We set out almost immediately for Bodegas de Santo Tom s, the only winery in town that was offering

The problem was my husband fox rental cars san diego and I didn t have a lot of extra cash to be kicking around. Plus, we were short on vacation time and the days we did have free we d already booked to San Diego to visit family over the Christmas and New Year s break.
From San Diego, we would already be just a hop, skip and a jump from the Mexican border. While Tijuana certainly would have provided a fast and cheap foreign encounter, I d been there years before fox rental cars san diego and wasn t that curious to return.
However, Ensenada lie just another hour and a half down the Pacific coast from Tijuana. In other words, it was far enough into Mexico to give us a favorable exchange rate and give me my foreign fix, but it was close enough to the border fox rental cars san diego to ensure we could get in and out.
When I read that Greyhound ran busses from downtown San Diego to Tijuana s central terminal, and that from there we could hop a Mexican fox rental cars san diego bus to Ensenada, I talked my husband into a little, two-day adventure.
I d checked the schedule online and knew that busses departed fox rental cars san diego just about every hour for Tijuana. While I could have pre-purchased tickets through Greyhound s web site, I didn t. Instead, we showed up, got in line and got tickets fox rental cars san diego for the next bus out.
It was about an hour ride from San Diego to our parking spot at Tijuana s central bus terminal. Before we pulled to a stop, the bus twisted through Tijuana, giving up plenty of people and traffic watching.
fox rental cars san diego When we did step off the bus, we had to pass through Mexican customs. fox rental cars san diego The uniformed officers weren t nearly as concerned with our passports, reason for travel or final destination as they were about the apples stashed in my bag. No fruits could pass into the country, one explained, helping himself to all three.
Inside Tijuana s central bus terminal, we went to the counter for the ABC bus company and bought tickets to Ensenada. It was a 30-minute wait until the next bus left, which was enough time to find the bathroom and buy a bottle of water for the road.
The trip was smooth. Once we got beyond Tijuana s city limits and skirted the beach town of Rosarita, it was a straight shot down the coast to Ensenada. The paved highway ran along high ridges and cliffs, offering breathtaking views of the expansive Pacific Ocean. In less than two hours, fox rental cars san diego we reached our destination.
To the west, the waterfront is busy. Fishing boats and trade ships come and go from its industrial docks. Don t expect to go for an ocean dip in town. The water here is working water. However, a wide seaside boardwalk, the malec n, is a fine place for pedestrians to stroll and take in all the bustling action.
Moving away from the ocean and beyond city limits, the land turns agricultural. Grapes are grown here, which surprised me to learn. I hadn t ever thought of Mexico fox rental cars san diego as a wine-loving land. Cerveza? Sure. Tequila? You bet. Margaritas? Keep em coming! But wine? Yes. Half a dozen Mexican wineries call Ensenada home and bodega visits are a top tourist activity here.
Those tourists often arrive from the north. Americans sail by in their yachts, spill forth from their cruise ships and drive through town in their RVs. Many of these travelers, if they aren t seeking Ensenada s wine, are seeking the scenery south of town. The beach, the trailer park and an ocean blowhole are all located fox rental cars san diego there, well outside city limits.
Because we d arrived by bus and were trying to keep our expenses to a minimum, we didn t even think about renting a car. This meant our little Ensenada holiday had to be conducted entirely in town and on foot. Luckily, this wasn t a problem.
Downtown Ensenada is condensed and arranged on a square grid, town traffic isn t heavy, raised sidewalks are the norm and in addition to the seaside malec n, a second pedestrian-friendly drag stretches for blocks through town, populated with stores, restaurants and hotels.
We got to town about midday and took a room for one night at the Hotel Cort z on Calle L pez Mateos, which I d scouted fox rental cars san diego online before we arrived. The hotel was just a few blocks from the port and steps from the pedestrian-friendly drag.
We set out almost immediately for Bodegas de Santo Tom s, the only winery in town that was offering public tours, and joined the afternoon group. It is Mexico s oldest winery, having sold its first barrel of wine in 1888.
