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Published: February 4th 2019
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POVERTYJETSET's SECOND SUPERBOWL SPECIAL EDITION BLOG
EN VIVO FROM MEXICO!
Just finished watching the New England Patriots most triumphant Superbowl LIII victory over the fraudulent Los Angeles Rams while hanging out in Guerrero Negro, Baja California, Mexico. Now for the blog...
I didn't notice any jackrabbits swimming in their eponymous lagoon,
Laguna de Ojo Liebre, in Southern Baja yesterday. But there were a lot of grey whales who winter around a few spots in Baja after their journey from Alaska.
Arrived yesterday in Guerrero Negro a little before 8:00 after a semi-comfortable 10 hour bus journey from Ensenada. After grabbing a coffee I figured I would find a place to let me check in early, sleep the day away, and catch the
ballena tour on Sunday... well before the Superbowl, of course.
Anna, proprietress at Hotel Ballena, let me dump my pack and advised me to swing by Laguna Tours to see if I could latch on to their 11:00 trip. Proved to be a good move because it's a 3 day weekend here (not in honor of the New England Patriots) and the tours were pretty full for Sunday and Monday. The coffee kicked in and
Lobster Dinner
Puerto Nuevo near Rosarito & TJ was
muy fuerte so I was feeling pretty good and took the tour.
Will stay another day here since one of the major attractions of the hotel was my own cable TV for Superbowl viewing as ESPN Deportes is picking up the broadcast which is, needless to say,
¡MUY IMPORTANTE! There are also several unprepossessing places to get really good food in addition to a renowned fish taco truck.
$US ≈ 19 Mexican
pesos ($M) but can pay for just about anything in dollars although the exchange rate is usually poor.
Guerrero Negro
Serves as the main travellers' point for whale watching tours. Plenty of hotels and a campground. Don't think reservations are necessary and I'm here on a long weekend. The tour ran $M900 including a small sack lunch taken onboard the
lancha while drifting around the lagoon. Tours depart at 8:00 & 11:00, about 3 hours on the water with 2 hours of that in the lagoon. Back in town ~4 hours later so it's definitely possible to blow out of town north or south on a bus after the tour.
Accommodation and food Only looked at one other place, Covare Inn next to the bus
La Bufadora
The Blowhole near Ensenada. stations since the inn's reception doubles as the ABC bus office. Hotel Ballenas a bit off the main drag was $M850 for 2 nights in a clean, quiet private room with bathroom, crazy hot water, drinking water, WiFi and the aforementioned cable TV.
Across from ABC bus is La Casita de los Jugos, open early but not at all on Sundays, good coffee and OJ. Cocina's Mary and Lupita serve up typical Mexican dishes like
huevos rancheros, flautas, and fried fish, the specialty of the region, for ~$M70 or so. Cafeteria El Pelicano was close to the hotel for coffee, desserts like
arroz con leche and WiFi. Tacos Muelle serves only fish or shrimp tacos out of a truck usually parked in front of Laguna Tours. Not to be missed and only $M25/30 for one.
Transport Will probably take the 9:30 Aguila bus tomorrow for Mulegé, $M525 for the ~5 hour trip. Plan B might be to push all the way to La Paz but I'm not sure I'm up for a 12 hour overnight bus ride. Breaking it up in Mulegé seems prudent.
Incidentally, ABC does not take credit cards here, cash only, but Aguila does
Ballena gris
Grey whale, they got right up to the boat. This one was 16m long, ~50'. accept plastic.
Ensenada
Spent a night here before the long bus ride to Guerrero Negro and to check out The Blowhole, a.k.a.,
La Bufadora. One night was enough, kind of missable without a car.
Accommodation and food Best budget place is Ensenada Backpackers, close to the center and ~20 min walk from the bus terminal. Walk in rate $M300 in a dorm, towels extra, good WiFi & a PC, kitchen, toast & good coffee included, $US accepted but better to pay in pesos. Change $US around the corner at OK rates, good juice bar across the street from there.
