and continued to do so even after he got his ass kicked out of Mulege by the Captain.... and his heroes. (Back)

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    INDUSTRY : For several centuries Mulege was a fishing and farming and, to some extent, mining community. The farming, quite modern and organic and for export, is flourishing among the rancheros in the back country, though none of them remember what Spain still does with goat and cow milk and with pig meat and fruit. Mining there is none in Mulege any longer. Fishing continues to be a major industry and takes a variety of forms. [a]-actually going in a panga or other fishing boat out to fish for fish... [b]- renting land to settlers who want to go fishing for the rest of their lives and who bring their boat south with them..... [c]- fishing for tourists, taking tourists fishing and [only kidding!] feeding tourists to the fish -- which themselves -- at least the sport fishing kind --are becoming something of a rara avis [bottom fishing continues to be fine]. The Sea of Cortez appears to have been annexed by the Sea of Japan and its purse seiners, and this has interrupted the food chain within the Sea of Cortez [a dearth of sardines and anchovies and flying fish], which ongoing catastrophe thus also disrupts the great tourist-fishing chain-of-being on land. (Back)

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    12 - LITERATURE ON THE BAJA : The best all around guide in English to Mexico is Carl Franz THE PEOPLE'S GUIDE TO MEXICO; it covers just about every imaginable aspect. But the book is not a tour guide, especially not for Baja California. The best succinct, readily available guide to Baja is the one in the Lonely Planet Series. But remember, every guide book you buy today will be outdated the moment it goes to press.-- Fodor's Baja Guide is for the hopelessly touristy tourist only. John Steinbeck's log of his and Doc Ricketts's exploration of the littoral of the Sea of Cortez is now available as a Penguin paperback. The best road map is published by AAA, their guide book is not recommended. The section by section map of nearly geodesic quality map.... of the Baja, published by.... /// is excellent for onyx mines and on natural history. An excellent botanist guide is published by the La Jolla Naturalist History Society. There are no end of books on fishing in the Baja and it is best to look into the pages of the Baja Sun which gives a plentiful listing of all kinds of Baja literature. There are two daily newspapers published in Baja California Sur, both out of La Paz. The Diario Peninsular and the Sud Californian. Though they also contain much useful information, and are not actually owned by the government, they are best read as though the were. When in Mulege itself you may wish to pick up a copy of Terry Otterstrom's book MULEGE. The information about Mulege itself is sound and reliable; as Terry can be as a guide to the Back Country and Caves, and good company as long as he doesn't boast too much, though the fellow is hardworking, a first rate family man, and his heart is in the right place, and he is an honor to the tribe of Vikings, who of course discovered Baja California before anyone else did.(Back)

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    13 - HOLIDAYS : Constitution Day, Cinco de Mayo, May 1., ( Laber Day ), several Independence Days, Virgin of Guadeloupe, Christmas- Navidad, New Years - Año nueve, ect. (Back)

