San Felipe is a small fishing village on the east side of the Baja Peninsula. In the early 90s John and I, with our two sons, drove to San Felipe from Las Vegas. We stayed at the only motel/hotel – El Cortez. There was a notice on the wall of our room “Do not build a fire on the
floor.” Good idea but why did they find that necessary? One day we went out on a fishing boat to a place where there were many seals located on a large rock. As the tide came in it was interesting watching the Alpha seals make the younger ones get off the rock so they would have room. There was a lot of barking.
This year San Felipe was our Christmas get together with our sons
and their families. Crossing the border into Mexico at Yuma was a non-event. On the Mexico side there were many dentists and other medical people advertising their business. Evidently it is less expensive than in the USA. In the 20+ years since our first trip the town had grown and it looked like it went through a boom period. At one time there were scheduled flights to San Felipe from Los Angles. Currently, the
area seems to be in a dormant stage. There are many unfinished buildings and developments making it a good time to buy. The house our son bought is made of earth-colored bricks and is one of several such houses in a gated area. There is a break wall between the beach and the houses for the entire stretch of the development to protect it from the sea, but all while we were there the sea was very calm. The large two-bedroom
house (with other sleeping areas and a loft) came with all the furniture and a Mitsubishi Montero. The property looks like a good investment… only problem is there is no internet but they do have good TV reception. Internet is possible but expensive and not really necessary for short stays.
The male contingent of our group went on a successful fishing trip but food was available in front of the house. At low tide we all went out and scooped up clams for dinner. The place was very quiet and peaceful with beautiful sunsets at the rear of the house and great sunrises from the front.
Christmas Eve we went to mass in San Felipe. We picked a mass in Spanish which was very nice and there was an interesting aspect to the mass. Many ladies had infant Jesus statues with them. At the end of the mass they went up and the priest blessed the statues. I assume they had nativity scenes in their homes. Christmas night we made a
wish and set off Chinese lanterns. A beautiful sight to behold.
My son and his wife said their favorite meal in San Felipe was Seven Seas Soup at a restaurant called Chuy’s. While we were there Chuy showed us how to make the soup which everyone enjoyed plus, as usual, he included a plate of clams.
Getting back across the border took a lot longer. We waited in line
for nearly two hours. We had to get back to Phoenix so we could go the Fiesta Bowl. The game started out good and then got bit tense in the fourth quarter but Penn State won! A great Christmas getaway. I can imagine spending days at the San Felipe house – very restful.
