Roadtrip (During Covid-19) – Anacapa Island and Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine (Oxnard)

There was one reason we travelled to Oxnard, and no, it wasn't to check out the abandoned Casa Sirena. While doing research on our previous roadtrip, I planned a stop at Ventura Harbor on the way to Solvang. While doing a bit of research I came across boat trips to the Channel Islands. Where did I hear about the Channel Islands? Then it came to me! It was on one of the late Huell Howser's episodes of California Gold! ( we miss you Huell!) So, after heading down the Channel Islands rabbit hole, to find out that it's called the "Galapagos of North America" and that it is one of the least visited of our National Parks…well, I thought it would be an interesting place to visit. Of course, I'm not quite the intrepid hiker that the Missus (and Her friends) are. So, I decided to keep things simple; we'd just do Anacapa Island, which has basically one loop trail. You get the boat from Island Packers and it takes a bit over an hour to get to Anacapa Island from Channel Islands Harbor.

It's pretty chill, the boat leaves at 930 from Channel Islands Harbor and you need to check in 45 minutes ahead of time.

After checking in; you wait and eventually board, then head off……

The trip takes a bit over an hour…..we were told things were kind of rough on this day, but it didn't seem that way to me. We were told that on occasion, you will see dolphins and such, but not on this day. Eventually, the island comes into view.

There was a Park Ranger and Two Volunteer Guides on board and they provided us with some really interesting info.

Anacapa Island is home to the largest breeding colony of Western Gulls in the world. Nesting season starts in April, chicks are hatched in May and June. By this time of the year (mid-July), the chicks are getting fairly big and are starting to fly away. So, with all these Seagulls….well, there's quite a fragrance if you know what I mean.

The Landing Cove is quite interesting…….

You disembark and then head up the stairs.

From there, it's "seagull city"…..

   They definitely run the place and many of them have no fear! The squawking was pretty much continuous and after a while, it seemed like each seagull made different sounds.

There were three guys on the boat who were camping overnight on the island….man, between all the noises and the "guano-ishness", I'm not sure I'd want to do that.

There aren't very many structures on the island and all of them, including the Visitors Center were currently closed.

And there were gulls as far as the eye could see…….

The Missus pointed at one of the birds and asked me what it was.

I told Her it was a seagull chick……

She told me, "no way, look how big they are….."

Well, many of the chicks were just learning to fly……they'd flap their wings a bit and get some air under them….and then come right back down to earth.

There is only one trail on Anacapa Island, it's two miles long in kind of a figure 8. We ended up doing it three times. The views are quite amazing.

The views from Inspiration Point are so beautiful.

We could hear the harbor seals clearly as we passed Pinniped Point.

After our third pass, we headed to the short portion at the west side of the island where the Lighthouse is located. The trail ends right before the lighthouse which is not open to visitors.

We sat on the bench and one of the Volunteers came along. We had a nice chat and I learned a bunch of things.

I asked about that red spot on the beak of the gulls.

And was told that it's basically the "bullseye" for the chicks…..they instinctively peck on the spot when they want to be fed. And then the really nice fellow asked me if I saw the chicken bones and left over french fries on the ground….and yes, we had noticed those. He mentioned that the gulls are expert "dumpster divers" and will fly all the way to Oxnard and Ventura for easy eats!

We also chatted about how graceful the Pelicans were in the air and he mentioned that the Brown Pelicans were almost wiped out in the 1960's. And this one spot, on the west side of Anacapa Island is the primary breeding area for the pelicans.

I really appreciated his insights and I mentioned his expertise he laughed and told me; "no, I'm a retired Botanist, my friend who is the other volunteer here today….well, she's a retired ornithologist!" You gotta love it.

 Soon enough it was time to head on over to where the restrooms and main buildings were located. Soon our boat would be arriving to take us back to Oxnard.

I really enjoyed our time on Anacapa; from the beautiful views, the crystal clear water, the kelp beds easily visible.

I loved learning more about the gulls; I think I've kinda taken them for granted and I developed more of appreciation for them…..and even their dumpster diving skills….I recently saw one hauling a huge sandwich across the sidewalk in Little Italy.

If there's one thing I've gained by just travelling in California during the pandemic, it's an appreciation of how diverse and wonderful this state we live in is.

As we left Anacapa, the boat made sure to pass by the photogenic Arch Rock.

We arrived back at Channel Islands Harbor at around 445. We'd only had some nuts and cheese for "lunch", so I thought we should just head on over to Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine which was basically a building away from Island Packers. I had made reservation for 530; but I just thought we'd see if we could get in early.

The restaurant is located on the second floor of a rather non-descript building that holds another restaurant and assorted businesses.

There was only one table occupied when we arrived so we were gladly accommodated.

And were given a nice table with a view of the harbor.

The staff were very friendly and efficient.

I started with a Caipirinha (of course), the Missus a glass of white wine.

It was pretty weak overall, but at least it was somewhat refreshing.

Some toast with Beringela (our server said – "Brazilian Tapenade") arrived with our drinks….which was not bad at all….this was already better than what we'd had for dinner the previous night.

We started with an order of Pastelzinhos (Empanadas), getting 2 beef and 2 cheese.

Nicely fried and crisp. The beef version was nicely seasoned and pretty good, while the cheese version was on the bland side.

And of course, the Missus just needed to get the Mandioca Frita; fried yucca which She really enjoyed.

And since we were at a place named Moqueca, we needed to order the namesake dish, right? Moqueca is a seafood "stew" of sorts that is from the state of Espírito Santo. We simply ordered a small portion with shrimp and cracked up when it arrived in a Korean Dolsot!

 It came with some rice that reminded me of a rather dry pilaf, it did well with the tangy-cilantro-mild coconut-mild garlic flavors of the Moqueca. The shrimp was ok quality, but gladly, it wasn't overcooked. The urucum (achiote) provided a bright red color to the dish.

I was actually glad that I had also ordered the sautéed collard greens which went so well with the Moqueca….we ended up just dumping the whole plate into the stew. It added a nice savory-earthy-bitter counterpoint to the acidity of the stew.

This was a pretty good meal, much more enjoyable than what we'd had the previous evening. The staff was friendly and accommodating and while we wouldn't go out of our way to dine here, we'd gladly revisit if we're in the area again.

Moqueca Brazilian Cuisine
3550 Harbor Blvd. Suite 201
Oxnard, CA 93035