Maybe it was the “return
journey effect” (that a return trip often seems shorter than the original
journey), better roads as a result of post-Hurricane Paul repairs, lighter
traffic because it was off-season, or some combination – but this trip seemed
easier than our drive south in October.
One difference was that,
rather than receiving only a cursory glance, our car was actually searched at
most of the military checkpoints.
Molly’s favorite “Mexican Moment” of the trip: During a discussion of her passport picture (which
is of a younger-looking brunette!) a handsome 20-something soldier looked
closely at her and her picture and told her she had “beautiful eyes”. We dare you to imagine a US or Canadian border officer complimenting someone’s
eyes! Viva México.
La Paz, Baja California Sur to Loreto,
BCS -- 347 kilometers (216
miles):
Our first hurdle was getting to the car storage lot only two
kilometers south of the airport. Like
many airports in Mexico, official airport taxis in La Paz have flat-rate fares based on a zone system. This works well for most arriving tourists; even
if the fare exceeds what one might be able to negotiate, it’s consistently
applied. Unfortunately the system lacks flexibility
for those traveling only two kilometers along the airport road! We
finally threw up our hands in frustration and paid the full (really galling) 300
peso ($25-ish) zone fare. Lesson
learned: arrange for a ride if you’re not going into town.
Our little Volvo, which had been in the good care of La Paz Mini
Storage / Park ‘N Fly La Paz, looked great.
We were particularly pleased to see that auto body work we had arranged
for at a bargain price (about one-third of what we would have paid in
California). Once again, Mexican
craftsmen had made a lie out of “you get what you pay for”; they had even matched
the odd “Volvo green” paint color.
An Aside: This body work removed the results of an
encounter Molly had with a parking lot post on the day we decamped from Sacramento
in September, 2011. That encounter
wasn’t spectacular – but the effect on Molly was – and the little back panel
crunch has acted as a reminder of how hard it was to “just sail away”. We don’t need that reminder any more.
Back to La Paz to Loreto, 2013: Our October
trip south down Mexico Hwy 1 [2012/10/la-paz-and-abracadabra-is-lovely] followed the path of Hurricane Paul and as
a result involved driving very slowly over several washed-out stretches of
highway. This year we drove on long bits
of brand new highway.
In Loreto we stayed
at the Hacienda Suites Hotel. This
“hotel” is a testament to how nice landscaping and a clean pool can make an
otherwise unglamorous motel inviting. We’ll
be charitable and suggest that the hotel’s use of the term “suites” is due to a
translation glitch -- because we don’t think the little table with two chairs
in the “standard suite” should be enough to qualify the otherwise ordinary
(though very clean) motel room for suite status. |
| The Hacienda "Suites" Hotel |
Loreto, BCS to Riscal de Cataviña,
Baja California -- 571 kilometers (355 miles)
This was a long drive, with spectacular scenery on winding roads
that could benefit from shoulders and/or pull-outs for slow traffic (us when
Molly is driving). Our destination was
the Riscal de Cataviña boulder
fields. See our posting on this really
cool place from last year [2012/10/poking-along-down-baja-california-norte] if your reaction is the same as ours: boulder
fields? This area has very unique and spectacular
scenery.
In this “middle of nowhere” place we stayed at the Hotel Mision Cataviña, a charming hotel with
a lovely courtyard, a nice-ish pool and a beautifully landscaped desert walking
trail that was perfect for a post prandial stroll. The restaurant served a pleasant dinner and
breakfast, the room was charmingly decorated and the bed was comfortable. We have marked the location of this hotel on
our Baja map.
 |
| Hotel Mision Catavina |
 |
| Hotel Una Mas |
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| Desert Walk |
Riscal de Cataviña, BC to Ensenda,
BC -- 360 kilometers (224 miles)
Maybe it’s the result of
Molly’s career in government finance -- but as we drove into the northern state of the Baja California we kept thinking that money
budgeted for that state's roads in 2012/13 must
have been diverted to pay for Hurricane Paul-required repairs in Baja California Sur. As we drove north the new
pavement disappeared, potholes got deeper and more frequent and trucks got
bigger and more frequent. The traffic
increase was particularly noticeable as we entered the agricultural region
around Ensenada and the other Lázaro Cárdenas. Baja California is a major source of produce
for North America, all of which travels by truck.
In Ensenada we
again stayed at the Estero Beach Hotel, a
place we enjoy not only because of its quiet location on an estuary south of Ensenada but because of the decor which
doesn’t appear to have changed (except to be refreshed and repainted) since the
hotel was opened in the 1950’s. Before
we go back we’re going to buy some Mad
Men-esque clothes and some electronic cigarettes . . .
