Mexico: Golf, Wine & Cheese

I always kept the coffee pot going in my office, at least until noon. Several of my colleges would stop by on a regular basis for a cup of brew in the morning before work. One spring morning Jack came by, in what appeared to be, a somewhat foul mood. Our conversation:

  • Jack: "Skip, I need a vacation. I have a week this summer, and I need to get away and relax."
  • Me: "How about Mexico? I know this neat golf course. The food is great and the prices are cheep. We can golf, eat and maybe even take in a winery or two. It's a great place to relax."
  • Jack: "Mexico, Mexico, all you ever think of is Mexico."
  • Skip: "Carly and I go down there all the time, just to get away, relax and golf and you know Carly has good taste."
  • Jack: "It's too hot in Mexico in the summer."
  • Skip: "This golf course is right on the coast and has the weather of oh, let's say Pebble Beach."
  • Jack: "How am I suppose to believe you, you might tell me anything?"
  • Skip: "You don't have to believe me just ask Carly you would take her word for it wouldn't you?"

    • And so started a great week in Mexico with a couple of neat friends. They picked the time, first week in July, and we meet in San Diego. They were very hesitant to drive their new PT Cruiser in Mexico and since I always carried Mexican insurance anyway it was easy to give them a ride. I felt obligated to call them the week before the trip and let them know the temperature forecast for the next week in Rosarito was in the low 70's, at least along the coast the weather was going to be great and they should pack a sweater. I probably failed to mention that the temperature 30 miles inland was about hundred and ten. No mind, my truck has a good air conditioner.

    After lobster and margarita's in Puerto Nuevo we checked into Baja Mar golf and resort. Early to bed in anticipation of an early 10 a.m. tee time while visions of long drives danced in our heads.

    After our golf game, the entertainment included a shopping spree in all the pottery shops that line the free road just south of Rosarito. Mrs. Jack was looking for a special salsa bowl for those frequent Mexican dinners she loves. She found just what she was looking for, priced at a paltry eight dollars. I knew I could get it for six dollars somewhere along that road. An hour and a half later we were back at the first shop to buy the one of a kind bowl for eight dollars. Oh well, after a great dinner at the La Fonda located just a couple of miles south of Puerto Nuevo, nobody carried. No body carried anyway. The La Fonda has a stuffed calamari steak that is outstanding and big enough for two people. With a view of the surf this restaurant is a must stop for those sunset dinners. Wine tasting was on our agenda, the next day, after our golf game. A short drive up the old road from Ensenada toward Tecate we found the L.A.Cito winery tucked away in the beautiful Guadalupe Canyon. After some wine tasting we bought our import quota and headed out to see what else we could find. I had spotted the universal, "se vende queso" (cheese for sale) sign nailed to a telephone pole on the way to the winery and decided that these gringos needed the experience of the mom and pop cheese operation. A quarter of a mile up the dirt road and another quarter of a mile of driveway a very large, but friendly, German shepherd dog greeted us with his tail wagging. To our surprise we found not only cheese for sale but honey, jams, jellies, nuts and all sorts of herbs and spices. It turned out to be a great stop for hungry tourists.

    Dinner at the El Cortez hotel in Ensenada rounded out a great four day vacation to the magic kingdom of manana. The place where all your problems can wait until tomorrow. Baja Skip