After getting settled at Campo San Felipe, I made a few trips downtown. Downtown is within walking distance of Campo, which is one big reason it’s my favorite park here in town.
Spent a few days visiting the town and my old haunts, also drove along the shore line for miles in either direction (along established but crumbling roads) to check out any new developments going on…didn’t find many changes from last year though. Or from the previous year. Still looks like a series of frozen in place hollow unfinished buildings without a future in many places near town. Sad really because this place was booming before the cartels got so nasty and started shooting each other up, scaring off the tourists. On the other hand, the lack of tourists makes it more comfortable for those of us who are not bothered by the scare tactics of the news media and leaves us with lots of room, lower prices, and like minded friends to visit with. It’s not great for the established Mexican families that make this area home, but it’s economical for us transients who only visit during the winter. On the other hand, there are many Mexicans who flock to the seashore in summer and pack this little town so I guess most of the businesses aren’t doing that bad. It’s hard to tell in the winter though.
And a couple weeks after arriving in town, headed up to the town central plaza for a fund raising Taco feed. It’s a contest where local vendors bring their best taco creations up here to show them off, sell a bunch, and get votes. Winner gets bragging rights for a year.
Excellent band. Played all sorts of different music, classical, American jazz, rock, pop, Mexican classics, pop, etc., etc.. 
Some dancers staging next to the stage. 
Some dancers doing American country dancing. 
And then another group doing some much more interesting traditional Mexican dancing. 
That was a fun way to spend a warm, sunny afternoon. Bunch of little girls from the local ballet school went up on stage and did their ballet two or three times as I recall. That was cute. All the moms in the audience could hardly contain themselves over the overwhelming cuteness. The group above doing the country/western line dance style seemed serious about it but their movements were more a caricature of the dance really. The Country Line Dance style that I saw in so many bars and clubs for several years after it got all popular in the northwest US wasn’t my favorite style. Kind of exaggerated by the Mexican dance group and pointed out how dumb that particular style of dance is. To me anyway.
Taco and beer, orchestral music, a local band, dancing, beer and tacos. Nice. And helping out the less fortunate with our donations is a benefit too. They were also raising money for the local fire department to buy a used fire engine from a city in the US.
A couple blocks from where I’m staying is this street that runs towards the ocean, has several one or two story houses on each side of the road, most of them with for sale or rent signs. People have purchased them and then rent them out probably. Usually when I ride my bike down here, it looks deserted but once I found it to be a beehive of activity. Turned out there were objects used in festivals and parades stored in one of the condos here. Here’s a shot of their beach access.
Example of a typical condo here on this street. I’ve rarely seen people around here. The owners probably rent them out mostly in the summer but perhaps the cartels have something to do with the lack of renters at, for northerners, the best time of the year.
Just in case you’re interested in renting a condo down here, that street above certainly isn’t the only place they are available.
At the end of that short street with all the condos is this LARGE condo that was never finished. All the steel is really rusty now, and by the looks of it, it might have been sitting like this for a decade or more, right on the seashore. Which means it’s close to being a total loss. If the steel isn’t protected, left open to the elements, it’ll rust way into the cement and weaken it. Eventually, the steel that was meant to strengthen the structure will weakened it to a point where it will be too dangerous to occupy and will have to be torn down. I’ve been visiting here for 3 years and haven’t seen any activity here on this building. There is a large, faded, ‘Condos for sale’ sign on it.
Across the street from there, is this rebuilding going on of an abandoned strip mall. Pretty big one for the area too. Seems as though a speculator bought up the derelict buildings and is refurbishing the entire setup. Or might be the original owners finally felt confident enough to finish up the mall. Who knows? It’s coming along fine, looking better each day. 
And later that evening, joined my neighbors for a hot dog feed and nice fire. Most were off preparing their hot dogs for roasting.
Our host out talking to the fire wood guy who just happened to wander by on the beach. 
And my cozy corner of the RV park. Right next to the building where the Wifi is so I get a great signal. We had a night guard who was suppose to keep an eye on things all night but the night after this picture was taken, one of the campers reported that he’d left his string of xmas lights on all around his RV and someone disconnected and stole the entire setup. HAH! Night guard. Yeah. Only a week or two later and we had a new night watchman. Note that I take off my front license plate and put it on the dash so it won’t be stolen. And always keep my bike chained up. 
That 5th wheel RV over there is where we had the hot dog roast the night before. And the building is coming along compared to last year. But the work naturally slowed when the owner was arrested and sent to jail in Mexico City.
And here I’m going through the men’s room and showers. Won’t be long till they’re finished. 
And here’s the deck behind that building. Picture looks in the direction of downtown. Lots of very nice beach here with nice sand too. With grains that are just the right size. 
Just a few boats out in the harbor today. And a ship.
Turn around on the deck and there’s the bar. They’ll sell food too when they open. If they open. I’ve been waiting 3 years now. 
Tried for a telephoto of the Navy ship out in the harbor. 
There we go… 
And wayyyyy over there on the south shore of the bay is one of those cloistered communities. 
The telephoto pics are coming out so good, swung the camera around to capture the lighthouse on the edge of town.
And near by is a huge bar/restaurant that I’ve never seen open. Must be another victim of the depressed economy because of the cartels. Too bad. 
And now heading back towards the pool but this time walking through the women’s side. Their stalls are a little further along then on the men’s side. 
And that’s the end of the tour around San Felipe and the Campo SF campground. As the sun sets in the west, we get a gentle shading of the sky over the Sea of Cortez in the east. Aka, Vermilion Sea. Relaxing here, for the soul and body. 
Thanks for visiting!