Monday, September 10, 2007
San Francisco to Ensenada then across the Tijuana border
Hi all, I took an interesting excursion over the Labor Day weekend. I sailed my new boat from San Francisco down to Ensenada with some friends and then drove back up to the U.S. via the Tijuana border. If this sort of travelogue interests you then please read on.
In July my boyfriend and I fell in love...with a big 52' cruising boat. In a whirlwind of emotional decisions we signed the papers and took posession of "California Girl". We plan to change the name (my first choice was "Alborada" but it got nixed, hmmmmph!) but for now she is CalGal. Her vital stats can be found here.
In August after boyfriend Tom and I returned from South America (maybe I'll post some shots of that most excellent trip later) we worked like crazy on the boat, got her ready for sailing offshore, and on Thursday August 30th at 8:00 p.m. headed out the Golden Gate for Ensenada Mexico with five sailor pals.
The sail down was a dream...steady winds, sun, flat seas and beautiful sunsets.
On Sunday afternoon at 6:00 we approached Ensenada harbor and took this group shot to commemorate our fantastic trip down. I'm in the back row on the left.
Guess what we saw as we sailed into our marina, the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean! No kidding, this is the real thing!!
The first thing to greet us as we sailed into Ensenada was a gigantic Mexican flag. It measures 50 x 28 meters and weighs about 550 pounds!
After a good night's sleep we knew the first order of business was to check ourselves through customs and register the boat in Mexico. At 9:00 a.m. we began the process and five torturous hours later we completed our business at the little bank set up in the customs office.
Hooray! It's 2:00 p.m. and we're legal!!
In July my boyfriend and I fell in love...with a big 52' cruising boat. In a whirlwind of emotional decisions we signed the papers and took posession of "California Girl". We plan to change the name (my first choice was "Alborada" but it got nixed, hmmmmph!) but for now she is CalGal. Her vital stats can be found here.
In August after boyfriend Tom and I returned from South America (maybe I'll post some shots of that most excellent trip later) we worked like crazy on the boat, got her ready for sailing offshore, and on Thursday August 30th at 8:00 p.m. headed out the Golden Gate for Ensenada Mexico with five sailor pals.
The sail down was a dream...steady winds, sun, flat seas and beautiful sunsets.
On Sunday afternoon at 6:00 we approached Ensenada harbor and took this group shot to commemorate our fantastic trip down. I'm in the back row on the left.
Guess what we saw as we sailed into our marina, the Black Pearl from Pirates of the Caribbean! No kidding, this is the real thing!!
The first thing to greet us as we sailed into Ensenada was a gigantic Mexican flag. It measures 50 x 28 meters and weighs about 550 pounds!
After a good night's sleep we knew the first order of business was to check ourselves through customs and register the boat in Mexico. At 9:00 a.m. we began the process and five torturous hours later we completed our business at the little bank set up in the customs office.The customs officer was kind of a jerk but at least he had a small TV in his office and he was watching telenovelas, so I got to watch Destilando Amor at 10:00 a.m. and Juan Querendón at 11:00. I also saw some great ads for Pasión; it is scheduled to start showing in Mexico in September!
Hooray! It's 2:00 p.m. and we're legal!!
After the torture of customs the crew headed off to the closest watering hole to celebrate with a few cold ones and to listen to the strolling Mariachis:
After our refreshment we walked around Ensenada enjoying the sights. We were impressed with the cherried out vehicles, wheelbarrows full of candy, nuts and candied fruit for sale, and the colorful horses and buggies:
The border in Tijuana is fascinating, not only is the side of the road lined with stalls, but individual vendors walk between the cars hawking everything from fresh fruit to gigantic crucifixes.
Thankfully we had an uneventful trip over the border; our border guard looked very relieved when we hit the Button of Random Searches and got green for "GO". She did NOT want to search our car.
We eventually made our way to one of Ensenada's famous fish taco restaurants. It's all about the condiments...
Yikes! This is just wrong. We did NOT eat here:
The next day we hired the harbormaster's young brother-in-law to drive us to San Diego airport. Although I have flown out of Mexico several times this would be my first trip across the Tijuana/San Diego border.
