On a cloudy fall day in October, we went to visit one of our neighboring East Cape villages. We had made arrangements to meet Luis Lucero Menza for an “East Capers Interview”. Luis is the Subdelegado of all the beachside communities from Baca de Alamo to Punta Pescadero. His office is in El Cardonal. It had been about 12 years since our last visit to El Cardonal. At that time the only way to get there was the tortuous winding rocky “coast road” hugging the steep cliff overlooking the Sea of Cortez. We decided to check out the paved “Road to Nowhere”, built since our last visit. We stopped at the new PEMEX where “Escarabaja Amarilla” gulped down $150 pesos of “Verde”. We took the dirt by-pass-road in Los Barriles and crossed the Buenas Aires and San Bartolo arroyos, connecting with the paved “Road to Nowhere” at the entrance to Colina del Sol. Although we encountered occasional boulders along the edges of the road, we were surprised at how well maintained it was. As we drove along the curves and elevations of the rugged mountains, we recalled that this road was originally built to provide an alternative “truck route” to La Paz. (Ah, but that’s a story for another time!). After a 20 minute drive we came to the end of the pavement in El Cardonal. Luis told us that his office was next to the Escuela Primaria…”Just ask anyone and they will know”. We were amazed at the changes in the village during the past 12 years! Back then there were only a few houses, a school, a mercado, a deposito, an unfinished “RV Park” and a small church perched on a hill. Now we saw a new Subdelegado’s oficina, an expanded collection of casas, another Mercado or two and the beginnings of a paved street winding it way through the center of town. During the interview, Luis gave us some stats: There are currently more than 150 Mexican families living in the area (mostly Luceros!) and 90+ foreign residents. The new owners of Hotel Pescadero (from MonterreyMexico) plan to remodel the hotel, develop a large subdivision and create a golf course. Another subdivision at nearby “Playa Ballena” is being developed by a family from New York which should keep the Luceros busy for a few years! And a gas station is on it's way. We asked about the history of the area around El Cardonal. Luis told us that his 92 year-old Tio told him that “muchos años pasado” the Luceros, Aviles, Flores, and Burquez families came from La Paz and Los Planes, looking for a good place to catch lots of fish. They settled along the beaches around El Cardonal. Some of these settlers also developed ranches with herds of cattle. There was only one major problem…there was no Mercado in the area and they had to row their pangas up to La Paz to buy food. According to Luis’s Tio it took 3 days up and 3 days back! When Luis told us about the amazing number of community projects that are going on in El Cardonal, we said, “Considering the size of the population, it seems as if everyone in town is a volunteer!” Luis agreed, “Everyone in El Cardonal helps out! When UVERDE in Los Barriles helped us create a clean-up campaign, now everybody here does their share.” Other projects include family volunteers who form crews to remove rocks on the ‘Road to Nowhere’ and plan the “
Toreno de Pesca, El Cardonal” held in May. All the dinero from this event goes to benefit the local schools.” Then there’s the Casa Hogar Orphanage and support for a new Institute to research Humpback and Blue Whale migration. We are impressed! After we said “adios” to Luis, we decided to revisit the “coast road” on our way back. What a trip! Although “Escarabaja Amarilla” lost a decorative chrome strip along the way, we were thank full that her Michelins held up nicely. It will definitely be the “Road to Nowhere” in the future! Written by my good friend JoAnn Baldwin Hyslop for the Eastcapers, JoAnn is the president of the East Cape Art Association. |