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November 08, 2017

Shrimp Festival XXV - San Felipe

Fran’s brother, Bobby, has a beach house south of San Felipe in Baja Mexico.  We introduced him to San Felipe many years ago and he knew it was his ideal vacation spot too.  We go down several times a year to assist in maintenance, to enjoy the beach, attend the Shrimp Festival and of course ‘catch’ our limit of shrimp.
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Although the main roads are in good condition, be advised the secondary roads may not be.  A less common vehicle, like a Fiat, may not be supported in this small town.  In this case the little Fiat had a blowout and a tire had to be delivered from Mexicali, but after the second blowout and no tire available it was trailered back to Corona CA.
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Bobby brought an interesting toy – a Rans Eagle recumbent trike with sail!  As you’ll see in later photos the back bay has flooded and the mud is not hard packed enough to really get it going.  With a hard pack mud flat and a decent wind this should be fun!
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I had in mind completing the roof work I started a couple trips ago, with only one section left to be stripped and sealed.  Despite suffering from Parkinson's, Bobby was a great help in stripping the old roof down to the original plywood.  Almost there Bobby!
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And Fran did her best to not get in the way!  Look at her go!
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With the old roofing stripped we were surprised at the good condition of the original plywood.  So we simply taped the seams with Henry Fabric and sealed them.  The whole roof was then covered with a couple coats of Henry Rubber Roofing.
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With the work done, while Bobby was walking on the beach, he was attacked and bitten by a dog.  The Urgent Care in town (~35 km away) treated the bite and provided antibiotics for total fee of $10.  But it didn’t improve his golf game.  I sent a text that was to say “Bobby’s pissed after being bit by a dog”, but auto-correct changed it to “Bobby’s passed ...”.  That got a good laugh out of us!, but not the recipients of the original text ...
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Our ‘golf course’ is a 9 hole out-n-back on the 200 yard strip of sand that separates the back-bay from the main bay,  Bahia Santa Maria.  The sand traps and water hazards exist on every hole!, but we only lost a few balls to the water at high tide.
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The sea birds, mostly pelicans and seagulls, like to sit at the mouth of the bay and await the tide change.  Either moving en-mass to a better spot or feeding en-mass when the conditions are right.  We can hear the thunder of their wings when it’s time for them to move, always together.
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Being well south of town our go-to are the restaurants and shops of the South Shores Community.  Chelo’s is long established, with a new sign and now a bar.  We stopped in for lunch, while making a run for ice.  Nope there’s no refrigerator at the beach house.
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Although there are lots of restaurants to pick from I continue to go to Taqueria Adriana, where Maria has served us for nearly 4 decades.  Good food and good prices next to Bar Miramar where the best strawberry margaritas can be had to accompany our tacos!  Enjoy!
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We are here for the Shrimp Festival and being all cleaned up it’s time for us to enjoy the party.  A new (since our last visit) mural is on the restroom wall.  A mermaid listening to the sounds of the sea.  Better than the spray can art …  The mariachi band has an accordion.  Ever notice how Mexican music has that Um-pa-pa sound?  A perfect fit!
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Although the reason for the celebration is the beginning of the shrimp season, the festival offers lots of dining and games for all levels.
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We have not yet tried Capricho which is upstairs a block off the Malecon, but I’d like to, as it offers WiFi and is quite popular.  Well they do offer a free margarita with the meal, no wonder it draws a crowd.
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Although San Felipe has a separate paella festival it was an interesting addition as they prepared a shrimp paella over a modified washing machine tub.
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Part of the entertainment is a cooking preparation.  My Spanish is not near good enough to keep up with the directions but the end result looks good!
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We like to buy some of our shrimp from the small panga boats, or out of the truck of the car of their cousins.  But we make the big purchase at Pescaderia Panchita for the bulk of the sea food we wish to take home.  There is a 5 kilo limit on shrimp, that’s about 150 jumbo shrimp, that's about 15 shrimp/pound.  These are big shrimp.
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After we walk the festival and armed with a couple margaritas we decide to take in the entertainment.  The small stage has an awful version of La Bamba, the Aztec are just a photo-op.
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But these kids did not get the memo that Disco is Dead!  They can dance!
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The moths seem to have gotten to the Queen's dress.   The legs are almost missing!
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Our final night is rewarded with the full moon rising over Bahia Santa Maria and the Sea of Cortez.  I’m just awestruck at our fortune to be here with such great opportunities.
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Next project?  There are two – EZ is the bathroom sink.  The old faucet is dead as are the shutoff valves.   The replacement is there, but with the wrong hole spacing …. Nothing is all that easy, off-the-grid in Mexico.
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A bit more troubleshooting is needed to isolate an intermittent short in the electrical that is draining the batteries.

Just more fun for the next trip ....

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