It looks like a small turnout for the summer water volleyball tournament and La Ventana del Mar (El Dorado Ranch). Three teams, maybe four.
At least everyone will get a trophy…
I’ve never been on a first place team, so it would be nice–even with such a small showing–to take home the big trophy 
I’ve spent the past couple of Easters in my favorite baja town, and it looks like I’ll be making it three in a row this year.
What I like about Easter in San Felipe is the large number of Mexicans which flood the Malecon. It’s nice to see the citizens of baja california enjoying the wonderful fishing village I’ve grown to love.
It’s a little strange when the riot police for crowd control are lined up, but I’ve never seen them actually have to do anything. They’re pretty much prevention managers.
Of course, the bummer is there are fewer people you can talk to on the Malecon, because many of the Mexicans easter weekend do not speak English (or don’t care to speak to you casually and don’t let you know they speak English :D).
I’ll probably be unable to convince my friends to make the trip to the Malecon this year, because they know it’s so crowded and with very few Americans to hook up with (which probably isn’t true, there are just so many more Mexicans it is hard to find the Americans!).
So if you like crowds, head down to the Malecon Easter weekend. If not, chill out in one of the campos outside of town!
The Baja 250’s this weekend, and I’m going to miss it. Bummer.
Any one who made it this year, feel free to tell us all the juicy details.
If you’re not a race fan, you might want to avoid San Felipe this weekend!!!
At the end of the Malecon (the end you drive towards, as it’s a one-way street), lies one of the most fun bars in San Felipe, Bar Miramar.
On the weekends, Bar Miramar can be a nice alternative for dancing to the two bigger night clubs on the Malecon, The Rockodile and The Beach Comber.
Bar Miramar has a couple of pool tables (not in the best of shape, but they are definitely playable and better than a lot of bar tables I’ve played on), a ping pong table, and a small dance floor with a juke box.
Like most bars on the Malecon, things get hopping after ten o’clock. If you’re there early, check out the fish taco stand right next door called “Adriana’s.” This is owned and operated by a wonderful local woman, Maria. And they are quite possibly the best fish tacos in town! At a buck a piece, get three or four…
If you’re looking for an alternative to the extremely loud and crowded clubs on the Malecon, try Bar Miramar!
Something you don’t see every day in San Felipe is an elephant and a camel just strolling down the main drag into San Felipe, Chetumal. The beasts were headed down to the Malecon not for the night life and the great view of the Sea of Cortez, but to be a part of the celebration of Carnaval!
I couldn’t resist pulling over and taking a few pictures with my camera phone when I saw this sight.
The Mexican version of Mardi Gras is Carnaval, and it’s going on right now in San Felipe.
On Saturday, I went to watch the parade down on the malecon. It was no Rose Parade, but it was much better than I expected and a whole lot of fun.
Of special note the El Dorado Ranch float had an African tribal theme and their presentation was outstanding. El Dorado hired a choreographer and used local San Felipe residents for the dance. I was extremely impressed by the job they did in putting it all together. The float certainly drew a nice crowd.
If you’re in the San Felipe area, you can check out the El Dorado float and all of the others on fat Tuesday itself. The parade runs Saturday and Sunday, already passed, and again on Tuesday.
Carnaval and Mardi Gras are celebrations in Catholic regions where they let it all hang loose prior to Ash Wednesday and the season of sacrifice during Lent.
Pictures coming soon! I used my camera phone, but Verizon does not work in San Felipe, so I have to wait until I get back to the States to get the pics off of my phone.
Well, there was no tournament, so I didn’t have to make a decision about whether to play or not. Evidently, they’re going to be doing tournaments on a monthly basis this year. You’d think they’d have the common sense to put it on a holiday weekend
American Football isn’t nearly the rage in Mexico as it is in the U.S., but there are enough Americans here that you don’t have to worry about missing your big game if you’re here during the NFL season.
If you live here, you’ll want DirecTV instead of Dish Network, because currently DirecTV is the only TV provider with Sunday Ticket. But don’t despair, if you get Dish Network, choose an address in the States near your team and get local channel service. You’ll probably have all the games.
Of course, many of us enjoy the communal experience of Sunday football, and we don’t want to sit in the privacy of our homes where we can only annoy our wives or roommates with the whooping and the hollering. I’m typing this as I watch NFL Today, so I don’t have time to give directions to all of these places now, but I’ll name some names.
If you’re at El Dorado Ranch or north of town (maybe the Ejido or Playa de Oro), you should consider Pete’s Camp. They have multiple TVs and will likely be playing your game. If you show up early, you can probably claim one of the TVs for your team. The guy who runs it, Jim, is a big Raiders fan. My second favorite team is whoever is playing the Oakland Raiders, so I like to watch the Raider games at Pete’s Camp and harass Jim and his fellow Raider fans Guess where I’ll be manana la noche for Monday Night Football…
In town, you should check out the Beachcomber. They’ve got a couple big tv’s, but I’m not sure if they play multiple games for the NFL season or not.
Fandango’s will have a few games on, for sure. It’s a Chargers bar, so if you’re a deluded (:D) San Diego fan, this can be your football home while down south in Baja California.
Am I missing any spots? Please feel free to comment on the locations I mentioned or other options for football in San Felipe.
So where am I for opening day? Well, I’m watching on a projector at the hacienda. So I’ve got about 80-100″ of football goodness on the wall in the bedroom. Sweet.
Rain is a rare thing in San Felipe. I’ve heard it’s actually the second driest climate in the world and the Sahara desert gets more rain than San Felipe. That’s why the saying, “No Bad Days” is oft attached to this part of Baja.
Even with the hurricane trying to come up the gulf of California, our rainfall was less than twenty minutes. The winds did get kind of heinous, but that also was short-lived. We were still able to get our two hours of water volleyball in on Labor Day in spite of the wind and slight rainfall!
So if you plan an outdoor event, know there’s a 99.9% chance that you’re going to be okay. You might have to plan for some wind, as that does kick up fairly often, but precipitation won’t even be on your radar screen.
If you’re from a region where you’ve experienced enough rain for your lifetime, you should consider San Felipe, where there’s no bad days…
Just a quick note that if you’re in San Felipe this weekend, there’s a water volleyball tournament at the El Dorado Ranch pool (La Ventana del Mar). Sign-up is at 11:30 and the tournament starts at noon.
If you don’t have a pass to El Dorado, comment here, and I’ll see if I can get you a guest pass if you’d like to play some volleyball.