Relaxing in Ensenada

Recently, Vince and I took a weekend trip to Ensenada, Mexico. Our Spanish tutor Sofia had organized a few days of language immersion in Baja Norte and invited a small group of her advanced students to attend. We had taken a similar trip a year ago and enjoyed it, so we readily accepted her invitation. This year the trip was even better!

Aside from our weekly individual sessions with Sofia, Vince and I have also been participating in biweekly online group sessions with other students at our level. Over time, we’ve had many animated conversations and have made friends with members of the group. Two of the students in our group had planned to make the trip to Ensenada but contracted COVID last minute and had to cancel. That left Vince and me, another student Nina, and Sofia.

The four of us met at Nina’s house in San Diego on a Friday afternoon. Sofia and her older brother Iri had driven across the border from Tijuana to pick us up. Like last year, Iri was our driver for the weekend, and we looked forward to catching up with him on our ride to Ensenada.

After easily crossing the border, we wove our way through Tijuana then picked up the coastal road that led to Ensenada. Most of the ocean was covered in fog that day but we caught intermittent glimpses of beautiful views along the way. At one point, we turned off the road to a nearby town where we stopped to have lunch with Sofia’s parents. They had invited us for lunch the year before, and graciously agreed to host us again. We were grateful for the delicious Mexican food, good company, and extended conversations in Spanish.

We arrived at our AirBnb house later that afternoon after picking up a small supply of food and drinks along the way. The house was in an excellent location close to the beach and had great views of the ocean from the rooftop patio. We quickly dropped our luggage in our respective rooms and hurried across the road for a walk along the beach before sunset. This was the first of many walks on the beach that weekend. Ensenada has a long, wide, expansive beach and the ocean water is much warmer there than the water in Northern California where we live. We all removed our shoes and enjoyed the cool sand as we strolled along the water’s edge.

For dinner that night, we took an Uber to a vegan taqueria in town. The vegetarian in the group had suggested this option, and we all agreed to try it. Although I prefer “real” meat, the vegan substitutes were quite tasty, and the cheaper food prices made it even more palatable.

When we returned to our AirBnb, we immediately realized that there was a party going on next door! Music was blaring at top volume and a pulsing beat pierced through the concrete walls of our rented home. Despite the noise, we were able to relax and chat before we all retired for the night. At around midnight, Vince contacted the owners of our house and asked if they could do anything to stop the loud music next door. They recommended that we call the police, which we did eventually. I fell asleep while the music was still playing but Nina said the noise continued until at least 1 am when either the police finally arrived or the young partyers next door grew tired. Fortunately there were no more loud parties for the rest of the weekend.

The next morning, we took another long walk on the beach. This time Sofia did not join us, but Nina, Vince, and I continued to converse only in Spanish even though it is our second language. We were intent on making the most of our immersion weekend, so we chose to follow Sofia’s Spanish-only-at-all-times suggestion.

Around midday, Iri arrived to pick us up for our excursion to Valle de Guadalupe, the nearby Mexican wine country. This time he was accompanied by his new girlfriend Ana. He had mentioned Ana the day before and we convinced him to bring her along so we could meet her. Ana fit right into the group and easily joined our conversations throughout the day. Iri drove us to a couple of wineries--Viñedos de la Reina and Vena Cava. We shared a crisp, fruity bottle of rosé at one and did some wine tasting at the other. The Valle de Guadalupe wineries are nestled in the valley and surrounded by rich, green vineyards with towering, rugged mountains in the distance. We took advantage of this picturesque landscape to snap a few photos.

Later we had a delicious dinner at what was a fancy restaurant by our standards. Because prices are cheaper in Mexico, we could afford to splurge on a more luxurious meal. The staff was attentive and accommodating, and we felt supremely spoiled. It was a good way to end a very relaxing and pleasant day.

We spent the next day wandering around downtown. Ensenada is a common cruise ship stop, so there are often crowds of tourists occupying the many bars, restaurants, and handicrafts shops in the downtown area. There seemed to be fewer tourists that day, so we were able to leisurely stroll through the streets and enjoy a warm, sunny afternoon.

That evening we took our final walk along the beach just in time to catch the sunset. We sat contently on the soft sand and chatted in Spanish as the sun slowly dipped below the horizon. At one point, Nina stood up and declared that she was going to do a cartwheel. We all cheered as Nina gracefully spun her tall, willowy body in a perfect cartwheel across the sand. Nina made it look so easy that I decided I would do a cartwheel as well. Although I’ve been able to do cartwheels in the past, I’d forgotten that my body is not as nimble as it used to be. Despite being over twice Nina’s age however, I was confident that I could easily replicate her cartwheel. I took off my sweater, removed my wrist brace, and arched my body sideways; all in preparation of my acrobatic feat. But when I tried to place my hands on the ground and lift my legs up over my head, I fell to the ground in a jumbled mess of legs and arms instead. We all laughed hysterically at my feeble attempt to do a cartwheel, and no one laughed harder than I did. I was just glad that it happened quickly and there wasn’t time for anyone to take a video!

The following morning, Iri arrived early to pick us up. He was concerned there might be long lines at the border and wanted to leave enough time for Vince and me to make our flight from San Diego to San Jose. The length of time it takes to cross into the United States is unpredictable and varies from day to day depending on the traffic. Fortunately, we all had Global Entry passes that would allow us to join a shorter line. But as we approached the border, Nina realized that she had forgotten to pack the actual Global Entry card that she needed to present to the authorities. So Iri dropped her off at the place where people were walking across the border. Surprisingly, very few people were walking across at that time, so Nina quickly made it to the other side. She had to wait another 15 or 20 minutes for us to cross successfully and pick her up to take her home.

Soon Vince and I were on a flight heading home. It had been a wonderful, relaxing weekend spent with good friends. The best part was that it was all in Spanish. We even started thinking in Spanish! We realized we needed more weekends like this to keep up our skills