BajaNomad - Playas de Rosarito

Playas de Rosarito

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 10:37 AM

Every once in a while, I see someone make stupid remarks about Rosarito. Because of their remarks, it makes me think they have either never been here or maybe passed through once or twice.

After living here for 10 years, I am curious as to where these guys get their ideas from. Probably from the gringo gazoot from the intelligence these people seem to be sportin around. :lol:

"simply engage your "agent" in some friendly conversation a la, "Yeah, we're going to Ensenada to get laid with some hot chicks" or anything about hot chicks and sex and then offer the guy a Coke. No really, it works."

Personally, I don't care whether people come to Rosarito or not. But, I do care when tourists, pretend to know something when they obviously don't. Think "ugly american"!

Rosarito has some of the best beaches I have ever seen and I was a surfer. It also has so much more to offer than Ensenada, nobody that's anybody even goes to Ensenada anymore because there is so much going on in Rosarito.

For the intelligence impaired, let's just say that almost every Saturday night, Papas n Beer has 5000 people inside and usually a line to get in. And they are now charging $30.00 per person. And then there are 8 or 9 other clubs, just as populer that may or may not charge a cover. That's for the younger "chick chasing" mentality.
There are also plenty of places for nightlife for the mature crowd. Over 30 shall we say. Ocean view dancing, bands of every description, and shows.

There are horses, parasailing, quadrunner trips, snorkeling, fishing, surfing (1st class) and some of the best dining you can experience. From sea snail chorizo to bbq'd alligator, Prime Rib to meatloaf, McDonalds for the young and stupid, and authentic Mexican food from all areas in Mexico.

I guess I could sum it up as Mardi Gras every weekend as far as nightlife and a world famous stretch of coastline according to the number of foreign tourists who came into my Titanic exhibit at the Rosarito Beach Hotel

Tomas Tierra - 8-5-2005 at 10:50 AM

Dirty Ocean water
Very dirty air
Usually a very dirty crowd
and terrible access..

I am a surfer, and that sums up Rosarito for me..

Ensenada may be worse, but Rosarito aint that great..

Righty oh

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 11:20 AM

:lol:

As far as the water and air go, ever been to San Diego? :lol:

As far as the surf goes, it's never been very popular down here! :lol:

Yep, looks pretty nasty!

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 11:33 AM

nastier

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 11:34 AM

Sea Snail Chorizo?

DanO - 8-5-2005 at 11:35 AM

Wow, I'm game. Where do you find that?

IMHO, Rosarito's also the best place to find a wide range of quality furniture and to have furniture custom made to your specifications. That's why I usually say no when my wife asks if we have time to stop there (heh). However, I'll take that risk if the sea snail chorizo is good.

Bad crowds

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 11:35 AM

dirty water

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 11:37 AM

Like I said, tourists don't know jack! :lol:

bajaruby - 8-5-2005 at 11:40 AM

:?:

bbq'd alligator in Rosarito?

Tell me where please. Do they have bbq'd alligator tacos? Please tell me the name and location?

Tequila Safari

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 12:05 PM

across the street from Sr. Frogs.

And I reckon long as you got tortillas, you could make tacos from about anything! :light:

[Edited on 8/5/2005 by jrbaja]

bajaruby - 8-5-2005 at 12:27 PM

Thanks jrbaja, will be there in oct. :spingrin:

Deserted Beaches ?

MrBillM - 8-5-2005 at 12:49 PM

I spent a fair amount of time in Rosarito years ago and I NEVER saw a deserted beach, at least during the Summer months. Dodging the Horse Turds also took away from the ambience. Since it's grown dramatically in the last 10 years or so, it's hard to imagine that improving. Are they still riding Horses on the beach ?

It's odd that a purist like JR would be so defensive about a crowded, overgrown place like Rosarito. It seems that it would represent everything he's criticized in other Baja towns, notably San Felipe.

Tomas Tierra - 8-5-2005 at 12:53 PM

Every where is good and uncrowded sometimes..

I first surfed k38's in 1980...I know how it WAS..That's why I don't like it now..Blah Blah Blah

Did I say anything about deserted beaches?

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 01:06 PM

I don't think so ! :lol:

But, if you know where to look, there are plenty of uncrowded ones, even in the summer. Depends on the surf and which direction it's coming from.
And yep, the tourist beaches with the horses of course have the turds, but as far as the beach being covered with them, well, that's a lot of horses! :lol:

K38 is by far the most well know surf spot in Baja. I can certainly understand you feelings about crowds, if the famous places are where you paddle out. :light:

And Tomas, we have probably paddled out together around that time. Spent many a night on that bluff starting about 1968. The good old days. Remember Don Panchos just down the street? .35 cent lobster burritos back in those days.

We surfed K-38 in l954 thru 1958 and-----

Barry A. - 8-5-2005 at 01:14 PM

there was nobody riding the waves then except us, and an occasional interloper from the LA area. Ahhhh, the good ol days. Of course, there were lobster (longosta) in 10 feet of water off La Jolla then, too, as well an an abundance of abalone.

