Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

i-petra

Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico

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Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

We came to the Guadalupe Valley in Baja California, Mexico specifically to taste their world-class wines. Many times we were told "This is the Napa Valley of Mexico."

i-petra was recommended to us by someone we met at The Black Market. Saying the views were incredible, and the food was worthy, he had been there for a family wedding and said we should go. 

The next day after walking to the tourist section of town called La Calle Primera or First Street, we called an Uber to take us to the boulder covered mountains.

Vineyards in Baja California, Mexico

The Uber driver charged us 400Pesos or $20USD to take us from the middle of town to the middle of nowhere.

We rolled through vineyards and hills for 30 minutes when finally we arrived.

We hoped he knew where he was going!

i-petra Restaurant

Nestled in stunning scenery, i-petra is the restaurant in the famous Oeno Wine Lodge.

Used for special events such as weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and family occasions, there is capacity for 200 people on 6 different leveled terraces.

Looking to the hills from i-petra

More vineyards can be seen in the far middle distance in this photo.

Petra means rock or stone in Greek and is the female form of the name Peter.

As you can see... there are boulders everywhere!

View of the restaurant from a higher terrace

With 6 different terraces at various levels, the expansive view is worth a photo.

Indoor-outdoor seating is available. Some tables are under umbrellas, some are inside the main restaurant and some tables are under roofs in open-walled rooms.

A glass of Cabernet

We took a table on a middle terrace looking out over the vineyards and boulders.

An English language menu

When we arrived, we saw a QR code menu affixed to the table. This meant that we needed to take a photo of the coded square and then read the menu on our phones.

While we have become accustomed to doing this, Billy prefers a physical menu to browse through.

We were handed a menu in English - but actually we are more comfortable with menus written in Spanish. The translations can be misleading  - which was the case for us when we ordered our meal.

i-petra has an international menu of Baja California fresh fish and seafood, organic vegetables and wood-fired meats. The bar has a selection of wines from Guadalupe Valley and an interesting myxology menu.

Octopus and pork stew

Having previewed some customer reviews before we came to i-petra, we knew for sure we wanted to order the cheese, cold cut and fruit plate.

This meant that we wanted something smaller to share so we weren't stuffed after our meal.

Having never heard of octopus and pork stew before, we chose this appetizer. Little did we know that the "pork" being referred to was chicharron, we had envisioned something of a roast pork falling off the bone and delicate octopus.

Chicarron is fried pork belly or fried pork rinds.

We never order those, and never eat them.

However... this was surprisingly delicious!

The stew broth was savory, and the crispy contrast of the chicharron to the octopus was far better than we ever would have imagined.

If the menu had been in Spanish we would not have passed up the chamorro, listed as braised pork shanks on the menu above.

But it all turned out great regardless. We ended up trying something new, something we would never have ordered... and we liked it!

Fantastic cheese, cold cut and fruit plate

This plate was so yummy and so big that we ended up taking some of this home after all.

You can see dates, Prosciutto ham, various cheeses, olives, nuts, grapes, strawberries and a chunky salsa.

These flavors contrasted and complimented.

A closer look

Don't you think this is just beautiful?

Meanwhile we are drinking lovely wine looking out over the country side and really enjoying ourselves.

Oh... and being blown to smithereens by the wind!

Take a jacket!

Our bill for two

This is our bill totaling $97USD before tip.

The cheese plate is about $23USD, and the wines are around $12USD per glass.

At this point I would like to mention that a few days before, we had visited Cava L.A. Cetto and bought a bottle of Reserve Chardonnay for 228 Pesos, about $11.50USD.

So with the prices listed above, we could have purchased 5 bottles of this Reserve Chardonnay and had 25 glasses of wine!

Upon reflection, in this case if you were to eat at i-petra, we'd recommend that you buy some of the famous craft beers from the area which - price wise - are a far better deal!

We came to Ensenada for the wine, but discovered throughout the stay that that this city has the best craft beers in all of Mexico!

Another look at i-petra Restaurant

This is the front  of the restaurant.

Everywhere are beautiful views and the food was quite tasty.

We would recommend this restaurant for the experience. We suggest bringing a jacket and ordering the craft beers!

_____

i-petra

Located in: Oeno Wine Lodge

For reservations call 646. 269. 1567

Carretera. Francisco Zarco- El Tigre Km 11.5

Ensenada, Baja California

Restaurant Website: https://oeno.mx/restaurante/

Wine Lodge Website:  https://oeno.mx/

For more information, photos and stories about Ensenada, Baja California, Click Here

For more information, photos and stories about Mexico, Click Here

VIDEOS, VIDEOS, VIDEOS! See Mexico for yourself! Beaches, Bars, Babes, Great Food, Live Music.

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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