Eating outdoors

Monday, February 8


Today we managed to eat both breakfast and dinner outdoors. We skipped lunch in favor of tasting wine and ate an early dinner, so that made it possible. It gets warm during the day, but is still cold at night.

First, we survived the adventure of the tourist cards. As directed by the tour book, we went to the Migracion office next to the Port Captain's office in Ensenada.  Lo and behold, the Migracion in Ensenada is intended for folks coming in on boats. We were informed that we should have got our cards yesterday when we crossed in Tecate.  Could we prove when we crossed the border, the jefe asked?  Scratch our heads as we might, we had nothing. We bought gas just before crossing the border, but had no receipt.

Finally, the boss man relented and gave us the forms to fill in.  Duly filled in and fees paid at the bank window located conveniently just across the lobby, our passports are stamped and we are legal tourists.  Whew! You can imagine that our breakfast at Cafe Tomas assumed a celebratory air.

From Cafe Tomas, we head out to find an ATM and a mercado.  Duly found and and purchases made, we make our way somewhat haphazardly back through Ensenada and set out on the Ruta del Vino, back toward our temporary home at Rancho Maria Teresa. Our first stop is at Vina de Liceaga, where we visit the grand, new (less than a year old) tasting room. We taste a quartet of red wines, and, the treat of the day, a couple of grappas.  Yes, grappa! We buy a bottle of cab to drink in Mulege and a bottle of grappa to bring home. Here we also meet a crew from Mexico City filming a story on the Ruta del Vino. Of course they are escorted by the winery owner, the lady in a pink blouse and high-heeled boots.

We head farther north, passing our first objective, which should be quite close to our hotel.  However, there is major road work going on on the short stretch of road from Francisco Zarco south, and it could be that some mound of boulders obscures the winery we are looking for. So we head further north, and bag two wineries on the same dirt road. 

Past the massive L.A. Cetto facility is La Casa de Dona Lupe. (Forgive the lack of tildes, please.) Here we find a treasure of homemade jams and  jellies, essential oils, olive oil, cheese, bread, and chiltepin chiles, not to mention some fair wines. You can also get a pizza, bread and cheese, or a candy bar. A whole selection of jams and preserves is set out for tasting. I fall in live with the Chipotle Tamarind jam. It is not to be believed. We also like their Nebbiolo. And we meet Dona Lupe herself. It is a pleasant visit, and I bag several jars of jam for gifts, as well as one for myself.

Back up the road, we stop at L.A. Cetto.  Our host, Daniel, gives us a good tasting, and also the surprising news that, since D & G are from Idaho and not from California, they can take up to 60 (yes, 60) liters of wine back into the states. Those of us from California are limited to 1 liter each. So we but some more wine to drink in Mulege, including a bottle of decent sparkling wine to take to Mulege for Valentine's day. And we again meet the film crew from Mexico City. I get the chance to tell the head of the crew that the wine country brochure he gave us has a few problems -- the numbers on the map don't match the numbers on the winery listings.  Oops. I don't mention the spelling errors. Maybe I could make some money editing the brochure??

 By now it us 3 p.m. We elect to head back to Francisco Zarco, where a paved side road forks west and south from Highway 3. We drive as far as El Provenir, looking for open wineries and restaurants.Most of the winery gates are closed; appointments are required for tasting. And we discover that the guide books are in earnest when they say the custom in Baja California is to eat the large meal at noon. We can find just one listed restaurant that is open after 6 p.m. G's eagle eye spots a local restaurant, which, as it turns out, is next to the Russian Museum.

  A Russian Christian sect, the Molokans, settled in the valley around 1905 on mission property, after the government had secularized the missions.  One of our guidebooks tells us that "Molokan" means milk-drinker; no alcohol for these folks. The Molokans tended and planted vineyards (why? where's Wikipedia when I need it?) and other crops.  The Mexican government nationalized all foreign-owned property in 1938. Only a few Russian families stayed, but the Russian influence still remains. Witness our restaurant -- the first dish on the menu is Borscht. Some of the other dishes show Russian influence only in name; after all, an empanada is an empanada. But they serve a molded rice with butter and capers that is a hit, and the pure de papas (mashed potatoes) is (are?) scrumptious. It's probably the butter, eh?  We enjoy watching the local livestock -- chickens, roosters, rabbits, cats, and somwhere farther off goats. The grand total for dinner for four, including tip, 700 pesos, less than $60 U.S.

By the time we finish eating dusk is upon us. A little way up the road we stop at a mercado and buy crackers, bananas, oranges, cookies (D is a cookie monster) and crackers. We will have a little snack tonight instead of dinner. Next we stop at a Pemex station and fill up the tank, for tomorrow we are off to Rancho Meling.