Viva Mexico!

Only had spotty internet connection in Mexico, where we stayed from Thursday to Monday, therefore no report and no pics. On our way over to Mexico we passed by Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument - famous for its huge cactii. It was a 3-hour drive in the U.S. and another one hour after having crossed the border at Sonoita (no controls at all!). We arrived to Puerto Penasco or Rocky Point - as the Americans, living or owning here - call it - in the afternoon.


The town (about 45.000 people) is spread out with the main center of activity around Old Port (pics above) and another along Rodeo Drive, both with lots of (souvenir) shops, some really good, some rather kitschy. Originally, it was just a small fishing village located on the Sea of Cortes in Mexico, but grew in the course of time. Still, many of the roads are dirt roads and some of the infrastructure (like the shrimping boats in the harbor) is still pretty rustic.


We were surprised by the size and the attractivity (though a "morbid" one) of the town. Our first stop at a large supermarket showed us how inexpensive food is, whereas in the souvenir shops and many restaurants they charge you in U.S. $, which is, nevertheless, much cheaper than in the U.S.A and in Europe. Right now, in November, the town mostly belongs to the Mexicans, not too many "tourists" around as we noticed on Saturday evening on the main square, where a band was playing and people were dancing and families enjoying themselves.

Above and below: pics of Rodeo Drive with its shops and a "wildwest feeling" with dirt road in the background. Also, Rodeo Drive is becoming famous for its new murals on the walls:


Since Dios de los Muertes is celebrated here for a whole week with parades and colorful altars for the deseased people set up, we also got a little taste of how our "Allerheiligen" in Germany is celebrated otherwise, melting catholic and Aztec traditions.

There are predominantly condos (for rent) and vacation homes (mostly for rent, too) in town, not many hotels. Many Americans (especially from the Phoenix area) have bought property and rent it out part-time. Where we are staying with our friends, in Las Conchas, about ten miles out of town and closeby the nature estuary, there are villas, big mansions, in several sections and in two or three rows along the beach, very luxurious homes, and there is a security control point to enter this part of the beach. On the other end, South of the city, is Sandy Beach, more populated, more infrastructure and mostly condominiums there (see pic below).

Not bad neither, but we prefer our very tastefully designed and perfectly equipped 2 bedroom/2 bathroom house directly on the beach, with a large living room/kitchen and two patio areas, one up, the other down with a fire pit and shower and direct access to the beach. Our view from the bed goes directly towards the blue ocean and the beige sandy beach and in the evening, when we sat around the fire pit, the star-covered sky (with lots of falling stars!) is incredible.


It's pleasantly fresh in the morning, but it warms up quickly to around 80 deg F (27 deg C), and water temperature is slightly lower than that. Since the moon is just starting to increase again, the water level is very low at low tide and serious swimming is just possible at high tide. The water is very clear, sand is clean and it is incredibly nice to be able to swim in the ocean in November!

We walked at different beaches quite a bit (pic from sunset at Cholla Beach) collected magnificent shells, watched egrets, herons, osprey and pelicans - artists when it comes to flying -, we saw dolphins far out and schools of fish jumping up and down. Flounder and shrimps are the two main catches in the area and we had delicious meals of both! Also, found a quaint little restaurant in downtown, a teeny tiny family operation, serving tacos, burritos, quesadillas and such, freshly made from the mother and served by the daughters on three tables in the courtyard (pics). There are, also, vendors on the streets, selling shrimp cocktail (more like gazpacho) or tacos or fruit and all the food was delicious. We have just been told to be careful with veggies and fruit and some vendors not using purified water.


Sunrises and sunsets - aren't they beautiful?


Some of the animals we met:


And some more pics from the town and its colorful shops. Some of the pottery is really nice, wished we would have had capacities in our luggage to bring some over.



Below is a picture of the fish market, where different vendors sell mostly flounder and shrimps. Also, they sell directly from the boats sometimes or from trucks along the streets.