An Afternoon in Puerto Nuevo, Mexico

Man alive, this Michigan weather sure has been fun! As the thermometer reads -5* currently I am reminded of a simpler time, an exciting time, a hotter time.

Today I am looking back on an afternoon spent in Mexico and thinking about not only how nice everyone was, and the food that we ate- but the excitement of going someplace just because it was there. What should you do with an afternoon in Mexico, you ask? Allow me to give you an idea.

As Chris and I were making plans for our July vacation (and by Chris and I, I really mean his BFF in SoCal, Derek and I were making the plans) on a whim I asked about going to Mexico for a day trip. I knew it was close to where they lived in Cali, just a short drive, because last time we visited them, if you stood on the roof of their house you could actually see the border and the lines of traffic. So I chatted with Derek about the idea and he chatted with his wife, and so on and blah blah, we made it to Mexico.

Derek, as you know from my other SoCal post, loves tourist attractions. So we went to Puerto Nuevo (which was a-ok with me!) for some oversized tortillas and Derek's weird booze of choice- clamato juice and beer. The drive over was exciting. Derek's wife grew up in Tijuana and pointed out some local spots on the drive over, which I enjoyed. We saw a giant Jesus, a lot of fruit and got a tad freaked out sometimes by how close the roadside cliffs were to the water. Normal stuff. We drove down to Puerto Nuevo because apparently that's THE place to go for lunch!

Villa Ortegas: A Def do! We started out at Villa Ortegas on the water- the Original Ortegas in the area. It's right on the water, which is beautiful but also can be smelly depending on the day. We got a smelly day but it was still exciting. I had my first vegetarian tortilla soup, which was GREAT and then just regular cheese quesadilla because it's limited for vegetarians and one soup is enough. Then we were serenaded (for $20) by a mini mariachi band! They were one of three circling the restaurant that day, but we absolutely got the best gang! I am bias. We got the apparently cliche holding up of the giant tortilla photo and I also got lost on the way to the bathroom because this place is a MAZE!

The Marketplace: SO exciting to me. I was looking forward to haggling and whatnot- only when it came time to haggle I didn't! Well, not really. A vendor tried to charge a lot for a mini sombrero and a friendship bracelet so I agreed to his price if he added another bracelet. I bet I could have gotten two more because even I knew I was being buzzed. Bummer, me. Still love my bracelets, though! I also got a malachite ring that is basically junk but I adore it and wear it every single day. The fella heated and molded it to be my exact pinky size and it was fun to watch him smash it with a hammer. He also gave me a deal because I knew what malachite was, he says. Something I never heard before was that nearly EVERY shop will offer you a free shot of tequila just to come in and look. So, if you're into free booze, it's a big draw. If they offered cookies, I'd be down. Well, one place did, actually. I watched a man blow glass and make figurines like unicorns and fish, and also write out a girl's name with molded glass strings.It was about two blocks of mostly the same stuff you'd expect to see in a Mexican street market. I pet a dog and a chicken, which was fun for me because I didn't order chicken at lunch. The vendors were all really nice and happy to explain their wares or Spanish words I didn't know. Which is many because I only had Spanish in second grade. I can do colors, numbers, dog, cat, chicken..Michael...words based in Latin that pretty much have the same base words like New and Port....I'm good at languages!

La Mejor Bakery, Tijuana: Not only was I super jazzed to get some delish Mexican treats, which was my goal, but because I told the owner that it was my first time in Mexico, he gave me a free Paloma to really make the day a winner. I loved the decorations and jimis of each cookie and Chris and I wound up getting 8 different things to share with the group. If you're driving back through the Baja Cali area, stop here and grab a biscuit or eight.

The Border: The most boring part of the trip but still pretty exciting! But, in a boring way.... Am I allowed to show photos? I'm gonna do it anyhow. Well, because Chris and I didn't have the fast pass passport to/fro Mexico thing like our friends, they had to drop us off at the security gate where we had to basically check out of Mexico and WALK ACROSS THE BORDER- so to speak. Which was really just crossing a sidewalk to American territory of Mexico in a ceremonial way until we could get back in the truck at the Jack in the Box parking lot to go home. We had to wait in lines that were longer than airport security, and naturally there was a hysterical crying baby behind us the whole time. I was just really pumped to get a new stamp on my passport! Buttttttt that didn't happen. No stamp for me. But Chris got three different compliments on the bicycling shirt I got him for Christmas, so, I chalk that up as a victory? I guess?

Wrap Up: Despite it being cloudy, it was a baller day, up and at them in a way I had never done before. What started out as a "hey, can we?" turned into a day chock full of new sights, sounds, tastes and smells. I did not drink any tequila, but I did eat authentic Mexican, three cookies and now own a tiny sombrero that my cats hate wearing so it currently rests atop a Perrin's limited release Big Lebowski brew with rocks that I stole from the Mexican streets. #winning If you're in SoCal, it's worth the time driving (roughly 40 minutes to and from) to visit this little town. It's brightly colored, crafty and delish.

If you could go on an afternoon excursion in your area, crossing any borders, where would it be? Mexico? Canada? Turkey? Apia? Just kidding, that's an island. Be safe out there.


Be kind. And stay warm, if that's your thing.

 

Take it easy, Dudes.