Revisiting Sonora, Mexico - Bahia de Kino,San Carlos and Guaymas in our Motorhome
Moving On 1
Spending another Winter in wonderful Mexico
Spending another Winter in wonderful Mexico
Follow along with our adventures in Jennie the RV and Willie the Jeep
For photos of Guaymas Click Here
View from Jorge's Restaurant
Kino Bay
Kino Bay
We are staying in Kino Bay RV Park at the end of Mar de Cortez in Kino Nuevo. They are working on improving the park, making it more upscale. The bathrooms are very nice (keyed access), there is a laundry room and free Wi-fi. Spaces are gravel with a cement patio with shade. They also take Passport America. We are in the same spot we occupied last year in the Alfa.
From our window we can see the little white church on the hill all lit up. So pretty. Wonder if they’ve built a parking lot up there yet? About four years ago we attended the very first Mass ever said there.
Walked across the street to Jorge’s Restaurant for breakfast. Breakfast of Huevos Rancheros for Bill and bacon and eggs with hash browns and toast for me cost 150 Pesos.
We like to go over to the pier in Kino Viejo and just people watch. Always fun. The vendors selling iron wood statues and all kinds of things made out of shells and lots of jewelry. The two guys who sit outside of the bathrooms collecting 5 Pesos for the use of the facilities. The kids playing in the water and collecting shells. And the fishermen. I love to watch when they bring their boats in. They head towards the shore, rev their engines and hit the sand going full tilt so they stop above the waterline.
The vendors on the street in front of the pier sell seafood cocktails. They open the huge shells and clean out everything but the scallop. Then they dice that and add diced clams lots of lime juice and hot sauce and it is served on the scallop shell. They do a good business.
Down the road are the homes of the fishermen, as we drove by we could see the women outside at big tables cleaning the days catch ready for sale. A guy with an ice truck was making his rounds selling the crushed ice to them.
The vendors on the street in front of the pier sell seafood cocktails. They open the huge shells and clean out everything but the scallop. Then they dice that and add diced clams lots of lime juice and hot sauce and it is served on the scallop shell. They do a good business.
Down the road are the homes of the fishermen, as we drove by we could see the women outside at big tables cleaning the days catch ready for sale. A guy with an ice truck was making his rounds selling the crushed ice to them.
So here we are on the beginning of our winter journey.
With the exchange rate of 12Pesos to 1dollar gas is about US$2.40 gallon - And a lot of the Pemex stations now take credit cards, this is new. And the Pemex station in Kino Viejo now has an ATM machine in it. You still cannot pump your own gas. There is always an attendent. In all our trips to Mexico we have never had problems at a Pemex.
Bahia de Kino the new part continues to grow - there are now two red lights along the main road, there were none last year. Also several new homes up and going up. The road between Viejo (old) Kino and Nuevo (new) Kino is now a divided 4-lane paved road instead of a bumpy dirt one.
With the exchange rate of 12Pesos to 1dollar gas is about US$2.40 gallon - And a lot of the Pemex stations now take credit cards, this is new. And the Pemex station in Kino Viejo now has an ATM machine in it. You still cannot pump your own gas. There is always an attendent. In all our trips to Mexico we have never had problems at a Pemex.
Bahia de Kino the new part continues to grow - there are now two red lights along the main road, there were none last year. Also several new homes up and going up. The road between Viejo (old) Kino and Nuevo (new) Kino is now a divided 4-lane paved road instead of a bumpy dirt one.
Beaching a panga - Kino Viejo
Went to the pier several times. It’s always interesting to watch the boats and fishermen. One day we saw a panga tied to the end of the pier. A couple of guys were in it and seemed to be waiting. Also in it were plastic grocery bags and two crates of eggs….
Soon more men came out the pier and got in the boat. We asked what was going on. The groceries and men were being ferried out to the shrimpers in the gulf. Groceries and new crew members.
Also watched the launching of one of the pangas from the beach. Quite a complicated project - took about an hour. First a really old beat up reddish brown SUV of unknown origin drove on to the beach and then drove down about half way into the water. That got our attention. Then the driver threw it into reverse and powered backwards up the sand. Until he got stuck. Back and forth he rocked, a couple of guys pushing him, finally got unstuck. Repeated whole process except he got further up the sand before his engine quit and he got stuck. More pushing of the truck, it started. Back to the water, another roaring back up - this time the engine kept running and he was only a little stuck. Then one of the fishermen from one of the little boats brought a rope out. Tied it around the engine on the boat and to the back bumper of the SUV. Lots engine revving, tires spinning and sand flying. Couple of guys got behind the truck and pushed. Truck jerked forward - Rope broke. Lots of talking and gesturing going on. Hands thrown up in air and shoulders shrugged. SUV drives off beach. Boat is still way up on the sand with everyone standing around looking at it.
