Puerto Penasco

Thursday 25 February – Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument to Puerto Penasco, Sonora, Mexico

Broke camp this morning and crossed the border at Sonoyta. We secured our FMT visa (262 pesos each) which allow us to travel beyond the “Hassle Free” zone. Ray and I are still laughing about this. Hwy 8 proved to be a good road full of cars from Arizona going much faster than the posted speed limit. We arrived in Puerto Penasco about 1 hour after leaving Sonoyta. The landscape was much like southern Arizona except the signs were all in Spanish. The Saguaro cacti gave way to more sand dunes. Then, we arrived at Puerto Penasco on the Sea of Cortez.

When we arrived in Puerto Penasco, we found our way to Concha del Mar (conchadelmar2008@hotmail.com) next to the Playa Bonita resort. The proprietor, Edgar, was very helpful and friendly. The RV park has all the requisites: beautiful beach, close to town, hot showers, and friendly people. I think Concha del Mar’s days are numbered as the beach is being taken over by high-rise condominiums. We are minuscule among giants as our neighbors are all retired gringos in their mammoth RVs.

Ray and I went on an explore. First we went into the old port were we made friends quickly. We ate fish tacos and drank cold beer looking over the water as the sun began to wane. We went to Telcel to try and buy prepaid phone cards. All the disadvantages of not speaking Spanish were quickly highlighted (no, we did not get the cards). Finally, we went to the grocery store. Sticking to the script that I have been rehearsing for the past month at home, Ray and I were able to buy the necessary staples. Returning to camp we watched an AWESOME sunset over the water. As the sun went down, we could see the mountains behind San Felipe, Baja California del Norte – Our destination for next week.