No matter. We were just two in a mixed crowd of 20 and the walk-through alone was interesting enough. We passed through modern facilities with massive steel tanks, and an assembly line staffed fox rental cars san diego by quick-handed men corking and labeling bottles. fox rental cars san diego Then we descended stairs fox rental cars san diego into a chilly underground labyrinth where dust-covered bottles aged in dark rooms.
fox rental cars san diego We also passed though a low hallway where hundreds of green bottles fox rental cars san diego had been stuck through a series of holes bored into wooden boards. Workers were making their way through the collection turning the bottles just so. Champagne, we were told, was aging in there.
Next, we strolled though the Riviera del Pac fico, a former casino-hotel turned cultural center. Rumors claim Al Capone fox rental cars san diego helped finance the building s early days. Whether that s true or not, the complex is a pretty place to pass some time. The whitewashed tower overlooks kept gardens. Inside, long, empty hallways fox rental cars san diego lead to spacious rooms.
One bored staffer came out from behind his post and gave us an impromptu tour. He walked us to one particularly large room, explaining it used to house card tables. fox rental cars san diego He added credence to the Al Capone tale by pointing out high interior windows from which he claimed mobsters used to watch over the poker proceedings below. Now the space, he said, is rented out for weddings and parties.
The sea front was just across the street, so we dodged a few cars and found ourselves on the pedestrian-only malec n. A woman was selling freshly-fried churros from a cart and we couldn t pass them by. They were still warm as she handed them over.
We d just finished licking the sugar from our fingers fox rental cars san diego when we arrived at the Plaza C vica, which was a good thing as I need free hands to dig out my camera and take pictures fox rental cars san diego of the three massive, golden heads perched upon squatty cement pedestals that were guarding the square. The heads depict three of Mexico s great heroes: Benito Ju rez, Miguel fox rental cars san diego Hidalgo and Venustiano Carranza.
My husband loves a good lobster and because Ensenada is a fishing town, we were on the hunt for a good seafood dinner. We took to the street just outside our hotel, a pedestrian-minded thoroughfare with wide sidewalks and store windows.
The lobster fox rental cars san diego tanks bubbling fox rental cars san diego outside fox rental cars san diego Mar scos Bahia Ensenada lured us through the door and to a table. We were the only tourists in the joint and we put our faith in this local cue. We weren t disappointed. The lobster was fresh and sweet.
Another rumor hit our ears this time boasting Hussong s as the home of the original margarita. Was it? It was hard to be sure. The joint was so crowded, we felt as if we d time warped back to a college fox rental cars san diego keg party. fox rental cars san diego We downed our margarita and left the rollicking cantina behind.
We d long given up consulting fox rental cars san diego a map. Ensenada s streets weren t hard to understand and its people were easy enough to approach. Even though fox rental cars san diego it was dark outside, well-positioned fox rental cars san diego street fox rental cars san diego lamps lit up the night and we felt safe wandering the few blocks fox rental cars san diego back toward the seafront.
Yet we were distracted by a shinny mall and movie theater. Lines had formed outside the ticket booth and we decided to check out the listings, curious more than anything else, about what movies were playing in Ensenada.
fox rental cars san diego Some we recognized and some we didn t. One we didn t know starred Susan Sarandon. The title was Christmas-themed, in keeping with the season, but neither of us could recall ever having seen a preview for it at home.
Our curiosity piqued instead fox rental cars san diego of satisfied, fox rental cars san diego we dug out the required pesos and passed into the modern Cineplex for an English-language show. It was a comforting end to a day that had offered us a soft, foreign adventure.
The next morning we got up and breakfasted in the city before checking fox rental cars san diego out of our hotel and getting back on the bus. After filling up on pancakes, eggs and coffee, we walked by a barber shop just opening for business. My husband suddenly declared himself in need of a haircut and settled himself in the barber s chair.
If you take the Greyhound from San Diego, it will bring you all the way to Tijuana s central bus terminal. From there, the Mexican bus company, ABC, runs air-conditioned busses with reclining seats and movies to Ensenada every half hour. The first bus leaves at 6 am; the last bus departs at midnight. Tickets cost about $13 US.
ABC also runs cheaper busses between Tijuana and Ensenada. These busses leave from a bus station in Tijuana s Plaza Viva, which is just over the border near the U.S. Customs Office. A one-way ticket fox rental cars san diego is about $8 US.