Ensenada Baja Mexico is located 75 miles South of the U. S./Mexico Border Crossing, a short 90 minute drive through a scenic road that is the perfect view of the Pacific Ocean. This City has plenty to offer with spectacular views from the countryside, desert and oceanside creating the perfect balance for locals and tourists.

19 Miles South of the City of Ensenada is “La Bufadora” -The Blowhole-, where you can experience nature at its best! The road to it is amazing, this mostly due to having the perfect balance of the countryside with pastures and ranches that are growing fruits, vegetables and plants and to your right the Pacific Ocean at it’s finest.

There are only 14 blowholes in the whole world and Mexico is host to the largest in North America! A blowhole is a marine geyser where a spout of water is blown out of sea caves when waves and the right amount of air enter the cave the pressure that is formed shoots out water upward in the most spectacular way! This one in particular shoots water up to 100 ft high into the air. The noise that the water makes with the pressure makes it sound like thunder.

My first visit to “La Bufadora” was roughly 25 years ago and still to this day it amazes me! This was our kids’ first visit to “La Bufadora” and they too were amazed and felt like the Pacific Ocean was putting up the best nature show they had ever seen.

Our five year old did not know what to expect, she had mixed feelings about it ranging from excited, curious and at the same time anxious. Immediately as you reach “La Bufadora” you are greeted by people guiding you where to park. Parking is only $2.00 USD and whichever lot you choose is ok.

Then you walk through shops that sell anything from souvenirs to snacks to the very famous “churros”. Everywhere you look there is someone offering you a taste of their churros or welcoming you to their shop or a taste of their smoothies. This is the part of the fun and the tradition…

When we reached the exhibit hall our kids could not believe their eyes! water shooting up to the sky and sometimes depending on the wind even spraying sprinkles of water. They were fascinated!

There are legends that the locals tell you about a baby whale that got lost from it’s pod and ended up in this cave. The baby whale or calve says the legend got stuck coming out of the cave and every attempt to come out of it creates the spout of shooting seawater. When our five year old heard this story she kept retelling it and asking questions about the calf.

When planning for your day trip to “La Bufadora” there are certain things to keep in mind:

– Sunblock is a must.
– Comfortable shoes and clothes.
– A light jacket if it is not summer and during the summer months keep in mind it is going to be hot and a bit muggy at times.
– A camera.

There are two restaurants there “Habana Banana” and “Los Panchos” -the last one has been there since 1965! Public restrooms are located in the exhibit hall and are cleaned several times a day, that is why there is a fee to use them of $5.00 Mexican Pesos or $0.50 USD.

Out of all the little snack shops that sell a great variety of cut up fresh fruit, churros, soft drinks, bottled water we choose one of the first ones and enjoyed a cup of whole, peeled and ready to eat prickly pears “tunas” as they are called in Mexico. If you have never tried one they are cactus fruit that when peeled the inside is very watery and refreshing, there are tons of little edible seeds. The seeds are edible. You may also enjoy them with some lime juice, salt and chili powder. My kids and I enjoy it plain, it is delicious.

We also enjoyed a bag of fresh made churros, dipped in sugar and cinnamon they were delicious!

We had a great time and hope you do too!