Next door to the hostel is a great French pastry shop, a block away is Restaurante El Tio where
platos del dia go for $M80.
Transport Took the ABC night bus to Guerrero Negro supposed to dep 20:00 but left an hour late, still arrived on time ~7:30 (lose an hour crossing to Baja Sur), $M1040. Showed the most recent Spiderman movie which was equally lame dubbed
en español as I imagine it would be in English.
For
La Bufadora take a
colectivo from the clock tower to the turn off at Calimax, $M13. Then take another
to The Blowhole for $M18. The entire trip one way takes ~1½ hours. No entrance fee. Pretty cool spot if the conditions are good.
Rosarito
Beautiful beach but way too cold for swimming. Town stretches for miles along the highway,
no muy bueno without a car. Cheap and easy transport to both Tijuana and Puerto Nuevo for a lobster dinner. In hindsight, I should have stayed the first night in TJ but still taken the
colectivos to Puerto Nuevo as they run pretty late. Lodging would have been way cheaper and easier to catch onward transport to Ensenada.
Accommodation and food Hotel Corona Plaza a block from the beach had a great last minute deal on booking.com, $47 for a room which was upgraded to a junior suite, 6th floor ocean view, good WiFi. There was hardly anyone else there since it was low season. Really good breakfast included. Across the highway is a good exchange office.
Plenty of places to eat near the hotel but I went to Puerto Nuevo for an $18 lobster dinner, complementary margarita included. The lobster was really good but seemed kind of pricey for a mom & pop place in Mexico. Next
to the exchange office is Cafe Monociclo, $M35 for a killer
cafe cortado among other coffee drinks.
Transport Colectivo to Puerto Nuevo was $M14, $M16 on the way back, 20-25 min each way. To or from Tijuana,
colectivos run $M22.50 each way departing Tijuana center from a staging area on Madero between 3rd & 4th and will stop anywhere along the highway in Rosarito, 30 min trip. Can also take a ~half hourly ABC bus from their office near the border for $M70 but the stop in Rosarito is inconveniently located along the toll road.
For Ensenada, I walked the 30 min to the
7-11 at La Paloma which also serves as a gas station for the toll road. This is purportedly the ABC bus stop and the bus will allegedly stop if there is space. I waited about 30 min but the bus was late. That didn't matter as a local offered me a ride in his delivery van on his way to Ensenada.
San Diego
Sensible starting point for a one way trip through Baja. Only had one full day there, enough to walk around Balboa Park, that was about it.
Accommodation and food Two
nights in USA Hostel in the Gaslamp Quarter was $69 including breakfast. Place was clean, not real crowded. Run regular trips to Tijuana and the beach. Best deal for food is Tuesday all you can eat tacos for $5 at American Junkie. Had to buy a $3 Corona but still a very good deal. Hit the salad bar at Ralph's grocery store for a couple other meals.
Transport Airport bus leaves frequently from the baggage claim exit, $2.25, goes right down Broadway on the edge of Gaslamp, 20 min ride.
San Ysidro border crossing to Tijuana Piece of cake. Take the blue line trolley from downtown San Diego for $2.50 to the end of the line at San Ysidro. Right off the platform is the walkway into Mexico. Present the passport then pay hefty tourist tax of $M558, they take credit cards but don't think they take dollars. Save the entry form as the tax is good for multiple trips over 6 months. However, I'm not sure how that would work if I buy a plane ticket from the US to Mexico next spring as the tax is automatically added to the ticket price.
After a 5-10
Lobos Marinos
Sea lions chillaxin minute walk arrive at the border bus station but for Rosarito continue to the center to Av Madero, another 10 min on foot. Plenty of cheap hotels along Madero, didn't look too seedy or sketchy.
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Vinh
non-member comment
Loved the whale
Jon - Good to hear your eating well, lobster no less, and enjoying the whales. Terrific time it looks like!