Tacos pescado y senoras grande

We have now been in Mexico for close on one week, and in that time we have successfully avoided being abducted by any human trafficking syndicates. We have also avoided any drug warfare or shoot outs.

Marcelle on the ¨trolley¨, the San Diego tram, to the border.

Mexico has, on the whole, been almost exactly like one would expect. Everyone - and I mean everyone, including teenagers on a Saturday night - listens only to Mexican music. They are also generous in their listening of it, preferring to play it at a level that everyone in the town can enjoy instead of just themselves. Everyone eats tacos, empanadas, nachos, fajitas and quesadillas and drinks beer, margaritas and tequila. Spanish is obviously spoken everywhere, and English is surprisingly poorly understood, being so close to the US.

The sweet taste of Tecate. It´s actually kak, but I didn´t have a photo of a Pacifico.

However, there are parts of Mexico that have surprised us. Firstly, the border crossing from San Diego to Tijuana was odd. We literally walked across the border, through 2 turnstiles. No-one checks passports. Neither the US or Mexico actually knows in which country we are in right now. Going the other way, of course, is very different. There was a pedestrian queue of over 500m getting into America, let alone the mile-long line of cars. This is the world's busiest border crossing, seeing over 8m people cross every year.

Marcelle checking out the sea lions on Isla Coronado, just off Loreto.

A second surprising aspect of Mexico is the complete lack of attractive women. It could be that I am now married and just don't see these things anymore, but I have also asked Marcelle to find one, and so far we have been unsuccessful. The women are typically fat, and growing. Their diet of carbs filled with sour cream is obviously not conducive to weight loss. Even American tourists are smaller. The Mexican men, however, are usually quite slim. It's very strange.

Chilling at the Loreto pier.

We have been to 2 towns so far on the Baja California - Ensenada and Loreto. The Baja California itself is scenically breath-taking. It looks to me like a coastal Cederberg, with craggy mountains and placid waters in the Sea of Cortez. Ensenada was really touristy, and didn't have much going for it except the biggest flag we have ever seen. If you don´t believe me, look here (street view is also pretty good): Ensenada flag. Loreto, however, was beautiful. Small, on the coast and away from the tourist traffic, it was serene. We even saw some dolphins. It was also in Loreto that we were introduced to fish tacos. Good god they are amazing. And it would seem that the Mexican women here agree with me.