Baja is a wonderful place, full of hidden places just waiting to be found.  On weekends, I love to drive around and search for lonely beaches and quiet villages, full of stories and history.  One of these is El Triunfo, a small village that you may  stumble upon on your way from the East Cape to La Paz, Baja California Sur’s capital.

In 19th century, Baja was well known for its silver mines in San Antonio and El Triunfo.   The most productive mine was called El Triunfo de la Cruz, which gave birth to the mining town of El Triunfo.  One of El Triunfo’s landmarks the “La Ramona” chimney was designed by French engineer, Gustave Eiffel (the man that designed the Eiffel Tower in Paris).  At its height, El Triunfo had a population of 14,000 people briefly served as the capital of Baja California Sur in 1828 and 1829.

Gradually, the quality of the digs declined.  In 1918 a hurricane flooded the mine, and after several failed attempts to resurrect the operation, it was abandoned in 1926.  With it, El Triunfo’s glory began to fade.  Today the chimney, the memories, and stories told by residents, remind us of the silver age of El Triunfo.

If you would like to learn more of Baja’s history, visit El Triunfo.  The ruins of the silver mine are still there and serve as an excellent picture of 19th Century Baja. Just talk to your Capella Pedregal Personal Assistant about organizing a trip!

Whales can be spotted in Cabo San Lucas and at Capella Pedregal resort as well, but one of the best areas to experience them is at Magdalena Bay, where they come to give birth, mate and play. A recommended starting point for a whale-watching trip (and to spend the night) is Puerto San Carlos, a small fishing village of around 3,000 residents and a beautiful coastline on Magdalena Bay.  The village is 5 ½ hours from Cabo San Lucas, but it is well worth the visit.

I decided to make the trek and signed up for a guided tour. Captain Luis, who led the adventure, explained that whales are very curious creatures. I was anxious to discover this myself as we pulled away from the dock. Suddenly a shadow in the ocean could be seen approaching the boat. Everyone put their hand in the water and coaxed the whale towards us. And there she was, a beautiful giant whale! She came right up to the boat and we were able to touch her! But the experience didn’t end there. Next we encountered a mother and her calf. The mother proudly showed off her baby, lifting his head so that we could see him. I couldn’t believe the show I was getting!

It is difficult to fully express my whale experience, Puerto San Carlos and Magdalena Bay, but I would like to invite you to experience it in person. It is truly an event of a lifetime. Save some time between January and March next year, come visit Capella Pedregal and the whales.

Capella Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas’ premier luxury resort and residences, is bringing together master chefs for its inaugural wine and food festival, A Taste of Capella, July 11-15, 2012. By booking the A Taste of Capella package, guests will spend five unforgettable days sampling exquisite cuisine and taking part in educational gastronomical experiences at the 96 room and suite luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas. Activities include cooking demonstrations; wine and cheese tastings; 5-course dinner (each course expertly prepared by a different chef); parties on the beach with chef-prepared food stations, and more.

For their inaugural wine and food festival, Capella Pedregal will tap the talents of top chefs from across the U.S. Rounding out the festival’s culinary A-team is Chef Kent Rathbun, owner and head chef of restaurants Abacus, Jasper’s and Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, with locations throughout Texas; Chef Johnny Iuzzini, Executive Pastry Chef of restaurant Jean Georges and Perry Street in New York City; Chef Kevin Rathbun, renowned for Atlanta-based restaurants Rathbun’s and Kevin Rathbun Steak & Krog Bar; Capella Pedregal’s own accomplished Executive Chef, Marco Bustamante and more.

“A Taste of Capella” Package (July 11-15, 2012) includes:

• Four Nights and Five Days in the Room or Suite category of your choice
• Full Breakfast each morning in signature restaurant Don Manuel’s
• Welcome Wine and Cheese Tasting Reception Under the Stars with the Celebrity Chefs and the Cheese Maker
• Four Cooking Demonstrations throughout the weekend, one with each Celebrity Chef
• Two Wine Tastings with amazing Mexican wines
• Party on the Beach with each of the Celebrity Chefs preparing a Food Station
• Five Course Dinner with one course prepared by each Celebrity Chef
• After Party with the Celebrity Chefs including live music
• Round Trip Airport Transfer to and from the Cabo San Lucas Airport
• Welcome Bottle of Taittinger Champagne
• Gift Bags with products from each Chef and Sponsors of the event
• Nightly Turndown Gifts

