Hannah Wallace

Todos Santos: the anti-Cabo

The roof deck at Hotel Casa Tota

Todos Santos, 45-minutes north of Cabo on the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Baja Peninsula, has long been known as a haven for artists, surfers, and any traveler seeking a mellow alternative to the mega-resorts and noisy bars of Cabo. But when I was sent there earlier this year by Endless Vacation magazine, what I found was a town that's recently been re-energized by an influx of eco-conscious Mexicans and expats. "Todos," as locals call it, is still a sleepy town of 8,000 residents with just one traffic light and mostly unpaved streets. But now there are stylish boutique hotels with free rooftop yoga classes; eco-aware shops where plastic bags have been replaced by totes made of recycled newspaper; and restaurants that rely on organic produce from local farms. The nearby fishing village of Pescadero has a fantastic surf school (gracias, Mario and Guillermo for teaching me how to surf!) as well as one of the best coffee shops I've ever discovered in Mexico, Baja Beans. (Yes, they brew via Chemex pots or French Press. Also: the chocolate cake is outrageous.) I also discovered Tortugeros Las Playitas, an environmental group that helps usher baby turtles back to the sea, and Todos Santos Eco Adventures, which runs bird-watching trips, horseback rides, and cliff-side walks. Oh, yeah, and I haven't even mentioned the vibrant art scene. Next time, I hope to buy one of Nanette Hayles' paper tile mosaics of a farm animal (she did a whole series for Flora Farms in San Jose del Cabo).  

My article on Todos is in the winter issue of Endless Vacation.  To read it:  Download EV Winter 2012_TodosSantos

Fish tacos at Taqueria el Parguito ($2 each)

 

Imagine my surprise: a Chemex at Baja Beans

 

Duncan Berry: Hooked on Local Fish

In the current issue of Oregon Business Magazine, I write about Duncan Berry, the CEO of Fish People, a new Oregon-based seafood company that's just launched four ready-to-eat entrees at Portland's New Seasons grocery store (it's also at Whole Foods throughout the Pacific Northwest). These fish dishes—salmon in chardonnay with a dill cream sauce, Thai coconut lemongrass tuna, coconut yellow curry tuna, and smoked salmon and oyster chowder—come in foil “retort” pouches and take only three minutes to cook. (You poach them in boiling water and serve over your favorite carbohydrate.) The seafood for all four of these dishes is caught off the Oregon coast and is processed by medium-sized Oregon processors. All are caught via hook-and-line, trawls, or pot—all methods that result in minimal bycatch and that have no effect on habitat.

What I find compelling about Berry—and what I hope readers will find compelling, too—is his commitment to preserving ecosystems (in this case, the Oregon Coast and the Columbia River). He's also determined to help revive Oregon's economy by buying from local fishermen, using local processors, and contracting with local saucemakers (family-run Heritage Specialty Foods here in Portland). In addition to sourcing only sustainably-harvested local seafood for Fish People’s product line, he’s published an Oregon-centric seafood rating card (see here) that gives much more nuanced information on Oregon seafood species than either the Marine Stewardship Council or Monterey Bay Aquarium, the two best-known third-party sustainable seafood ratings out there. The Fish People Seafood Ratings provides info on how the fish is caught, of course, but it also details health information (Oregon albacore, for instance, has minimal mercury content due to age and size of fish). The Fish People ratings are the only ones to measure worker health and safety as part of their scoring system. For more on Berry's background (as CEO of an organic textile company in Seattle) and on his business plan, read on.