Bahia Kino

Old Kino Fishing

Last week was another much needed break from school. Since there was no planned field trip prior to the break we decided to plan our own excursion. What started as a couple of people venturing south turned into a caravan of 13 people. We rented a house in Kino Bay, a beautiful and relatively undeveloped bay on the Sea of Cortez -- right across from Baja. Kino is a vacation destination for Mexicans from the city and an old fishing village. The Seri Indians roamed this land and still carve ironwood trees in to beautiful replicas of the mariscos that inhabit the sea there: tortoise, seals, shark, jelly fish, etc. I bought one of a saguaro cactus, but you could hardly call that sea food.




It was a very odd feeling to suddenly plunge our bodies into about 90% humidity and then take the final leap into the ocean -- to not only see water but then actually immerse our bodies in it! I have been having withdrawals from the humidity already -- the first and second nights back in AZ were terrible, i felt like a big piece of sandpaper and I couldn’t breath through my nose because it was drying it out too much.
The ocotillo and saguaros, the organ pipe and their cousins, the bearded senitas, all these cacti grow right up to the turquoise water. Elephant trees too, much bigger and without leaves. The Seri use the elephant to weave baskets, and the pelicans for their pelts!

Many Strange Friends Awaited Us

There were a lot of cows just out roaming the strees, those in addition to the horses that were whinnying and galloping up and down the streets at any given moment. I was scared to drive since they didn’t exactly obey the stop signs, i could just see myself bowled over by a horse.

Antojitos: the best part of the day

Selling Clams for the Shucking


The Fixins for the Best Crab Tostadas Ever


La Haiba



Fishing
Neil and I went fishing off the rocks one day and I caught this:



The next day we got our friend Felix "el Gato" to take a bunch of us out fishing and to show us how to make the local equivalent of fishing poles from empty soda bottles and line. It was fun and we caught a lot more sea bass and triggerfish -- not mention el pulpo -- the mighty octopus. We used el pulpo's head for bait and ate el pulpo's body, but not before it sucked me with its suckers!

Hills Tries Out her Snorkle, Gato Stalking the Fish


Neil Fishing in his Boots


we did get a little sick, but the ocean was worth it.

Cookin' up a Mess

For those of you that havent heard we have started a little business here of selling meals to our fellow students. Each thursday I bring in the preordered meals and a couple extra and sell them for $5 each. Sometimes I make money, sometimes it doesnt seem worth it...but neil and i always get to eat and besides I love to cook.
I've make pulled pork and homemade bbq sauce, jambalaya, chicken and dumplings, green chili pork cassarole, chard rolls and miso soup, massaman curry -- everything I do i make a veg and a meat version.

Its been really good practice for what I hope to continue to do on a larger scale.
One day I hope to be able to buy things at a wholesale price and actually have some selection -- can't wait to see a store other than Safeway Grocery -- blah!

My Best Helper Suits Up for the Challenge

He tells me that he learned this technique from his father, this will likely be a trick passed thru the generations.

This week I am forgoing the profit and cooked up a huge pot of curry goat soup with the leftover goat; suprisingly delcious, not gamey at all.

Now, we are off to Mexico!

Caprine Carnival

"Cinco de Mayo is holiday time,
holiday time in Mexico!"

We used to sing that and eat burritos on the 5th of May, that is until we wised up and organized a goat roast!

A couple of us hatched to idea one night sitting in buddy's trailer at the San Jose Lodge over plates of spaghetti and Elk meat balls. Buddy had gotten an elk last year and has been sharing the meat with us ever since we arrived in Bisbee. Neil and I ate Elk stakes for the first week we got here before we had any idea of where to buy good food. Every camp out we help cook the elk chili in the dutch ovens and sometimes we get invited over for elk balls. Buddy is an ex SERE for the Airforce, that stands for somethign i cant remember right now, but bascially had him jumping out of airplanes and teaching survial skills to all the soliders. Obviously just the person to carry out the plan.

I found a free range organic goat close by and with the help of Tracy's pickup with a
camper top we transported the goat with ease. We collected the mesquite and rebar out at Mike's place who owns land with his three brothers -- they store all their salvaged building supplies out there.

Braving the Savannah, looking for pictagraphs and camping by the fire


Aye Aye Captian: Mike G turns the wheel of the Rotisserie


The contruction of the spit, digging of the pit and laying of the fire were all met with energetic hands and hearts.
The Spit and Pit in all their Glory



The slaughter began at 7 am on friday and went so smoothly I dont think that we could ahev asked for a better expereience. 14 people participated and almost every single person got their hands in there to help with the skinning and collecting of organs. I was so impressed by the group of people who come together to share in this amazing ritual and skill. Since by now we are all anatomy geeks we had a great time indentifying all the organs. Evret aka "sweetbread" took them and stir fried up the liver and tongue with some prickly pear pads for our enjoyment.

Sweetbread and Kat in front of the pit.


All morning and into the afternoon we worked with the hide, people scapping it and lashing wood together to stretch it on, we even began the tanning process with a brain tan -- now that is hard core.

Buddy and Oliver using the brains to tan the hide.


Here the Hide is Stretched Out on the Frame
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we made a spice rub for the goat and basted it every now and then.
Baste it Girl!


I'll spare you the pictures from the rest of the party - -a lot of people came later to enjoy the meat and the festivities and to dance. The meat tasted like lamb to me, very similar. We had a sauce pot luck -- horseradish, jalepeno, curry, etc... yum.
I'm making a goat stew with the left over bones and meat to share with the class later this week.

how'd this guy get in here?

Gone to Eden

The Bates Motel


How can I explain this hotspring oasis? The Rolling Stones own it and left it to their manager who then ran into trouble with the law and has left it in trust as a nonprofit while he does his jail time. This crazy place is private yet available to the right people for use -- guess we were the right people. Our class met up with a former student of Micheal Moore's herbal class. He uses this place as a home base to teach his year long class. There are rattle snakes, hotsprings in the shape of guitars, tamarisk trees, not quite abandonded buildings everywhere, and ofcourse, the bates motel. Most people slept inside this 3 stroy freak shack, but neil and I opted for the saftey of the van -- the bed is more comfortable than our apartment; i would sleep in the van every night if i could find a flat spot to park it in Bisbee.

Amanda dries off after a soak in the Guitar Pool


We caked our bodies in the mineral mud, soaked day and night in the hot springs, some partook in the sweat lodges, visited the special plants that were brought here thousands of years ago; The Yerba Mansa runs amuck near these warm waters (Anemopsis californica. The best part is that no one here was a stranger -- no weird men lurking in the shadows of the hotsprings.


Dawn picks the leaves of Yerba Mansa

Coronado Cave

A couple of weeks ago neil and I finished up the old taxes and ventured off into the fading light of the day -- we ended up at the Coronado National Monument and this cave. We had only our little solar flashlight and our sense of adventure to guide up. The whole place was about 600 feet long and cavernous. Neither of us are too into dark cramped places, but the longer we stayed the more we saw.