A Nostalgic Baja Weekend Loop Trip

by Greg Niemann

It had been many years since I’d made the Baja loop drive from Tijuana east to Tecate, then south through the Guadalupe Valley to Ensenada, and back up the coast via Rosarito to Tijuana.

The opportunity nudged us recently when my wife had a Friday dental appointment in Tijuana and we had a Monday business meeting in San Diego. Living in Palm Springs we opted not to make two long trips. No longer owning our Baja home base south of Rosarito, our weekend options became limitless.

We entered Tijuana on Thursday evening and stayed at the Ticuan Hotel which is very near the Washington Dental Clinic. We like the Ticuan Hotel as it’s clean, comfortable, includes a buffet breakfast, and offers free indoor parking. Plus it’s only a short 1½ blocks to the dentist.

Later, heading from Tijuana to Tecate I recalled that back in the 1960s the drive was over a 2-lane road that became single lane when it had to cross over the Rodriguez Dam. Then the road meandered through rolling hills and scattered ranchos before arriving in the picturesque border town of Tecate.

I’d been back to Tecate covering various stories but it had still been many years. Today the industrial sprawl of Tijuana seemingly goes on forever with several road choices. We got on the truck-busy toll road (MX #2D), which wound us into the hills south of the border. Just before Tecate we passed the distinctive gate marking the entrance to the world-famous La Puerta Spa, internationally ranked by both Conde Naste Traveler and Travel and Leisure magazines, and long a celebrity favorite.

The town of Tecate, with a population of 108,000, is no longer small. Even the U.S. border crossing entering California Highways #88 and #94, which for years was a “piece of cake,” now often has a very long line of cars heading north.

The brewery of Tecate Beer, perhaps Baja California’s best-known product, used to welcome visitors for tours and samplings. Still a dominant industry in the heart of Tecate, tours have been suspended.

We parked across the street from the massive white brewery boasting the familiar red, gold and black eagle Tecate logo and walked to the central plaza, Parque Miguel Hidalgo.

I wanted to experience the park and its denizens that were so tenderly presented in the books of Daniel Reveles. (Tequila, Lemon and Salt, and other books, Sunbelt Publications). He once told me if I ever got to Tecate to look him up at Bar Diana (The Archer) across the street from the park. Daniel has since passed away and I thought fondly of him and the local people he humanized as I spotted his old hangout.

The roads out of town are noted for numerous tile manufacturers and distributers. The famed Tecate Tile shops feature different clay styles: roof tiles, decorative bricks, pottery and various other art forms. The fame of Tecate Tile has spread far and wide as most of these tile works have been exported for years.

We headed south on the Tecate-Ensenada Highway (MX #3) through the Guadalupe Valley to Ensenada.

There is a lot to see and do in the Guadalupe Valley, the popular Ruta del Viño. There are a number of spas, resorts, small inns and hostels. Many of the wineries offer tours and samplings. MX #3 passes right by the Museo del Viño, and not far away is the Zoologico Parque del Niño Jersey (Children’s Zoo).

Having been in the famed vineyards of the Valle de Guadalupe several times in recent years, we did not stop.

A few new-to-me high-rises welcomed us into the port city of Ensenada, a place I used to know well. It was a very small fishing village when my father used to take us camping south of town in the mid-1940s.

Visiting Ensenada many times since, we’ve watched it grow. I still wasn’t prepared, however, to experience the changes wrought to accommodate the legions of visitors stepping off of massive cruise ships now docking in the harbor.

With the fishing boats seemingly dwarfed by their presence, I noted updated ingress and egress into town, including scores of vendors hawking their wares.

Of course, more people now wandered the streets which featured more generic restaurants and tourist shops.

We headed for the Mision Santa Isabel Hotel, an old place established in 1951 by treasure hunter Gaston Flourie. The mission-style hotel seems to have aged well (it’s still family-owned) and was quiet, being just far enough from busiest part of Calle Lopez Mateos, the main street.

We enjoyed walking around Lopez Mateos with the downtown being busy and interesting. It was comforting to see a few of the old landmarks still in the area: the Cultural Center Riviera. The Hotel Villa Marina, the old Bahia Hotel, and the famed El Rey Sol restaurant, where Mexican Presidents have dined.

Of course, Ensenada to us means seafood. As it was getting late in the day, we decided against going to the docks and their myriad of mouth-watering fish-taco stands.

Thus, we were able to discover another vintage Ensenada restaurant, Mariscos Bahia de Ensenada, on Avenida Riveroll. My wife got her Salmon fix there and I enjoyed the first Pescado Zareandero (marinated and grilled) fish I’ve had in years.

The next day we took the Toll (Scenic) road (MX #1D) north, switching to the old road (MX #1) at El Alisitos (by La Fonda). We waxed nostalgic passing our old stomping grounds of Primo Tapia and Cantamar. The area only contained small grocery stores and a gas station when I bought my place there decades ago. Primo Tapia has since morphed into a town with shops covering both sides of the old highway.

But we didn’t drive past the lobster village of Puerto Nuevo. No, we couldn’t do that. It was midday and the big weekend crowds had not yet materialized. With help of the restaurant touts, we parked right in front of one of our former favorite places, El Guero. With a spectacular ocean view we pigged out on lobster Puerto Nuevo style.

I don’t know how we found room for the gelato at the Brown Dog Gelato shop a few miles up the road, but we did.

In Rosarito we checked into the 100-year-old Rosarito Beach Hotel and stayed in the tower section (fully equipped condos, all with spacious views) that overlook well-manicured hotel grounds. Beyond is the wide sandy beach and the hotel pier which juts out into the horizon.

Cowboys were seeking prospective clients as they led their strings of horses along the beach.

Looking at the bluffs way south, I was reminded of a 1957 adventure. Four of us teens ventured into Baja and camped on the beach just below those very same bluffs. In the morning a kid with some horses offered us rides. For the princely sum of $1, we rode all over the small village of Rosarito on these horses.

One of our favorite Rosarito taco stands is Tacos Paisano, at the corner up the street. There’e a reason they’re always busy and the next day we enjoyed “taco heaven” again.

I had not been in the El Nido restaurant in years. It’s rustic, authentic, and has always served good food. Popular with locals and tourists alike, they grow their own food in ranches out of town. They raise their own quail and I ordered that finger-licking delicacy for the first time many years.

Not only was the El Nido meal a visit to nostalgia, so was the whole weekend.

Crossing the border we’ve always entered the Sentri Lane from MX#1 on the east side of Tijuana, but last year a new Sentri Lane opened and we found getting to it a breeze. The MX #1D Toll road ends at 2nd Street. Just stay on Second Street and it runs you right into the Sentri Lanes.

Our dental appointment/mini adventure was over. The Monday morning blues brought us to our San Diego meeting on time.