BajaNomad

Planning trip to Baja, wondering about safety

utahtobaja - 1-30-2017 at 03:50 PM

Hi all, I'm new to BajaNomad. I enjoy reading everyone's posts. I wouldn't say I am a seasoned traveler to Baja but I wouldn't say I'm a rookie either. I've taken several camping trips to Northern Baja, stayed in houses umpteen times as well.

I'm aware of the safety rules the veterans here post about, like not driving at night, staying away from drugs, etc... What I am wondering about is political safety at this point. How are the people reacting to gringos right now? I am sad I even feel like asking this as I love my Latino neighbors and wish they could know that even though we are on different sides of the border.

mtnpop - 1-30-2017 at 04:12 PM

Well most of the locals we talk with are so p**ssed with their own govt right now they don't seem to worry with us.They talk about both and shake their heads mostly like we are....
Of course we are way south "Mulege" but the Mexican economy is hitting the working stiff pretty hard...
Can't say for closer to the border...
Protests here are about fuel prices, not border walls...
gotta love em, they still come to work every morning...

shari - 1-30-2017 at 04:37 PM

Trump is the talk of the town in our village and locals are very curious how gringos feel about it. Opinins are pretty negative about his reign and particularly about the wall and deporting Mexicanos who have lived in the states for ages...but I dont see any backlash on gringos who live here at all...as mentioned before, Mexicanos arent pleased with their government either.

bajaguy - 1-30-2017 at 04:41 PM

No problems that I have run into in Ensenada. We discuss things on both sides of the border, laugh and have a beer or two

mcnut - 1-30-2017 at 04:54 PM

We are planning to head down with our travel trailer for most of March.

Anyone have a few spare Hillary (or Bernie) bumper stickers laying around????

Bruce

Alm - 1-30-2017 at 06:45 PM

Mexicans have enough brains in their head to know the difference btw the US president and gringos living/coming there. Unless the new president declares actual war, tourists have nothing to worry about. Unlike some other countries' mass media there does not engage in brain-washing people against their neighbors.

DENNIS - 1-30-2017 at 07:13 PM


I talk daily with the local folks, and their emphasis is on their president. Of course, they're full of typical Mexican graciousness and prefer not to be insulting. but their minds are an open book.
I don't press the issue.

DENNIS - 1-30-2017 at 07:15 PM

Quote: Originally posted by Alm  

Unlike some other countries' mass media there does not engage in brain-washing people against their neighbors.



Correct. They leave that to the government.

DENNIS - 1-30-2017 at 07:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by shari  
Trump is the talk of the town in our village and locals are very curious how gringos feel about it.


Anyone asks me one word about my president.....I turn and walk away. The person asking is just looking for trouble.

DaliDali - 1-30-2017 at 07:43 PM

Quote: Originally posted by shari  
Trump is the talk of the town in our village and locals are very curious how gringos feel about it. Opinins are pretty negative about his reign and particularly about the wall and deporting Mexicanos who have lived in the states for ages...but I dont see any backlash on gringos who live here at all...as mentioned before, Mexicanos arent pleased with their government either.


What a great opportunity for you, as a respected pillar of the community, to educate anyone who asks.........

The wholesale deportation of Mexicans is not on the Trump agenda.
The deportation of criminal aliens, not only some Mexican nationals, but any illegal immigrant having a violent felony conviction is subject to being removed.

The wall...is to slow down, as much as physically possible, the unlawful entry into the USA.
Lawful entry is welcome.....do it right and do it legally and no one bats an eye.

In my community, the nice lady who runs the tienda near me asked about Trump and what I thought. I told her the above and went on to say, that the government of Mexico requires me to live in MX legally, and if caught without the proper visa documents, I may be deported and or fined and directed to get legal.
The exact same thing that the government of the US requires of people living there. Just be legal.

She nodded in agreement.

