Post by Richard FergusonWe are planning to travel south in January, including a couple of weeks
south of the border. Since we will be in Arizona anyway, Bahia Kino or
Guaymas seem like a logical beach destination. Rocky Point (Puerto
Penasco) sounds so American that we would hardly feel that we were in
Mexico, so I would probably prefer to go elsewhere. I should say that we
speak Spanish, and know Mexico well, but have not RVed much in Mexico. We
will have a pickup camper, but will probably park the rig while we are
there and get around by taxi and bus.> As far as activities, we might go
fishing for a day, we like to hike. I understand that the area does not
have much to offer in terms of ruins or culture. We might visit a Seri
indian village. I think it will probably be too cold for swimming in
January.
Kino is pretty small and quiet, it does have several nice RV parks and
a snowbird community during the winter. There's a nice little Seri museum in
town and there will sometimes be Seris selling genuine handcrafted items
there. There are almost always Mexicans selling ironwood "carvings" and
other items in town. There's a lot of ironwood manufacturing in the old part
of town. The two nearby Seri villages are interesting, if a bit poverty
stricken. You can get good buys on handcrafted items there. Stand still for
a little while and the ladies will find you. Baskets and necklaces made with
found items and beads are local specialties. You'll also find some real
ironwood carvings. Tough bargaining is of course required, they will start
out assuming that you're a very dumb tourist, but it's still nothing like
you would encounter in Nogales. Puerta Chueca is a Seri village near Kino
bay. Desemboque is a bit further up the coast and worth the trip. The
poverty there isn't as intense as at Puerta Chueca, but as it's a bit more
isolated you can probably get slightly better prices there. Your pickup
should work fine for both places. Particularly for Puerta Chueca you need
good ground clearance as the road is always very rutted. I drove a small
sedan in there last time--something I do not recommend.
The Red Snapper (in Spanish) is one of the better restaurants in Kino
bay. There are a couple of others that I haven't tried.
Guaymas is a small city and doesn't really have much to interest
tourists other than some nice restaurants. It's also a better place to shop
for groceries and such than San Carlos. (In Guaymas the internet cafes
charge $1 to $1.50 an hour--in San Carlos it runs $6/hour. It's about a ten
minutes drive between the two places.) San Carlos is a resort town that
never quite made it. It has several RV parks and some nice restaurants. I
prefer the older and a bit run down Tetakawi behind the Best Western hotel
of the same name, because it has some shade and it's an easy to get around
town from there. The newer El Mirador RV park is also very popular. It has
it's own restaurant that's open during the winter, but absolutely no shade.
The cove near there is a very nice place for snorkeling. Bring a wet suit if
you have snorkeling inclinations that time of year. If you dive it's a good
time to go out and see Sea Lions at the nearby island. Desert Divers here in
Tucson goes by Ocean Sports in San Carlos. They have by far the best boat.
Their shop is down by the marina. Advance reservations are a very good idea.
I do not recommend Gary's dive shop--his boats are ancient and the expat'
that owns it has a very Mexican "promise them anything, but give them what
you got" attitude. El Mar also has a nice dive service. Their smaller boat
offers more personalized service. Sport fishing is also popular in San
Carlos.
If you're visiting Sonora and have the time I'd also suggest you visit
Alamos during the weekend. Saturday night on the two town squares is very
nice. It looks like there are always food vendors on the main square on
Saturday night and courting couples seem to collect on the square in front
of the church. There's an interesting outdoor market on Sundays and some
crafts for sale in a shop at the church. The outdoor market is pretty
typical of these markets that are selling to the locals. The Dolisa hotel
has RV spaces and is a short walk from the two town squares.
The old church and square at Magdalena de Kino is also worth stopping to
see. If you drive through Kino you skip one toll booth.
If you are only going to be visiting Sonora and will be entering and
leaving at the same point the best way to go is to get a "Sonora only free
pass" instead of a temporary import permit. The paperwork is a bit less
complicated, you don't need a credit card for a bond and it's free. In any
event on a weekday I can take care of all the paperwork at the 21km
checkpoint in half an hour or less. You can get the paperwork started at the
Sonora tourism office here in Tucson on Broadway and pick up lots of tourism
brochures, but I've found that it doesn't save me any time. Be sure to turn
in your pass or temporary import permit on the way out. They have a nice
office for this on the right hand side of the road across from the 21km
checkpoint.
Post by Richard FergusonAny comments about one town vs. another? Should we go for a week in one
town and a week in the other? Will we have trouble getting a campsite in
January?
You shouldn't have any trouble getting an RV spot unless you're in San
Carlos during the fishing tournament. As noted, use the truck by-pass around
Nogales Sonora.
Something else to consider is that it's only about a day and a half's
drive from the border to the tropics. If you'd like some recommendations for
points further south I'm sure we can point you to some interesting spots.
Los Mochis and the Copper Canyon train is only a day's drive from here.
Dennis