You can walk across...
...or drive across, which is what we did.
...or drive across, which is what we did.
The border in Tijuana is fascinating, not only is the side of the road lined with stalls, but individual vendors walk between the cars hawking everything from fresh fruit to gigantic crucifixes.
Here are some fantastic photos of the border that I lifted from a very interesting blog called Tijuana Tales by Kinsee Morlan. http://tijuanatales.wordpress.com/
Kinsee very generously allowed me to use her photographs because I, crammed in the back of an SUV with 7 other people plus luggage and sailing gear, could barely move much less take pictures. Hers are much better than mine would have been, Thanks Kinsee!
Fresh fruit for sale:
Last chance to buy a crucifix, hot sauce or oversized vase or two:
You can also purchase Luchador masks! (Is the steering wheel in the back seat??)
Thankfully we had an uneventful trip over the border; our border guard looked very relieved when we hit the Button of Random Searches and got green for "GO". She did NOT want to search our car.
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What a charming story and wonderful pictures. Thanks for sharing your journey. I can't wait to get back to Mexico early next year.
What a wonderful story. I too can't wait to go back to Mexico. I have not been there in 15 years. I once went to Tijuana and walked across both ways. It was eerie on the exit side. You just walk through turnstiles like in the subway. No one checks to see who is leaving the U.S., no one cares who is coming into Mexico.
Nice boat! I love it when people get a chance to travel and find out that no matter what country you're in the people are really not that much different.
After spending 20 years in the Navy I find that I don't miss the ocean much.
One of my strongest memories of TJ was finding a vendor on a street corner, with a poor, sad-looking burro that he'd used shoe-polish on to paint white with black stripes. He was selling "pictures with a zebra" and I still have a photo somewhere in my stuff. (I felt sorry for the donkey...not that I really thought it was a zebra!!)
After spending 20 years in the Navy I find that I don't miss the ocean much.
One of my strongest memories of TJ was finding a vendor on a street corner, with a poor, sad-looking burro that he'd used shoe-polish on to paint white with black stripes. He was selling "pictures with a zebra" and I still have a photo somewhere in my stuff. (I felt sorry for the donkey...not that I really thought it was a zebra!!)
Sylviaaa~~~What a great adventure ! When I looked at those pictures of the sailboat the lyrics to ''Sailing'' and ''Come Sail Away'' drifted through my mind. I love the ocean , but I have only been on a sailboat once just after hub and I were married. Hub did okay on that trip [somewhere in Connecticut] ,buthe got seasick on one and only cruise we ever went on. [There was a hurricane...in his defense.'] I have never been to Mexico. Maybe I should go with my friend the Spanish teacher someday on one her annual summer excursions there. I just don't want to get Montezuma's revenge. Thanks for sharing your great adventure. P.S. I wish you had one shot of you and Tom standing with arms flung open wide on the very tippy front of the boat...a la Miranda and Whatshisname from ''Heridas.'' Que lastima...maybe next time. Comgratulations on CalGal [but to me it will always be Alborada.]
Permalink posted by 
: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 10:23:00 AM EDT
: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 10:23:00 AM EDT
Yeah Sylvia, why no pictures of you getting busy on the boat in full view of the captain, Heridas-style? Heh of course not. Great pics and story, looks like so much fun!
Sylvia~~~By the way, did you hear that Justin Timberlake and Andy Samberg each won an emmy for the skit on SNL about ''The Box'' ????
Permalink posted by : Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 4:04:00 PM EDT
: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 4:04:00 PM EDT
Sylvia, thanks for the beautiful photos and the terrific recap of the weekend! Oh, what fun that must have been! Now you'll want to go south all the time, right?
Jeanne
Jeanne
Thanks for sharing your time with all of us. My friend and her hubby have a boat that also happens to be called "California Girl" that is docked in Mission Bay Yacht Club. When she and I and another friend turned 50 3 years ago, we stayed on the boat 3 days with no one else. Even tho we did not leave the dock it was one of my best trips ever. Very relaxing and the boat people at the club were very down to earth.
thanks for reminding me of my little trip. You are very fortunate to get to have such and adventure Nancy
thanks for reminding me of my little trip. You are very fortunate to get to have such and adventure Nancy
Permalink posted by : Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 7:39:00 PM EDT
: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 at 7:39:00 PM EDT
Sylvia,
Thanks for sharing your trip! The whole thing seemed really cool. (I have to admit I'm a little jealous!) I'm so excited you got to see the Black Pearl. I always thought it was a CG boat!
