MVillanueva
Guest
My daughter and I just returned from San Carlos. As noted in other threads here, the airfares are pretty steep. America West is the main carrier to Guaymas -- and whether you do a 14 day or 21 day or right now purchase, the fares start at least at 500US.
We drove from Albuquerque to Tucson to Nogales to San Carlos. The trip is doable around 13-14 hours. Border crossings require you to have ALL your ducks in a row, but there is plenty written on that topic other places. If you don't own your vehicle outright, make absolutely sure you have a notarized letter from the lien holder of your auto giving you explicit permission to enter Mexico with a date range and the VIN number of your vehicle. If you travel with kids and only one parent goes, you WILL need a notarized letter from the absent parent giving a date range, activity to be done, and explicit permission to take the kid into Mexico with you. If you are a single parent, with joint custody, you still need that letter and a copy of the divorce decree. Yeah, it a pain in the *** to get all this stuff together. Of course Mexican Auto Insurance is a given.
Renting a car in Tucson seemed like an iffy proposition; however, some of the dive shops I talked to in Tucson said that people do it regularly.
Mexico Highway 15 is a straight shot down, it rides quickly. Police do use radar. When mine went off, there was always an officer up ahead hidden -- although I think they use a different frequency because I did not have the warning time I have here in the US.
The real danger in the drive is hitting a Toppes (speed bumps) at anything more that 1-2 miles an hour trust me, hitting one is truly a one time learning experience. They are big, they are nasty, and they will rip your underside out if you approach with any kind of entitled attitude.
We dove in lycra suits, water was 86 degrees. It is cooler in December, regardless, if you do the Seal Island to play with the lions either in summer or winter, always wear full body protection. The stinging hydras and the little teeny-weeny jelly fish that abound in that area can really sting for a minute or two -- and they were all around us. Hmm come to think of it, I don't know if those critters are around in December.
We dived with Surface Time and I am very, very glad we did. Very nice staff and very helpful. Their boat is like a damn rocket and they only carry about 8 people. This is in contrast to some of the other well-known shops staffed by incredibly nice and friendly people some of whose boats are double-deckers or just really big. I always wondered what the term cattle boat meant here in the forums. After seeing what I saw, the term is very apt I have never seen so many tanks and so many people on one boat. Reminded me of the double deckers in London.
Nonetheless, we passed every single dive boat out to the island it was like they were standing still. I wish I knew relative speeds of boats. All I can say is that the front of the boat was very high, the rear very low you held on tightly, and I had one hand on my Dee Cap the whole time. We made the trip in maybe 30+ minutes.
Lodging is plentiful, and don't rely on guide books or advice from some of the larger dive shops. They stay at larger hotels like the San Carlos or the Marina Tierra. Hotel SC is pricey (rooms 120-200US depending on holiday times). The hotel has a fantastic beach, the hotel is very nice and modern interior architecture felt like the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. However, Hotel San Carlos is about 2-3 miles from town where all the cool social action and good eats are, plus their timeshare sales people are more aggressive than sharks in a feeding frenzy. But Hotel SC does have a great dive shop on site (I think it is Ocean Sports; known as Desert Divers in Tucson). Desert Divers has staff beyond helpful: On the drive to Tucson, I called them up with a suit question and when the lady spoke with me, she could tell we had never driven to San Carlos. She offered us their detailed information packet if we stopped by and she told us we could caravan with their people to San Carlos if we wanted to). I was glad we stopped to get their directions: Navigating the surface streets in Hermosilla was a bit unnerving, and without their hand-out with directions, I would have been an absolute and total basket case.
We stayed at Dorado Condo where we had a fridge, microwave, nicely decorated rooms, nice reservation lady (Patty) plus, we overlooked the ocean up on a little rock cliff, with a short stepped walkway to the little beach below. You could walk down in less than a minute, snorkel in clear water and walk right back into your condo. We had a simply incredible unfetterd view of open water with the feeling that we were in our private house overlooking the sea. Price was 65US a night that was the best bargain of the trip. My point here is that you can get inexpensive lodging that is safe and great for a lot less than the larger hotels.
We sent our digital photos from the Marina Cantina they have wireless in the bar! Angelita (13yrs) and I went there Saturday night about 10pm, sat at a little table and with the other Mexican nerds, had our laptop opened, checked our email, and sent photos to folks. The bar had no issue with a minor in the bar: People around us were partying and drinking, I was drinking beer and she was downing orange sodas while munching on appetizers. I suppose I am the bad dad for taking her there. The Marina Cantinas music was great, food and beer were nicely priced, and their wireless connection rocked it was as fast as my connection at the university, and that was a treat.