Immigrating into the US is not a right.....it is a privilege....immigrating into MX is not a right......it is a privilege.

amigobaja - 1-30-2017 at 07:46 PM

Stopped a couple days ago at a military check and a soldier while holding a gun asked my buddy if he liked Trump. My buddy did not know exactly how to answer that. He was happy to get back in the truck and be out of there.

nbacc - 1-30-2017 at 08:14 PM

Don't talk about anything political............safer that way

aguachico - 1-30-2017 at 08:34 PM

Quote: Originally posted by utahtobaja  
What I am wondering about is political safety at this point. How are the people reacting to gringos right now?


As always, be respectful. Avoid talking politics whether you are liberal or conservative. If anyone gets in your face, just remind them that Mexico has a southern border as well and the atrocities are well documented.

enjoy.

Nashville Frank - 1-30-2017 at 09:19 PM

Quote: Originally posted by DaliDali  

The wholesale deportation of Mexicans is not on the Trump agenda.
The deportation of criminal aliens, not only some Mexican nationals, but any illegal immigrant having a violent felony conviction is subject to being removed.

The wall...is to slow down, as much as physically possible, the unlawful entry into the USA.
Lawful entry is welcome.....do it right and do it legally and no one bats an eye.

In my community, the nice lady who runs the tienda near me asked about Trump and what I thought. I told her the above and went on to say, that the government of Mexico requires me to live in MX legally, and if caught without the proper visa documents, I may be deported and or fined and directed to get legal.
The exact same thing that the government of the US requires of people living there. Just be legal.

She nodded in agreement.

Immigrating into the US is not a right.....it is a privilege....immigrating into MX is not a right......it is a privilege.


Well said DaliDali!
I've lived in 3 foreign countries (in Europe and South America) for several years and every one of them was very tough on anyone entering their country. If you were passing through, good, just make sure your gone when you're supposed to. And they watched carefully! If you were going to take up residence, you'd better be prepared to go into various government office to arrange everything, over a period of several months, and pay for the privilege!

We, in America, have been shooting ourselves in the foot on several fronts:
1. Not having a workable immigrant and foreign worker policy, that allows for a healthy, reasonable flow of people into our country, thus cutting down on the "sin papeles" (without papers giving them permission to enter) problem.
2. Leaving our border wide open for anyone to "saunter" in. Having lived right on the border at Ft. Huachuca, AZ, I saw the immensity of the task of securing our nearly 2,000 mile border. No way to keep them from going over, under, around! And the 5,500 miles we share with Canada is mind boggling. Both of these are major weaknesses! Why can't modern technocrats figure out something?
3. Not realizing the strength that comes from regular infusion of "aliens" into our society. The majority of us are of "alien" stock in America. Its what sets us apart from the rest of the world! I've seen it first hand.
4. Not having the will to make sure those just passing through or on a time-specific visa leave the country! One of our big problems!! We think people will act as us and will honorably leave. Then when we try to locate them, we can't find them. We could lower our unemployment numbers if we would just hire say 80,000 clerks (and not police/ICE/agents/DHS) tasked with doing the necessary paper work and followup work to keep our visitors in line! Then, call in the feds if they've disappeared. Much better than hiring 10,000 guys and gals to sit around on the border with guns.

There's more, but I'm stopping here. I'm not opposed to the temporary bans that the Pres has come up with, because our government has to make sure its policies are functioning properly in this area. Under the previous regime it was VERY lax!

No one's rights are being infringed. So what if they have to cool their heels out of the country for a few months, its not life threatening to them. But it might be life threatening to us!

Asi es la vida!



161118-us-mex-border-fence-cr_03_3c98898a6cb9ef71f22ab521ce8e411b.nbcnews-ux-1024-900.jpg - 109kB



[Edited on 1-31-2017 by Nashville Frank]

[Edited on 1-31-2017 by BajaNomad]

David K - 1-31-2017 at 07:49 AM

Night driving is not good because you miss scenery, and only dangerous because of animals on the road. Cows, horses, burros, foxes, it's a zoo out there!

utahtobaja - 1-31-2017 at 07:54 AM

Thank you to all of you for your replies. I appreciate the feedback and the open discussion that we can all have while respecting people's opinions on this forum.

I will definitely avoid politics while in Baja and focus on being respectful and caring.