BajaNomad - pop your bubble?

pop your bubble?

dirtbikr - 7-11-2014 at 09:58 AM

I am like a kid in disneyland when it comes to baja or all of mexico, love it, love it. Not to be negative and it probably will come out that way but what if anything actually popped YOUR bubble about mexico? Sometimes when reading others experiences they would never go back. Anyways I am always in a continual state of planning my next trip, where I'm going to go, what to do, and what to bring. I had my xr racebike stolen in ensenada a few years ago, I still go, bring my toys, but with exrea security measures now, won't stop me. :lol:

Ateo - 7-11-2014 at 10:03 AM

A few years ago my truck was broken into at a place we used to drop off clothing and donations to. Passports were stolen, a birth certificate, even my reading glasses. Bummed us out for about 2 years on Baja. We went to the police but you know how that goes. Learned to never keep anything of value in a vehicle ever. This applies in the USA as well.

[Edited on 7-11-2014 by Ateo]

woody with a view - 7-11-2014 at 10:08 AM

gas prices!

Martyman - 7-11-2014 at 10:49 AM

Getting pulled over by Tijuana cops.

sancho - 7-11-2014 at 11:00 AM

Never had anything of negative consequence happen, SOB, never
met anyone who experienced such an incident. I do understand
the hesitation some non experienced prospective Mex Tourists
feel about Mex travel, and if something major did happen, I can fully understand
the reluctance to go back. I think many of us would feel that way

danaeb - 7-11-2014 at 11:04 AM

I was served warm beer once.

wessongroup - 7-11-2014 at 11:07 AM

:yes:

motoged - 7-11-2014 at 11:21 AM

I have been exploring BAja and other parts of Mexico since 1989. Six years ago my girlfriend was robbed at knifepoint by her taxi driver on the way to the airport in San Jose del Cabo....and dumped off on the highway by the airport. She was significantly traumatized....I felt partially responsible as I was back in the hotel with serious food poisoning and assumed the taxi drive was safe.....I wanted to find the taxi driver and kill him.....but didn't. That made me question my travel plans for Mexico.

I kept coming back to Mexico.

Three years ago I broke my leg riding my moto in silt north of San Juanico....a week later back in Canada I had an xray and went into surgery for a plate and seven pins on my fibula....

I came back to Baja with my motos.

Two years ago I contracted a skin infection in a hotel swimming pool in Taxco that plagued me for a month....

I will go back to mainland again but shower after using any swimming pools rather than leave pool water sitting on my skin for very long.

Last year my 690 KTM was stolen in San Felipe when I was in a bakery for 5 minutes. I freaked out....

.....and then posted reward posters around town and got the bike back within 48 hours (everyone acknowledges how lucky I was to get the bike back).

I am taking the bike down again this Xmas for a month.

I have learned from my adventures and misadventures....and will keep going back because I really like Mexico....and will lock the bike up EVERY time I walk away from it. I won't let any female friends take taxis by themselves any more....etc.....

BooJumMan - 7-11-2014 at 11:25 AM

What pops my bubble is the thought of nothing bad has happened to me...and I might be due. Crap!

[Edited on 7-11-2014 by BooJumMan]

micah202 - 7-11-2014 at 11:49 AM

.
...had my -very- loaded baja van swiped in TJ 3 years ago--miss the van and 'stuff',,,,been back twice since

woody with a view - 7-11-2014 at 11:50 AM

Ged, I'm starting to wonder about you!

motoged - 7-11-2014 at 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
Ged, I'm starting to wonder about you!

Me too !

micah202 - 7-11-2014 at 12:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motoged

Last year my 690 KTM was stolen in San Felipe when I was in a bakery for 5 minutes. I freaked out....

.....and then posted reward posters around town and got the bike back within 48 hours (everyone acknowledges how lucky I was to get the bike back).

..when I was posting rewardo flyers in TJ,,,someone rightly pointed out that they translated to -kidnap-me- posters in Tijuanese

vgabndo - 7-11-2014 at 01:11 PM

I couldn't help noting recently the number of places along the highway that I had occasion to say: "Oh I sure know THAT mechanic's shop." Years of traveling "on the cheap" means the vehicles weren't always Baja ready. I try to be ready for that. Most recently I replaced the lift pump in my Dodge Diesel on the dusty roadside in the desert because the spare part was IN THE TRUCK. A story that might have been a Baja Boo Hoo, is often just another good campfire story if one prepares for trouble. After our place in San Nicolas' was wasted by T S Julio, local gringos pretty much picked it clean, but when I finally got there to pick up the pieces, it was my Mexican neighbors who came and offered to BUY what was left! I'll always be back, the Mexican people treat me wonderfully. In the USA the majority holds the opinion that I'm not worth feeding.

dtbushpilot - 7-11-2014 at 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motoged
I have been exploring BAja and other parts of Mexico since 1989. Six years ago my girlfriend was robbed at knifepoint by her taxi driver on the way to the airport in San Jose del Cabo....and dumped off on the highway by the airport. She was significantly traumatized....I felt partially responsible as I was back in the hotel with serious food poisoning and assumed the taxi drive was safe.....I wanted to find the taxi driver and kill him.....but didn't. That made me question my travel plans for Mexico.

