I asked the desk clerk at the motel if he could recommend a beach. He said that for a first time person who doesn’t know the lay of the land, my best bet was Playa Algodones (Cotton Beach) by the Soggy Peso (lol) bar. Just follow the main road for ages until I see the signs for the Soggy Peso on my left.

Following the main road was fine until I didn’t realise that I needed to take the curve to the right and ended up in a hotel parking lot. I turned around and found myself going the wrong way down the road. No one honked. Everyone just stopped patiently while a nice man got me turned around and, I think, assured me that I’m not an idiot, everyone new to the area does this, and there needs to be better signage!

Back on the main road, I drove for a long time following the shoreline, the water getting bluer and bluer by the kilometre. I finally saw a sign that said Playa Algodones that way, down a dirt road, so I figured the Soggy Peso would be close by. I was right. I just had to go up the road a bit until I could do a U-turn.

There was a gatehouse at the entrance to the road to the bar, but the windows were shut and the gate arm was up. I drove a short distance down a very rutty dirt road, following the one or two signs indicating that the Soggy Peso was thataway and finally made my way there! I parked in front, changed into my flip flops, and went to investigate the beach.

It was beautiful, lovely sand with seashells ending in bright blue water, and almost deserted! I was hungry and went up to the Soggy Peso to ask if they were open. Yup. I ordered a piña colada, but they were out of pineapple, so I went with a margarita. I took one sip and almost fell over in my chair, it was that potent! The food menu was tiny. I wanted something more substantial than chips and salsa, so I ordered their shrimp quesadilla.

The two servers chatted with me while I was there and that was a real test of my language skills! Personal conversation is so much harder than business transactions, which can be fairly scripted in advance. I muddled through and got a few corrections, which I did not mind in the least! One of the boys said that he has Canadian friends who refuse to learn a word of Spanish, so he was surprised that I voluntarily studied the language.

The quesadilla was absolutely wonderful! It was full of cheese and plump shrimp and mild peppers, with plenty of guacamole and a very mildly hot red sauce to spread over it. I got the giggles about halfway through the meal, my sign that I was imbibing a particularly potent drink and shouldn’t plan to drive for a while! One of the boys even joked about how much tequila they put in their margaritas. *hiccup*

When I was done, I said that I would head down to the beach and use one of their chairs and umbrellas to sit for a bit, then go swim. One of the boys said something and I only caught ‘peligroso’ and ‘guerra.’ From the context, I extrapolated that he was warning me about man o’ war jelly fish. I just did some research and it looks like I was right!

The water was cool and there was a nasty wind blowing, so I didn’t play in the water long. But I definitely did enough strokes and got my head wet to say that I have finally had a proper swim in the Pacific Ocean!

I wish I had know that there would be these lovely lounge chairs and umbrellas as I would have brought a book or magazine. I still managed to wile away a couple of hours lying and walking in the sun.