Mexico

Mexico 2002

Summary
Baja Mexico for a day: April 14, 2002

Detail
Tone and I were in San Diego for a work-related party Saturday night, but had nothing to do Sunday. So we decided, hey, why not spend a day in Mexico? I'd never been before, and Tone was in desperate need of some chipotles only sold south of the border, so it seemed like a good idea.

We parked at the border and took the Mexi Coach to Tijuana just in time to catch the 11 a.m. bus to Rosarito. About 40 minutes later, we arrived in this very touristy seaside city. Vowing to find a restaurant with no English on the menu, we walked along the main strip toward the edge of town.

Eventually we found a second-floor restaurant that fit our criteria and proceeded to eat obscene amounts of seafood along with some excellent guacamole and chips. We washed it down with a couple beers and a coffee, and paid 120 pesos total (about $13).

After a short stroll past a beautiful neighborhood church and along the crowded local beach, we went to the supermarket to fulfill Tone's chipotle craving. There we filled our backpacks with $20 worth of various bottled hot peppers and salsas. Tone was like a kid in a candy store.

After a bit more wandering and more beer, we caught the 4 p.m. bus back to TJ. It was only a couple miles' walk to the border, and we figured it had to be easier than sitting in traffic all the way back to the U.S. So we cut through downtown Tijuana and managed not to get lost, despite having a map that listed street names with no relation whatsoever to their actual Spanish names.

We stood in the border crossing line, which went on for several blocks, for a little more than an hour before getting to customs. Once we got through, we found the car and headed back to I-5 north for the four-hour drive home. Still stuffed from our glorious lunch, we didn't even need to stop for dinner.

See some images of our trip.