Was I dreaming?  A couple of months ago, Sharlene and I visited the town of Newport, Oregon, and now I was in Newport, Baja California.  Ok, wait a minute...it's Puerto Nuevo...

When I saw the arches that announce the entrance to the small village of Puerto Nuevo, I couldn't resist the urge to stop and check it out.  I drove through the arches and parked on the main street in town, named Ave. Renteria. Actually calling Puerto Nuevo a town is an exaggeration; in reality it's a small village that is only a few blocks square in size.  What it lacks in population it makes up for in restaurants; this town is mostly hotels, restaurants and shops, but the BIG thing in town is lobster, as lobster is very plentiful in the area.

Left:  Puerto Nuevo's arch, which faces Mexico Highway 2, libre.  Right:  Ave. Renteria, the main street in town, leads a few blocks toward the Pacific Ocean.

Puerto Nuevo started out as a fish camp on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean.  As word got around that there were a lot of lobsters to catch in the nearby ocean, more and more people came to fish and serve lobsters to the ever-growing number of visitors, including many Americans.  One of the early residents built a small stand in the vicinity of where the arches stand today, and next to it was a small billboard that advertised the Newport  brand cigarettes. The Americans named the town after the billboard; Newport is translated into Spanish as Puerto Nuevo. That's how the village received it's name.

You will never see so many restaurants that specialize in lobster as you'll see in Puerto Nuevo.  Every street is lined with hotels, restaurants and souvenir stands.  Lobster is what put Puerto Nuevo on the map and lobster is what keeps the town going.

Left:  Note that Ave. Renteria is paved with cobblestones.  It is very "sanitized," family friendly, and lined with restaurants.  Right:  A side street, lined with hotels and places to eat.

The town started out as a lobster town, and today it remains as a lobster town. Puerto Nuevo originated the unique dish that features fresh lobsters cut open, cooked in sizzling lard, and served with rice, beans and tortillas.  Every restaurant you see in town advertises that local dish, for surprisingly reasonable prices; around $10.00 for a full dinner with all-you-can-eat rice, salsa and beans.  I definitely wanted to eat a lobster dinner, but I just wasn't hungry and decided to let it pass until the next time I visited the town.  Not to mention it was only about 0900 on a rainy morning in December, 2004, and I just wasn't in the mood.

As I walked around town, I must have stood out like a store thumb, as several restaurant proprietors shouted out to me, in English, "You hungry? Come here and eat!" I wasn't hungry, and I true fully  answered them in Spanish that I wasn't, and politely thanked them for their consideration.  They seemed taken aback that I answered them in Spanish.

Left:  This street, closest to the ocean, is one of only a few streets in town that aren't paved.  Right:  These guys are selling freshly-caught lobster out of a mini-van.

Puerto Nuevo has many fish and lobster restaurants, both large and small, and quite a few small taco stands.  I didn't see any push-cart street vendors, possibly due to the inclement weather that was brewing.  One thing that I found really interesting is I saw a couple of locals selling lobster out of the back of a mini-van.

Puerto Nuevo is a fun little place to stroll in, as the entire village is only a few blocks square, and you could probably hike the entire village in 15 minutes.  Beware:  When the weather is nice, the place is loaded with tourists, both Mexicans and Norteamericanos.  On a beautiful Sunday morning in April 2005, I stopped by the town, intending to more thouroughly explore the town, but the place was mobbed with norteamericano tourists. I couldn't find a place to park, except at a dirt lot for the price of $3.00 in U.S. dollars, which I though was outragous.  I would have paid the price if I was planning a longer visit, but I was only thinking of staying an hour or so, and the price seemed to much to pay.  So without taking even one photo, I left for the day's destination:  Beautiful Ensenada.

If you like lobster, Baja-style, Puerto Nuevo is the place to visit.

 

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