Monday, January 21, 2008

Traveling Baja California: Safe and Secure in San Felipe

By Steve Dryden

San Felipe, on the east coast of Mexico’s Baja California peninsula, is all about the great S words in living a quality life: safety, security, serenity, solitude, slowness, simplicity, sea, sunsets, scenery, salt, shrimp, saguaros, socialization, sensation, secrets, and sand, sand, sand.

What more could you ask for?

Whether you’re a local or a guest in this sleepy and seductive village of fishermen and free spirits, the main issues are safety and security. Far from Mexico’s war on terrorism and crime, this golden treasure awaits those who cherish a relatively crime-free community – where everyone knows each other and folks still look after one another in a positive and kind manner. This is the one place in Baja California where I could bring my children and grand children to experience the Mexican culture and not have to worry about robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, shootings and other acts of terrorism.

And, the beauty is – it’s only a few hours south of the United States border on the amazing Sea of Cortez, and a four hour drive from my home in Valle de Guadalupe, near Ensenada.

Wayne Cobb, a long-time American resident calls San Felipe “Palm Springs with a beach and an ocean view.” Wayne manages the Prudential Realty Office at Baja Diamante, a 400 acre resort development with a Jack Nicklaus design championship golf course with seven lakes, custom single family homes, and ocean front condominiums with all the amenities – this for under $200 a square foot!

This ambitious project will include a shopping complex that will be much like Seaport Village in San Diego, plus a completed first class marina. According to Wayne, “we’re basically creating a new beach town and destination resort here at what we call ‘South Beach,’ that will offer all the amenities for a high quality of living, recreation, dining, lodging and entertainment.” It’s a haven for folks who love to fish, golf, swim, boat, hike, bike, sail, relax, and enjoy the simple and serene life of San Felipe. And, of course, it’s still “the cool thing” to drive around town in your dune buggy, sand rail, quad, ATV, motorcycle or just walk down the beach.

I interviewed John and Joyce Crie of Mission Beach, California who often park their small motor home at Playa de Laura RV Park, across from George’s restaurant and just a few blocks from the heart of town and its famous Malecon.  “We’ve been living in Southern California for over sixty years and we’ve been coming to San Felipe for over fifty years. We love the peace and quiet, the friendliness of the town, and the beach life reminiscent of San Diego beach life in the 40’s and 50’s.”

John Crie loves to fish and Joyce loves to eat fish, so they work as a team enjoying the better things in life. “We drive down a couple of times each year, meet with our longtime friends and relax around the BBQ over a glass or two of margaritas and/or wine. You can walk into town in a few minutes either along the sidewalks or on the beach and find about anything you need. Things have changed over the years, but we still love it here and everyone is so friendly and easy going, it really suits our personalities and lifestyle quite well.”

There have been a few changes over the years, mostly for the better. And several dynamic individuals (Mexican and American) have contributed to improving the quality of life in San Felipe for everyone.

Two of the latest of the major improvements are the new four lane road into town, and the upcoming four lane super highway from Mexicali to San Felipe. As to individuals, Pat Butler helped put San Felipe on the map with his Eldorado Ranch Development, and he is still involved in community improvement projects.

Chip and Michelle Mac Donald are examples of two ambitious Americans who fell in love with the village, decided to stay and dedicated themselves to enjoying the good life while improving the lives of everyone in the area. For example, Michelle is one of the organizers of the Cancer Walk in San Felipe that generated a record breaking US$22,750 in 2007. Funds were used to hire a cancer care coordinator to develop education for cancer awareness, hold women’s health clinics (scanning and mammogram) and provide treatment assistance. Chip Mac Donald is a leader with the Rotary Club, and he is involved in other community projects that include the Cancer Walk, a School Dental Program, and the Lifeguard Program.

In their “free time,” the dynamic Mac Donald team has created a modern shopping plaza next to the Malecon, with an entrance at 614 Mar de Cortez (across from the Bancomer bank). The La Plazita Mall features indoor shopping, the Chiles and Beer Gourmet Hamburger Cafe, Nancy’s Beauty Shop, Mar de Cortez Natural Sea Salt Company, San Felipe Immigration Services, Baja San Felipe Magazine, a realty development company, and the cleanest bathrooms in Mexico. And when the Mac Donald’s get bored, they spend time working on their Mar de Cortez products: natural gourmet sea salt, natural garlic sea salt with crushed roasted Mexican garlic, and chef’s stove side “pinch” salt presented in ceramic containers.

Even when on vacation I can be a cranky, spoiled, prima-donna writer with an attitude problem unless I find good coffee, great food, fine wine, internet services, a good book and superb lodging. I was just getting ready to raise hell when I found Baja Java, The San Felipe Title Company (Book Store), and Randy’s (The Net) Internet Bar, all located within ten feet of each other on the top of a scenic and inviting balcony locale.

Baja Java has the best mocha coffee I have tasted in my gourmet coffee drinking career, and their breakfasts with three egg omelets are awesome and delicious.