I kept coming back to Mexico.

Three years ago I broke my leg riding my moto in silt north of San Juanico....a week later back in Canada I had an xray and went into surgery for a plate and seven pins on my fibula....

I came back to Baja with my motos.

Two years ago I contracted a skin infection in a hotel swimming pool in Taxco that plagued me for a month....

I will go back to mainland again but shower after using any swimming pools rather than leave pool water sitting on my skin for very long.

Last year my 690 KTM was stolen in San Felipe when I was in a bakery for 5 minutes. I freaked out....

Your story is incredible ged, almost unbelievable, especially the part about you having a girlfriend.. :lol:

motoged - 7-11-2014 at 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dtbushpilot

Your story is incredible ged, almost unbelievable, especially the part about you having a girlfriend.. :lol:

David ,
Thanks for pointing that out.....as it brings to my attention something I omitted: I spent a week riding motorcycles in the desert with DT Bushpilot...and despite that initial experience with this egghead.....I would do it again.... :biggrin:

Woody,maybe I am just a sucker for punishment???

[Edited on 7-11-2014 by motoged]

David K - 7-11-2014 at 04:02 PM

Nice photo of David... at Ricardo's Rice & Beans?

In all my travels to Baja since I was 16 (1974), I have had nothing bad happen to me that would scare me off of Baja travel. Being on the end of Bad roads and 4WD camping may be why I have been 'lucky'?

After the cartel's assassination of two brother's we knew, about 7 years ago in Tijuana, and the kidnapping/ car-jacking of the McMillin friend's truck helping at Ensenada for the 1000, south of Rosarito on the toll road... we took a Baja break for a little while and enjoyed seeing sites in the USA instead, during our longer vacations...

TMW - 7-11-2014 at 04:52 PM

In 1988 my son totaled his new truck on the way to San Felipe, he was not hurt. I did all the leg work for the paper work to get paid by the Mexican insurance. 1990 had my truck broken into and tool box and other stuff stolen. 1993 had my 91 chevy truck stolen at Renes restaurant at Rosarito. Got it back two weeks later. 1995 Xmas time was side swiped at La Rumorosa causing $7000 damage to my chevy. Took 8 months before truck was found and fixed, long story. 2007 wrecked my 93 Toyota truck in Mexicali, Allstate totaled it and paid me out. 2013 lost bag with passport and money and etc and some good people of El Rosario found it and contacted me and I got it back with everything OK. Good people in Baja. It's good to be in Baja as long as you have insurance.

SFandH - 7-11-2014 at 04:56 PM

Popped my bubble? Listening to THE WORST "MUSIC" in the world at full volume from a mega bass car stereo with blown speakers parked next to my beautiful Bahia Concepcion RV spot. And then cleaning up their mess after they left.

It happens way too much.

Mexicans at the beach don't seem to have any consideration for the people around them.

motoged - 7-11-2014 at 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH
Popped my bubble? Listening to THE WORST "MUSIC" in the world at full volume ....

What????? You don't like trumpets and accordians cranked up to 11 until 2:00 AM?

sancho - 7-11-2014 at 05:19 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SFandH

Mexicans at the beach don't seem to have any consideration for the people around them.

Us Gringos need a little more space around us, as well as a quieter
soundscape, but it doesn't seem to bother the other Mex locals,
they don't find it inconsiderate to have the musica loud.
the last time I checked, IT IS THEIR COUNTRY, I believe most of
us are visitors

monoloco - 7-11-2014 at 05:21 PM

One should be careful leaving anything unattended in Mexico, that said, in 21 years of living in BCS, we have experienced one minor burglary (the police caught the offenders and the stolen items were recovered) and had a car stereo stolen from an unlocked truck, in the previous 21 years of living in the states, I had 4 vehicles broken into and cleaned out, was burglarized twice, had 3 bicycles stolen, had all my camping gear stolen from a campground while kayaking, had tools stolen off job sites twice, and was assaulted once, in all those cases, the police never caught the perpetrators. All in all, Mexico hasn't been all that bad to me.