Playing with the lions off San Pedro Island (Seal Island) is something we will never forget. Trying to get a picture of those underwater rockets well, I just gave up after a while. Our first encounter terrified my daughter and I guess me too. We were down about 20 feet, when one saw us and came at us. Faster and faster, in a bee line right for us at eye level. We froze I thought for sure he was simply going to torpedo us at a trillion mile a second. Within the last 3-4 feet, the lion turned to the side, rolled, and blew a trail of bubbles at us and then the wave of his/her wake hit us. You could not only see the whites of its big brown eyes, but I swear I couldve started to count his or her eyelashes. It was quite an experience and only the first of several. Keep in mind if you see a male (different shaped head) swimming in front of you, back and forth in your path, it is best to back off. We were told in our briefing that such behavior was a warning sign to not come closer. I don't know if this is true or not, but it was what we were told. It did happen to us when Angelita wanted to swim closer to see the babies.
Food was great all around. Many people hype Rosas Cantina we found the food excellent, staff a tad bored (this place gets all the divers as it is the only game in town if you want breakfast at 6am so you can hit your dive boat at 7). Tequilas was also excellent (right around the corner from Surface Time), and they have a band there on the weekends. Best Carne Asada I have ever had was at Tequilas. Our favorite place turned out to be Bananas. Incredible Tortilla soup: served with a three-part side dish of grated cheese, chopped onions, and bacon bits with which to garnish your soup. I thought the carne asada tacos were simply the best on the planet. Their wait staff was very friendly and helpful and it is here you truly will see the wizened American expatriates nursing their beers and reading the paper. For a moment I almost felt like I was at Ricks.
Carry US dollars: Ones and fives are best. Get some pesos before of when you cross the border. The toll booth to SC will take US dollars, but the toll booths on the way back were cranky about taking US currency. First toll is 1.80? I cannot recall. The next toll however is about 6 dollars. All over SC I used US dollars or Master Card. And be ready to pay for things you really did not order: Boys washing your windshield at stop lights (20-40 pesos) and wandering musicians at restaurants. Those will always ask you if you want a song, but afterwards you will learn the song is not for free (50-60 pesos; 5-6 dollars US).
We cannot wait to go back again. I want to see the Sea Lions again, and this time I will have my white balance set at depth, and the camera programmed to shoot triple shots.
We drove from Albuquerque to Tucson to Nogales to San Carlos. The trip is doable around 13-14 hours. Border crossings require you to have ALL your ducks in a row, but there is plenty written on that topic other places. If you don't own your vehicle outright, make absolutely sure you have a notarized letter from the lien holder of your auto giving you explicit permission to enter Mexico with a date range and the VIN number of your vehicle. If you travel with kids and only one parent goes, you WILL need a notarized letter from the absent parent giving a date range, activity to be done, and explicit permission to take the kid into Mexico with you. If you are a single parent, with joint custody, you still need that letter and a copy of the divorce decree. Yeah, it a pain in the *** to get all this stuff together. Of course Mexican Auto Insurance is a given.
Renting a car in Tucson seemed like an iffy proposition; however, some of the dive shops I talked to in Tucson said that people do it regularly.
Mexico Highway 15 is a straight shot down, it rides quickly. Police do use radar. When mine went off, there was always an officer up ahead hidden -- although I think they use a different frequency because I did not have the warning time I have here in the US.
The real danger in the drive is hitting a Toppes (speed bumps) at anything more that 1-2 miles an hour trust me, hitting one is truly a one time learning experience. They are big, they are nasty, and they will rip your underside out if you approach with any kind of entitled attitude.
We dove in lycra suits, water was 86 degrees. It is cooler in December, regardless, if you do the Seal Island to play with the lions either in summer or winter, always wear full body protection. The stinging hydras and the little teeny-weeny jelly fish that abound in that area can really sting for a minute or two -- and they were all around us. Hmm come to think of it, I don't know if those critters are around in December.
We dived with Surface Time and I am very, very glad we did. Very nice staff and very helpful. Their boat is like a damn rocket and they only carry about 8 people. This is in contrast to some of the other well-known shops staffed by incredibly nice and friendly people some of whose boats are double-deckers or just really big. I always wondered what the term cattle boat meant here in the forums. After seeing what I saw, the term is very apt I have never seen so many tanks and so many people on one boat. Reminded me of the double deckers in London.