By chance I met William E. Meders Jr., the proprietor of a wonderful book store. Actually it is more like a library with a selection of more than 25,000 new and used books, gifts, greeting cards and other mind expanding educational tools.  In my travels throughout  Baja, I can’t recall ever seeing a book store of this quality and with such a fine collection of books and publications. And to top it all off, just outside the door of the bookstore is an open air internet bar called The Net.

I have to say, this is just another factor in daily life that makes San Felipe so appealing, charming and desirable. I was happy with three out of six main needs being met within ten feet of each other. I guess I could make it through the day without a gourmet dinner, fine wine and superb lodging if I had to! But, this spoiled brat wanted a hotel on the beach, shrimp and a glass of good wine.

I decided to check out the lodging situation and was somewhat disappointed in the quality, location, hospitality and pricing of most of the hotels in town. And I couldn’t find a wine shop or gourmet restaurant to suit my prima donna expectations.

About that time my friend Wayne Cobb suggested I quit whining, take his 10 percent discount card and walk over to El Secreto, where (according to the card) I could: “Drink wine, have fun and live longer.” Sounds like my kind of place alright!

 As I wandered down the hill towards El Secreto, located at the San Felipe Marina Resort, I had the feeling my search was over. This romantic seaside hotel was exactly what I was looking for in quality beach front lodging. I could even get by on a cheeseburger and a beer if I had to.

But, El Secreto had a few secrets of its own. In fact, it’s a “secret” quality gourmet delight with a fine selection of Mexican and California wines. The other secret is Arnulfo Zarate Arias, hotel director, gourmet food specialist and wine connoisseur. His vision and dedication has brought this food and wine haven back to consistent world class standards, and he has designed a menu that reflects the best options for quality Mexican and International cuisine.

The food at El Secreto is incredible and the choices overwhelming. I explored a rare culinary wonder with an appetizer of their fresh Diamond Ceviche of Salmon, which turned out to be fantastic and paired amazingly well with a bottle of Monte Xanic 2003 Cabernet Sauvignon.

And what would a trip to San Felipe be without eating fresh shrimp? With that thought in mind I ordered shrimp in garlic sauce with mushrooms sautéed in olive oil. The combination of fresh Sea of Cortez shrimp and local ingredients prepared by a professional culinary wizard created the perfect entree.

Then, for dessert came another amazing secret, the El Secreto cactus pie (no thorns), or Pay de Nopal. I’d never heard of it before, but I admit it was just fantastic and I loved it.  Wayne Cobb and Arnulfo Zarate Arias shared the meal with me over conversation about “the good life” in San Felipe. I was lucky to have enjoyed the evening with two wonderful hosts and major promoters of this charming beachside community.

I rented a suite facing the Sea of Cortez at the San Felipe Resort Marina. It was a “first class” experience in a huge comfortable room with kitchen, cable TV, a large shower, and an endless view of the beach, marina, and the sea. I could see the village of San Felipe in the distance, the shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the hill, and the sparkling bay lined by the white sandy beaches of a sleepy and serene seaside community.

Wayne Cobb was right, San Felipe is like Palm Springs but with endless beaches, ocean views, tons of fresh shrimp and friendly folks.  And with the new golf course coming in 2008, a Seaport village complex with restaurants and shops, and renovation of the hotel complex it just might be a smart time to invest.

I called Wayne, “How many of those condo units do you have left with the ocean view in front, just steps from the beach and El Secreto, and overlooking the golf course and lakes in the back across the street? Did you say two on the second floor for less that US$200 a square foot? OK, I’ll be by in a few minutes with my deposit.”

It’s a perfect fit for my family and me. It’s safe and secure, five hours from the San Diego airport, and when it gets too warm for me in the summer (remember I’m spoiled) I’ve got my condo coming soon at Destino Seaside Resort on Salsipuedes Bay, on the Pacific Ocean near Ensenada and the Baja wine country. And I like the idea of driving from coast to coast in less than four hours, across the beautiful and rugged desert and mountain country along old Highway 3 with little or no traffic.

Furthermore, the thought of fresh swordfish steaks from the Ensenada fish market on one day, and the possibility of fresh shrimp from the Sea of Cortez on the next day, sounds good to me. Of course I’d have to stop in Ojos Negros to get aged cheese from the Rominetti cheese factory to bring to either beach community. And with a new Starbucks just fifteen minutes from Destino and Baja Java fifteen minutes from Baja Diamante, hey life can’t be too bad!

Maybe with a little luck I can trade wine from the Guadalupe Valley for fresh shrimp and cactus pie in San Felipe.

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Steve Dryden, a MexiData.info guest columnist, is a food, wine, travel, native peoples and history writer for the Baja Times.  Mr. Dryden also manages a new wine bar, Destino del Vino, at Km 88 on Highway 1 just south of Baja Mar. He can be reached at sbdryden@hotmail.com.