US Airways - June 2012 - (Page 43)

windows, and I bite into one of Mexico’s greatest gifts to the world, the Michoacán paletas, a chunky popsicle of sugar, cream, and fresh coconut or fruits. Todos marks a step in the Americanized direction from the authentic, quietly bustling charm of La Paz. But its Americanization has been informed with a clear, artistic, mostly careful conscience. Take the new Hotel Casa Tota, for instance. Opened last October, the 15-room property was created from Doña Tota’s old home and general store (which, for decades, was the only place in town to buy a bra). The Tota family was the eccentric intelligentsia of Todos for generations. Doña was the beloved and feisty matriarch. So feisty that Christine, Hotel Casa Tota’s manager and all-around Baja concierge, insists she haunts the place. Surrounding an intimate courtyard pool, the hotel’s rooms are sleek and clean with polished concrete-gray walls and white linens that lend a cool brightness to their small spaces. Christine can point guests to the best surf breaks, the latest gallery opening, the best hamburger-and-fries joint (Shut Up Franks), the best sushi (Carlito’s), or a morning yoga class. She also might encourage you to take a walk to visit Carmelo, the 600-pound pig that chugs nonalcoholic beer. Carmelo was going to be butchered by his owners, but Christine swooped in and suggested that they could make money by turning the pig into a tourist attraction. Of course, a tourist attraction like this could only work in a place as carefree and imaginative as Todos Santos. Like the old-timer longboarders carving up the San Pedrito waves every morning, the sleepy agricultural town of Pescadero is committed to its laid-back pedigree. Pescadero The pelicans here look like short, sharp-featured reporters at a celebrity press conference. They crowd up to the beachside tables looking for scraps of food. Punta Lobos is an oxymoron: one of those well-known secrets, common enough for any curious visitor to hear about it, yet still authentic and cool enough to feel like you’ve just made the biggest discovery on the Baja coast. You can buy fish fresh off the boats — red snapper, mahimahi, yellowtail tuna — for a few dollars a pound. The beach extends north seemingly forever, with nothing on it save for an oddly placed defunct lighthouse. It seems you could be anywhere along the thousands of miles of Baja coastline. But even if you don’t buy fish at Punta Lobos, you can find the fresh catch on most menus in Todos and Pescadero. usairwaysmag.com june 2012 43 http://www.usairwaysmag.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of US Airways - June 2012

US Airways - June 2012
Table of Contents
CEO Letter
From the Editor
Did You Know?
Making It Happen
Hot Spots
Hub Crawl
Adventure: Zip-line junkie
Adventure: Virginia’s Skyline Drive
Wine & Dine
Great Escapes
Gear Up
Behind-the-Scenes Baja
International Itinerary
Charlotte in 2012
Discover Columbia
Welcome to Philadelphia
Must Read
Puzzles
Readers Resource Index
Your US Airways Guide
Video Entertainment
Audio Entertainment
U.S. and Caribbean Service Map
International Service Map
Airport Terminal Maps
US Airways Fleet/Customs & Immigration
Passenger Info/Contact US Airways
US Airways MarketPlace™
Window or Aisle?

US Airways - June 2012