Weekend Camping in Mexico

We left at the crack of dawn (6am) to drive to Mexico, just north of Ensenada on the Pacific coast of the Baja Peninsula. We met up with Martin and Lucy, Clyde and Ruth, Michael and Michele, and Chris and Candi for a caravan journey down to Playa Saldamondo for a night of camping. None of us had ever been so it was completely unknown...

Crossing the border into Mexico was nothing. You don't even stop, just keep driving as long as you have a green light. From the border, it was just an hour drive to our stop and the drive was beautiful - ocean side the majority of the route. Upon arrival, we realized how undiscovered the place was and there were very few people camping there and NOTHING else around. As soon as we got there, we saw dolphins surfing the waves off shore and playing in the distance. We had a large campsite and everyone found their place to set up tent for the night. The views were UNREAL - our site was about 20 feet off the water on a cliff. Jacques and I set up our tent right in the corner with an amazing view and sounds of the waves crashing below.





We spent the day playing and drinking in the sun, exploring our surroundings either by foot, climbing rocks or piled in a truck for a cruise of the grounds. When the sun set, the boys came out to cook up a feast for dinner and we listened to music and sat around the campfire all night.




We woke up to the sound of a whale off shore (couldn't see him though) and then had a front row seat for a dolphin feeding. The day had begun and was beautiful! We didn't want to leave... We spent the morning and afternoon sun bathing on the rocks below. The guys made another feast over the open fire of freshly shucked mussles, bacon, sausage, eggs and toast.




It was a hard scene to leave behind, but knew we had a long ride ahead of us, so we finally left at 4pm. We stopped along the way in search of fish tacos and finally found a restaurant worthy - shrimp enchiladas were delicious. By the time we hit the border to cross back into the US, it was already 8pm and we had a 3 hour wait to get through!!! Jacques passed the time in the back of the bakkie checking out the scene with Clyde while I drove. Once we finally got to the customs officer, he decided to flag us and send us to secondary screening because of Jacques' nationality. The second officer called the first guy a moran because Jacques is a legal resident. Oh well... I'm sure this won't be the first hold up for Jacques coming and going from the US.

By the time we got home, it was 2am and then back to work first thing Monday morning! Whew... thank goodness we only have 5 days of work to go! We are definitely in need of a vacation after our mini-taste of the relaxation in Mexico! We have one week and counting but still lots to do. We are SO excited though and already in vacation mode.