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jim janet
Junior Nomad
Posts: 78
Registered: 1-2-2004
Location: victoria bc
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safety in Baja
My wife and I have just returner home after our annual trip to Baja.We travel as far as Cabo camping on beaches and staying in R V parks,this year I
we ran into more people who had been robbed than ever before. We had an encounter with a robber on the beach at Cals Hostel.
Is it possible for the members of this board to compose a list of dangerous places to camp.
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bancoduo
Banned
Posts: 1003
Registered: 10-3-2005
Location: el carcel publico mazatlan sin.
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Bad everywhere! the place is full of Gringo bandidos. 
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64488
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I feel safer camping in Baja than anywhere in the USA.
Camping in Baja since 1965... no problems!
The safest places are far from pavement, and where 4WD is required. Otherwise, camp with others you know or become friends with.
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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For many reasons like inflation, lack of jobs, etc., the financial situation in much of baja is absolutely dismal. Add to that fact that there are a
large number of people moving in from the mainland to do agriculture and fishing and you have a mobile population with a new level of desperation.
Now let's compound that situation with Canadians and Americans coming down with an ostentatious show of wealth and comfort from their new cars and
trucks to very expensive motorhomes and campers. Don't misinterpret that as condoning criminal behavior, but maybe a glimpse into the mindset that
exists.
So, I am extra careful in certain areas such as San Quintin, Constitucion and Ensenada. I listen to reports of actual crimes rather than campfire
storytelling and have heard of problems in the area from Lopez Mateos through La Poza Grande, numerous problems at the deserted campground on the
south end of Conception Bay, Camping by the side of the road in the Catavina area.
Generally, I camp in areas where there are other people in the immediate vicinity. (Safety in Numbers)
Finally, I do my best to be friendly and fair in all my dealings with the local people. I do not want to set myself up for a "retribution crime".
And finally, as in the city, those of a criminal nature tend to prey on those who look the weakest and least prepared.
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Capt. George
Super Nomad
Posts: 2129
Registered: 8-21-2003
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Pescador
How have you been? Still here in Abreojos, heading north and east on Sunday...been living here 2 years now...quiet, very quiet. No problems camping
here...great local people!
Hope all is well by you and you're still fishing...adios amigo!
capt g
\"The penalty good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men\" Plato
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8084
Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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Petty thievery
| Quote: | Originally posted by Capt. George
Still here in Abreojos...
No problems camping here...great local people!
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Actually, I had things stolen at a camping spot near Abreojos. I had my fillet knife and filleting board stolen on one occasion by a couple of kids.
When we arrived that year we met a camper who was cooking by the moonlight and going to bed real early. It turned out that his propane lantern had
been stolen by someone from Abreojos that had come by when he wasn't around. There was a fellow that showed up every day selling lobsters and the
theory was that if things were lying around and nobody was around he sometimes would take them.
This is to take nothing away from the people of Abreojos, however. I have been back many times since and have met some and they have helped me dig my
camper out of bad situations. They are marvelous people and I don't argue with anything that Captn. George has said about them.
There is a fair amount of this sort of petty thievery occuring in baja. I believe you can help yourself a lot by just putting things away, zipping up
your tent, and locking all car and camper doors. In most cases the thief has not made a special trip to rob you. He happens to drive by and the
opportunity is there - so he takes it.
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Bajabus
Senior Nomad
Posts: 892
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: Elias Calles B.C.S. or NC USA
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Mood: My friends..it's good.
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I concur with the suggestion to not camp near the road in the Catavinia area. two good friends on separate occasions had their vehicles tossed while
out hiking. they were about 1/2 mile in near the virgin Guadalupe monument north of town. We always cross the border around 5-6 AM and hustle down
to GN and then take it easy from there on.
"Preventive war was an invention of Hitler. Frankly I would not even listen to anyone seriously that came and talked of such a thing."