Tomas Tierra - 8-5-2005 at 01:17 PM

'68 is before my surfing started..I was two
Definately staying away from the famous places these days.. So many others to check out. we would never dare go south of La Fonda back then..Don't remember why?

For sure the good ole days... I think they ended around the time all the resorts were built in that area.. We used to surf Castillos alot back then and k391/2...Calafia's on the big days..

Tomas Tierra - 8-5-2005 at 01:22 PM

Wow some serious old timers on here... I bow my head in due respect :yes:

I was one o them "Interlopers"

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 01:22 PM

from Pico Rivera no less. The good thing about being one of the few surfers from Pico Rivera is, you sure didn't have to put up with any worse chit from surfers who were territorial than the cholos in every day life :lol:

Although, I never really noticed any of that shiot back then. I guess it's because we could surf pretty good. Did you ever see an orange and white 69 Ford Bronco parked at the point ? We were some of the only people who would drive through El Morro and paddle out from the Bronco. P-nche gringos flojos!! :lol:

Dave - 8-5-2005 at 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by jrbaja
It also has so much more to offer than Ensenada, nobody that's anybody even goes to Ensenada anymore because there is so much going on in Rosarito.

Yeah, pick up a copy of Ecos de Rosarito. There's plenty going on.

Quote:

Originally posted by jrbaja

...and some of the best dining you can experience.

Puhleezzzze!

Ensenada has Rosarito beat in spades.

Just where are these restaurants? I can count the good ones on one hand and still have fingers left. For Ensenada, I need to take my shoes and socks off.

Well, JR

bigzaggin - 8-5-2005 at 02:09 PM

that is without question the most vehement defense of Rosarito I have ever heard from someone who ISN'T the Weekend Events Planner for the Beta house at UCSD. Trailblazing really, in its defiance of consensus beliefs and kudo worthy as such.

At 32, I'm far too young to bond on a "remember when" level, but I have been going to Baja since I was about 11 and for a while there passed through Rosarito often. Yes, the place FOR SURE gets really good surf. The beachbreaks at the north end of town (sometimes called Power Plants), Mushroom Rock, Calafia (when it's HUGE), etc. I'm thinking that left is Popotla, which yes, is immune to crowds thanks to strict gate guards and b-tchy residents. Pre-Fox Studios, you could drive out and surf the RIGHT at the north end of Popotla bay IF you had the will and chutzpah (that wave is FATAL). 38's, Maria's, even El Moro...blah blah blah, good waves esp. mid winter NWs when the offshores get heavy.

All that said, I mean, LA has good waves, which doesn't make it a great place to go surfing. But, you live where you work and surf where you live and get used to it.

Rosarito's ill rep, which me thinks well deserved, comes not from the surf but instead from the mindless jocks - and girls who love them - swarming the place every weekend, holiday, Tuesday, etc., when that once-humble pueblo's collective IQ dips to the low teens. It is to Baja as Manhattan Beach is to CA, and while I'm sure if you spent ample time (god forbid) in "Manhappenin" you might find its hidden gems (some good Mexican joints), I'm content to write the place off as I know it: a cramped stretch of ugly condos, peopled with proud Trojans of the "are you lookin' at my chick?" variety.

BUT, we all go to Baja for different reasons and so long as the techno, body shots and Red Bull stay in Rosarito, I'm happy for its existence. And I know lots of good people there make a living on the aforementioned frat crowd. Beyond that, age and experience means you most certainly know something I don't about the place, so let's leave it there.

As for my stories about the checkpoint agents, I can only speak from experience and what I wrote is 100% non-fiction. Let's be honest, a majority of those agents are clueless kids with no actual idea what they're looking for or how to find it (excepting the checkpoint at Guerrero Negro). Their checks are typically an arbitrary lifting of some cooler lid or quick rummage through your glovebox (for smokes). RARELY, have I had them check my truck in any way that would actually find something were I hiding it. And MANY MANY times, I've derailed a possible roadside "yard sale" by speaking Spanish with the guys about music, travel and, yes SEX. Those guys are mad horny and love a little joke or two about hot American chicks or Ensenada hoars (this conversation often begins when they look at me and my surfing buddy and say, "where are the girls?"). Likewise, many are the times I'd wished for giant firm breasts here in the states, when staring down a speeding ticket on the 405.

I'm not saying it's responsible or classy, but it is real and it is way better than watching three 15 year olds dump out your toolbox.

But here again, our experiences might differ wildly...and THAT is exactly what makes Baja so wonderful and consistently rewarding.

comitan - 8-5-2005 at 03:13 PM

Me thinks he wants someone to buy his house. So Rosarito should be a nice place to live.!!!!!!!!

At's whatcha get fer thinkin!

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 03:51 PM

We already have a buyer :lol:

Now, if we can just decide if we really want to sell. Cause compared to El Centenario and especiallt Comitan, Rosariot is happening.