DianaT - 7-11-2014 at 05:35 PM

Minor and not enough to stop us from going

Had sewage back up into our sewer hose on a small trailer we had --- YUK and kept a closer eye after that.

Left school supplies for teachers with someone only to discover they were never delivered; lesson learned to always make a direct delivery.

Have a town tell us that the front of our property was at the federal zone and there were to be no more lots in front of us and then change their minds; in the end, we just ended up with more property.

So nothing to stop us of being there. Had a truck stolen in Guatemala and we will still go back there.

Things happen

[Edited on 7-12-2014 by DianaT]

805gregg - 7-11-2014 at 05:44 PM

I got a speeding ticket south of Rosarito in 1968, one cop wrote the ticket the other one collected returnable bottles, I was speeding

wessongroup - 7-11-2014 at 06:03 PM

Fell in cactus once ... never did that again, the first time really stuck ...

Whale-ista - 7-11-2014 at 07:49 PM

Inconsistent land use policies.

my friend and I bought lots w/ocean views, and were told no one would be given permits to build over 1 story tall in front of us. Ha! someone knocked down the house in front of mine and built a two-story monstrosity.

Often it's the ones with bigger checkbooks who get the last say, but that also happens in the US.

That said: on my recent trip to Cabo Pulmo I saw a problem created by American part time residents: they blocked off a walkway adjacent to their house, that had existed long before they moved in and that gave direct access to the beach, shops and restaurants. They simply built concrete walls, without asking for permission from neighbors or local government.

People now can't get to these restaurants and shops without walking more than twice as far, so it's created problems for the businesses adjacent to the closed walkway.

Something tells me they would not have blocked off a walkway to the beach in the United States the way they did in this situation. Compounding the problem, they're only there a few months out of the year.

And oh yes-both the husband and wife are attorneys in the US.

[Edited on 7-12-2014 by Whale-ista]

Floatflyer - 7-12-2014 at 06:18 AM

Theft of a $150,000 airplane in '04 and attempted theft of the replacement 6 months later!! Thankfully full covered by insurance but a long walk back to the USA!

Having squatters move into a neighbor's place and spending $80,000 on lawyers for nothing in trying to get them removed. Cost split 18 ways, whew.

There are many more but we still keep coming back.

Ateo - 7-12-2014 at 08:21 AM

I once had to drive all the way from Salsipuedes to La Salina to restock the tequila during my 30th b-day party.

woody with a view - 7-12-2014 at 08:30 AM

last time i drank corona we were camped "out there" during summer. after 3 days the ice was gone so we used a dive bag to keep the beers in the water 6 feet deep with an empty 2 liter for a buoy. 70 degree corona beats 100 degree corona but i'll never drink the stuff again! :barf:

wilderone - 7-12-2014 at 08:30 AM

The only thing that will pop my bubble is the destruction of Baja itself - turning pristine beaches into hotels, no fish to catch, drug boat operations - you see their little supply structures along the coast and know you can't be anywhere near there. Eliminating dirt road access with new highway berms, barbed wire fences. permanent gringo encampments perched on bay cliffs that used to be free of such clutter. Though still plenty of places to go for adventure and solitude.

David K - 7-12-2014 at 09:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by wilderone
The only thing that will pop my bubble is the destruction of Baja itself - turning pristine beaches into hotels, no fish to catch, drug boat operations - you see their little supply structures along the coast and know you can't be anywhere near there. Eliminating dirt road access with new highway berms, barbed wire fences. permanent gringo encampments perched on bay cliffs that used to be free of such clutter. Though still plenty of places to go for adventure and solitude.

Yep!
Others who have recently 'discovered' Baja call all that 'progress'!! :rolleyes:

mulegemichael - 7-12-2014 at 09:49 AM

in over 40 years of visiting/living in baja been ripped off three times...a wallet stolen out of my hotel room,(which was not lockable), a wallet stolen out of my house,(which was not locked), and a battery stolen out of our car,(which was not locked).....now.....who do you think was at fault in all these incidents?....yup!

MMc - 7-12-2014 at 11:39 AM

I have always believed "the worse it gets the better the story" I have great stories.

mulegemichael - 7-12-2014 at 12:16 PM

nope....wrong answer....it was MY fault for not locking up and making a thief!...and i am FINALLY diligent in that regard.

wiltonh - 7-12-2014 at 05:31 PM

We started going to the mainland in the late 60s and then we found Baja. On our first or second trip we were camped on the beach at San Felipe. We had taken down 2 motorcycles and windsurfing gear. One evening we had come back from riding the motorcycles and everyone was in a hurry to go out to eat, so we parked the bikes and went with them. In the morning the motorcycles were gone. They had been locked until that evening so we blamed the locals, until we talked to our neighbors. They had seen two Americans come into our camp after dark and push the bikes out to the beach. At that time they thought it was us and did not sound an alarm. The guys came back with bolt cutters and took their locked up 3 wheeler. During this period the Americans were coming down with their motorcycle trailers half full and going back with a full load.