Dwight David Eisenhower
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jim janet
Junior Nomad
Posts: 78
Registered: 1-2-2004
Location: victoria bc
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Pescador you are totaly correct .We do not have a large shiny rig but we do have money,not a lot but many times the average Mexican.I feel that some
are loosing their honesty to us tourists. People this year were getting ripped off in well populated areas. Tecalote for example.I hope this is not
the start of a slippery slope
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15937
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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been coming down for 25 years and never had a problem, with thieves, that is! friends have had windows smashed, tho. WAIT, i did have a pair of
binoc's and a filet knife disappear at juanico 2 years ago. i know it was javier-he never came back around and last year he was very evasive when i
bumped into him at nico's.
anyway, small losses are to be expected. it sure beats a gun to the head or knife to the throat!!! i'm with dk, get away from the obvious gringo
enclaves and the risks are greatly diminished.
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Packoderm
Super Nomad
Posts: 2116
Registered: 11-7-2002
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You also have to factor in the meth problem when trying to sort this whole thing out. Think of all the light bulbs that are stolen.
It has been my experience that crime is equally bad on both sides of the border, but it is much more likely to happen south of the border. There is no
U.S. state with a population of approx. 2,750,000 (2003 estimate) that has a crime rate anywhere near as bad as that of Baja California Norte.
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woody with a view
PITA Nomad
Posts: 15937
Registered: 11-8-2004
Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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| Quote: |
Think of all the light bulbs that are stolen.
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MrBillM
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21656
Registered: 8-20-2003
Location: Out and About
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Mood: It's a Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah Day
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Danger
A close friend of mine was heading down to See the Whales. Left 08 February. Because of some last minute problems with one of his children and some
error codes on his truck, he didn't get away from Hemet until 8 p.m. He drove until he was too tired to go any farther and pulled off the highway at
a rest stop called El Mirador near Ensenada. He, his wife and children went back to the camper and went to sleep. Less than an hour later, two guys
came up to the truck, smashed in the driver side window and made off with about $1000 in Radios, cameras, CDs, etc before he could get out of the
camper. Adding to the difficulty of pursuing them (which probably wasn't a good idea anyway), he was barefoot and there was broken glass everywhere.
While these incidents can happen on either side of the border, a problem in Baja is that the bad guys are pretty sure you haven't any serious
self-defense on board. At least en El Norte, I can pull out a gun and defend myself, my family and my property.
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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RIGHT ON, MR. Bill M!!!!!!!!!!!
-----and it really makes me nervous, tho this has never happended to me in Baja in 52 years--------tho our camper was attacked in the middle of the
night by a crazy coyote near Catavina, once.
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rpleger
Super Nomad
Posts: 1087
Registered: 3-12-2005
Location: H. Mulegé, BCS
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Mood: Was good.
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Lots of crime here....stay away.
Tell all your friends.
Richard on the Hill
*ABROAD*, adj. At war with savages and idiots. To be a Frenchman abroad is to
be miserable; to be an American abroad is to make others miserable.
-- Ambrose Bierce, _The Enlarged Devil\'s Dictionary_
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Barry A.
Select Nomad
Posts: 10007
Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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But------about the "stolen light bulbs"-----
-----vis-a-vis the meth problem
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bajarich
Nomad
Posts: 463
Registered: 1-13-2005
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We've been camping in Baja since 1992 and the only problem I've encountered was in Jan, 2002 at Playa Santaspac when my friends left their van
unlocked while we took a hike around the point and someone stole some money from their vehicle. I have heard of thievery at the abandon trailer park
at the south end to Bahia Conception, but I never camp there.
While camped near the airstrip on the Pennisula Conception, we encountered a fisherman who was gathering scallops. He asked us if our camp was ok as
we had been mt. biking on the road and weren't in camp when he had arrived by boat. Nothing was missing, but he told us that there were ladrones
(thieves) in a panga who would raid unattended camps on the bay.
This was also in 2002, I don't know if this is still going on.
