Love Thy (Camping) Neighbor

About a month ago, we packed up our camping gear and headed south to Las Cañadas Campamento in Ensenada, Mexico.   After a two hour drive, we found the campground just south of the city and right off the highway.  As we waited in line to enter the campground on that early Friday afternoon, we had no idea what to expect other than no reservations were needed for camping. 

Chris paid the fees to enter and the lady at the gate handed us all wrist bands and waved us in.

"But where should we camp?" Chris asked her in Spanish.

She pointed to a map of the campground and said, "Anywhere it's green."

The grounds were extensive, and as we slowly wound our way down its dusty streets, we realized what she'd meant.  Tents were pitched in every grassy area within sight, sometimes only inches from the next with little room in between for walking.  If there was a square of grass available, it had been claimed by a tent.  We began to wonder if they'd saved any grass for us, and to be honest, we weren't that comfortable at the prospect of being so cozy with our fellow campers.  Call it our American need for wide open spaces.

After circling the campground twice, we spotted a large field far from the pools and playgrounds that would suit our need for relative isolation and privacy.  The nearest campers were a football field away when we pitched our tent and claimed a picnic table.  Satisfied, we donned our swimsuits and climbed back in the car to find the pools.

Talk about a kid's dream come true

All through that first night, new camping neighbors arrived.  At 11:35 p.m., we listened as they argued over which direction to pitch their tent on the sloping ground.  Our dog went nuts as new dogs sniffed near our site, and when we woke up with the sun in the morning, we realized that our fear of close quarters had come true.  Our closest camping neighbors were two feet away.  By Saturday night, we were surrounded by mariachi music, Christmas lights strung from tents to trees and the smells of carne asada tacos cooking on the grills.  Despite our reservations, we were loving it.

Best camping trip ever.  No one puked, and we even let them eat marshmallows (and spin around in circles and zipline and peddle boat...)

Tough guys go ziplining.  Jacob's more nervous than he looks.