Getting settled in Ensenada

We have now been in Ensenada for nearly a week. We have met quite a few other cruisers and are feel we are starting to get into the swing of things. On arrival we were immediately greeted and invited to a Cruiser’s Christmas Potluck and white elephant gift exchange. The potluck turned out to be a lot of fun, but it broke up quickly once the sun went down and the temperature dropped. There is a Cruiser’s net every morning at 8 o’clock on the VHF radio. This is way for everyone to know who is coming or going, share news, weather, ask advice and buy/sell gear. These nets are common in the popular cruising grounds throughout Mexico. Important information like the location of a good happy hour is disseminated (2-1 drinks and free pasta dinner!).

We have since completed all the paperwork for clearing customs for ourselves and getting a temporary import permit for the boat. There is a streamlined process with all the offices you need to visit now in a single building. Now it only takes 3 hours, instead of all day with multiple trips across town.

Exploring the town has been fun, things change pretty quickly once you get out of the tourist area. Everyone has been friendly and we are trying to speak some Spanish. We have some language tapes and some books to help us, but wish we had started this earlier in the year. I am hoping that some of my high school Spanish is locked away somewhere in my brain and can be coaxed out. Several friends have taken Spanish immersion classes (for a week or more) and we may look into that as well.

The boats out on anchor are apparently a bit of a tourist attraction. There are multiple boats that load up with Mexican tourists and motor around and out of the harbor (whale watching/sea lions/seals, who knows what). These boats tend to pass very close to the anchored boats (passengers taking pictures and videos) while leaving a large wake. This behavior usually gets ignored or a brief wave from the cruiser. What is funny is that a boat doing this in the pacific northwest would have elicited some rude epithets and a completely different hand gesture. It is a different world.