By Wendy Lemlin
When I think of Baja, I think in vivid Technicolor.
Vibrant cobalt on glassware rims … intense greens, yellows, blues, and oranges on pottery and tiles …the kaleidoscopic floral designs of textiles adorning pillows and table linens…staircases of geometric tiles…vivid stucco walls…
Ropes of crimson chile peppers and white garlic drying in the sun…gardens of red, violet, and pink bougainvillea cascading over ochre courtyard walls… … leafy vines heavy with purple grapes…. The colors of Mexico whirl around my brain like a fiesta of folk dancers.
When my life gets too beige, I crave their piquant intensity. Luckily, living in San Diego, all I have to do is drive south for about 15 minutes to the international border, the gateway to all that over-the-top, multi-hued extravaganza.
I cross into Mexico and bear right onto the Ensenada Scenic Road, the toll road skirting the Baja coastline. Once I pass Playas Tijuana, I’m rewarded with spectacular views from cliffs high above the aquamarine ocean.
I head to the third Rosarito Beach exit, where there is no shortage of color in the mercado in the south end of town. There, vendors beckon me into a seemingly endless warren of market stalls behind the more conventional stores and restaurants fronting Boulevard Benito Juarez. In a corner stall, fancifully painted Oaxacan carved animals, known as alibrijes, present a visual explosion of colors and patterns.
Jewel-toned velvet Mariachi sombreros, stitched in silver and gold, are piled on a nearby table, while gaily painted plant pots and rows of ceramic boxes show off the shades of exuberant happiness. Leather goods, clothing, jewelry, knives and pipes—all can be haggled over here.
My favorite shopping area for pottery, metal sculptures and hand-made furniture, however, lies about 15 minutes further south on the east side of the free road (Carretera Libre), in Popotla, near the former Fox Baja Studios, where much of Titanic was filmed. At these road-side artist studios and rudimentary shops, prices are better, quality higher and vendors unobtrusive until you need them. Everywhere there is pottery, heavy and beautifully painted and glazed, combining floral and geometric patterns. Dazzling glass garden balls on metal stands reflect the surroundings in shades of scarlet, yellow or leaf green, while whimsical ceramic iguanas climb the walls and 10 foot high metal horses rear up majestically. 
Often I see U.S. ex-pats, fleeing lives of boring neutral tones, filling pickup trucks and vans with riotously colored goods for their Mexican casitas. Like them, I pack up the treasures I’ve bought, and head back to Rosarito for an always wonderful meal at Susanna’s Cuisine of the Californias Restaurant. 
Tucked away in a secluded courtyard near the mercado, the café is an oasis of calm with the soothing sounds of a waterwall at the courtyard entry, a warm color palette, and the subtle scents of the pots of herbs that owner Susanne Stehr, herself an ex-pat from OrangeCounty, grows in front of her top-rated eatery.
Susanne Stehr in the kitchen of Susanna’s.
Then it’s northwards towards home, with, thanks to my SENTRI pass, only a 10 minute wait at the border. As I pass through the U.S. customs post, I say adios to all the colors, aromas and vibrancy in this “foreign” country, just minutes away from my home, knowing I’ll be back soon.
(Note: Tourists without SENTRI can obtain a one-time FastPass from certain restaurants, such as Susanna’s, hotels, and medical providers, which allows access to the “Fast Lane” and greatly reduces border wait time).
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