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So, this weekend was my first trip to Mexico. Rocky Point, Puerto Penasco.
It is something like a low-rent Barcelona. You cross the border at Sonoyta - and that was a very weird experience. The whole thing is surreal. In the towns, especially Sonoyta - you better full stop at EVERY stop sign and follow the ridiculously low speed limits. But - they're not totally ridiculous. The streets are narrow, it is a VERY pedestrian society, and the roads are bad. Once you get out of town - you hit these areas that have signs that say, "USA, Hassle Free Traffic Zone," which seem to me to be more or less a license to open it up. At the same time, these areas have signs that say, "respeta los limities de los velocidades". Respect the limits of speed. Which is an interesting way to put it. At any rate - yeah, once you get out of town, it is balls out between Sonoyta and Puero Penasco - sorta. Because we were doing kilometers, and when you switch my truck to Metric system *everything* changes to Metric, and there are no imperial measurements - I couldn't really tell. My AC dropped from 70 to 20, and I was getting passed doing 120km/hr.
In town, the place we stayed was an 11th floor condo overlooking the Gulf of California. It was surprisingly barren (Rocky Point - they're not kidding at all)... but, the water was calm, gentle, and greenblue. There was no ocean vegetation or "beach stink" and the beach was very shallow... it was some of the safest open ocean water I've ever been in - no riptides and very gentle surf - and the temperature was *incredible* - far warmer than the Pacific on the West Coast, the Atlantic, or the Med - especially considering how early in the season it is.
We brought in a Razr 2x2 on a trailer, and used that to cruise around town - and especially at night, it was... it was fun - exactly what you expect from a Mexican resort town... kind of... that entire "you can get away with just about anything but if you really fuck up, you'll really regret it," kind of vibe. Mostly it was laid back and casual and just people having a good time - but I'm sure it could get really squirely really quick - and - it isn't like in America where you might be RELIEVED to see the police show up if things have gone off the rails. I think if things get out of hand and the police have to show up in Mexico - that is when you realize things are about to get real.
There were Federales driving around in Toyota pickup trucks with mounted machine guns - all over. Lights going... we picked up a truck full of them, I was sure we were getting pulled over, I had an open container - and they just passed by - someone else to shake down somewhere else.
The resort itself was very calm, and actually strict. I mean, it seems like they're still in a serious lockdown - but at the same time, they're like "fuck it..." Which - from what I saw of Mexico - is kind of how they approach things. "We take this seriously, but... also, relaxed." I don't know how to describe it. Basically, I felt like they have a LOT of rules, and they don't enforce any of them, until they feel like you've done something - then they can enforce them ALL on you... so, you just have to be aware of what you're doing and try and be respectful while also having as much fun as possible. They'll let you push ALL the rules as far as they go - but if you cross the line, then the rules fully apply in very unpleasant ways.
Thursday and Friday were completely off the rails. Seafood and endless alcohol at oceanside restaurants full of the kind of people who are drawn to the vacation atmosphere of Baja California. Friday, we spend most of the day at the beach and then the resort pool bar - and it was an awesome time. Afterwards, we went to a party with a group of other people who had also come down - and the drinking was *serious*.
Saturday morning I woke up thinking I might have a real bad hangover - but it turned out to be food poisoning. My wife and friend had been up all night doing Montezuma's revenge. Mine started a little later than theirs - and was probably a bit more severe. I was still pretty banged up this morning. There were four of us together - my wife, my buddy, his wife, and me - and his wife was fine. The only thing we can think of that only the 3 of us had were some Meat and Cheese Rollups from CostCo here in the States - so, I'm thinking they went bad in the cooler - so, it is ironic that we got hit by the Curve of Mexico but it was from food we bought in the US.
It still made me real nervous about getting home. I wasn't looking for complications on the 1.5 hour drive back to the border - and on Saturday there were points where I thought I might need emergency services in Mexico. It was pretty severe - I mean, I'm pretty sure my piss had some blood in it this morning at one point. I may be down another one of my 9 lives. So... I did sleep fitfully last night, with chills and sweats - terrible sweats - but this morning I was feeling fairly good. Got everything loaded, and headed back. No problems on the drive, and the border crossing was a breeze - but I was so happy the second I was back on the Stateside of the border. I was worried about having a fever at the crossing and them delaying us over Covid fears. "It isn't Covid... it is kidney failure... which is why I need to get BACK to the US..."
8 out of 10 stars. Would do again. I'd like to skip the CostCo deli cuts next time. That caused unnecessary anxiety and discomfort.
