Baja Bound Blog

Erendira Trip Report - Day 1

I just returned yesterday from a four day trip to Erendira, which is a small village a few hours south of Ensenada. The village itself is quite small and comprised mostly fishermen and farmers. Our friend Greg has a house there, and is also the coach of an adult baseball team called Los Monos here in San Diego. For the last three years, Los Monos have gone down to Erendira to play against their local baseball team and also bring much needed school supplies and sports equipment for the children in town. The day of baseball ends with a fiesta and a carnitas dinner prepared by the locals. The trip is always a lot of fun, and this year was no exception!

Day 1 - Friday August 8th

We met up mid-morning to get five of us and all of the gear packed into the two cars we were taking down. With the amount of stuff we had packed, you would have thought we were going down for weeks! After a few rounds of gear Tetris and some last minute stops, we were finally on our way down to the border. Obviously, we already had our Mexico auto insurance taken care of! We crossed into Tijuana and got our tourist cards, filled up our gas tanks in Rosarito, and made a beeline for Ensenada to have lunch at El Trailero. We ordered 12 carne asada tacos, a quesadilla and one soda - total cost was $16 for five of us to eat our fill. It was delicious as always! After that, we made our way through downtown Ensenada, which was very busy with lots of tourists and locals alike milling about. We got through Ensenada and arrived at the military checkpoint at Santo Tomas. Both cars were waved through with no questions asked. Shortly after, we arrived at El Palomar to make the requisite stop for photos and to get some snacks for the rest of the ride down to Erendira. The chips of choice for the 4Runner crew were salsa verde Tostitos, while the Jeep crew preferred Takis….always a good option. I also grabbed a Monster energy drink to keep the energy up for the remainder of the drive south. Getting to Santo Tomas is always fun…as it really feels like the beginning of the unspoiled open countryside of Baja. We opted to take the south road to Erendira, which is mostly highway and paved road, and easily drivable with any kind of vehicle. Along the way, the countryside looked extremely dry, and there were small sections that looked to have burned recently. A few miles south of El Palomar we came across a fire engine that was fighting a fire right on the side of the road. Thankfully, it had not spread that far, and they looked to be getting it under control. The rest of the drive was great…and we arrived in Erendira at around 4:30 in the afternoon. I immediately drove a few clicks north of town to jump in the ocean for a quick surf before it got any darker. The water was warm enough for trunks, and there were a few waves to be had, but nothing great. Still, it was nice to rinse off after a busy morning and an afternoon full of driving. That night we had grilled fish for dinner that had been caught just a few hours earlier. Even though I am very picky about fish, this particular catch was seasoned with lemon juice, salt and pepper and was absolutely delicious! We spent the rest of the evening around the fire pit, listening to music and enjoying cold beer under the stars. It is always a shock to see the night sky when you are far enough away from cities and bright lights that normally affect the view. It was amazing! As the fire pit slowly faded out, we retired for the night with a full day of beach, baseball and carnitas ahead of us!