Baja Bound (Part 21)

This entry is part 21 of 23 in the series Baja Bound

April 25, 2023

By Simon J. Lau

Today, I left Ensenada and made my way to Tecate. The ride in was marked by a surprising amount of moisture in the air. Not quite rain, but the heaviest mist I’ve experienced so far in Baja. The road glistened in patches, a reminder to stay cautious, especially after my spill at the water crossing back in Loreto. I kept my pace steady, not in a hurry to repeat that mistake.

Tecate itself felt different from the larger, tourist-heavy cities like Ensenada. It’s quieter here, with a small-town vibes. The streets are lined with local shops and bakeries, and there’s an authenticity to it that makes you feel like you’ve stepped into a border town that hasn’t been overly polished for visitors. The town is best known for the Tecate brewery, which still anchors part of its identity. Unfortunately, the brewery tours weren’t being offered at this time!

This whole month I’d been lucky enough to get early check-in at every hotel, sometimes as early as 9 a.m. But on my last day in Baja, my luck ran out. Since I hadn’t paid yet, I decided not to wait and found a better hotel closer to the city center. It’s nothing fancy, but it has good water pressure and only costs $26 USD!

The only drawback was the lack of off-street parking. But in practical Mexican fashion, the manager let me park Wilbur behind the hotel gate downstairs. Now he’s tucked away safely, just steps from the park and the Tecate sign.

One thing Tecate is famous for is pan dulce, the sweet bread pastries you find all over Mexico. The most well-known shop here is Panadería La Esmeralda, a busy little bakery with shelves full of colorful breads and pastries stacked high. The air inside smelled like sugar and butter.

When I asked one of the workers for his recommendation, he smiled, disappeared behind the counter, and came back with a cream-filled pastry he clearly considered the star of the show. It was rich, almost too much for me, but I could understand why people lined up for it. There was a kind of indulgent, old-fashioned sweetness to it, the sort of thing you can imagine families buying by the dozen on a Sunday morning.

For dinner, I decided to change things up and tried pho at a small Vietnamese restaurant. Unfortunately, it was a disappointment. When I get back to San Francisco, I’m treating myself to a proper bowl of pho to make up for it.

Vietnamese restaurants in Mexico often trace back to refugees who arrived after the Vietnam War, particularly in Baja California. While their numbers were never as large as in the United States, they brought their cuisine with them, which is why you occasionally find Vietnamese spots in unexpected corners of Mexico. Sadly, this one didn’t live up to the tradition, but the history behind it is still worth noting.

Finally, my route from Ensenada to Tecate (109 km or 68 miles).