Los Barriles Luxury

After our windshield cracked and fan busted, we made it to our destination- Los Barriles. We rented a spacious house with a view of the Sea of Cortez and spent a beautiful week with family.

We were very lucky to stay at this large house that had a great variety of birds visiting all the trees and cacti. Tanagers, hummingbirds, doves, Turkey vultures, frigates, and red throated flickers. There was also a pool!

It is a pretty incredible opportunity when family can meet you on such a long term trip. You get to truly share the experience of the place and act as a bit of a tour guide, sharing everyday skill knowledge.

We took day trips to 2 separate snorkeling spots, tried to find a leather crafting artisan in Miraflores, stood on the Tropic of Cancer, and took many beach walks.

The snorkeling is top class at the unassuming National Park of Cabo Pulmo! We saw massive rainbow fish, an eel,, angelfish, little bright red goby like fish, black with purple spots fish, porcupine fish, sea urchin, yellow ball coral, black puffer shaped fish, smelt size fish, yellow blue, black with red coloring, and Todd saw an octopus!!!!!

Spotted sharp nose puffer

Spotted boxfish

Reef cornet fish

https://frankosmaps.com/products/baja-dive-guide-fish-id

https://www.reefsofcozumel.com/reefsofcozumelfishchart.html

I’m not the most relaxed snorkeler so it’s hard for me to register all the fish I’m seeing. I was a touch paranoid about hitting my head on the rocks nearby or scratching my legs on the coral (we were at low tide). I’ve had the privilege to snorkel in Puerto Rico and the Galapagos (which definitely wins in variety of species but is truly most accessible when you take a tour). But the Los Barriles area was very accessible, rich in diversity, and one of the safest spots I’ve snorkeled!

We ate tacos, the kids tried new fruit (guyaba, hard coconuts) , and we all reveled in how wonderfully ripe the fruit was (watermelon, cantaloupe, green melon, pineapple, limes, oranges, and bananas)! I have only eaten cantaloupe down to the rind when we grew 2 tiny cantaloupes in our garden this year!

It was also fun to explore products in grocery stores, produce stands. a tortilleria, bakery, and buy sea bass and delicious shrimp from a local fisherman-in an Italian restaurant parking lot!

I feel this is the best way to meet locals and put the money right into their pockets. Eating out is nice (although not always authentic cuisine- restaurants tend to cater to tourist palates here) but we much preferred roadside taco stands with their homemade salsas, coleslaws, and twists on chorizo sausage seasoning.

Our family left after a week, we headed back to La Paz to figure out our fan and windshield crack. The Windshield Doctor sealed the crack so it’s pretty much invisible. And as for the fan, Todd had the foresight to contact a shop that could order the fan from the mainland, which turned out to be a perfect fit.

To which Zosia stated: “ We have wind!?!?!!”