Travel Tuesday: Ceviche, Fun Baja Style

Inspired by Fun Baja Ceviche

As some of you know, I recently returned from La Paz, Baja California Sur in Mexico, where I was on a sponsored TweetUp for the Mexico Tourism Board organised by the amazing folks at Ogilvy.

On the Friday, we headed out bright and early with Fun Baja, set for a day of snorkelling, kayaking, cooking lessons and whatever the Sea of Cortez had to offer!  Based in La Paz, Grupo Fun Baja offers opportunities to explore the wonders of the beautiful Baja California Sur region. Take the opportunity to swim with sea lions, whale sharks and the wide variety of marine life that inhabits the Sea. They offer Scuba Day Trips, Scuba Camping Adventures, Scuba Diving Certification Programs, Kayaking, and Snorkeling Camping excursions or an Island Day Trip. Or you could opt for a Land Tour, which takes you inside the rustic charm of the Baja peninsula with trips to Todos Santos & Pescadero, El Triunfo, La Paz and Los Cabos. At special times of the year they offer one and two day whale watching adventures. Fun Baja also offers a trip to the amazing Copper Canyon (a destination I can HIGHLY recommend) on the mainland side of the Sea.

Time being of the essence for our group, we took in a one-day adventure.  We visited a rookery site for the California sea lion and snorkelled very close to them (some people closer than others!)

The seem like friendly little guys but under water and up close they are a bit scary!  We were assured that as long as we didn’t get too close, all would be well. And it was!

Of course, a boatful of bloggers took a lot of pictures! Below – Katja, Dian and Gary

The scenery was simply stunning. Photoshopped colours

We headed to the Ensenada Grande beach for lunch – a veritable feast!

And spend some time wandering around the Dive Camp that is set up on the Island.  Check out the bathrooms!

They have the best view. Ever.

We took a little afternoon paddle….

And learned how to make ceviche with Chef Antonio Jesús…

Do you see what’s a part of his mise en place? On the bottom left? Yup, it’s a can of beer!  And not for him to drink either! The ceviche was part-marinaded in the beer and was honestly one of the best I have eaten. Of course, the tropical island, the palm trees, the white sand surroundings might have had something to do with that…. 😉

Chef led us through the very quick steps to making an excellent ceviche – the secret is super fresh ingredients.

Gorgeously plated! You’d never know it came out of a teeny, makeshift kitchen. It could be from a five start restaurant!

We dug in, even though we were still full from lunch. So fresh. The soft white fish melted in your mouth. The lime and cilantro provided some brightness whilst the chile (seeds removed) packed a little punch.

On the way home, we were treated to some dolphin antics. A whole pod of them surfed the waves next to us!

It was a wonderful day out in the Sea of Cortez – such an unspoiled paradise for nature lovers. Thank you Fun Baja 🙂

Last weekend we had a few friends over to commiserate the end of the summer and I decided to try my hand at Chef Antonio’s ceviche.  Having video notes from the class and many photos, I knew the general premise of the recipe so here’s what worked for me:

Ceviche recipeLinks you might like:

Chef Rick Bayless in Baja in Food and Wine July 2011.
Mexico, One plate at a time – behind the scenes with Rick Bayless

Disclaimer: Flights to and from La Paz, accommodation at the Costa Baja Resort and all meals were provided by the We Visit Mexico team. I was not compensated for this trip or writing this post and all opinions are, and will always be, 100% my own.

43 thoughts on “Travel Tuesday: Ceviche, Fun Baja Style”

  1. What a great trip! The first thing I noticed was the beer in the mis en place. I never thought of beer in ceviche, but it makes perfect sense! Beautiful post!!!!

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  2. Would you notice me if I hid in your suitcase! What a marvelous adventure…and the ceviche looks amazing!!! I’d love to find that dish parked in my refrigerator 🙂

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  3. Ah, what memories 🙂 I STILL have markings of the blister in my finger reminding me of the friendly kayaking competition with you and Lisa! Makes me smile every time I look at my finger. I have been wanting to try ceviche at home, but still haven’t…

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  4. Loved the video of the dolphins! Almost as if they were chasing your boat saying *Watch me jump! Watch me!* So glad that you did and shared your clip with us.
    Your ceviche looks wonderful and Chef Antonio is brilliant to add beer to his recipe. Why not!
    Best wishes for a wonderful school year Mardi! Looking forward to your Les Petits Chefs starting back up again as I’m sure you are as well.

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  5. Looks like you had a fantastic vacation! That ceviche looks incredible and I usually don’t even like ceviche!

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  6. Okay I had to chuckle with Mardi’s “one of the best ceviche I’ve ever had”. What, of the three she’s tried? 😉 This from a girl who wouldn’t go *near* the stuff, until I showed her the light…

    I especially love the 1/3 can of cerveza as marinade. It means you have 2/3 of a can remaining…oh what to do, what to do?

    Mardi used black Hungarian peppers from my garden…I warned her they were hot, and she actually had to remove some as they were (delectably) killer!

    I’m sure now that Mardi’s a convert, we’ll be having this more often…

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  7. Oh, I wish I’d seen this before this weekend – I just made ceviche for a backyard bbq and it turned out great – but the addition of beer to marinate would have been amazing!

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  8. This looks like such an awesome time! I’m not going to lie: I’m a little jealous. I’m eating my face off in Asia, but somehow when I’m abroad the thing I always *really* crave is Mexican; nice job going straight to the source! And thanks for sharing on vacay time – I love the use of beer, and am totally trying this when I get back to address those south-of-the-border cravings…

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  9. Ceviche is one of my fave friends! But alas, I am pregnant with baby #3, and should be avoiding “raw” and acidic foods!

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  10. Sorry, meant to say *fave foods* (not fave friends)! These preggo hormones are making me a space cadet – that’s my excuse!

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