El Golfo de Santa Clara

We went to El Golfo de Santa Clara purely because there was an
RPI park there. So we thought we would check it out. The park
itself was a pleasant place with a great location on the beach.
This is a Colorado River Adventure membership park, so sites
directly fronting the beach are reserved for members. As RPI
members, we lucked out with a site a bit further back that
still afforded us a great view of the beach right out the front
window.
Many CRA members spend the entire winter season at El Golfo, or
even the entire year. They were a very friendly and welcoming
bunch. Even though we were there as the winter season was
winding down, there were still activities going on. During the
winter months, there is a full complement of things to do,
including cookouts, darts, exercise, karaoke, and so on.
Many members have ATVs and enjoy rides into the desert and down the beach, even all the way down to Puerto Penasco.
Because the area is as of yet undeveloped, ATVs are permitted
on the beach. In fact, we were there right before Semana Santa
(Holy Week) when the El Golfo beach is a popular destination for Mexicans and Americans. At this time of year, the beach is
more like a racetrack, with ATVs
running up and down into the
wee hours of morning. The rest of the time, the beach and the
area in general are reportedly a lot quieter.

The beach at El Golfo de Santa Clara was expansive, with pelicans and other shore birds. Beach walking would be even more pleasant at a time without so many ATVs.
As our first foray into Mexico, we were disillusioned with the town of El Golfo de Santa Clara. Perhaps too many Hollywood movies in the back of our mind, our thoughts of Mexico leaned toward
cobblestone plazas with Mariachi's playing under starlit skies.
At a minimum, the description of the town as a small
fishing village conjured up quaint and picturesque images. The
reality of El Golfo de Santa Clara is far from these expectations. We found mostly ramshackle homes amidst dirt streets with stray dogs and a surprising abundance of garbage. The poverty was apparent, although there are signs of improvements as the long-talked about coastal highway comes to fruition.
We found that this town was typical of other small, undeveloped towns we visited along the coast. Fishing is the major livelihood. Small stores, restaurants and taco stands are
scattered about. The people are unpretentious, family-
oriented, happy and make the most of what they have.
Therefore, we did the same - taking in El Golfo de Santa Clara for what it was. We visited the little markets and did buy some produce, meat and fish. We ate in a "regular" restaurant (we had some excellent fish and shrimp at El Delfin restaurant), at a couple taco stands and at the local Michoacan ice cream place. By the way, we had no problem with any of the food we bought or ate out anywhere we visited in Mexico. We were careful to wash produce in purified/bottled water.
The garbage in town and on the beach was perhaps the biggest
surprise. We now realize that in many small towns, the only
place to dispose of garbage is to set aside a piece of desert
as a dump, with some loose attention given to burning the
trash every so often. Otherwise, it is left is blow around in
the breeze. Apparently, there has not been any historical focus
on garbage.
There now appears to be a culture change in the
works, perhaps similar to the "don't be a litterbug" campaigns
many of us remember in the US. The state and municipal
governments have signs posted encouraging people to keep the
beaches clean and the bigger towns have trash receptacles along
the streets. It will still take time.
So what happens as tourism develops? Some good and some bad things we think. After El Golfo we were off to Puerto Penasco, or Rocky Point as it has been billed by the Americans.
More on our Mexico RV Travel
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