Entering Bahia Todos Santos under sail

Dawn broke crisp and clear as we entered Bahia de Todos Santos and made the turn toward Ensenada Harbor at its head. After motoring all through a windless night from San Diego through moderate swells, it was a sweet relief to hoist sails before the early morning offshore breeze and take a two-hour tack across the broad bahia before having to start the motor again for the final approach.

I had been sweating the whole VHF- communication-in-Spanish thing, but after giving it my best shot, speaking Spanish to hail the dockmaster at Baja Naval where we were planning to stay for a few nights, I was answered in perfect English. Oh well.

The finger piers at Baja Naval are rolly creatures, so it was a bit of a rodeo when Wade, Rogelio (dockmaster) and I all started running around while we tied off Pelican Moon four different ways against the surge.  After cleaning up the boat and donning some less-smelly clothing, we bounced up the dock, checked in with the marina, and made our way a few blocks north to clear ourselves into Mexico. It was, as they say, no problemo. I had enough Spanish in my head to do the job and garner smiles, and there were always officials speaking English if we had questions. Afterward, we took a few turns around downtown Ensenada, and got a Mexican cell phone and an SD card for the iPad.

Our business complete, it was time for some Baja cuisine. We have a Lonely Planet guidebook for Mexico, and it mentioned a couple of small restaurants a few blocks off the main drag. We couldn’t find the one we wanted, and a local man spotted us turning the map around and scratching our heads. He called out across the street “You want to go over two blocks to find the tourist area.”

He walked closer and we told him we were trying to get away from the tourist area. He spoke perfect English, but he answered my Spanish with Spanish in good humor. Upon hearing that we were looking for La Comadre, he said “That place is for us, the people who work here. It’s our comfort food.”  He pointed the way, and off we went, hungrier than before.

The place was small, with maybe a dozen tables and a bar that wrapped around the kitchen. Behind the bar was a long counter covered in brown glazed cazuella dishes, and the cook was taking orders from the cashier, scooping up great spoonfulls onto lightly fried tortillas, then calling out the dishes and passing the plates back over the bar to waiting customers. The cashier was so nice; she gave us a plate with samples of six or seven of the meats and sauces.  I could eat there every day of my life and be happy. Many of the folks sitting at the bar would just tell the cook they wanted something else, and he would make a note on their ticket, grab their plate, and pile on more of the good stuff. Everyone, inlcluding us, ate like they couldn’t get enough. We felt lucky to have found the place!

Nopales (prickly pear) scramble for breakfast.

On Thursday we had fun riding one of the small city buses a few miles south to the supermercado al mar, where we did some grocery shopping, and even looked for paint at the Home Depot. On the return trip we took a bus that dropped us off in a different part of Ensenada, in the “regular folks” shopping district. This was much nicer than where we had done our business the day before, and we enjoyed sharing the sidewalks with Mexicans of all ages.

Can you read the signs? We like the one with the pigs picture “No garbage; we are not animals).

We could have spent more time in Ensenada, and found it safe and friendly. However, Pelican Moon had heard there was going to be favorable winds the next few days, so by Friday afternoon we left the dock behind and pointed south for the three-night sail to Bahia de Tortuga (Turtle Bay.)