Ensenada is one of Mexico's major deepwater seaports on the Pacific coast.  So it's no wonder that cruise ships like to call at the Port of Ensenada.  When the passengers disembark for a day or night on the town, where do you think they go?  Ave. Lopez Mateos.

The city of Ensenada has taken great pains to make this area very friendly to gringos.  The first time I visited Ensenada, way back in 1970, Ave. Mateos was called Calle Primera, a more prosaic name, to be sure.  However, since about 1995, the area has undergone significant urban renewal.  The storefronts have been spruced-up. Cobblestone sidewalks.  Quaint Victorian streetlights. Potted plants. Roving mariachi bands.  The best part?  No aggressive hawkers.

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Photos:  Ave. Lopez Mateos in Ensenada, where most of the cruise ship passengers and norteamericano tourists prefer to shop.  

You can purchase just about anything there, as many of the major stores in Tijuana have branches there.  Yes, it is very "touristy," but it's a place where you can shop, eat, drink, or whatever in peace and feel safe doing it.

Left:  Ave. Mateos is very clean and family-friendly and the street is lined with many family-friendly places to shop and eat.  Right: Daniel's sells mariscos on Ave. Maderos.  

Ensenada's finest restaurants and nightclubs are located on Ave. Mateos, including the landmark Hussong's Cantina.  However, this writer can't give any reviews of the "finer" restaurants, as he prefers to dine from puestos and street venders while in Mexico.

Left:  Daniel sells mariscos on Ave. Maderos.  Right:  Fine dining is found at the cornor of Alvadado and Mateos in Ensenada.  However, my taste seems to stray to puestos and small restaurants.

When I'm visiting Ensenada, I like to stay at the Day's Inn, which is located near the cornor of Ave. Lopez Mateos and Calle Alvarado, just two blocks inland from the giant Mexican flag plaza. The motel is close to everything, clean and very reasonably priced. From this motel, I can walk to almost any destination in town.  If I don't care to walk, I can take one of the 12-passenger mini-buses that will take me anyplace in town for 5 pesos.

Photos:  No, I haven't photographed Hussong's famous cantina, but there is a whole lot more to that to Ave. Lopez Mateos in Ensenada.  There are many interesting shops to explore and many street vendors to discover.  Any trip is exciting.  During my visit to Ensenada, I stayed at the Day's Inn Hotel.

Left:  The voyeur in me manages to snap the photos of two clerks and a customer at the cosmetics counter of a local department store.  Right:  How can I reesist having my photo taken with a beautiful local woman?

Ave. Lopez Mateos is Ensenada's safe, family-friendly avenue to explore.  Check it out the next time you visit Ensenada.