Baja Bound

Location:
Mexico

La Bufadora, massage, Baja

By angie collins

With the sound of the horses’ hooves drowning out my dad’s voice, I had to tap in on my lip-reading abilities. The horse drawn carriage could have been a perfect snapshot for a postcard as the ocean glistened from the new sun on the back of our carriage. The driver giggled about our rumbling bellies as he dropped us off at our breakfast spot in Baja. The recommendation came from the Baja natives at La Rosa Hotel that resides just outside of Ensenada.

Del Rey Sol was a local dining hot-spot, exactly what we were looking for. It featured Mexican pastries, hearty chorizo and home-made tortillas to just to name a few. Their recipe was passed down from generations, and they probably had to kill me if they let me in on their secret ingredients.

The standard cooler weather during the early spring forced us to wear a sweatshirt until midday, in which thereafter we stripped down to enjoy the pool and spa in La Rosa’s courtyard.

After marinating at the pool for a while, the massage parlor was calling our names. Usually this isn’t a standard splurge, but for the first time being out of the states we had to go the whole nine yards.

The next day was set-aside for a rendezvous at the La Bufadora, (translated to “the blowhole” in English) a marketplace in Baja for knickknacks, suveniours and the home for the second largest blowhole in the world. It shoots up water up to 80-feet high followed by a huge grumble about every couple minutes.

The legend of the La Bufadora says that a baby whale entered the underwater cave more than a century ago. As we all know babies grow very, very quickly as did this baby whale. He became stuck and the spout of water is from the whale’s blowhole, hence the name La Bufadora.

That night we stayed at another hotel, Hotel California to be exact. This one didn’t provide as many amenities as La Rosa did, and not quite as expensive either, so all was well. I think we enjoyed it a little more actually. The hotel captivated the character of the Baja culture, with beautiful colored tiling on the floor and counters and the exquisite detailing of the embroidered drapes and bedding. There were other things, too, that highlighted the location – the bad plumbing, non-drinkable water and friendly cockroaches. But that was okay; we accepted the good with the not-so-good because that’s part of the whole experience. The warm greeting of all employees and the local flavor of the atmosphere made us feel welcomed and comforted.

After being tuckered out from a day at the La Bufadora, we came back for an authentic local dinner and cerveza. We stopped at a hole-in-the-wall close to our hotel. My mouth quivered after every bite of my carne asada. Juices oozed in my mouth with every chew and the flavors stimulated my taste-buds over and over again. We washed our dinner down with a few laughs and good conversation, not to mention a corona or two, and our night was perfect.

Further Information

Must see/do at this place: Must see La Bufadora