The Riviera Revival, ST Wine, and Value Shopping: Not Just Another Day in Ensenada, Mexico

For our second port of call on our Carnival Imagination Cruise, we had a hard time deciding which shore excursion to take. There were more than twenty options. At first, we wanted to see La Burfadora, a blowhole, but we had seen such things in our travels and dreaded the thought that the water does not blow or blows too short. The girl at the desk said it depends on the tide. Then we spotted “A Scenic Tour of the Gold Coast of Baja California” but we had seen a lot of gold coasts, too. We ended up with a City and Shopping Tour because we did not want to finish the tour and now know anything about Ensenada.

Riviera del Pacifico

from the top, clockwise: the imperfect tile, the wooden ceiling and chandelier,
the great corridors, and part  of the elegant bars

The first stop was the Riviera del Pacifico Cultural and Convention Center. The landmark was built and then opened in 1930 in response to the American Prohibition. North Americans needed a place south of the border for entertainment and alcohol (Tijuana, then Rosarito, and finally Ensenada). The end of the Prohibition spelled doom, however, after which it intermittently operated, and then was put to military use in WWII. At the end of the war, the only remaining owner fell in love with Marjorie Plant, an American, and gave the property to her. She ran it successfully for 15 years but legal troubles arose between Marjorie (and the man she finally married) and the original owner. The property was thereafter taken over, closed, and partly demolished by the government.

When it was going to be demolished, the townsfolk clamored to save its historical and architectural icon. Rebuilt in 1978, the hotel has reopened and includes a theater, a historical museum, and rooms for a variety of functions. The dome’s wooden ceiling and the largest of the chandeliers were thankfully preserved. It was interesting to note some imperfections such as the bizarre tile on the floor. But the large bar has retained its elegance. It is where margaritas were said to have been first served as a drink (Marjorie is Margarita in Spanish). And that’s what we were served at the tour's end!

Santo Tomas Winery wines and olive oils

The second stop was Santo Tomas Winery. The Santo Tomás Mission, founded by Jesuit priests in 1791, had reactivated large-scale production of wine in Mexico. In 1843, Dominican priests also began growing grapes at the nearby Guadalupe Valley, one of the few in the world, along with Napa Valley in California and Rhone Valley in France, for growing premium wine grapes. 

In 1888, the former lands of the Santo Tomás Mission were sold to a group that established the first large-scale commercial winery. Today, it is the earliest winery of its kind still in continuous operation in Mexico. It was then called Bodegas Santo Tomás and was producing low-quality wines. 

But today, its dessert wine just won in the 2017 San Francisco Wine Festival. In fact, Baja California now produces 90% of Mexican wine. The wine and a white, a rose, and a red plus six different olive oils with bread and cheese were served for us to taste. I liked the dessert wine so much, we brought one bottle home.

one of the wraps we considered

The third stop was what I had been waiting for. I had one big mission: to find a wrap I could wear over my swimsuit for the next day’s return voyage when we would have a whole day at sea. We were given about an hour and a half but that wasn’t enough time for getting a flavor of Mexico so we told the tour guides not to wait for us. 

Bill had a heyday, fending off the creative and insistent ways vendors tried to get us into their store to buy jewelry, clothing, and crafts. Actually, he played the good guy and I played the bad guy. He would always escape with “I am just following her.” And I would go on walking as if I was in earnest search of things other than what they were offering. Pretty soon, I found my wrap, pareos they call it, for $8.

one of the restaurants we considered

Satisfied with the bargain we found, we looked for a place to have our authentic Mexican lunch. My daughter, who was with the previous cruise at the beginning of the week, recommended the Taverna de Madrid. Unfortunately, it was closed. We finally chose the place to which a lot of the vendors told us to go. 

El Charro was on the ground floor of a beautiful old Spanish style building we had noticed early on. The chile rellenos and rez machaca were both great choices. But I couldn’t eat the Nacho chips. The salsa was oh-so-hot! But the best part is that my romantic husband got me a long-stemmed red rose for all of fifty cents!

And the day was complete. At around 3 pm, well before our ship’s departure time of 5:30 pm, we walked to where the public shuttle buses could be found. That’s when we realized the Riviera was just outside the dock. We didn’t have to pay for the $30 pp excursion fee charged by Carnival! We could have taken the shuttle, toured the Riviera, skipped the wine tour, walked to the shopping square, and eaten with gusto our Mexican lunch for just $2 each way pp or a total of $8! 

But, no, I like my souvenir wine, however expensive it turned out to be!

see the great Mexican food and the rose?