| World Famous
Sunsets and Seafood
San Felipe sparkles. The water here is the color of sapphires in the sun, soft white sand stretches as far as you can stroll, and palm palapas dot the beaches.
Despite its location (an easy four-hour drive from the border at San Ysidro), this small Sea of Cortez city is unspoiled and underdeveloped.
A strangely gentle malaise seduces the unsuspecting traveler quickly, making the best-intentioned Type-A forget to phone the office. Unhurried is the pace. "Slow and easy" is the operative phrase.
That doesn't mean there aren't opportunities to break a sweat. San Felipe has all the beach toys and scenic lures and tours of any great strip of prime coastal real estate. You can swim, snorkel, sail, sportfish or easily spend an entire day just shelling. You can windsurf, fly across the dunes in an open buggy or mountain bike the nearby hills. It's even possible to climb Baja's tallest peak - nearby Picacho del Diablo (the Devil's Peak) in the San Pedro Matir range. At 10,156 feet, you'll be able to see both Baja coasts simultaneously.
Beachcombing is a competitive sport in San Felipe, though an almost addictive occupation because of the area's unusual tides. Tide swings as high as 23 feet cause the sea to recede as much as a half mile at times. There has been more than one first-time visitor who parked a pickup at the tide line to dig clams, wandered away down the beach for a lengthy walk, then returned only to find the old Chevy abob or gone completely.
Back in town, you can shop at the curio stores without once being hawked by a vendor. However, shopping is hardly an Olympic sport here. Nor is golf. You can swing a club on the free "sand" golf course just north of town, if withdrawal seems to be giving you hives.
Late afternoon or sunset in San Felipe means time out on the malecon (waterfront walkway), feet up on a rail, watching the calm, quiet world of a fishing village as it finishes its chores. Clusters of fishermen join to push their colorful wooden pangas up the beach, one by one, beyond the rising tide. Children stand tiptoe at the sea wall watching. Enjoy a bottle of wine or cold beverage as the sun sets.
A word of caution: Unless you're single and 18, you won't enjoy San Felipe during the annual two- to three-week invasion of U.S. college kids during spring break. Some 5,000 party hounds take over the town of 20,000, leaving little in the way of local scenery beyond string bikinis and beer bottles. Not that there's anything wrong with that view. Just be forewarned.
Restaurants
The malecon alone is dotted with almost a dozen fresh shrimp and fish taco stands, which also specialize in fresh seafood cocktails and freshly dug, steamed clams. At any stand, you can mix and match your favorite blend of octopus, scallops, shrimp, squid, clams and whatever else the shellfish gods give forth that day. Seafood cocktails are priced by size and mixture. A platter of 20 steamed butter clams, accompanied by a big shrimp glass of melted butter, is $4. Batter shrimp, fish or shark tacos are $1 anywhere in town. Additionally, scattered along the beach and throughout the beach town are a variety of informal restaurants and unique food finds.
Don't Miss
The natural hot sulfur springs at Puertecitos are about 60 miles down the road. Take a cold six-pack and a picnic lunch, and plan your visit to coincide with the day's high tide, when breaking ocean waves cool the steaming private pools to manageable temps. The one-hour, desert-and-sea drive is as beautiful and relaxing as the pools. Tony Reyes Sport Fishing Charters offers tours of the hot springs, as well as desert eco-tours, coastal cave tours, Enchanted Islands safaris and wilderness camping safaris that include all meals, transportation and gear.
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