San Diego to Ensenada the long way round

Last time we left you on a knife edge, no doubt, wondering how on earth we managed to get into Mexico with only a fully functioning rental car, an almost fully functioning driver, our passports and our most certainly semi-functioning wits. Go back the way we came and seek amnesty in San Diego for one more night? Decide that - being a 24 hour border crossing only 1 hrs drive away - Tijuana was actually our best bet? Sleep in the car? Get taken in by gringo bandidos? No, fools! Of course we drove about a two hours east away from Tecate, Ensenada and all we knew. With Frances fuelled by coffee and the childhood dream of reaching Calexico on the Californian side of the border from its Mexican counterpart Mexicali (geddit? geddit? kinda sweet dontcha think?), we drove on into the night. Finally, we reached Calexico, town of gas stations and a motel that kindly agreed to take us in once we'd handed over a fair amount of dollars. Phew! We crossed into Mexico at Mexicali (I still think it's sort of romantic, Calexico/Mexicali, aw) Jos and I having momentary panic that we might need some sort of tourist card to get in. As it turned out, we were welcomed to Mexico with a green light and no formalities whatsoever. Mexicali was pretty uneventful, though obviously more exciting than Calexico it being in Mexicocococococococo (will make no further comment on the town names)! We tasted our first quesadillas and drank pints of fresh jugo de naranja, gave the cathedral a quick once over and headed south once again, beckoned by the brewery at Tecate and, further south, Baja's wine country (are you detecting a theme?). Tecate did indeed provide us with a welcome pitstop, the nice brewery people gave us nice free beer. On our way out of town we managed to avoid being siphoned across the border back to the US by the skin of our teeth and a bit of spirited driving by Frances. The drive through Baja wine country to Ensenada was stunning. We passed through mountains with incredible views, the rocks absolutely shatted by some kind of weathering that, as a geography teacher, I really should be able to identify. Practically no vegetation and small white crosses and shrines dotted across the mountainsides. We stopped at a vineyard on the Ruta del Vino and again were given free booze. We tasted the first truly dry white we've had since arriving in the Americas - Napa valley has a lot to answer for - and stocked up for the days ahead. We arrived at Ensenada in the afternoon buoyed by the incredible drive and ready for anything! Mountains along the Mexican border

Breakfast in Mexicali

Sunset in Ensenada

California Bound!

Baja California, that is.

We are now in Mexico and officially on our adventures. Frances drove us over the border yesterday morning, and we are currently residing in the Frat-Boy favourite town of Ensenada. Lots of shops selling cheap pharmaceuticals and cuban cigars, and US-style bars with fully-fledged gift shops so that you can prove you got drunk there. But we don't care - this is Mexico, with the sun and the Pacific Ocean and the mountains and Quesedillas for breakfast.
The mountain scenery has been magnificent, particularly when driving along the border. Pictures will follow once we remember the connectors and things.
Our first stab at a border crossing was on Thursday night. We flew down to San Diego, with the aim of picking up a rental car and crossing the border at Tecate - a civilised little village with a brewery - rather than the hotbed of sin that constitues Tijuana. The only constraint was the the crossing closed at midnight. But our flight got in at 8pm, so we weren't worried.
A catologue of delays ensued - the flight was late, the Thrifty car rental staff were operating at half speed, and there turned out to virtually no road signs. Still, by the time we made it to the crossing it was still only 11pm. Actually, 11.03 and those three minutes made all the difference. The guide books had let us down - and Tecate had just closed. So we found ourselves stranded miles from the nearest border crossing, hotel, tourist information centre or helpful bystander. Still, we had our big California-style Ford Taurus, and we were on an adventure. No turning back for us.
Stay tuned for the conclusion of this exciting tale. It's getting dark, and another night in Ensenada beckons. Love to all.

Dear Schmeeta,

We hope you can take some time out of your busy schedule of napping and yowling to read our blog. You may remember us, the bald one and the one with the beard to rub your cheek on...

Enough of all that, we do realise that even a cat as astute and talented as Schmeeta will have a hard time logging on. This is, of course, a thinly veiled conceit, through which we will communicate with YOU during our travels and who knows, maybe afterwards too (if you're really lucky). We've spent the last two weeks living it up in Washington State with Frances, living in a manner to which we had better not become accustomed if our money is to last until May.

Today the adventure really begins, we fly to San Diego this pm and all being well should cross the border into Mexico at Tecate some time this evening. We'll spend a weekend with Frances in Ensenada (wine country!) before she heads off to a gruelling business trip in NYC and we, well, we don't really know what we'll do next but it should involve Baja California, mating (humping?) hump back whales, the old colonial city of La Paz and the Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon railway) for starters.

More to follow once we find the sunshine...

L & J xx