The Sea Of Cortez

La costa del mar de Cortez

The eastern coast of Baja (The gulf of California or sea of Cortez side) is much more desolate than the Pacific side; it's drier, and more inaccessible. The Mexican government hopes to change that as they are now extending Carreterra 5 south from Puertocitos to Cataviña.

El Cortez

SaraGrace reserved this hotel on line through Bajatours; If you go don't. Either just show up or call the hotel directly. It's significantly cheaper that way. The hotel is directly on the beach. The (dimly lit) rooms are humungous.

View from our hotel

Sunrise about to peak

Sunrise closer

Closer

Boom! It's here

This hummingbird is easier to find than the last one in Rosarita

Baja Java

Baja Java is about the only place north of Los Cabos and south of Tijuana where you can get an espresso drink. We had eaten here on previous trips to San Felipe, and were looking forward to our re-visit on this trip.

Our memories were trashed however, with a series of errors on the café owners part:
• She almost ran us over as we were crossing the street to get to her restaurant
• They tried to give me an 8:1 exchange rate, even though the casa de cambio across the street was giving 13:1
• They short changed me 50 pesos, and argued with me over it

Big smiles

Puertocitos

I first went to this speck on the wall town almost 20 years ago with Russ and Ken (one of the many times Russ was on hiatus form Lehmer's with the mistaken assumption that there was a dive shop here (There wasn't) But there are some hot springs here.
The hot springs appear at low tide - there are 5 in all. Initially, they are "skin removal" hot, but one by one, as the tide comes in and starts to flood them, they become usable. Each pool in turn is usable for about 45 minutes; with a "Ooh! It's way too hot but I can just bear it" at the start of the 45 minutes to a "Damn that got cold fast" at the end, when you move on to the next pool (which is now just barely too hot). It's lots of fun and reeks of sulfur.

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...And points south

Up until about 3 weeks ago, the road south from Puertocitos was impassible. Not even my friend Brett has managed to drive it, and he has a monster truck that he has taken all over Baja. Now, they have begun a (planned) 2 year upgrade to pave the road all the way to join Carretera 1 somewhere between Cataviña and the Bahía Los Angeles junction. We proceeded south from Puertocitos in search of someplace to eat and found Christina's.

View from the road to Christina's

Christina's Beach

On the way back to San Felipe

Abuelita's

Not sure if this was really the name of this taco stand; but it was run by a grandmother, her sister, daughter, and helped out by the 2 grandkids. classic Baja.

Baja Shrimp Tacos

Another shrimp cocktail

San Felipe at night

Pangas on the beach in San Felipe

Walking home

San Felipe's Arbol del Navidad (Christmas tree)

Mom's Birthday

My Mom's Birthday

Ok, so my mom wasn't with us, but it's her birthday anyways. We started this day on the Pacific coast in Rosarito, and finished it on the Sea of Cortez in San Felipe. We crossed the peninsula on Carretera 3 ; which goes from Tecate to San Felipe by the unlikely route of Ensenada. We picked it up in Ensenada.

Playas Del Rosarito

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Our favorite restaurant

Ensenada

Ensenada is at the southern end of the Baja Riviera, and is a major port. They built one of Mexico's few freeways from here to Tijuana (I've always wondered who the Aunt Jane was that they named that city after). Some people come here to stay; we find it too busy. Today we were only driving through. Carretera 3 (Southbound)is difficult to find when leaving town.

Cotton candy seller
Don't know where he was headed; but we waylaid him for some.

The Mexican word for cotton candy is simply azucar; which literally translates as "sugar" He laughed when we called it "dulce algodon" (literally sweet cotton).

The dye used to create different colours is falvoured, so that white tasted like coconut; red strawberry, etc.

San Felipe

San Felipe is a shrimping town on the northern edge of Baja's East coast. It has a large Gringo population, mainly snowbirds and off roaders from San Diego. Despite this, it still maintains the charm of a small mexican town.

The view from our hotel in San Felipe

Fooling around on the beach

The water here never gets rough and the sand goes on forever. Heaven. SG has some good videos of the kids playing here that she's going to post later.

Back in town

We stopped in at the restaurant we last ate at 4 years ago when SaraGrace first visited San Felipe; They serve beer there with a shrimp poking out of the neck of the bottle. They also give the second shittiest exchange rate in town (the first being the espresso place). he exchange rate was so bad she got no tip.

Watching "El Leon, La Bruja y La Guardarropa" on Mexican TV
(That's "The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe" in Spanish)

SG enjoying a Cocktel des Camarones
This is the resturant we first visited 4 years ago where they serve a beer with a shrimp stuffed in the neck of the bottle.

"I like coloring books"

The Baja Riviera

The Baja Riviera

The Baja Riviera is the Pacific coast of Baja from just south of Tijuana to Ensenada. Our favorite spot is Playas Del Rosarito; better known as Rosarita Beach to Americans, this is really the heart of the riviera. The historic Rosarito Beach Hotel has been host to many of Hollywood's legends.

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Los Pelicanos

Reading the wizard
Each night I read to the kids from The Wizard of Oz

La Cozuela del Mole

Our favorite breakfast restaurant and the source of the secret ingredient to my BBQ rubs (Salsa Molita en pulvo). The name is a pun - casa means house; A cazuela is the pot you usually cook mole in.

Nativity scene at Casazuela de Mole

La Playa

We spent a good deal of time here just playing; unfortunately our fun was aborted prematurely when Isabella took a dunking at the hands of an inconsiderate wave

Playing on the beach

Sand Castles

Michelangelo's footprint

Isabella's footprint

Wipeout!
Isabella got dunked by a wave

Daddy! I'm Cold and wet and surprised that this could happen to me!

Look I'm wet too!

Careterra Uno

I wanted to show SGK the route that Tom and I rode on the Rosarito-Ensenada bike trips that we used to do. This 50 mile route follows "Libre Uno"; the free road from Rosarito to Ensenada.

Succulents on the roadside

Bibayoff

Vinos Bibayoff is one of the oldest commercial wineries in the Valle De Guadeloupe, and our favorite to visit as they have not only the best Zin south of the border, but a great playground for the kids including a zip line!