Dunes of the San Felipe area (63FR53596)

The motto of San Felipe, a fishing-cum-tourist town on the east side of the Baja California peninsula, is "No Bad Days." I wouldn't say we had "bad days" during our long weekend there, but some bits of bad luck did twist through our trip. For starters, before we even left, we changed our plans because we found out TJ would have to return to the Sea of Cortez coast for work the day after we returned to Tijuana. Worried that he might be asked to simply stay put in San Felipe, we played it safe in terms of our travel arrangements.

Instead of taking the dog and camping, we stayed at Aviles Bungalows (left), a hillside establishment bought long ago on a whim by visitors from the States (perhaps recognizing our similar nature, the owners tried to sell us some of their nearby property). The caretaker gave us the option of two rooms. We picked the one with the refrigerator and better view of the ocean (right).

 

A small beach is located about 500 meters from the bungalows, and from there, you can stroll on the sand for the 20-minute walk to downtown. Sometimes, though, the tide comes up so far that there's not enough shore to walk on, but still, you can trek through the oceanside dunes (left) before cutting up to the beach. At the main beach in front of the malecon, however, there is always some sand to be seen (right), even if much of it is taken up by carts filled with paletas and boats strapped to big bananas.

 

The tide, in fact, gave us our next bit of bad luck. At night, the water recedes so far that there are numerous sandbars. Swimming off one these patches, especially under the moonlight, is incredibly serene -- until the tide comes in and carries away all of your possessions, thereby ruining the items that are in your pockets, such as a camera and cellphone, with saltwater and sand. Such an occurrence will also render your photo card unreadable, leaving you with no record of the Ceviche Fest you attended right before your nightswimming.

Ah, but at least there's still the memories. We got into Ceviche Fest for $50 pesos, which included a free Coors Light and a dozen free samples of the citrus-cooked seafood spreads, although many of the stands were refusing handouts by the time we got there later in the day. It also included the opportunity to watch an interesting push-up competition for a bottle of tequila. So with all that, we certainly got our money's worth. TJ even bought some extras, oysters from Mariscos La Palma. They were so good that we decided to go to the stand's seafood shack later in the week (left). I got some shrimp tacos and a tostada campechano (a mix of seafood: shrimp, octopus, and scallops), and TJ went with a shrimp cocktail and octopus taco, which interestingly and deliciously enough consisted of one breaded tentacle and a Tupperware full of potential toppings (right).

 

Another of our culinary choices, Chuy's Place, came on recommendation from the owner of the bungalows. We weren't sure if the offer of free streamed clams was legit (top left), so we ordered chiles stuffed with shrimp for an appetizer (top right). We didn't follow a further suggestion from Mr. Aviles: to ask that 30 shrimps be stuffed in the normal shrimp caldo; instead, TJ had tequila shrimp, and I had the seafood sampler, which included fish, shrimp, and stuffed squid. On a Monday night, with most of the tourists already gone after the long weekend, we were out of luck when it came to dining options. We settled on Restaurant Bajamar, right on the malecon, and its snacks actually turned out to be a good late-night treat, with some perfectly cooked octopus and homemade cheese with a cilantro sauce (bottom).

 

When we weren't eating, we went exploring. We spent our first full day heading south toward Puertocitos and beyond. The weather wasn't ideal for hot springs, which was all right with me because Puertocitos looked pretty down on its heels anyway. We thought about paying $20 to enter a campo recreativo in the town so we could cool off in the ocean after a long drive; instead, we went back north a little and headed down a road that claimed to cost $5 a car. At the end of the road was no fee and nothing but a deserted beach for us to enjoy (top). We weren't so lucky with Valle de los Gigantes, which was closed without explanation, perhaps for the summer season. But once again, it was no biggie, considering you could see tall saguaro cacti all along the road; there's no reference for size, so trust me when I say one was about 12 feet high (bottom).

On the day we decided to just relax by the beach in town, the water was incredibly choppy. While we waited for it to calm, we headed to the north side of San Felipe. From the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, we got a good view of the lighthouse and some hidden beaches (left). When we found how to get down to the water, TJ was actually brave enough to navigate the surf (right); me, I guarded our remaining camera by taking photos.

We also changed our plan of driving back after some more bad luck. The road from San Felipe to Mexicali, which is usually the faster route, was being delayed by construction. Admittedly, it was lucky that we found this out after we got to San Felipe, so we could go back the way we came: crossing the peninsula to Ensenada before heading north to Tijuana. To be honest, it wasn't so bad seeing the lovely scenery of Parque Nacional Sierra de San Pedro Mártir to the south and Parque Nacional Constitución to the north twice during our trek.

And of course, it was quite lucky that we didn't have any car problems during the drive, as the route is definitively desolate. That didn't happen until we got home -- and until TJ had already headed back to San Felipe. As luck would have it, I managed to stall out while driving by myself in one of the most congested areas of Tijuana, the 5 y 10 crossing. I got the car started again and made it home safely, but not before I was the recipient of a lot of honks and one light tap on the bumper.

I haven't taken the car to the shop yet because I'm afraid it will stall again, and right now, I don't have a cellphone that works in Tijuana in order to call for help. Besides, breaking a camera and cellphone is enough for one month, so I don't want to push my luck with breaking the car, too. In other words, I don't plan to give myself a "bad day" until TJ is back to face it with me.