Nonetheless, we passed every single dive boat out to the island it was like they were standing still. I wish I knew relative speeds of boats. All I can say is that the front of the boat was very high, the rear very low you held on tightly, and I had one hand on my Dee Cap the whole time. We made the trip in maybe 30+ minutes.
Lodging is plentiful, and don't rely on guide books or advice from some of the larger dive shops. They stay at larger hotels like the San Carlos or the Marina Tierra. Hotel SC is pricey (rooms 120-200US depending on holiday times). The hotel has a fantastic beach, the hotel is very nice and modern interior architecture felt like the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. However, Hotel San Carlos is about 2-3 miles from town where all the cool social action and good eats are, plus their timeshare sales people are more aggressive than sharks in a feeding frenzy. But Hotel SC does have a great dive shop on site (I think it is Ocean Sports; known as Desert Divers in Tucson). Desert Divers has staff beyond helpful: On the drive to Tucson, I called them up with a suit question and when the lady spoke with me, she could tell we had never driven to San Carlos. She offered us their detailed information packet if we stopped by and she told us we could caravan with their people to San Carlos if we wanted to). I was glad we stopped to get their directions: Navigating the surface streets in Hermosilla was a bit unnerving, and without their hand-out with directions, I would have been an absolute and total basket case.
We stayed at Dorado Condo where we had a fridge, microwave, nicely decorated rooms, nice reservation lady (Patty) plus, we overlooked the ocean up on a little rock cliff, with a short stepped walkway to the little beach below. You could walk down in less than a minute, snorkel in clear water and walk right back into your condo. We had a simply incredible unfetterd view of open water with the feeling that we were in our private house overlooking the sea. Price was 65US a night that was the best bargain of the trip. My point here is that you can get inexpensive lodging that is safe and great for a lot less than the larger hotels.
We sent our digital photos from the Marina Cantina they have wireless in the bar! Angelita (13yrs) and I went there Saturday night about 10pm, sat at a little table and with the other Mexican nerds, had our laptop opened, checked our email, and sent photos to folks. The bar had no issue with a minor in the bar: People around us were partying and drinking, I was drinking beer and she was downing orange sodas while munching on appetizers. I suppose I am the bad dad for taking her there. The Marina Cantinas music was great, food and beer were nicely priced, and their wireless connection rocked it was as fast as my connection at the university, and that was a treat.
Playing with the lions off San Pedro Island (Seal Island) is something we will never forget. Trying to get a picture of those underwater rockets well, I just gave up after a while. Our first encounter terrified my daughter and I guess me too. We were down about 20 feet, when one saw us and came at us. Faster and faster, in a bee line right for us at eye level. We froze I thought for sure he was simply going to torpedo us at a trillion mile a second. Within the last 3-4 feet, the lion turned to the side, rolled, and blew a trail of bubbles at us and then the wave of his/her wake hit us. You could not only see the whites of its big brown eyes, but I swear I couldve started to count his or her eyelashes. It was quite an experience and only the first of several. Keep in mind if you see a male (different shaped head) swimming in front of you, back and forth in your path, it is best to back off. We were told in our briefing that such behavior was a warning sign to not come closer. I don't know if this is true or not, but it was what we were told. It did happen to us when Angelita wanted to swim closer to see the babies.
Food was great all around. Many people hype Rosas Cantina we found the food excellent, staff a tad bored (this place gets all the divers as it is the only game in town if you want breakfast at 6am so you can hit your dive boat at 7). Tequilas was also excellent (right around the corner from Surface Time), and they have a band there on the weekends. Best Carne Asada I have ever had was at Tequilas. Our favorite place turned out to be Bananas. Incredible Tortilla soup: served with a three-part side dish of grated cheese, chopped onions, and bacon bits with which to garnish your soup. I thought the carne asada tacos were simply the best on the planet. Their wait staff was very friendly and helpful and it is here you truly will see the wizened American expatriates nursing their beers and reading the paper. For a moment I almost felt like I was at Ricks.
Carry US dollars: Ones and fives are best. Get some pesos before of when you cross the border. The toll booth to SC will take US dollars, but the toll booths on the way back were cranky about taking US currency. First toll is 1.80? I cannot recall. The next toll however is about 6 dollars. All over SC I used US dollars or Master Card. And be ready to pay for things you really did not order: Boys washing your windshield at stop lights (20-40 pesos) and wandering musicians at restaurants. Those will always ask you if you want a song, but afterwards you will learn the song is not for free (50-60 pesos; 5-6 dollars US).
We cannot wait to go back again. I want to see the Sea Lions again, and this time I will have my white balance set at depth, and the camera programmed to shoot triple shots.
