On the Way To Mexico

About 75 miles south of the Arizona border is the small fishing village of Puerto Peñasco, also known as Rocky Point. At the invitation of our good friends, Tom and Shirley, we, the reluctant Mexican travelers finally worked up courage to drive there and spend a few glorious days at their new condo. The front of the condo is a block from the Gulf of Mexico and the back faces an open land area. The drive was scenic through the Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the U.S. side. We were immediately waved through the border crossing at Lukeville, AZ with no signs of “illegals flooding the border.” Although, the Mexican border town of Sonoyta had the feel of a third world country because there were street beggars, most with disabilities, at every stop sign in this dusty town of 12,849. We then drove another 75 miles across a dry desert where “no hassle” speeding signs prevailed. Our initial fears of driving in Mexico were mitigated when by chance, Tom was in Phoenix at the time, and we drove in tandem back to Rocky Point.

View from back of Condo

Here is the bathing beauty in early March in Rocky Point, Mexico trading her bathing suit for a winter coat.

Still, Carolyn had fun walking the beach with Shirley, searching for shells and sea glass — especially at low tide in tidal pools. The beaches where Tom and Shirley live, were very sparsely populated with people, so we had beach to ourselves so often as we walked.

Good food, good friends, good shopping, and good drinks were the order of the day, especially while watching the sunset over the Sea of Cortez.

Every night we were there, a group of up to 15 condo residents gathered for drinks and snacks to watch the sunset. The group leader was Zeus, who is shown on the left, asking the group to quiet down and get him another beer.

While shopping in town, I met and fell in love at first sight with a mermaid named Mache. She was great looking, but stayed in her shells and would not talk to me. Upon further investigation there seemed to be something fishy about her.

There were also some other great looking “chicks.” But, I did not want to ruffle their feathers, so I just looked.

Some shops were more organized than others.

Lots to sort through to find that perfect treasure to take home. The dusty owl on the right did make it home, minus the dust. So did the treasure in the middle.

The food was wonderful with fresh fish right off the fishing boats, great restaurants and plentiful tequila tasting.

Besides being our gourmet cook, Tom took us to the Tequila factory for lots of samplings. We also had a special night out with Tom and Shirley and 15 of their condo buddies. Some of their friends knew the owner of Garufa Steakhouse. The owner was sick that night and could not join us but he made sure the staff took care of us and sent us many extra delicious surprises.

At the end of an excellent meal, the manager introduced us to the cook and all of the employees who took care of us. Our bill was an unbelievable $46 US dollars. I left a tip that was as much as the bill. We learned that when the Lukeville border crossings had been shut down for about a month, tourism suffered badly in Rocky Point. Now that the border crossing was open again, local merchants and staff treated the returning tourists royally. As a result of meeting Tom’s golfing friends at dinner, I was invited to golf at a Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course. The Las Palmas Golf Course was in a beautiful setting along the Sea of Cortez.

We had a great time, but I was in danger of having to quit early because I was out of golf balls. Many were lost in the ocean, in standing pools of water, and in the dense undergrowth lining each fairway.

This is hole 5, 157 yards in length with the Sea of Cortez ready to claim any errant long shots and dense bushes hiding short shots.

The greens were very large and slow. My golf buddy did miss the putt in case you are wondering.

The trip would not be complete without tequilas and lunch at Manny’s Beach Club.

We had a whale of a time shopping for all sorts of items with our wonderful hosts, Tom and Shirley. Tom was very patient with Carolyn when she wanted to go back and buy some things she saw the day before. Can’t until the next time.

Everything there was super, even the Viagra.

We took back many souvenirs from our trip. The most delicious ones in the form of a cooler full of frozen fish, including Shrimp, Scallops and Grouper that had — according to Jessy, the fish monger — been caught the night before. Tom is a very regular customer of Jessy’s fish market, so Jessy sold us a lot of fish and put it on ice for us in our cooler.

Lessons Learned:

1. Don’t believe all that you see and hear on the news. We met a lot of Mexicans. They had no interest in coming to the United States!

2. Beware of increasing size of Tequila samples at the Tequila Factory, which in turn leads to larger Tequila purchasing.

3. Bring extra golf balls, you will probably will need them.

4. Avoid small spaces after having too much bean sauce.

Appreciate