Baja Restaurant - The Goat Ranch: As fresh as it gets

24 hours notice is needed to prepare the goat for dinner (and yes, we feel a little guilty about that), so we're expected guests this evening.

Five or six goats look on curiously (the lucky ones today) as our shorts-clad group of four makes its way through the low hanging trees to the old farmhouse.  

Sounds of laughter and camaraderie greet us from the outdoor patio - complete with dirt floor - where other guests are seated family style at a long table covered with a plastic tablecloth.  

Everyone has made reservations, otherwise the Goat Ranch would not be open. We add a bottle of wine to the collection on the table and a server offers us beer and coke.

Everyone is sharing stories about their experiences in Baja. A couple in their forties has sold a business and is contemplating their true purpose in life. Another is building a house on the beach.  A lady from California, visiting for the first time has decided she's not going back. A fourth has already made that move and knows all the local secrets.

Almost invisibly the food is served.  Because we called ahead, tonight it is goat, roasted slowly.  On another night it could be chicken mole; whatever the cook wants to make.  The evening continues, the feeling not unlike that of a family holiday meal.  

Everyone, a total of 9, has come as a stranger, but by the end of the evening, invitations are made and goodbyes are sincere and warm.  We all leave with feelings of warmth and connection. 

If you get that way, the Goat Ranch is north of Los Barriles at the El Cardonal turnoff from Hwy 1 about three quarters of a mile on a bumpy dirt road heading toward Punto Pescadero. 

Reservations are a must.  Dinners are $6 - $8.

It's an experience you won't forget.

Note:  If you're a local, you may know the goat ranch as Dona Imela Ariza Cota tio.

The last stretch... a stop to shop in Cabo San Jose!