by: Matt Johnson

The sun is shining and the weather is sweet, a perfect day to visit our southern neighbor Mexico. No mainland for us. Instead we explore the Baja Peninsula with the help of Mexican public transportation. We arrive early in San Diego, California for a whirlwind trip for cheap beer and lobster.

9:00am
We leave San Diego International and jump the blue line trolley for Mexico. Five travelers strong we sit back and relax on our ride south. The San Diego Trolley takes our crew to the final stop, San Ysidro Transit Center.

10:00am
Home of the world’s busiest port of entry, San Ysidro, CA and Tijuana, Mexico see thousands pass through daily. Crossing the border on foot was extremely easy. A revolving steel door similar to one found at a baseball stadium was the only screening process. Since our trip was taken, newly formed laws require a passport to cross into Mexico. Not having to worry about showing any identification, we stroll right across and to the taxi stand.

10:15am
The Tijuana taxi stand is like Wall Street, only in Spanish. Mexican cab drivers everywhere you look bidding for your fare. We got our driver and are heading to the cab when we are pulled away by another driver and placed in his car, sketchy situation already. We decided to go with it and we’re on our way to Rosarito.
Mexican highways are mayhem. We are all a little on edge about the traffic jam so we stop at a bodega for some Tecate. Beers in hand we begin to relax and enjoy the ride. The two-lane highway has been converted to three as cars speed down the dirt shoulder. On our first Mexican road I’m already breaking the law. Oh well, the cab driver was cool about it, so we were too.

11:00am
Rosarito Beach is a fast town. Getting out of the cab into a crowd of Mexicans was not what we expected but we jump right into the madness. City streets filled with bars lining the Pacific, Rosarito is a great party town. Walking through the streets we get hounded by every bar to come in for some cervezas. We decide to find a bar to fit our needs, drinking and sitting on the beach. Papas and Beer it is.

11:20am
Walking into Papas and Beer is like entering a jungle filled with bars. We stop for a quick shot of tequila at the bar and find a table by the ocean. Dos Equis and tequila, the perfect lunch in Baja. How about another round?

2:00pm
Time flies when you’re getting drunk. With a nice lunchtime buzz in effect we hop another cab to head south for lobster and margaritas. Not knowing exactly where to go we tell the cab driver what we want. He knows a spot and starts driving the coastline south.
The barren land between cities is not somewhere you want to breakdown. It’s not hard to tell that just from looking around.

2:45pm
We arrive in a small Mexican town located on a mountainside overlooking the ocean. The taxi drops us at a white pueblo house with a small sign that read “The Lobster House”. This is the place we were looking for. We hook the driver up with a good tip for the ride and head into the joint.

3:00pm
The restaurant is perfect. We head up to the roof top deck for some true ocean view dining. Unbelievable views of the Baja coastline can be seen from our table as we drink margaritas and wait for our lobster feast.
A couple drinks later the table is filled with lobster. As we begin to dig in a mariachi band comes to set the mood with some local rhythm. We jam out to the band and enjoy the sights of our secret spot.

5:00pm
It’s getting late and we are stuffed. The sun is starting to fall and we want to get back to the homeland before dark. Grab a taxi and get on the road. Heading back up the coast we cruise along with no worries.

5:30pm
In our race against time we are making our way to the border. All things going smooth until ahead in the road lays a checkpoint. Federales stop the cab and pull us out. Search the cab, the driver and us. Things all work well and they even pose for a couple pictures with us. They send us for the border with a big sigh of relief all around the taxi.

6:00pm
Pulling up to the border-crossing checkpoint we notice a line. A long line. An extremely long line of people for as far I can see. The driver tells us we have to wait in line to get through customs. We all decide that we have had too much to drink and need to get home before sundown. We decide to cut the line.
Once the decision was made there’s no going back. We cut the line as far as we could possible get without getting killed. Other’s waiting in line were not happy with us but somehow it worked.

6:30pm
After our line cut and a quick trip through customs we board the trolley. Sitting on the trolley watching the sunset on our Mexican adventure we have conquered Baja, Mexico. Time to go home and sleep this one off.