Isla Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez
One of my travel memories from last year was to travel to Mexico and spend a day in
Isla Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez, as a day trip from La Paz. The day was amazing cruising on a boat and swimming with the sea lions, and then hitting the beach on Isla Espiritu Santo. This beach day was completely different though if you compare to those close to the resort type of beach days.
We were on an island in the middle of the Sea of Cortez (not really “in the middle”, but that’s how it felt), and the island didn’t have buildings, no electricity. The generators kept the beer fridges cool, and there were cabanas where you could go to bathroom – but all built only for the season and to be taken away for winter season and the island left just like it was found. Enter experiencing eco-tourism – not leaving any footprints to the nature. Our day trip was guided by
Fun Baja Tours and they even organized overnight trips to the island.
We spent the day kayaking in the bay and enjoying the majestic rock formations of the island. On the island we had a chef making us ceviche from fresh fish and cooking it by marinating it in lime juice and beer in true La Paz tradition. Our lunch consisted of simple soup and ceviche with tortilla chips.
Now when I make ceviche at home, I can’t but think of the day at the Isla Espiritu Santo in Mexico. I may not be able to see dolphins jumping on the back of the boat like they did on that day, but the tastes and scents of this dish take me right back to that day.
Mexican Ceviche Recipe from La Paz
half a pound of white fish fillets, like tilapia or halibut fillets
juice of 1-2 limes
juice of 1 lemon
1 can beer
3 diced medium sized fresh tomatoes
1/2 green pepper finely chopped
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 jalapeno pepper deseeded and finely chopped (I usually also broil it first)
1 small onion finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
(1 dash Tabasco sauce)
1. Cut fish in small dices and put into a plastic container. Add the juice of limes, lemon and beer.
Dice the fish (approximately 1/2-inch dice if using shrimp use cleaned shrimp).
2. Let the fish marinate in the lime juice & beer at least 4-6 hours.
3. Stir the fist every now and then, and check it is fully cooked and looks opaque.
4. Drain the fish.
5. Mix with chopped tomatoes, cilantro, onions and rest of the ingredients, season with salt. Serve with tortilla chips.
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