Pricing begins at $3,475 USD

If you are anything like me, you are already craving a taste! I was able to convince Marco to share the recipe with us:

Ingredients:

Marinade

• 1 C. Tomato Juice
• ¼ C. Orange Juice
• ¼ C. Lime Juice
• ¼ C. Red Pepper Juice
• 2 oz. Clam Broth
• 1 oz. Tequila Reposado
• 2 dashes Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 dashes Tabasco Sauce
• 1 ea. Jalapeño

Seafood Mixture

• 12 ea. Mussels
• 2 oz. Lump Crab Meat
• 2 oz. Diced Tuna
• 2 oz. Calamari
• 2 oz. White Fish, Lime Cured
• 12 ea. Medium Shrimp, Peeled and deveined
• 1 ea. Tomato, Diced
• ½ ea. Yellow Onion
• ¼ Bunch Cilantro
• ½ ea. Avocado, Medium Dice
• 1 ea. Celery Stick
• 1 C. White Wine

Directions:
Begin by preparing the marinade. First mix all the liquid ingredients of the marinade and season with salt and pepper.
Then add the whole Jalapeño to the marinade without cutting the chile so that it is not too spicy.
Reserve marinade in the refrigerator and keep cold until ready to serve.
To prepare the seafood begin by placing a large pot of water on the stove and bring to a boil.
Blanch the calamari and shrimp separately in the pot of water for 1-2 minutes until cooked. Once they are cooked put them directly into ice water to stop the cooking process.
In a deep sauté pan, sauté half of the medium diced onion over high heat. Add the mussels and white wine. Cover with a lid and allow mixture to steam for 1-2 minutes. Once the mussels open, quickly remove them from the pot and cool them in the refrigerator.
To cure the white fish, cover it in lime juice and allow to sit for 1 hour. This will “cook” the fish for the ceviche.
Once all of the seafood is prepared and cool, place all of it into a large bowl. then add the diced tomato, onion and cilantro. Season with salt and pepper.
Rim a chilled glass with salt and fill half way with the seafood. Top with the marinade and garnish with diced avocado and celery stick.
Serve with your favorite chip or cracker!

Buen provecho!

Every winter in Baja California Sur we are a witness to an amazing natural phenomenon, that we all look forward to with great enthusiasm and expectations – the arrival of the whales.  Every year virtually the entire population of Grey Whales makes a 5,000 mile migration from the cold waters of Alaska’s Bering Sea to the warm water lagoons of the Baja Peninsula.  Grey Whales, often accompanied by Blue, Fin and Humpback Whales, come to Baja waters, where from mid-December to mid-March they feed, give birth, nurse their offspring and play.

Grey and Humpback whales delight people by spouting and breaching, leaping almost completely out of the water.  It is such a pleasure watching how the moms teach their babies to jump and play!  Last winter a whale came very close to Capella Pedregal beach, and together with the guests, I was amazed to see her breach and play in front of us.

Style Me Pretty – a wedding blog featuring destination wedding venues around the world, recently featured Capella Pedregal. Here is what they had to say:

“If you’re looking into Cabo San Lucas for your destination wedding or even just thinking about how amazing it would be to get married in Mexico, you need to check out all the fabulous perks offered at Capella Pedregal. Not only is this hotel drop dead gorgeous with incredible ocean front views and suites that will make you swoon, they deliver a truly customized wedding experience worthy of your most special day.”  Read the full article…

At Capella Pedregal we have a tradition very dear to me: every Christmas each of the employees decorates his or her own Christmas ornament, which we hang on a special Employee’s Christmas tree. This year each of us decorated our own whale. We chose a whale as the year’s Christmas ornaments, because “ballena” or a “whale” is a symbol of Baja California Sur.

This year 350 whales, decorated beautifully by 350 employees, are hung on two employee Christmas trees. Each whale represents every individual’s talent and personality. The trees are located one on each side of the main hotel lobby, and symbolize our warm welcome to each guest, wishing a wonderful experience at Capella Pedregal, and happy holidays.

Happy holidays from the whole team at Capella Pedregal!

Recently, Capella Pedregal’s Executive Chef Marco Bustamante invited me to join him on a visit to a local organic farm, called Los Tamarindos. This is one farm from which Marco is able to source much of the hotel’s produce.

