San Felipe and the Baha Peninsula

The Baha Peninsula extends approximately 1,200 km from the U.S. border to its southern tip. It is separated from Mexico by the beautiful azure blue Sea of Cortez and is mainly desert and mountains.

On our first trip to San Felipe, we crossed the border and drove along desolate roads, winding through mountain/hills that looked as if trucks had been dumping loads of gravel. We had been warned that you do not stop along this stretch of road but if your car breaks down, you stay with it until the Green Angels arrive. Along the roadside were the burned and rusted remains of the cars that people had left. This stark reminder was a good reason to keep going with no sauntering along the way.

This route to San Felipe was like a zipper on an article of clothing. While not attractive, it has little to do with the rest of the garment. It is a requirement and nothing else. So too was the road to San Felipe because the town and surroundings itself were breathtakingly beautiful.

The Peninsula is made up of four deserts: the San Felipe Desert, Central Coast Desert, Vizcaino Desert and the Magdalena Plain /desert. The Peninsula was discovered by a sea captain, Hernan Cortes in 1535. He made the first detailed map of the area and gave the town of San Felipe its original name of Santa Catalina. In 1766 Wenceslaus Linck was the first person to reach this area by land. San Felipe, with its fantastic fall, winter and spring weather (some North American gringos may think it too hot in the summer months and many do leave during this time), is only a two and a half hour drive from the U.S. border. A unique town, it is the shrimping capital of the Baha.

On our visit to San Felipe, we watched the shrimp boats speed up onto the sand as they came ashore to unload their daily catch of fresh caught shrimp. And fresh it was! In a restaurant across the street from the beach, we had shrimp tacos with a large array of condiments and sauces. I can honestly say there is nothing that can surpass the taste of those tacos. Combined with a cold glass of the local beer with fresh squeezed lime juice and you have a lunch fit for a king.

While there we also visited the Valley of the Giants. It is a natural reserve of one thousand plus year old cardones cacti. They are native to the area and during their span of life will have witnessed many changes. Their roots can spread up to thirty meters to trap water after one of the area's infrequent rainfalls. Sometimes they trap enough water to allow them to survive for years. Occasionally you will see one that didn't survive and over time the outer part of the plant has fallen away leaving its inner part exposed to the sun looking like carved wood. When standing beside any of these amazing giants, some as high as fifteen meters, any man will be dwarfed by their size.

There are interesting shops in the town of San Felipe, Mexican-style Mardi Gras festivals, fishing, night life and friendly people. It has the reputation of being the second sunniest place on the planet. Beachcombing is an adventure too as the tide goes out a long way. And dozens of camping spots can be found almost anywhere you look.

San Felipe, like much of the Baja Peninsula is a veritable paradise, a vacationer's dream spot with its ideal weather conditions, unique beauty and the allure of the crystal blue waters of the Sea of Cortez.