BajaNomad

Banditos reported on new road between Baja and Puerto Penasco

Hook - 7-24-2009 at 05:30 PM

From the San Felipe website..................

"Over in Sonora, there have been reports of masked bandits stopping cars and robbing people on the lonely stretch of road between the Baja California border, El Golfo de Santa Clara and Puerto Penasco. Requests are being made to Mexico City to send federal police and military personnel to patrol this 133 km stretch. (Note: this is a very isolated stretch of road across the Biosphere Reserve lands, not the main road to Puerto Penasco. By comparison, the San Felipe-Mexicali highway is more like a freeway and is patrolled by both the military, the federal police and the Green Angels. You are never out of sight of another vehicle. I would be more concerned about changing a flat tire in the desert heat.)"

End of quote.

I traveled this road in late May. It is VERY isolated.

nbacc - 7-25-2009 at 06:44 PM

So you are saying that the road between Mexicalli and San Felipe is still safe? Planning on going in the fall and always drive in the daytime.

Hook - 7-25-2009 at 10:30 PM

I am not saying anything, other than I found a post on a website that is reporting incidents from the Baja/Sonora border to Puerto Penasco.

I drove this stretch twice in late May during the day with no incidents.

tigerdog - 7-26-2009 at 04:53 AM

From Mexicali to San Felipe like a freeway??? I've been down that road many times hardly ever seeing another car. I think calling it "more like a freeway" is a bit of a stretch.

The new coastal hwy to Penasco is indeed a lonely stretch of road. I've personally heard of two reports of robbery. One was a case, which was reported by local newspapers, where the robbers knew the victims and how much money they were carrying (all involved were Mexicans, no one was hurt); the other was never confirmed, so can't say if it was true. That's not to say there haven't been such cases, but I do wonder if the danger has been exaggerated through word of mouth. It sure could use more patrolling though, because folks tend to speed big time along it and there have been several accidents reported between El Golfo and Penasco.

Does anyone know if the repairs to the part of the road between San Luis and El Golfo have been completed?

Hook - 7-26-2009 at 06:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by tigerdog
From Mexicali to San Felipe like a freeway??? I've been down that road many times hardly ever seeing another car. I think calling it "more like a freeway" is a bit of a stretch.

The new coastal hwy to Penasco is indeed a lonely stretch of road. I've personally heard of two reports of robbery. One was a case, which was reported by local newspapers, where the robbers knew the victims and how much money they were carrying (all involved were Mexicans, no one was hurt); the other was never confirmed, so can't say if it was true. That's not to say there haven't been such cases, but I do wonder if the danger has been exaggerated through word of mouth. It sure could use more patrolling though, because folks tend to speed big time along it and there have been several accidents reported between El Golfo and Penasco.

Does anyone know if the repairs to the part of the road between San Luis and El Golfo have been completed?


Well, the SF website is known to "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative" quite a bit. I though I read it was owned by a real estate firm or someone in real estate down there.

I cant recall a "freeway" I've driven with 12 miles of dirt driving on it.

Based on my May trip only, I'd say the work couldnt have been completed yet between San Luis and El Golfo. But the dirt detours really werent that bad. They were keeping water on them which reduces washboarding drastically.

Crusoe - 7-26-2009 at 12:35 PM

Does anyone know how much "Norte" wind Puerto Penasco gets and wind strenghts one can expect there, during average winter months? Say for example...is it comparable to Bay of Los Angeles? Thanx ++C++

bajalou - 7-26-2009 at 12:40 PM

Quote:

Well, the SF website is known to "accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative" quite a bit. I though I read it was owned by a real estate firm or someone in real estate down there.


First part true, but second about real estate is incorrect. Only connection to real estate is the adds they carry.

tigerdog - 7-26-2009 at 12:55 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by Hook
Based on my May trip only, I'd say the work couldnt have been completed yet between San Luis and El Golfo. But the dirt detours really werent that bad. They were keeping water on them which reduces washboarding drastically.


Thanks, Hook.