Sat 18_07_09 – Mexican/US Border

This morning we had to check out of the Rosarito Beach Hotel.  Los Arcos it was again for breakfast and this time we tried the eggs with cactus for something different.  It was pretty nice, but I don’t think the texture would suit everyone’s taste: imagine Aloe Vera in your omelette.  We arranged a taxi and sped off for Tijuana.  Tijuana was like Denpasar traffic-wise, for anyone who’s been to Indonesia before.  Lucky our driver knew most of the tricks.

We joined a line and crossed the border, relatively pain free.  A hot walk across the freeway and we were relieved to see our car still sitting there in the carpark.  Taking the I-5 up to Dana Point we changed to Highway-1 (or Pacific Coast Highway) and went up to Laguna Beach.  We set off after that to Costa Mesa and Santa Ana for lunch.

For the night, we stayed at Radisson LAX, which is about 5min shuttle from the airport.  Tomorrow we’re on the early flight to NYC…

Fri 17_07_09 – Playa de Rosarito, Mexico

Very much an Indo vibe in Mexico, same sort of smells and similar housekeeping practices, ie regular mopping with towels and burning rubbish. This place is a definite rival to Indonesia for tourism, especially if you could get, say, a $1000 flight to LA. After drinking for about an hour and eating seafood tacos the bill barely reached US$10 each.

First up, we headed to Los Arcos for desayuno (breakfast). We all ordered huevos rancheros, eggs sunny side up with fresh pan-toasted flour tortillas, ranchero sauce, and frijoles – all breakfasts were served with patatas con chorizo (potatoes with chorizo). The staff were really friendly and it was really just a corner stand/restaurant, virtually a mexican Nusa Indah

For lunchbreak we were off to Macho Taco, a place famous for fish tacos. The tacos were excellent, we had to leave or Clif would have kept ordering as they’re made to order in front of you.

Whilst we were sitting out the front in the sun, Mel Gibson and son strolled by and gave the girls a wink. Full sleeve yellow collared shirt with tan long pants, he was looking pretty good (margarita in hand).

After an afternoon session at the pool (and siesta), Vince’s Seafood was the destination. We got there and it was dead so did u-turn to the more upmarket El Nido. We all ordered lobster “puerto nuevo” style. It was grilled over hot coals and was not overcooked. After dinner, Kiri and I went to the super-club Papas & Beers which is literally on the beach. It’s the biggest club I’ve been in – and it’s on sand…

Thur 16_07_09 – Las Vegas, San Diego, Tijuana

A big breakfast, after big packing, was the first agenda item today.  We had a huge amount of credit in the restaurant, so we ordered everything which was a big mistake because Americans expect possibly two-three times the serving size we are used to.  We had to use up some credit so our host organised some club sandwiches for us  “to go”.

We picked the car up from valet after some very basic LV souvenir shopping.  After a lesson in fueling the car up with “gas” at the service station we were on the I-15 (Interstate 15) heading south and towards SoCal – or Southern California to those who aren’t hip enough to know that.  We got off the I-15 onto the I-215S and somehow ended up back on the I-15 before merging onto the last leg, the I-805.  After a massive sh!*fight avoiding the Mexican border-crossing we eventually got our car into a secure car park.  After parking and restroom stops, we were notified the shuttle to our destination, Playa de Rosarito, was not running today.

Walking across the border we were wondering when we were going to cross passport control.   But before we knew it, Apart from the machine-gun armed immigration officer hiding in a bush, we were already on the streets of Tijuana (roughly pronounced tee-wana) and being harassed.  We got in a cab and travelled at breakneck speed whilst dodging potholes, the 18mi through the hills to the playas – beaches – of northern Baja (ba-ha).

Recepcion over and welcome margaritas down we enjoyed a sunset on the penthouse pool deck.  Getting a shock from the sharp drop in temperature from the Mojave Desert, a room party ensued followed with some after hours shenanigans. . .