Week in Ensenada

Our final night of last year's Baja trip was spent at this ho-hum RV park with an outrageously amazing view of the Pacific ocean.  When Hans and Ursula suggested we revisit Ensenada this year, we didn't have to think about where we wished to stay-- Ramona Beach RV Park would be it!

Our week's agenda would be to check out Ensenada's great seafood, explore Rosarito up the coast, tour the Guadalupe Valley wineries, watch some amazing sunsets...and celebrate my birthday!

Traversing the Baja

Last year, we experienced the Baja peninsula from the very top to the very bottom (and darn near everywhere in-between!).  So, this year's itinerary is pretty tame by comparison-- traverse the Baja from East to West.

Before making the journey to Ensenada, though.  We have one more area to explore-- the coastline south of San Felipe along the Sea of Cortez.

Beach Paradise At Last!

All good things come to those who wait!

After 4 noisy, dusty nights parked next to the sand dune of racing ATVs and dune buggies, the hoard of race fans went home.  We were finally rewarded with our pick of the best of the 2 best beachfront campsites in all of San Felipe!  It didn't take more than a few minutes for Hans, Ursula, and I to decide to extend our stay here an extra week.

Now, we'd finally get to discover some real San Felipe living!

San Felipe 250 Race Weekend

It's the last weekend in February, and the little town of San Felipe, on Baja's Sea of Cortez coast has swelled from a sleepy population just under 10,000 to a busting-of-the-seams 30,000 or more.  Fans from across North America have come to watch the spectacle that has made Baja off-road racing world famous.

While the Baja 500 and Baja 1000 races are more well-known, the San Felipe 250 is run by the same organization (SCORE International) and draws a robust and loyal crowd every year. It's even televised by CBS Sports (broadcasts start on April 10th)!

Hans, Ursula, and I dust off our cameras and head out Friday morning for the first event of race weekend-- Contingency Row.

Stumbled Into a BIG Crowd

After a whirlwind 2-month Baja trip last winter with friends Hans and Ursula (where we boondocked on gorgeous beaches,  snorkeled with sea lions, touched baby gray whales, explored historic missions, soaked up city life in La Paz, conducted a 1,000-mile taste-test of the ultimate best Baja fish tacos, and so much more), we had even more ambitious plans this winter to explore mainland Mexico.  

But, as other commitments started whittling away at our time block, the idea of a shorter, less stressful trip began to look more and more appealing.  The big mainland trip is now postponed until this Fall, and for the moment, we would now head to northern Baja for a quiet, peaceful, relaxing month of sandy beaches.

We carefully planned our trip to ensure we'd return to the U.S. before Mexico's mega beach holiday-- Semana Santa (Easter Holy Week).  But we failed to avoid another event (that would transform our first week in Baja into anything but quiet and peaceful) -- the SCORE San Felipe 250.