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    14 - TRAVEL INFORMATION:  5-NEARBY POINTS OF INTEREST : The l9th century mining town of St. Rosalia and its French Colonial architecture, 40 miles north, is certainly worth a visit if you want a peek at what the open pit copper mining as done to the surrounding country-side, and the smelting to the sea shore. The history of the mining experience is documented in a photo exhibit in the Mahatma Ghandi library as you come into town. St. Rosalia has fine bread, no end of descendants of French lap dogs, but -- no doubt because of that mining experience -- is not as enamored of tourists as is Mulege.
29. BAHIA CONCEPCION & THE BEACHES, Prices range from $ 4 to $ 8 per night.The view, wherever you are, will be spectacular, whether it is across he Bahia to the Concepcion Peninsula to the East, southward to its cul de sac which is twenty-five miles south from the entrance at Mulege, or looking north towards Punta Chivato. Anyone used to swimming in the waters of the Atlantic or Pacific will venture into the water of Bahia Concepcion at any time of year. It is a favorite of kayakers, windsurfers and fishermen and of those who like to go clamming.
30. PUETA ARENA, The first developed playa, lies approximately 10 miles south of Mulege, and two miles on a rough road out to the Punta, a spit that puts into Bahia Concepcion. Punta Arena has some permanent settlements, and the point shields its southern waters from the blustery winter winds: there is always an emerald lagoon to swim in at Punta Arena, and it is worth the ride on the muy burro washboard road to spend some time there.
31. PLAYA SANTISPAC , lies Fifteen miles south with its spectacular Hong Kong Harbor-like setting, but not a single working outhouse and right next to Mex One and its l8 wheelers who apply their J Brakes so as to be audibly macho. In winter you will see up to 100 RV´s parked in a wide semi-circle staring out at the water; Santispac has a restaurant, Anna's .
32. LA POSADA is next, just a mile down Mex One, and it even sports a tennis court among its densely built homes. As compared to an R.V.-stop-like Santispac. Posada is more of a permanent settlement, as is the next major beach.
33. EL COYOTE, which is the largest and most variegated of all the permanently settled beaches. Coyote has vegetation, trees, some landscaping and, from the highway, appears more like a real village than just a beach settlement. The kayak expeditions leave from there. More???? Playa Buena Ventura south of  ISLA REQUISON  has fine palapers, a bar and restaurant and Hotel that is run by energetic Mike. The jewel of all the beaches would be La ISLA REQUESON with its lagoons on either side of an isthmus that leads out to a mangrove-skirted, kidney-shaped island, 25 miles south of Mulege. Inbetween lie a variety of smaller beaches with names like El Coco, Burro, etc. which all are beautiful and recom-endable for one or many reasons. (Back)
34. OTHER PERSPECTIVES FOR OTHER INTERESTS AND TASTES
35. Natives and frequent visitors have been proclaiming that all of Baja is much greener than usual the past few years: true, the Occottilla, those thin spiny branches which seem perfect for making thorny crowns were sprouting a profusion of small green leaves from its long grey spiky branches, put on their fiery red x-mas show... but green? How grey can grey be, how many shades are there to grey, light brown, dark gray: go visit the desert areas if you wish to have the indescribable answer, each mountain side a different subtle hue of grey or brown and reddish yellow, guano striping the sides of those islands that afford the best fishing for the shitting birds... Yes, large stretches immediately around the Oasis Mulege are like a ghost that might spring to life if you loved it long and ardently enough, which in this instance means regular rainfall for some thousand years ... humus... the sea is rich but not the country side ...except where there is an undergroundaquifer lake that is replenished each summer as is ulege's; except rich in adaptation of vegetation and animal life to these harsh conditions....Thus Mulege is a botanists dream, as it is a pointillist or impressionist painter's, or a photographer's dream come true. (Back)
36. OF HUMANS AND OTHER ANIMALS: FOR THE BIRDS, PERROS AND ROOSTERS
37. THE HUMAN POPULATION On first coming to Mulege you may be struck by the profusion of smiles and friendly faces. Indeed, it is a friendly town, and the further away you distance yourself where friendliness is a necessary service must, the more genuine the friendliness becomes. None of this will bother you much during a brief stay.
38. OF BIRDS You may wish to rise with the birds also for the sake of the numerous songs birds in Mulege -- Cardinals and Orioles and no end of other colorful beasties galore -- that profusion of twittering and chirping Mulege birds that accompany the various parrots and parakeets of which the Mulege folks are fond.
39. AND PERROS Pretending to reach for a stone will keep the multitudinous assortment of cowardly canines at bay. The only nasty dog in town belongs to the American Vice Consul; the only heroes is a dachshund at the Y. Mulege perros give ample evidence of the respect that touring coyotes and other pedigrees have paid to the indigenous dogulation. lap dogs abound. Winky, a shoebox sized bulldog, should be a television star!
40. AND ROOSTERS As Fernando Alonzo affirmed when asked why the Mulege roosters have only the most tenuous hold on the time of day: they crow at 9 & 12 p.m., and 4 a.m., and at day break, and whenever some of them feel like it. Mulege cats by and large are mercifully silent sin embargo. Very rarely someone still sneaks a burro into the middle of town who will trumpet its heart out, of course also at the most unpredictable of times. Your eye can sweep south into the mouthof the BAHIA CONCEPCION [# 15] which you may wish to explore by boat, where you may wish to fish or go kayacking; or whose many playas you may wish to access by car. [See Page # 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 Senor 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)

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