The next morning we took a short drive south on Mexico Hwy 1
to see La Bufadora – one of Ensenada’s “must see” tourist
attractions. The “blowhole” is pretty
cool (it’s actually just a very narrow inlet into which the waves crash and
spew dozens of feet high), but the real reason to go is to experience tourist
frenzy. To get to the spewing water,
which was fun to see:
one must walk a veritable gauntlet of tourist
venders. Between the parking lots and La Bufadora one can purchase:
 |
| Bedspreads |
 |
| Refreshment |
 |
| Luchador Masks |
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| Candy |
 |
| And Spiritual Enlightenment |
From there we went to the Santo Tomas valley, one of two small wine-growing areas outside of Ensenada.
We visited the Santo Tomas winery
(very old and now very large), tasted their wines and had a cheese and Serrano
ham picnic. Location – lovely; wines –
just fine (we bought one bottle of white); cheese – as with most Mexican
cheeses good but young; and Serrano ham – great.
Valle de Guadalupe – “Mexico’s Napa”
Mexico’s primary wine growing area is in a valley north-east
of Ensenada – the Valle de Guadalupe. We had planned to stay in the valley for
a couple of nights in one of the charming-sounding hotels we had read
about. Unfortunately, our “plans” hadn’t
extended to actually making any reservations.
Lesson learned: to visit the Valle de Guadalupe, particularly on a
weekend, plan ahead – a long time ahead.
One hotel very kindly avoided sounding snooty when they told us their
next weekend availability would be in October . . .
The Estero Beach Hotel
was also full so we found ourselves scrambling for another hotel in Ensenada.
We landed downtown at the Villa
Fontana Inn, which has an odd, kitschy “Victorian” motif. But it was sparkling clean (love those little
paper bands on the toilet seat that attest to the toilet’s cleanliness -- do
motels still do that in El Norte?)
and, once the crowds of pre-teen girl gymnasts and pre-teen boy baseball stars left
the pool, it was quiet.
Our day trip to the Valle
de Guadalupe was fun. We stopped and
tasted at:
Nativo, a winery
tucked way (way) down a windy dirt road, that has a lovely little house for
rent (two bedrooms, one bath, kitchen, and hammock - $100 a night for two
guests). Our arrival coincided with the
departure of a large Mexican-American family that had been enjoying a two-day
long birthday celebration at the house.
 |
| Essential Rental House Equipment |
The winemaker arrived
from his house down the road to say goodbye to the departing San Diegans, and took
us to his cellar and gave us barrel tastes.
He told us about his training in Spain and was marvelously enthusiastic
about his product. There was never a
moment when we sensed we were part of a corporate marketing campaign à la Napa. And he enthusiastically and generously routed
us to other wineries in the area!
 |
| Bryce, consulting Benjamin |
So, not so much like Mexico’s Napa; more like Mexico’s Amador Foothills or Eldorado County (wine areas near Sacramento). We bought a bottle of a Zinfandel blent
called Nativo Kumiai after a
pre-Columbian tribe from the area.
Vinas
de Garza, our second stop, was a more corporate wine experience,
interesting as a look into how the larger Valle
de Guadalupe wineries are blending wines to appeal to the emerging Mexican wine
market. This winery is a beautiful
place, but it didn’t feel like a “find”:
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| Wine Futures |
Vinicola Trés Mujeres, was our
final stop. There the tasting was
handled by one woman in a dusty little cave-like room. We purchased a bottle of La Mezcla del Rancho (the ranch mix), a blend of Cabernet and
Grenache. It’s a perfect wine to go with
spicy Mexican steak.
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| Tres Mujeres plus one |
Back in the USofA –
June 10:
The next day we drove to Tecate
along Highway 3 (the wine route), believing that the Tecate border crossing would be faster than at Tijuana. It may be that we
made the better choice, but our experience has resulted in a new Family Travel Rule: Never attempt any border crossing (even
one purported to take only 20 minutes) on a less than full stomach.
For three hours we crawled along beside the infamous border
fence in the sun. On the Mexican side, every
inch of the fence is covered with advertisements or painted with art and we were offered the opportunity to
purchase gum, water or tamales from strolling venders. We weren’t able to see the source for the
tamales (a Family Rule about street food) so we declined the offer -- though by
the time we reached the border guard station we were sorry we hadn’t taken a
gamble on them!
The area on the US side of the fence is an empty DMZ for
several miles. Gazing at the vast desert
we again regretted passing on the tamales.
It was an hour before we found what we were looking for -- one of the “first
things I want in America” items: a turkey sandwich on sourdough. Delicious.
Our Summer “Vacation”
Plans -- The Short Version:
- A week in the LA area visiting The Brothers (currently underway);
- Five weeks in Sacramento/San Francisco house-sitting for friends and staying in the occasional hotel (probably without paper rings on the toilet seat);
- A week in Oh Canada visiting family; and then
- August and September in a one-bedroom house we have rented in Ciudad Guanajuato, Estado Guanajuato, Mexico. We plan to blog only about this portion of our summer -- unless there are requests for descriptions of our annual eye exams and dental visits in Sacramento . . . ?
- Back to Travels on Abracadabra
At the moment it feels very good to be in the USofA – no
matter how much we complain about it. That’s
our Constitutional Right, you know.
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