Los Tamarindos organic farm is located in the neighboring city of San Jose del Cabo. On arrival, Enrique Silva, the farm’s owner, warmly greeted us and began to share some information about the farm, which is connected to an underground estuary and is very fertile despite the desert like surroundings. So fertile, that Silva is able to grow more than 100 different crops!

During our tour we saw 100 year old mango trees, banana trees, eight different types of eggplant, a variety of herbs and much, much more. Silva shared some of the natural secrets to protecting his plants from insects and disease. One method they use at Los Tamarindos is to rotate the crops every two years to help keep the soil’s nutrients rich.

Partaking in this visit was extremely enlightening; especially considering that local farms, like Los Tamarindos, supply more than 80% of Capella Pedregal’s produce. Learning about the practices of an organic farm directly from its owner was enlightening and when I returned back to the resort I had a new perspective and consciousness about our local resources, eating well and eating healthy.

Recently I had the opportunity to attend one of the Capella Pedregal Tuesday Night Cocktail Parties with General Manager Peter Bowling, and his lovely wife Kathy.  These cocktail parties are an opportunity for the property’s Leadership Team to get to know each guest on a more intimate basis. I had called Peter in advance and asked if we could sit down and talk about his journey over the past two years as the General Manager of one of the most beautiful hotels in Mexico. He agreed, and invited me to come a little early with my questions in hand.

We sat down in Su Cocina (Spanish for Your Kitchen) for a beverage and began the interview:

How have you and your wife Kathy adjusted to Baja life?
Kathy and I left England 25 years ago and we have lived in resort destinations all over the world. Neither of us had any preconceived ideas about the Baja lifestyle before we arrived. We found the people very warm and welcoming and we love the Mexican culture, full of history and traditions. There is a sense of positive energy in the Baja that I have never experienced before. It’s magical, yet very real.

What do you enjoy most about working at Capella Pedregal?
I feel blessed to be in a place where I know something good is always going to happen each day, someone celebrating their anniversary, on their honeymoon, spending time with their families—all making memories that will last a lifetime. It feels very special to be able to be a part of their lives and to be with a team of people that are committed to making this happen every day.

What do you do to relax and get away from this 24-hour operation?
I love to spend time with Kathy enjoying our lovely home here in Pedregal. We love to dine with our friends and explore new places in the Baja. We are also very committed to taking care of our minds, bodies and souls through healthy eating and exercise. I even workout with the hotel’s personal trainer, Carlos, three days a week! Kathy and I also plan a trip abroad for a minimum of 2 weeks each year to visit our family and friends. Of course for them, our home sounds like a grand vacation!

What is the “Best Kept Secret” in the Resort?
Our company philosophy is “If there weren’t any rules, what would you create?”  We want our guest to have whatever they want, whenever they want it. If you want to have dinner on the beach at three in the morning, we will make it happen. If you want breakfast during the lunch hour, our chef will make it.  Check in as early as you want and stay as late as you can.

I love the energy at these Tuesday night Cocktail Parties. What are the ingredients that make these parties such a huge success?
It is our job to know everything we can about our guests before they arrive on property. From the pre-arrival phone call made by the guest’s assigned personal assistant, to the moment we say goodbye, each member of our team works to make sure that each guest’s dreams are fulfilled. The cocktail party is just another way that we can bring our staff together with our guests to get to know them better. It’s a time for guests to socialize in a relaxed setting, while sharing their experiences with our staff and with each other. Kathy and I have been hosting cocktail parties for many years and I have to say that the ingredients to a successful party are the people that attend.

I have actually been lucky enough to help with the release of the baby turtles into the ocean, which is one of my favorite experiences. Last November Grupo Tortugero counted up to two releases per week. Unfortunately, turtle releases are much more rare than they used to be. Poaching, incidental captures in fishermen nets, collection of eggs and meat for consumption, coastal development and ocean pollution are some of the most threatening factors to turtles extinction.

Several organizations, like Grupo Tortugero or ProPeninsula, and beachfront resorts are taking measures and a precaution to address the main threats to turtle’s survival. You can often see organization members and hotel staff on the beaches leading short educational seminars for the public, who then participate in the release of the baby turtles.

Releasing baby turtles into the ocean is one of the magical life moments. During a recent release, we gathered at the hotel’s beach with guests and staff to watch the turtles hatch. Next, we drew a line in the sand and stood behind it, each with a baby turtle in hand. When the word was given, we placed the turtles on the sand and cheered for them to reach the ocean. This was truly an amazing experience for everyone who participated.