Hanging out in Ensenada
Lynn & Mike ..around the world
Mike Drinkrow & Lynn v/d Hoven
Thu 26 Jul 2012 16:44
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Hanging out in
Ensenada
We have been in Ensenada for a few weeks
now - at the end of our travels through Mexico. The map below shows more
or less the route we have taken up the Pacific coast.
 Mexico has been very interesting country
to visit, with dramatic climatic differences, from the lush tropical south,
where there are more mango trees than you can imagine - to the dry and barren
Sea of Cortez (Gulf of California), with just a few cacti - to the
more temperate Mediterranean climate of the north west, where there has
been fog each morning and you find vineyards in the valleys.
Mexico is almost twice the size
of South Africa, covering over 2 million km/sq and has a
population of about 115million - (of which over 20 million live in the
greater Mexico City area), making it the most populous Spanish speaking country
in the world. They have been independent since 1810 and had an election
here earlier this month, when a new President, Enrique Peña
Nieto, was elected. There is much talk of the drug wars and associated dangers,
but we have seen nothing of it and have found the areas that we have visited, to
be safe and non- threatening. The Mexican people are a delight, with a very
friendly and helpful demeanor, the lack of aggression
is notable! While you hear of all the Mexicans trying to get
into the USA, we have met many Americans who have decided to move to
Mexico... a cheaper and more pleasant option!
On the topic of border crossing - Mike and I helped a
friend take a boat to San Diego earlier this month, and then crossed back into
Mexico by foot! What an interesting experience! We took the San Diego
trolley (tram) to the border then walked across a bridge through the border into
Tijuana, where we then took a bus down to Ensenada. This crossing is the
busiest border in the world, and while fairly simple from the US to Mexico, is a
much harder slog going the other way....something we are going to do on
Saturday. Mike and I have friends in who live on Coronado Island in San
Diego and will visit with them again this weekend.
Earlier this week we took a tour to the Guadeloupe
valley wine country - on the outskirts of Ensenada . There are a number of large
estates and then lots of small boutique farms. It was a great day and we got to
try some new varietals that we had not seen before. We did the tour
with Bill & Lorell Alexander, who lived in the Sonoma/ Napa wine
country for many years, which was interesting for the wine guides, given that we
too come from a wine producing area.
  At Santo Tomas with Bill and
Lorell New
for us: Barbera & Tempranillo
Time2 will be staying at
the marina at Cruiseport for the
next few months while we go home to Cape Town. This marina is inside the
commercial harbour and so a very good place to leave the boat in terms of surge
and security. There is also another marina in Ensenada which we have visited for
fuel, called Coral, a lovely place, but is an expensive option for long
term storage. However, we found out that the price of fuel is reduced
if you stay at the marina - so we are enjoying the pool, spa, restaurant, etc
for one night - and still saving money on the fuel bill!
  The CruisePort marina - Cruise
liners dock here
too We
have some LARGE seals living in the marina
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