Winter 2007 /'08

With the arrival of Spring, we plan on publishing regularly scheduled newsletters to our friends, guests and neighbors.  In the meantime, we’ll play a little game of Catch-Up detailing the Winter that was.

"A beautiful winter sun rise"

It was an extremely cold winter – colder than anyone can remember – and so we quote the words of a poet:

O, wind,
If Winter comes, can Spring be far behind?
~Percy Bysshe Shelley

Out of the Wind

We devised a way for our Winter anglers to get out of the wind in the Sea of Cortez.  At no extra charge – except for transportation service – we arranged for boats in Cabo San Lucas that allowed us to fish the Pacific side.  The ocean is generally flat and numerous fishing guests took advantage of it with some great days on the water.  When it was relatively flat in our local waters, they fished here, of course, but the Cabo San Lucas option was very much appreciated.  We are looking to make more use of this Pacific fishing in the Winter of 2008/’09 and might even move some of our own boats down south.  We’ll keep you posted, of course. 

Parties, Celebrations and Good Times

We hosted the wedding of Alexandra Robles and Virgilio Cardenas from the State of Cohuila in early November together with 35 families and friends.  The entire event was organized and choreographed by our own Hortencia, with meals by our very own Andrei Ramirez and his kitchen staff . . . Suzanne Colyer, from Gardnerville, Nevada, celebrated her birthday with us, we really enjoy "Susana's" company and we wished her many more  . . . A fabulous Thanksgiving dinner filled with equal parts of Hope, Joy and Turkey, Andrei insisted on putting a nice touch to it; We had our annual end of the year  Employee Party, which kept going into early hours of the morning. Plus our traditional Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties.

Perhaps the biggest local event – we were packed to the ceiling – was the introduction of Chef Andrei Ramirez to the neighbors and community.  We invited local homeowners and members of the nearby community to join our “Amigos de Spa Club,” a good neighbor program designed to bring nearby East Cape families – whether in a home or condo – together for mutual benefit of common concerns, friendship and an opportunity to share in the Good Life together with hosts, the Valdez Family and the Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort. 

The “Amigos de Spa Club” offers members substantial discounts on food, beverages, rooms and boats; use of the pool and other amenities for the modest fee of $100.  Chef Ramirez pulled out all his culinary magic tricks for a fabulous introduction dinner.

Just how good was the dinner?  Here are some unsolicited notes –

     "Bob & I were lucky enough to be in your company on Thursday, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.  The food was simply delicious & we are looking forward to coming in for dinner.  We hope you haven't eliminated your nachos, though.  You definitely have the best nachos in the country!

Thank you and your staff - and the Chef - so much for your hospitality.  We were happy to have participated."

Lynda Wise & Robert Otis
(member #17)

"We enjoyed the tasting very much and can't wait to come and use our winning ticket for "fish preparation for four".   Is there a time limit for this?  I get fish every two weeks and we will bring that to be prepared.  I love the mojo de ajo the best.  Thanks again for the nice evening and we'll see you soon."

Sharon Errington

"I wanted to thank you, Chef Sr. Ramirez, and the hotel for all your hard work and beautiful banquet you put on for all of us. I hope it was successful for all of you. It was a delightful evening and the food was superb.  I think you have a chef you are always going to want to keep.  He is one of those rare 'jewels'. We will definitely be back for more of his dinners and also will tell everyone about the food at your restaurant."

Thank you again.

Gordon and Carolina

Incidentally, Amigos de Spa has a waiting list for membership. 

James Canaday, from Condord, CA. celebrated his 50^th birthday in Feb. with 22 family members. It was a always fun to see everyone enjoying their stay.

In January, our kitchen staff catered a Super Bowl party at Mr. Favabolito's private residence.  We supplied everything including our award-winning guacamole.  Incidentally, it turns out that more guacamole is served on Super Bowl Sunday than any day of the year.  People often debate the question of which came first, the chicken or the egg.  In Baja we question which came first, the guacamole or the chip.  It’s an endless puzzle.   

Abraham Levy, an adventurous Mexican,  is kayaking the entire length of Mexico's beautiful coast.  When he looked up from paddling and spotted the beach at Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort