Will Puerto Penasco travelers have to wade across the border?

Here's a little side effect of the controversial border fence that I didn't hear about until today. According to a report released by officials with Organ Pipe National Monument, the 15-foot high fence blocked flood waters from a July 12th storm and flooded the international border crossing. Property was damaged in both Lukeville, Arizona and Sonoyta, Sonora. Apparently, debris quickly blocked the holes in the bottom of the fence that were designed to let the water flow through.

Photo: AP/National Park Service

I'll save my opinions about the border fence issue for another time and place. (How about over a cold Bohemia at the Marina Cantina in San Carlos?) It does make me wonder, though, if we need to check a weather report before heading to Puerto Penasco.

"Did you get the passports?"

"Yes dear."

"Mexican auto insurance?"

"Yes, pumpkin."

"Sunscreen?"

"Of course, my flowering lily."

"Waders?"

"Damn!"

Hey, here's a scenario. You're driving back to the United States on a Sunday afternoon after dawdling too long at Manny's, and you see dark clouds hovering over Gringo Pass ("I told you we should have left earlier, dear").

Will that 45 minute wait to go through customs turn into hours?

Will street vendors glide past your window in makeshift dugouts, poling along with one hand and balancing a painting of the Virgin of Guadalupe in the other?

Just think, the term "port of entry" could take on a whole new meaning. 

San Carlos kite boarding: Fun to watch, but ...

The gut-wrenching news footage this week of a kite boarder being yanked helplessly across the sands by ferocious winds in Florida, reaffirmed a decision I made before New Years about trying the sport:
Hell no.

If you go up along Los Algodones (Catch 22) Beach in San Carlos, you'll see a sign pointing to the Hangout beach bar, just before Paradiso. Follow a little dirt track and there is The Soggy Peso bar, a perfect little beach bar with outstanding ceviche. Grab a beverage and plop down on a beachside table facing a pretty bay.

Julie and I did just that, after stumbling across The Soggy Peso last December.

"Gee, it sure is windy," I said.

"Sure is," she replied. (Sitting on a Mexican beach tends to stunt intellectual conversation.)

We watched as a few men and women started laying out some sort of fabric on the sand.

"Wonder what they're doing?"

"Dunno."

"Windsurfing?"

"Dunno. Maybe."

"Another beer?"

"Well, yeah."

Another beer later and a light bulb flickered:

"I bet they're kite surfing," I said proudly.

Julie looked at me and I could see the admiration and respect in her eyes when she realized I had figured it out.

"Maybe," she said.

Anyway, things got pretty exciting after that as these "kiters" entered the bay and shot across the water. With their kite pulling them like an untrained Great Dane out on a walk, they cruised away from shore then turned and started heading straight for the beach.

Kiting in San Carlos. Photo: Julie Lunt

"This is going to be interesting," I thought. And it was, because just as one guy was about to eat sand he turned parallel to the beach and then did something completely unexpected. He flew up about 15 feet above the water.

Up, up and away!

Julie and I looked at each other. "Whoa!"

Now here's an activity I had never really paid attention to, but this was cool! The speed and power and grace were amazing.

"I've found my new sport!" I proclaimed to Julie as I tipped another Dos Equis. I turned to our waiter. "I want to learn to do that. Do you do this?"

"I tried it once," he said. "I won't do it again."

"Why not?"

"I was dragged along the beach," he said.

"Dragged?"

"Along the beach. It hurt."

Our waiter was a good twenty years younger than me, and even through my alcohol-exaggerated bravado, I started to question the sport. By the next morning, I had decided that the kite boarding world didn't need me.

But you may want to try it. From what I understand, there are people giving lessons in San Carlos. Just inquire at The Soggy Peso. Or simply order a margarita, grab a table and watch the show.

Puerto Penasco and Sandy Beach camping blues

Well if you are a Sandy Beach camping aficionado, you're probably aware that the days of "road warrior" camping are pretty much over.

Like mushrooms, high-rise condos have been springing up almost overnight as this famous (infamous?) stretch of sand has transformed from an unruly rite of passage for young Arizonans, to world class resort (almost). And if you're only getting the news now, I'm sorry.

Camping on Sandy Beach, looking SE.

Of course one person's loss is often another's gain, and both Mexicans and Americans stand to gain a lot from this new Sandy Beach. It's created jobs and other opportunities to make money. It's created a new destination in Mexico that will appeal to vacationers both south and north of the border. And the condos are way swanky. (Okay, I'll admit it. After four days trekking from the Pinacates to Sandy Beach, four of us splurged and rented a condo in the Princesa Condominiums. It was a delightful end to a great wilderness walk.)

But the sad fact remains that beach camping opportunities in Rocky Point are disappearing fast, and will most likely be completely gone in the near future. Right now, The Reef RV Park is the only place on Sandy Beach where you can still experience the "drive up and stake it down" camping of the past. The park is located at the western end of the beach. It has developed sites for RVs and tent camping, plus allows you to camp directly on the beach.

In May, we paid $5 per night to camp in a surviving stretch of open beach between the walls of approaching condos and the park's large, disco bar. Of course, you can also get beach front camping in the developed sites.

As far as eating goes, the Reef bar has a little snack stand that features delicious -- and inexpensive -- tacos. There is also a gourmet restaurant which is an anomaly: Incredibly delicious cuisine, at good prices, cooked by a master chef in an unlikely location.

Sandy Beach and The Reef RV Park.

I don't know how long this stretch of sand will hold out against the onslaught of development. And, to be honest, I actually found the partying atmosphere a little noisy and tiring. But then I may be getting old.