I have been to Ensenada about a half-dozen times. It’s obviously part of Mexico, located sixty miles south of the border. But in a sense, it’s almost an extension of the United States, because of the many expatriates who have moved to this area and because you’ll see American-based businesses like Home Depot and Starbucks in town, like many areas of the country.

Most of my visits have come from cruise port stops, all of which have given me a glimpse into a more modern version of Ensenada. I remember when friends and I drove from San Diego in the 1990s, and there wasn’t much to see except for the party palaces of Hussong’s and Papas & Beer. Probably because of the cruise ship visitors, day-trippers and those expats, Ensenada has become more of a destination. Mexican tourism has also promoted the nearby Valle de Guadalupe wine region, which is something I never knew existed.

Because of my previous time here, I wasn’t originally going to disembark. But I still wanted to experience something I hadn’t before in Ensenada. My first shore excursion, which involved tasting tequila and mezcal and sampling some local delicacies, was cancelled. Instead, I chose one that seemed basic to someone who dines weekly on Mexican food. Still, it seemed like it would be fun.

Making Mexican food

This was only one of three shore excursions available during the Ensenada port stop on Quantum of the Seas. The others involved a tour of the city (which didn’t sound interesting to me) and a trip a cheese cave (which might have been more aligned with my interests), so I’m glad I went with this one. And it was especially a positive sign when our group boarded the small bus and were greeted with Brenda, who turned out to be lively and entertaining.

We took a short drive through the center of town before heading out to the Valle de Guadalupe and a private estate that’s used for parties and events. Several vendors sold the usual Mexican knickknacks like ceramic figures and jewelry but one finger-painted some impressive works. Sitting down at long tables with small boards for cutting and prepared ingredients, we started with making some guacamole while snacking on chips and salsa. The servers brought frozen margaritas to drink, and we could have as much as we wanted. Unfortunately (or fortunately), they didn’t have much tequila in them, which is probably by design.

But we did have to most fun preparing our food, which included the guacamole, a tostada with barbacoa (shredded beef) and an enchilada with chicken and tomatillo sauce. Our cooking instructor, Selene, peppered her teaching with stories about how her grandmother inspired her. The whole experience was enjoyable and the dishes we prepared were superb – we even had the chance to add habanero to them, which some brave souls did. But if you are familiar with Mexican food, it may not be the most intriguing cruise excursion to do.

Tepezko a Gatas tequila

We later headed back into town and went to a tequila tasting room under construction – that’s the main reason I don’t have any photos of the exterior, because it was in a state of slight disrepair. This place was so new, you probably won’t find it on an internet search. Even the inside was low-lit and mostly concrete. One good thing was that it provided some coolness to the increasing outside heat. The owners plan to build a seating area next to the bar, but that part wasn’t ready for our group. 

Instead, we sat down on rows of wooden benches with a long folding table in the front, holding bottles of tequila, a small wooden barrel with a straw hat on top of it, and a small distilling apparatus. The staff worker explained we would try seven different kinds of tequila, which included regular blanco, reposado and anejo and four flavored varieties: mango, almond, coffee and coconut. Like with most liquors, I prefer the straight stuff and rarely like the flavored varieties.

Each of the regular tequilas was smooth, even the blanco, which often has more bite than reposado and anejo. Back home, I only seem to have blanco, because we often make margaritas with them and the other two tend to be more expensive, but I will have to try them at some point.  I only like two of the flavored tequilas, which didn’t appear that strong with the alcohol content, but the flavors make it seem that way. My favorites here were the almond and coconut, but I’m a bit of a purist – I probably wouldn’t buy them.