El Golfo de Santa Clara, Sonora, Mexico
Our third excursion into Mexico has been to El Golfo on the NE shore of the Sea of Cortez. Getting there was somewhat of a chore to say the least. The roads leave something to be desired although they are very passable. Entering San Luis on the border, we found a relatively large town with streets made of 3'X3' concrete slabs. Easy to drive on, but unusual to say the least. It took us about 2 hours to traverse the 71 miles to El Golfo because of the limited Speed Limit (35) on a lot of what appeared to be open highway.
Two days before we arrived, there had been a storm which produced a Flash Flood that ran through the garbage dump about a mile away. There was garbage everywhere, and we didn't know how much was actually there BEFORE the flood. Mexico is not usually the cleanest place in the world. But because of the usual dry weather, there was hardly any smell from the mess. The road coming into the campground was a foot deep in mud which forced us into an alternate route to get in. We plowed through about 10 inches of soft sandy mud, afraid to stop for fear of getting stuck. There was, however, a tractor working on the road which would have served as a tow vehicle had we become mired in the muck.
The campground is an absolute gem in an ocean of desert, situated adjacent to the beach on the Sea of Cortez. It is clean, with electric, water and sewer sites along with a large clubhouse for numerous activities. It also has a lounge where "Happy Hour" is conducted every night from 5-6 PM. Drink specials include Margaritas and Tequila Sunrises for a buck and bottled beer for 75 cents. Those prices are absolutely hard to take.
Looking across the Gulf is a mountain range that appears when it wants to. People in the park say that they are 70 miles away and in the 10,000 foot range. We were here 4 days before they were pointed out to me. The mist on the water makes them disappear regularly.
A couple of trips into town have turned up at least a couple of restaurants which are frequented and recommended by the RVers at the campground. Las Conchos Motel and Restaurant served us the most delicious shrimp that I have ever eaten. Sharon had fish which appeared to have been cooked in the same sauce, and Walt had Tacos and Kathy enjoyed the same shrimp that I had. We ordered by mostly pointing at the entree' on the menu. The waitress nodded..........and that's how it worked. The price for each meal was around $7.
The only bad experience we had was the Biscuits and Gravy breakfast Walt and I attended at the campground clubhouse. They had to make the biscuits from scratch and watered down the gravy. We also waited for over an hour to be served. The biscuits were flat and the gravy was like soup. Oh well, everything is never hunky-dorry. Breakfast and Dinner is served every day at the clubhouse except Sunday and Monday, and lunch is served on Mondays. A very reasonable fee is charged for the meals.
We have been to the pool here as many times as was humanely possible, which includes every day but one that we chose not to go. Without a hot tub the air is pretty nippy when exiting from the pool. So if the wind is blowing 10-15 miles an hour we have opted to stay out of the water. The temperature of the water is a balmy 86 degrees so you don't get chilly until you're out into the breeze.
The Dolphins in the Gulf also make an occasional appearance offshore. You can see them swimming and jumping about 300 yards from the beach. And if they knew we were watching, I'm sure they would swim in closer. Sharon and I observed them one morning after we were told about them in the laundry room. A camper close to the beach offered us her binoculars when she saw us straining to see them.
The last day at El Golfo was spent cleaning the motorhome from the mud we had to drive through on the way in. I must have had 150 pounds of dirt underneath which had to be hosed off. But aside from that, a trip back to El Golfo will happen sometime in the future. Adios Mexico.