We walked out on the pier a ways and by the time we came back there was a newer green pickup truck on the beach. Slowly he backed up the sand. A stronger rope was tied to truck and boat. He slowly moved forward till the rope was tight, it held, then he hit the gas and drove towards the water. The boat digging up the sand as it followed behind him. Just before the trucks wheels touched the water he turned left along the sand. The boat continued on towards the water. The rope was released from truck and boat. Several fishermen pushed and pulled the boat until it was pointing towards the water. The final launching process began. Again the green truck was involved. He slowly backed up to the back of the boat gently putting his bumper on the boat then pushed it into the water. Pretty interesting to watch
Here in the campground there is a virtual grocery store on wheels going through all day. One pickup truck comes through loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables for sale then a few minutes later a fisherman asking if we want to buy shrimp, caught today, very fresh. Before that a bright red pickup truck selling flowering plants. He was doing a good business with the people building permanent structures for their RVs. Every evening just before dinner two women would come by with hot food - tamales and chiles rellenos. They were delicious. While on the subject of food - the panaderia in Kino Viejo is as good as ever. Go in the morning for sweet rolls and in the afternoon for rolls for sandwiches. Also most nights around 5:00 there is a man selling fresh made churros on Guaymas by the Hacienda Hotel.
This year there aren't as many people here. The one paved main street that runs the length of the Kino Neuvo (about 10 miles long.) seems almost deserted. Just the shifting sand moving on it. Only a few cars parked on the street - and they are mostly cars from this area belonging to the workers here. Most of the homes are vacation homes and are empty. Even the RV parks right on the beach have spaces available. First time we've seen that. The beaches and the restaurants are empty most of the day.
The weather is beautiful. Sunny and warm.
Our satellite system is working good for the WiFi and the dome for Direct TV works well here too. One thing we did learn about the satellite Internet - if the power goes out so does the connection for the modem. Have to reboot it. Then all was fine.
The weather is good. The days here in the beginning of December are shorts and t-shirt kind of days.
This time we visited the Seri Museum, cost 10Pesos and was pretty interesting. The only problem was all the information was in Spanish. Bill translated for me. They make beautiful baskets and at one time wore clothing made from Pelican skins.
Soon more men came out the pier and got in the boat. We asked what was going on. The groceries and men were being ferried out to the shrimpers in the gulf. Groceries and new crew members.
Also watched the launching of one of the pangas from the beach. Quite a complicated project - took about an hour. First a really old beat up reddish brown SUV of unknown origin drove on to the beach and then drove down about half way into the water. That got our attention. Then the driver threw it into reverse and powered backwards up the sand. Until he got stuck. Back and forth he rocked, a couple of guys pushing him, finally got unstuck. Repeated whole process except he got further up the sand before his engine quit and he got stuck. More pushing of the truck, it started. Back to the water, another roaring back up - this time the engine kept running and he was only a little stuck. Then one of the fishermen from one of the little boats brought a rope out. Tied it around the engine on the boat and to the back bumper of the SUV. Lots engine revving, tires spinning and sand flying. Couple of guys got behind the truck and pushed. Truck jerked forward - Rope broke. Lots of talking and gesturing going on. Hands thrown up in air and shoulders shrugged. SUV drives off beach. Boat is still way up on the sand with everyone standing around looking at it.
We walked out on the pier a ways and by the time we came back there was a newer green pickup truck on the beach. Slowly he backed up the sand. A stronger rope was tied to truck and boat. He slowly moved forward till the rope was tight, it held, then he hit the gas and drove towards the water. The boat digging up the sand as it followed behind him. Just before the trucks wheels touched the water he turned left along the sand. The boat continued on towards the water. The rope was released from truck and boat. Several fishermen pushed and pulled the boat until it was pointing towards the water. The final launching process began. Again the green truck was involved. He slowly backed up to the back of the boat gently putting his bumper on the boat then pushed it into the water. Pretty interesting to watch
Here in the campground there is a virtual grocery store on wheels going through all day. One pickup truck comes through loaded with fresh fruits and vegetables for sale then a few minutes later a fisherman asking if we want to buy shrimp, caught today, very fresh. Before that a bright red pickup truck selling flowering plants. He was doing a good business with the people building permanent structures for their RVs. Every evening just before dinner two women would come by with hot food - tamales and chiles rellenos. They were delicious. While on the subject of food - the panaderia in Kino Viejo is as good as ever. Go in the morning for sweet rolls and in the afternoon for rolls for sandwiches. Also most nights around 5:00 there is a man selling fresh made churros on Guaymas by the Hacienda Hotel.
