More from "the Summer of Love" Nope, we didn't go to Woodstock or San Francisco. We just Loved this Summer! In July, we were fortunate to be able to visit our friend Tom aboard his sailboat, Poco a Poco in San Diego, California. From there we embarked upon a sailing adventure to Ensenada, Mexico.
	After an overnight passage through rough and uncooperative seas, we arrived at dawn, in the spectacularly placid Bahia de Todos Santos, offshore of Ensenada, BC.
Our Skipper contacted the marina via radio and we were directed to our slip in Marina Coral. A quick shuttle ride took us to customs where all the paperwork was handled by our representative from the Marina/hotel. It was easy but long and tedious though all we did was wait.
Next came much needed showers, then we were off to town. First stop was to find the Central Fish Market we had read about online. What a wonderful place! The seafood vendor's stalls were abundantly stuffed with the day's catch. A bounty so fresh that the only smell was that of the ocean. We spent an hour drifting from stall to stall looking and sampling the fare. It was almost paradise! Arranged around the outside of the big building are many small restaurants selling seafood straight from the market within. We quickly chose our favorite which became our home away from home.	Fish tacos there, cost a dollar each, while shrimp tacos boasted a hefty price tag of $1.50. ;) Huge, raw oysters and a delicious Siete Mares (Seven Seas soup) were available too. We brought home over 20 kilos of fresh seafood. Life is good!
L.A. CETTO	Back at the marina, we made arrangements for the next day of fun. We chartered a van and driver to take us to wine country. Yes! Mexico has a wine country and it is actually just a few miles south of the U.S. border. Valle Guadalupe is home to a couple dozen vineyards and wineries, many of them very good. The oldest, and easily the largest, of these is L.A. Cetto founded in the early 20th century. We have drunk their wines many times before and were excited to tour the winery and participate in a tasting.
After a perfect night of sleep back aboard Poco, we were renewed and on our quest for food and adventure again the next morning. A shuttle ride to the far end of town brought us to our starting point to begin the day's walking tour. Self guided of course. The first order of business was breakfast. And this great taco place was perfect. It was beyond colorful and all about everything cow meat. We ordered separately and shared some of everything. After another satisfying meal, visited several amazing tourist haunts and found ourselves back more or less downtown. A few blocks east of where we had ventured before, we found it! El Rey Sol! The Sun King, our elusive French restaurant. It was beautiful, and that was just the outside! As we stood gawking, the Maitre d' appeared and asked if we would like a tour. "Of course, we would love it" we replied and he whisked us inside to some of the most lavish public and private dining rooms we have seen anywhere. The kitchen was gleaming and bustling and the walls were heavily adorned with gilt. On the sidewalk in front is a blue canopied cafe where all manner of scrumptious pastries are served with coffee. It had taken us so many meals to find this treasure that we could only vow to return another time. (we are planning that right now) Our time in Ensenada was much more than we could have hoped. I never thought I would say this (because it is not what I look for) but the town was very clean. Beyond that, it was friendly and easy going with great tasting food at especially fair prices everywhere we turned. Our trip to the wineries was a real delight and a day we hope to repeat many more times. Part of the reason for this trip was to research the Paella Festivals which are held annually at some of the wineries. We have long wanted to host a group of foodies on an excursion of excess in Baja California. We discovered that the festivals are held in May. It looks as if we have some extensive planning to do for that too! (please let us know if you might be interested) The return sail aboard Poco was grueling the first day as we battled into heavy seas and a 25 knot head wind. About 4 am we anchored among the fishing and research vessels off the coast of the Coronado Islands to sleep a few hours, at last. Morning arrived bringing another wondrous day of perfect weather and fair winds for the final 20 or so downhill miles to San Diego and home. We can never thank our good friend and hardy skipper, Tom, enough for helping make this adventure a reality. Hopefully we will do it again! CHOW!