Thanks for sharing your trip! The whole thing seemed really cool. (I have to admit I'm a little jealous!) I'm so excited you got to see the Black Pearl. I always thought it was a CG boat!
I'm so glad y'all liked the pics. It was a fun trip down.
Oldman54, the painted "zebras" are still there!!
Shoot, I can't believe we didn't do the Miranda/Alejandro arm fling and get busy on the bow...NOT...with five of our friends in close proximity.
Susanlynn, I'm psyched that Andy and Justin got Emmies for their "Box" skit. They SO deserve it, it's my favorite SNL skit with "More cowbell" being a close runner up. Sometimes I order sandwiches from the local deli and their lunch special is called "Lunch in a Box", heh heh bad thoughts run through my mind.
Oldman54, the painted "zebras" are still there!!
Shoot, I can't believe we didn't do the Miranda/Alejandro arm fling and get busy on the bow...NOT...with five of our friends in close proximity.
Susanlynn, I'm psyched that Andy and Justin got Emmies for their "Box" skit. They SO deserve it, it's my favorite SNL skit with "More cowbell" being a close runner up. Sometimes I order sandwiches from the local deli and their lunch special is called "Lunch in a Box", heh heh bad thoughts run through my mind.
Permalink posted by : Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 12:18:00 AM EDT
: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 12:18:00 AM EDT
Sylvia```I can tell that we could SO be friends. We are of the same mind about SO many topics [Fernando, SNL, Emiliooo]. I love ''the box'' sketch, too. I also love Justin and Jimmy Fallon as Barry and Robin Gibb doing a talk show. Have you seen that one? I'm not really a Justin fan, but he is hilarious on SNL..quite a sense of humor. I love the skits he does in which he is hawking something on the sidewalk and gets into fights with his competition. I like the cowbell skit, and I used to love Chris Walkin when he played The Cosmopolitan. My daughter's old beau once met him on the streets of NYC. He said that he really is a pill . I also loved Sheri Oteri and Will Farrell as cheerleaders.
Permalink posted by : Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 8:15:00 AM EDT
: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 8:15:00 AM EDT
That's interesting about Christopher Walken, I would be very disappointed if he was a warm, friendly person in real life.
I love watching the old SNLs where Sheri and Will are the over-the-top cheerleaders. They're a scream.
P.S. I also suggested we name the boat "Fernando Colunga" but you can only imagine how that suggestion went over.
I love watching the old SNLs where Sheri and Will are the over-the-top cheerleaders. They're a scream.
P.S. I also suggested we name the boat "Fernando Colunga" but you can only imagine how that suggestion went over.
Permalink posted by : Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 9:34:00 AM EDT
: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 9:34:00 AM EDT
What an amazing excursion, Sylvia! Thanks for sharing with us. Soooooo cool.
Permalink posted by : Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:49:00 AM EDT
: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 11:49:00 AM EDT
Just seeing your pictures of sailing relaxed me. What a fun excursion. There really is life outside of work!
What happened to the boat? Did you leave in Mexico?
What happened to the boat? Did you leave in Mexico?
Permalink posted by : Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 12:32:00 PM EDT
: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 12:32:00 PM EDT
Sylvia***Wowser ! ...A boat named Fernando Colunga. I like it. Just imagine all the delightful possibilities....i.e. ''Okay, I'm going to get on Fernando Colunga now.'' ''Hi, Marg. What am I doing? I'm just lying here on Fernando Colunga.'' ''Time to wash down Fernando Colunga.'' Gee. I wish I had a better understanding of boat lingo because I'm sure that if I did that I could come up with even more interesting and provacative phrases. Your turn, Sylvia>>>>>
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Permalink posted by : Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 4:19:00 PM EDT
: Wednesday, September 12, 2007 at 4:19:00 PM EDT
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