This year there aren't as many people here. The one paved main street that runs the length of the Kino Neuvo (about 10 miles long.) seems almost deserted. Just the shifting sand moving on it. Only a few cars parked on the street - and they are mostly cars from this area belonging to the workers here. Most of the homes are vacation homes and are empty. Even the RV parks right on the beach have spaces available. First time we've seen that. The beaches and the restaurants are empty most of the day.
The weather is beautiful. Sunny and warm.
Our satellite system is working good for the WiFi and the dome for Direct TV works well here too. One thing we did learn about the satellite Internet - if the power goes out so does the connection for the modem. Have to reboot it. Then all was fine.
The weather is good. The days here in the beginning of December are shorts and t-shirt kind of days.
This time we visited the Seri Museum, cost 10Pesos and was pretty interesting. The only problem was all the information was in Spanish. Bill translated for me. They make beautiful baskets and at one time wore clothing made from Pelican skins.
One day we decided to drive to Guaymas, about 130 miles south. From the main Hermosillo-Kino road we took the Sahuarat-el Puerto cut off. That way we didn't have to go back through Hermosillo. Besides we wanted to see if that road had been improved. It hadn't. Parts of it had been repaved but a good portion was very rough and lots of potholes. Not something you want your RV to literally shake, rattle and roll down. This road (Son 132) meets up with MX15D just north of the Guaymas/San Carlos turn off. Construction is going on in that area and the road narrows down to two lanes - one each way. If you want to continue on to Ciudad Obregón the detour takes you through the Pemex. It is well marked and there is a flagman to direct you.
The area around Guaymas port continues to be improved. Lots of the old falling apart buildings are now gone. The area has really been cleaned up and there are a lot of new parking areas, buildings and a nice marina there.
The streets were decorated for Christmas and as busy as ever. Lots of traffic and people shopping. There are a couple of really old buildings on the main street sandwiched in with the zillions of retail stores. Both of them are old bank buildings. Lots of vendors selling Christmas trinkets and produce. Both on foot and from their trucks.
We parked and walked around the main plaza checking out the beautiful white gazebo and old street lights. The plaza has lots of green plants and the white gazebo, street lights and church with the beautiful blue sky above it. A perfect picture.
As we neared the church we noticed that the side yard was closed off by a very pretty canvas wrapped around the fence. We were thinking that it was getting set up for a wedding or something as there were rows of chairs set out. As I was taking pictures a man came up to us and asked us if we knew what had happened. He then explained that in September when hurricane Jimena came through it rained so much the whole roof of the church collapsed. Cupola (dome) and all. So now the services are held outside in the side yard.
Looked it up on line later and there was a lot of damage in Sonora from Jimena. There were reports of 50 inches of rain.
Before we left we went to the big Ley SuperMercado. Picked up pastries and produce.
We took MX15 back through Hermosillo then on to Kino. It's 25 miles longer and has lots of traffic but is a better road.
The area around Guaymas port continues to be improved. Lots of the old falling apart buildings are now gone. The area has really been cleaned up and there are a lot of new parking areas, buildings and a nice marina there.
The streets were decorated for Christmas and as busy as ever. Lots of traffic and people shopping. There are a couple of really old buildings on the main street sandwiched in with the zillions of retail stores. Both of them are old bank buildings. Lots of vendors selling Christmas trinkets and produce. Both on foot and from their trucks.
We parked and walked around the main plaza checking out the beautiful white gazebo and old street lights. The plaza has lots of green plants and the white gazebo, street lights and church with the beautiful blue sky above it. A perfect picture.
As we neared the church we noticed that the side yard was closed off by a very pretty canvas wrapped around the fence. We were thinking that it was getting set up for a wedding or something as there were rows of chairs set out. As I was taking pictures a man came up to us and asked us if we knew what had happened. He then explained that in September when hurricane Jimena came through it rained so much the whole roof of the church collapsed. Cupola (dome) and all. So now the services are held outside in the side yard.
Looked it up on line later and there was a lot of damage in Sonora from Jimena. There were reports of 50 inches of rain.
Before we left we went to the big Ley SuperMercado. Picked up pastries and produce.
We took MX15 back through Hermosillo then on to Kino. It's 25 miles longer and has lots of traffic but is a better road.
Guaymas
Bahia de Kino
For more pictures from Bahia de Kino Click Here
Things we've done and places we've been on this trip - Mexico 2009