In the San Quintin area I camp in RV parks as I have heard there is more crime there due to the high immigrant population, something that was
re-enforced when I decided to visit Punta San Jacinto to check out where I spent my very first night in Baja. There is a gringo community there now
with a tall chain link fence and razor wire and a security gate.
Personally, I have never had a problem, but it is wise to be careful wherever
you camp. I feel that areas of high concentrations of gringos are more of a target than being off somewhere by myself. I don't buy into the stories
of Mexicans sitting on hills just waiting for a gringo to drive down a dirt road. I don't like camping by myself anywhere visable from the main
road. That is also true of camping in the States. I would never camp at a rest area on the freeway. Not only is it noisy, but it exposes you to
that many more people who could be up to no good.
It is not just poor Mexicanos that might take your things, I am always leery of gringos who are traveling in Baja that are just bumming there way down
without any money. And, of course, don't forget the dishonest gas station at Santa Rosalia.
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pascuale
Nomad
Posts: 224
Registered: 2-20-2005
Location: Somewhere South
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Mood: Lets fish!
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Im 23 and been driving throughout Baja to gonzaga since I was 6 in 1988. Ive been back several times each year and learned to drive down there. I have
driven to the Cabo area 3 times now first when I was 18 with only my grilfriend. These are my rules
1. drive carefullly but be aggressive when needed (nervous drivers seem to cause accidents down there).
2. never leave anything unnattended in my truck or in the bed with any value. (I always have someone there )
3. Never camp alongside the road
4. Never drive at night in Baja Sur
5. Always carry a calculator
6. Always carry small bills
7. never carry large amounts of cash in your wallet or any place (carry $40 and hide the rest)
8. Always offer the military at the checkpoints a drink, and snacks.
9. bring stickers for little kids
10. Bring old clothes for people
11. Never go against a bad gut feeling.
12. pay attention to your surroundings at all times.
I feel that the communities down there really notice the way that you interact and treat them, especially the ninos. If you treat them well, they will
protect you. I have never had one thing stolen, been threatened by anyone, treated in a hostile manner, or been given a ticket once. I have never had
to pay a dime to get myself out of a bad situation.
When I was returning from baja sur in 2003 on my way to a strong dorado bite in LA bay, I stopped at the pemex just outside of town in Guerrero Negro.
A gas attendant wanted a lift to LA bay. I was hesitant at first but when he said he was going to fish for the Dorado, I said to hop in. Not 5 minutes
later I get pulled over for speeding, which i was being completely excited that the schooling Dodos were waiting fo me. Anyways, the officer asked
what the guy in the back was doing and I said that i was helping him out by giving him a ride. After checking the mans ID card to ensure he was not an
immigrant, the officer said thanks to me and to go catch some fish. Not only did we not get a ticket, but the guy in the back hooked us up with his
uncle to fish with and we scored wide open dorado fishing. If you go out of your way to help people, they will accept you as one of them and not some
rich, arrogant, white tourist. Just my .02 from a young unexperienced kid.
Ethan
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
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Sometimes I laugh a little when I hear either that there is no crime in Baja or that there is rampant crime. Guess it is all in the eyes of the
beholder.
But one thing that I find fascinating is when a Mexican builds a nice house in Mexico, all the windows have bars, the driveway generally has a cast
iron gate, and there are usually broken glass or wire on the surrounding fence or wall.
Guess they know something we don't! 
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Diver
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 4729
Registered: 11-15-2004
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They're afraid of gringos from LA and Vancouver !
I've had one gas can stolen in all my years in Baja, that's it !; I shouldn't have left it laying out near the road.
I usually either camp within site of other campers or I stealth camp.
In either case, we feel just as safe as anywhere in the US.
Just gotta use your head !
2 dogs totalling 180lbs of barks also helps !!
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Frank
Senior Nomad
Posts: 861
Registered: 6-5-2005
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Is it time to leave yet?
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Barry A.
-----vis-a-vis the meth problem |
They smoke/freebase meth in light bulbs....
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