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Hiking the Tetakawi

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On a Friday morning in June, we put on our hats and sunscreen, loaded up on water, and headed out with plans to hike halfway up the Tetakawi trail . I was in no shape to hike to the top. But like so many of our family adventures, I decided to keep going while I felt good, and then we had gone so far that we might as well go all the way to the top! What sealed the deal was passing another group on their way down. They told us it was only another 20 or 30 minutes, so up we went! The walk back down was rough on this old mama, but I made it! The trail opens at 6:00 a.m., and for a summer hike, I recommend starting early. Bring more water than you think, and protect yourself from the sun. We had some cloud cover, and if we hadn't, it might have been too hot for me. The hike starts out as a walking path, but quickly you will find yourself stepping up a rocky trail. A quarter-mile in, there's a rocky peak with lovely views that makes a good turnaround point for a family with young kid
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Visit Coralito Beach Club for the delicious dinner and sunset views

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Our family visited Coralito Beach Club for the first time when we were looking for a dinner restaurant in San Carlos that accepts credit cards. Tonight was our second visit. Their menu is available online in English and in Spanish , and there's a lot to choose from.  All of our kids ordered the Enchiladas Suizas from the shrimp section of the menu. Those are delicious, for sure. I asked the waiter tonight for his recommendation, and he pointed me to the Chile Poblano with Shrimp. It was delicious, and prepared with many of the same ingredients as the enchiladas. Here's a fancy photo of my stuffed poblano. My husband ordered an assortment of tacos and tostadas. My favorite was the Roca tostada, which was a pile of delicious battered and fried shrimp on a crispy wonton -- it's the one with the toasted sesame seeds on top in the picture. I might order that next time I visit. I also tried the Alhambre tuna taco, but it wasn't for me. My husband's third taco was the Cah
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Location: Blvd. Manlio Fabio Beltrones Km 20, Sector Bahia, 85506 San Carlos, Son., Mexico
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Best chiles rellenos in San Carlos

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I have to tell you, the best chiles rellenos in San Carlos can be found at JJ's Tacos y Cosas . Look at this beauty! Behold, the chile relleno taco! My husband has been visiting JJ's for nearly two decades. You can see his picture (from long ago with his buddies, and later, with our kids) in the back room with the merchandise. Before we bought our house, we made sure to eat here at least once every visit. Now that we live here, I want to try every restaurant around. But when I want a good fried fish taco, or when I'm craving a chile relleno (as I was yesterday), JJ's is the best in San Carlos.  I would be remiss if I didn't also recommend some of the other items on JJ's extensive menu. We love the toritos with shrimp. They're bacon-wrapped yellow chile peppers stuffed with shrimp and cheese (or just cheese).  My husband and I usually order the tacos. My kids often order the burritos -- the big donkey is a good lunch for them. We usually end up with some past
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Location: San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico
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Dinner at El Mar Restaurant in San Carlos

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When our new neighbors joined us for dinner after a hot Tuesday out fishing, we picked El Mar , a restaurant with air conditioning. No regrets. We followed our friend's recommendation and ordered the tortilla soup, which my husband and I shared as an appetizer. It was served with a whole plateful of toppings -- cheese, avocado, bacon, onion, a chipotle chile, and a drizzle of sour cream, plus lovely tortilla strips. I definitely recommend it and will be trying that again! We're a shrimp-loving family, and each of us ordered something with shrimp. The coconut shrimp are huge here -- highly recommend! The shrimp mignon are served sort of like a bacon-wrapped filet mignon -- they made a circle of shrimp, wrapped it in bacon, and topped it with a white cream sauce. Boston shrimp are bacon-wrapped and topped with cheese. All tasty. Also tasty was my special-of-the-day: chiles rellenos stuffed with shrimp. Now, I am definitely one who prefers my chiles rellenos blistered, battered, f
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Location: Blvd Manlio Fabio Beltrones Km 11.5, 85506 San Carlos, Son., Mexico
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Scuba and snorkeling at the artificial reef Ex Santos dive site

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A great wreck dive site in San Carlos is the Artificial Reef Ex Santos . Sunk on March 3, 2022 , by mid-June, the sea had already claimed it! Here's a cool video of the ship sinking. On a Wednesday morning, we put in for a shore dive off what is labeled Playa "El Tomate" on Google Maps. It was a long swim out and a longer swim back in, but do-able. Another family had come out and anchored their boat near the stern of the wreck, so if you have a boat, that seemed like a good option. I know the local dive shops do tours to the site as well. My scuba-certified family descended near the bow and explored inside and around different openings as they made their way to the stern. Since they had gone to a depth of around 45 feet, they couldn't just come up to the top without safety stops. I'm not scuba certified, so excuse any errors in my vocabulary. Anyway, they got some cool photos, and it was cool for me to explore the wreck as well. For this snorkeler, the views fro
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Location: WWPM+JJ, San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico
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Great Blue Heron can be found in the Sea of Cortez

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Great blue herons can be found year-round in San Carlos. We’ve seen one nesting in a cactus on the Isla Chaperona bird sanctuary, which is on Isla de la Raza, or Honeymoon Island. If you kayak or paddleboard out to the island, please be mindful that spring is nesting season , so please don't go on shore between February and June. You might see herons standing very still on a rock or pier near the water’s edge, hunting for fish, which they spear with their beaks. They can be 3 to over 4 feet tall (97-137 cm). When they fly, they tuck their necks into an S-shape, and their long legs trail behind them. Check out this blog of the many other birds you might see in San Carlos .  
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Location: San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico
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Osprey - Brown and white raptor of San Carlos

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Osprey can be found year-round in San Carlos. A brown and white hawk with a brown stripe on their head, you might see this hawk hunting for fish in San Carlos, Guaymas, Mexico. They can have a wingspan of 5-6 feet (150-180 cm), and when they're flying, their wings have a bit of a crook in them. Here's a really great guide to how birders identify ospreys . From our house with a view of Honeymoon Island , we've often seen the osprey hunting for its breakfast and its supper over the Sea of Cortez, then carrying its prey back over land somewhere. We've also seen osprey over the Bahía not far from the Marina San Carlos , landing on sailboat masts and cacti.
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Location: San Carlos Nuevo Guaymas, Sonora, Mexico
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