December 19th


, 2011 Christmas Shopping At


Organic Market!  Why didn’t you think of that?


BY ALBA MONROY


Candles and Christmas Cards – Holiday Shopping at the San Jose Organic Mar- ket by Alba


The San Jose Organic Market is a gathering place where people can purchase local produce, products, pre- pared food, jewelry, books, art, and furniture, while be-


Catherine Michel from Mexico City. He is a former restaurant owner and she is an English kindergarten teacher at Regina Montessori in San Jose. A couple of the serendipitous events that brought this lovely couple here are: a good friend of theirs who works in the Los


Season’s Greetings! www.settlement-co.com


ing entertained and instructed in the great outdoors. It is run by a SJOM nonprofit on Sat- urdays between 9 am and 3 pm.


The SJOM attracts a cross section of visitors and vendors from all over the


Cabos hotel industry re- marked that there were not enough candles in Los Cabos, and Alejandro’s 50’s style restaurant hit some zon- ing snaffooos. They decided to go into business with their friend Nazario, and voila, they became chandlers (candle-makers).


.COM


people and businesses re- quire here. They are made in San Lucas with many natural scents and products but are not 100 per cent organic. They use paper wicks and recycled wrapping. The col- ors are appropriate to the scent, and these include cin- namon apple, coconut, cherry, orange, lemon, san- dalwood, bergamot, and patchouli. Candles are priced individually or can be custom ordered. Discount pricing is available for larger quantities. They will soon have table candles as well. These solid, useful, yet decorative and scented candles start around $5. Check out their website at www.candelavelas .com.mx


Another newcomer to the market is the inspiring and as- piring young 14 year old en- trepreneur, Kalianne. Kali has set herself up in a busi- ness called KardsbyKalli. She’s doing very well at mar- keting her product and she’s pretty good at marketing her- self as well. Here’s the story


as she tells it;


She was bored at regu- lar school and started doo- dling. Her friends liked her drawings and then her family started asking for copies and so now she’s mass market- ing - well, mini-marketing at the SJOM. Her drawings are well executed and have a northwest tribal art aspect, like Pacific Haida art but also the authenticity of a natural. For holiday fun, she’s in- cluded her own tree and na- tivity scenes, as well as add- ing her drawings to Christmas continued on page 19


ball earrings. She’s a


hm-oe


schooled young woman looking to buy


some art sup- plies and perhaps a camera. KardsbyKali


PAID ADVERTISEMENT planet.


Some newcomers to the SJOM and Los Cabos scene are Alejandro Hernandez and


Hernandez and Michel have done their market re- search and found that most of the candles used in local spas, hotels and homes have come from afar. Candela Velas owners have chosen a variety of sizes and shapes of candles based on what


So Is Any Real Estate


Ventanas means win- dows in Spanish. It also seems to mean marketing, as there are no fewer than three projects named Ven-tanas in and around Los Cabos. We’re talk- ing here about the full ownership stand alone homes built up the hill be- hind Costco. It’s a great view from up there. The collection of two and three bedroom homes first came on the market several years ago and sold well. Then the market took it’s dump, and Ventanas sales, like every development, came to a screeching halt. But Ventanas did something most developments have been unwilling to do: They dropped their prices. A lot. They’re sell- ing in a second phase now, and the homes are a little bit different, so it’s hard to compare exactly, but the second phase has great homes for at least $150,000 less for a com- parable value, and they have just introduced ocean view condos from $145,000. Of course this doesn’t make the early buyers in the first phase very happy, especially the ones who need to sell


14


Selling Around Here?  A little bit, here’s one development that’s selling.


BY BILL DING


now, and they’re competing with the second phase for buyers who are snapping homes up for less than what the first phase paid for their home several years ago. But that’s life these days,


HOA doing the yard work. There are also HOA rules about parking cars and keeping dogs on leashes, the usual rules that drive some people crazy. Until they pay a lot of money for a nice neighborhood and then watch it slide into a slum within a few years. Won’t happen at Ventanas.


and Ventanas homeowners we talked to weren’t blam- ing the developer. In fact, homeowners we talked to were pretty happy. And we were there on annual homeowner’s meeting day, where other HOAs are firing bullets at each other, these folks were all getting along. HOA fees are only about $200 a month, not bad for all the amenities you get: A state- of-the-art gym, heated pools & Jacuzzis, a Deli, a Business Center and the landscaping services.


The guard gated commu- nity looks very, very attrac- tive as you drive in. Notice we gave it two varies. Maybe it looks so nice be- cause the homeowners as- sociation is responsible for keeping up the maintenance of all the front yards as well as the common areas. We were told that many of the homes were bought by for- eigners who are not always here, so they could not be ex- pected to keep up the ap- pearance of their yards. Problem solved with the


The homes have first class finishings, with gran- ite and stainless steel kitch- ens, marble floors, and some even have swimming pools up on their roofs. They all have private BBQ areas. Some of the homes have garages and the rest have car ports. There is a wonderful clubhouse, first class, and a small deli that will make you a light breakfast or lunch. The pool is large and affords a great view.


So if you need or want a home here, you can’t go wrong with Ventanas, bet- ter hustle over there before the real estate market comes back and the prices go back up. Now is the time to buy. Their website is only somewhat helpful, you’re going to have to drive out there to get a feel- ing for it. www. ventanasresidences.com. 624 104 3775. Drive up the road that goes up the hill across from the Pemex on the fourlane. Keep going. Further. Keep going. When you think you’ve gone too far you will see a sign on your left indicating you need to go a little further. You’re almost there. Like we said, it’s a great view from up there. 


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