Ensenada, Mexico

Ok, first of all we walked from the port to the main food and shopping area, which was the right decision since mostly we have been stuffing ourselves with all the delicious food on the ship. Secondly, when you get off the port of Mexico you should realize you are not in Beverly hills, therefore it helps to make up your mind beforehand if you are willing to experience its good and bad. We loved all of it, from the dirty streets to typical Mexican market to poor children asking for change, to Mexican ladies begging to brade your hair for few bucks down to those tacos and margaritas. Suggestions I can give, have lots of change...dollar bills. It helps with shopping because mostly "they can't brake it down" and if you spend money on the ship for drinks, won't hurt to give some dollar bills to those kids on the street. ;-)

I may be a bit biased as I live in Ensenada, yes I actually drove to Long Beach to cruise home. I love this city and the activities when in port. If you haven't seen downtown you can walk from the port. If you stay on 1st St (Calle Uno) you will see and experience alot. There are amazing restaurants and bars. My favorite restaurant is a little hole in the wall called La Concheria which serves the most amazing oysters and their abolone pasta is a must. For bars my favorite us Hussong's Cantina. I frequently go there to meet friends who cruise in. Hussong's mariachis are the best and are known to play pink floyd and other bands you don't associate with Mexican mariachi. If you want to get away from the city I suggest a wine country tour. Our wine country is amazing with new award winning wineries opening all the time. I typically use a company called Baja Wine and Dine. Ray and Evelyn Ochoa have beautiful, new and safe vehicles for goups of all sizes, they can be found on Facebook. Enjoy your visit to Ensenada, I liked it so much I moved to the beach.

We took the shuttle into town $4 for round trip. They were very friendly. The dropoff point is in the center of the shopping district. So it makes for an easy return.

We really enjoyed this port of call. We got off the ship and just walked around the town. We did a little bit of shopping. It was really nice because there was no high pressure sales like there are at other ports of call.

We had a blast! We went to La Bufadora, and walked the “gauntlet” of sales folks. It was fun bantering with them and enjoyed their sense of humor. My wife is way better at bargaining than I am, and it was fun having the, pour shots for us and trying to get our business “hey, shop here! I rip you off less than the other guys!” We picked up presents for grandkids... This was our 4th time there, and it was the best time. At the square (bus drop off), we bought a picture made by a gentleman made with spray paint. He created it in front of us and it was very interesting (I’ll post a pic of it). What a lovely person he is, and we look forward to getting another pic next time we are there. We also bought more pottery at the building as you leave the ship. (A tradition going back years... ) It’s interesting that the very thing so many complain about -aggressive sales folks- is what made us enjoy our stop at Ensenada... I believe it’s how you see them.