Although I appreciate all they have to offer, I am not much of a sun worshipper or beach person. I am easily overheated and the power of the ocean scares me. I suppose it doesn’t help that I sunburn easily and was never much of a swimmer. I blame my fear of water on my mother who was scared of the bathtub and by the time we got to swimming lessons the damage was done. Old A.B.C. (Campbell), Milbank High School Principal in those days and summertime swimming teacher, had to escort my brother and me to the shore at Lake Farley to commence our slow introduction to the water. Thankfully, we acclimated to lake and pool swimming but the ocean remains a whole different beast. I still feel bad for the poor guy who had to coax me into the Pacific Ocean in Hawaii to snorkel. He actually wanted me to just jump off the boat into the middle of the ocean and start snorkeling. I know, shades of Lake Farley all over again, right?
As such and contrary to most Arizonans, I was never that excited about heading to the beaches of Mexico for spring break/vacation. I have a longtime Flagstaff friend who is just the opposite and she and her husband exchanged vacation lake life at Lake Powell to vacation beach life in Mexico a couple decades ago. They co-own a beach house in Mexico and after all these years, we are finally joining them for a few days of fun and frolic across the border. We are headed to the northwestern Mexican state of Sonora and the municipality of Puerto Penasco, also called Rocky Point which is a popular tourist destination for Arizonans. Only 100km (60 miles) south of the U.S. border, it is often called Arizona’s Beach. The area is located on the northern shores of the Sea of Cortez and joins the Baja California Peninsula. It is in the driest hottest part of the Sonoran Desert so I think late fall and winter are the best times to visit the area.
My friend remembers camping on the beaches in this area in the late 70’s before all the beachfront development, much of it owned by foreigners who rent their condo’s or houses when not occupying them. Over 2 million foreigners visit the area each year now home to forty-two hotels, fourteen RV facilities (popular with retirees) and over 100 restaurants all of which makes tourism the primary economic driver in this part of Mexico. Tides rise and lower the sea in this flat area up to 26 feet leaving lots of tidal pools to explore on the rocky shores. There is also an estuary in which to observe thousands of birds and some migratory species. Anyway, we head to Phoenix early in the morning to meet up with our friends and will be on the beach by noon, all in all about a six hour drive. Stay tuned for my report on this new adventure next week.