We started out about 9:00 a.m. from Mesa, in a minivan they had rented big enough for all of us. We drove down to Maricopa and then continued down toward the U.S./Mexico border. Of course it was really dry and there was a lot of cactus and rocks for scenery.
It is approximately a four hour drive to Puerto Penasco, or what the Arizonans call Rocky Point. It is very easy to get into Mexico, they want all the tourists they can get. Tourism is what drives the economy of this little place. However, as we came into the city, our friends, the Wynns, were surprised to see how deserted and abandoned the place was. I don't remember exactly when it happened, but I do know that our government issued a travel advisory warning U.S. citizens about the dangers of going into Mexico some time in the last ten years. Previously the Wynns had come down occasionally and found the place to be hopping and booming with tourists. This time it felt like we were some of the few tourists in town.
We shopped for some Mexican stuff. You know, T-shirts, bracelets, cactus things, ponchos, etc. we ate the most amazing Mexican seafood tacos and burritos, and ceviche, and drank fresh squeezed lemonade. I think it was probably limeade, but whatever. We drove around the town, outside the tourist areas which was run down, abandoned, and sad looking, with buildings half torn down, or half built and not finished. It looked like the rug had been yanked out from under their economy because there are so few tourists willing to risk venturing across the border. In my mind I had been picturing this lush little seaside city, with green palm trees, red bougainvillea, thatched roofs, adobe walls with vines and hibiscus and lots of mariachi music. Well, it didn't quite lI've up to my expectations. They just don't have the kind of money it takes to keep up those appearances. Luckily, the economy has nothing to do with the fishing and shrimping. This little port had it all going on when it came to seafood. Wow, and amazing! But i will say this, when we ate in the restaurants, I felt like the atmosphere was mostly on par with Ethiopian restaurants.
Our hotel, Penasco del Sol, was great. Alan's and my room was very yellow. It made us look yellow, but it was clean and comfortable. I wasn't afraid to climb in bed for fear of finding dirty sheets or vermin. The pool and outside area was beautiful.
We saw that the tide had gone out so Alan and I walked down to the beach in the dark. The beach was such a long shallow beach that when the tide goes out it goes out very far. We couldn't walk out as far as the water because it rushed away so fast and so far. I could tell there were a lot of sea shells on the beach, but because it was dark we had a hard time seeing them. The next morning we all walked out on the beach and Sabra and I were gathering sea shells left and right.
We had decided the day before that we would go fishing out in the ocean. I thought I would be ok to go because I have finally mastered not getting sick when flying in the plane with Alan.
The ride out to where we would fish was great, but as soon as we stopped and the boat started rocking side to side, I knew it was going to be a long four hours for me. Everyone started fishing except me; I was trying to keep my eyes on the shore and not think about how sick my stomach was. Alan found some anti-nausea medicine in my purse and I took that, but about three minutes later I lost it over the side of the boat. I thought I would be ok then, but about 20 minutes later I again started wretching, and had to throw up again. I felt so gross and weak after that that everyone was alright with going back in to the shore. It really wasn't so bad for everyone else because the fish weren't biting anyway. And now we know why I refuse to go on a cruise and Alan will never ask me to go fishing out on the ocean again after this experience. It just wasn't fun.
When we got back to the shore we waited for my stomach to calm down and then we ate lunch. We ordered a huge seafood platter with huge shrimp, flounder, some other fish I didn't know, rice, salad and vegetables and muchos tortillas. And lots of lemonade. It was perfect to sit al fresco in the sunshine and know my feet were on dry land.
We then started our four hour drive back to the U.S. It was fun for Alan and I to get out of our comfort zone again. We had a good time with the Wynns and Hesses. It's always good to get to know people better and become better friends. We were pleasantly surprised when later that night Stacy Wynn admitted that she had not been very excited about inviting us along, but she was pleasantly surprised that both Alan and I were good adventurous people and pretty fun to be wit too. She thought we were reserved and quiet, but they soon found out we're just a barrel of laughs.
Well, I'm sorry, I haven't yet been able to figure out how to get the pictures to go with my stories. You'll see fishing pictures, things we bought beach pictures and hotel pictures. Hope you enjoy.