We are more careful now and have spent up to 4 months per year in Baja for the last 12 years.

We have had the "what would pop your bubble" discussion several times while sitting in Baja. The one thing that might make my bubble burst for a while would be a whale or some other large animal deciding to choose my beach for its final resting spot. It would be time to at least change beaches.

Alm - 7-12-2014 at 05:57 PM

What exactly was the OP question, if there was a question at all?

To "pop a bubble" in this context means something suddenly makes you change your previous impressions. Happened to many gringos in Mexico, there is no reason to even ask.

But... This forum is what it is. Many Nomads have been living in Baja for decades, and before they had moved, they've been coming here for decades. Their learning curve is now flat, anything that could've happened, has already happened. If any major "bubble popping" occurred, it was a while ago, they have already digested it, incorporated it in their perception of the place, and to them it's not "popping a bubble".

Besides, many just can't go back North. No home there anymore, or have got used to everything "Baja" to the point when getting used to anything "NOB" would be painful.

A few repeated assaults with weapons would probably pop the bubble for some people to the point when they just can't stay there anymore, or would stop coming. And for some people it wouldn't.

willardguy - 7-12-2014 at 06:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Alm
What exactly was the OP question, if there was a question at all?

sounded like a question to me! :lol:

pop your bubble?

I am like a kid in disneyland when it comes to baja or all of mexico, love it, love it. Not to be negative and it probably will come out that way but what if anything actually popped YOUR bubble about mexico?

bledito - 7-12-2014 at 06:18 PM

I always thought the saying was, "What burst your bubble?". Mine so far I guess, when in Cabo, is the relentless timeshare hawking. It just gets annoying. reason why, while I was considering Cabo as a part time home I decided on the East Cape instead. no timeshare hawkers there so far.

Alm - 7-12-2014 at 07:24 PM

Quote:

I am like a kid in disneyland when it comes to baja or all of mexico, love it, love it. Not to be negative and it probably will come out that way but what if anything actually popped YOUR bubble about mexico?

Nothing so far, but, hypothetically, it would take same things as with YOUR bubble.

Or anybody else, for that matter. Repeated violence. Depends on how often and how much. There are a lot of things not to love and even not to like in Baja, some of them guys have already mentioned, like over-development. And there are others - omnipresent theft, dirt, piles of garbage on the shores or even in arroyos in town. I think, what will eventually make my living here impossible and meaningless, is not a violence or theft or garbage, but over-development and Americanization.

Marc - 7-13-2014 at 06:39 AM

I leave at home the Rolex and the Nikon.

motoged - 7-13-2014 at 07:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Marc
I leave at home the Rolex and the Nikon.

Say that with a thick Russian accent....it makes up for the syntax :lol:

dtbushpilot - 7-13-2014 at 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by motoged

Quote:

Originally posted by Marc
I leave at home the Rolex and the Nikon.

Say that with a thick Russian accent....it makes up for the syntax :lol:

it is funnier in Russian....

SlyOnce - 7-14-2014 at 10:16 AM

This has not happened but if it did it would pop my bubble

2 + hour San Ysidro SENTRI car line waits at 5 AM on week days

desertcpl - 7-14-2014 at 10:35 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bledito
I always thought the saying was, "What burst your bubble?". Mine so far I guess, when in Cabo, is the relentless timeshare hawking. It just gets annoying. reason why, while I was considering Cabo as a part time home I decided on the East Cape instead. no timeshare hawkers there so far.

exactly,, we was looking at Cabo also,, god was the time share people beyond annoying, couldn't wait to get out of there

bajabuddha - 7-14-2014 at 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by desertcpl
exactly,, we was looking at Cabo also,, god was the time share people beyond annoying, couldn't wait to get out of there

I wasn't looking for anything, just visiting, but had the same experience and the same reaction in January, 1996.... haven't been back since.

DanO - 7-14-2014 at 06:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by SlyOnce
This has not happened but if it did it would pop my bubble

2 + hour San Ysidro SENTRI car line waits at 5 AM on week days

^^^^THIS^^^^WOULD^^^^SUCK^^^^

On a slightly more serious note, theft has always been a problem, but after being forced to buy my dirtbikes twice (once from the dealership, the second time to fund the efforts of the local policia in locating and returning them), I learned to stop leaving anything of significant value at my place. Broken windows and tequila are cheap to replace.