And having property and traveling all over Baja regularly, why would we have stayed in Rosarito for 10 years if it's as bad as you tourists seem to think? :light:

And, I could care less about promoting it, I just don't like the tourists talkin out their arses about stuff they know nothing about! :light:

Remember?

And, for the surfers:

We have some friends down at Xmas

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 03:55 PM

every year. Some of them own LOST Enterprises. You can see this beach in many of their videos as well as Surfer Magazine and others as well.

Surf

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 03:58 PM

3

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 03:59 PM

I lost count

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 04:02 PM

JR

Baja Bernie - 8-5-2005 at 04:05 PM

Why don't you tell them about the wonderful Tourist Guide you put together to sell Rosarito to the gringo tourists who now 'ruin' this town more than almost any other in Baja.

No! I know that is not your fault just a fact.

Anyone with a brain no longer attempts to visit Rosarito on any holiday or any weekend from Friday through Sunday. Most of the people, who have homes or live in Baja Norte or even know the place, plan to visit or shop in Rosarito Tuesday through Thursday.

comitan - 8-5-2005 at 05:21 PM

Jr What i'm really afraid is that your moving down here to paradise, I don't have to worry about you being my next door neighbor tho because I know you can't afford to buy here, but you can afford bamboo land and you'd be rich amoung those poor mexicans.

I guess it depends on what yer lookin for

jrbaja - 8-5-2005 at 08:28 PM

as far as Rosarito being ruined. Seems like Rene's was one of the first establishments here, even before you Bernie and guess what kind of crowd it catered to. You got it, drunken gringos, there's just more of them now!

And Comitan, I don't expect you to understand but, those folks who have me as their neighbor aren't quite as "poor" as you think. For some, wealth isn't about money or living in an upper scale canadian enclave in Baja.

And I really don't remember you as my banker but you've seen my trucks, I am poor. But, I am doing what I like to do, with people that don't judge their life on possessions or which stepford community they live in.

By the way, I am in Rosarito right now. But might head back south soon to my bamboo and mangoes and neighbors. But in the meantime, I just enjoyed one of Rosaritos sunsets on my front porch. Gee I wish I was you. :lol:

comitan - 8-6-2005 at 07:14 AM

You know Jr your reply was right to the point on your poor mexican neighbors, only poor in that they don't have the things that many of the Gringos deem important. By the way being poor and a gringo isn't bad as long as your able to do what you want to and just enjoy life sunsets in Rosarita or La Paz. Also its OK for tourists to enjoy Baja even if they know nothing about the Mexican people as long as they are not UGLY!!!!!!!!!!!

2frogs - 8-6-2005 at 09:20 AM

Wow, this is a lot to take in guys and some of it worries me by the talk. I know we'll have to see for ourselves BUT first some questions. Are there unsafe areas of Rosarito you can tell us about before we hit town? Are there quiet areas, restaurants, housing etc. for retires that like long walks on the beach...avoiding the horse poop I guess :spingrin:

I've lived in many foreign countries and there are the 'UGLY AMERICANS' every place. I was taught to respect the people and their ways, keep a low profile and everyone is happy. Can't that happen in Rosarito? Also, I read that it's better to avoid the realtors and deal with the locals BUT, from our experience in other countries all N. Americans are thought to be rich, so the price is at least 4 x the local price. How do you deal with that..if that happens in Rosarito. We had wonderful Costa Rican neighbors for we were the only Gringos for a 45 min. drive yet....we were stil considered rich and the price was 4 x at the local little store. When we in fact had less than some of our neighbors. It was frustrating :rolleyes:

and exhausting. Also, there seems to be two different camps. Baja living and Mexico mainland living. Has anyone done both and share what they think are the pros and cons to each. This is a great site and I'm learning so much PLUS meeting some very nice people. Thanks,

Comitan

jrbaja - 8-6-2005 at 09:36 AM

I was wrong about you not understanding! :yes:

Frogs, I will have to get back to you when I'm more awake.

2frogs - 8-7-2005 at 09:16 AM

Okay jrbaja, Look forward to it. :bounce:

2frogs - 8-8-2005 at 08:32 PM

jrbaja, are you awake yet? Still waiting for comments :yes:

is it a sin to be ugly....

eetdrt88 - 8-8-2005 at 10:28 PM

and american??? geez alot of people are in trouble then :lol:

dos sapos

jrbaja - 8-9-2005 at 11:24 AM

I am going out today to get some prices on places. There are new condos going in in a couple places down here as well as developments everywhere.
There are also still a few small trailer parks left along the coastline but they are being swallowed up fast. We got lucky here.
I will see what I can find out as far as prices go.

bajaruby - 8-9-2005 at 07:30 PM

eetdrt88 ,
He's not an ugly american....He's just ugly. :lol:

2frogs - 8-9-2005 at 08:20 PM

Looks like an old Robin Williams as Popeye to me :lol: