Taco de Baja
Super Nomad
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Registered: 4-14-2004
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
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Mood: Dreamin' of Baja
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Back from a nice coastal trip
In the group this year were: Mextron, Mexitron's cousin, my two sisters, their daughters, a friend of my older sister, and myself, all in four
vehicles. Weather was very nice, no rain, not too hot, on the coast anyway, and ocean temps from 65 to 70. Plenty of good meals, over half from the
ocean. No surf at all except for an occasional double over ankles....
Started out with a bummer though. Going through TJ with me in the rear, I got pulled over for speeding  (which I was, but going with the flow of traffic) It happened just before the Playas de TJ exit. The cop said I
could pay the ticket now, or go to the station, I chose the station....he gave me vague directions "take the next exit, then make it right, you can't
miss it" I did, going slow, saw no station  ...He pulled me over again
and said “this will be a 1,500 peso fine, and how much did I feel I should pay” I asked if I could pay via credit card, he said “no, cash only, and
now” I was eager to get back on the road, and decided to play his game. I offered $40, He said “Senor, this is 1,500 pesos, $150 dollars, how about
$50 dollars”. Although I knew I was being taken, I really did not want to wait hours for a judge, and probably have to pay the full 1,500 pesos, as
I had been speeding….I paid him the $50, he never fully wrote out the ticket, and gave my license back.
Back on the road we made good time, slow through the towns and a good pace on the open road. It helped having two-way radios, the person in the lead
could tell the others when it was safe to pass, even in blind conditions.
On the road:
Stopping off at La Virgen to pray for a safe trip, warm water, surf, and good fishing:
Several hours later, the beach:
A cool, and foggy morning on our first full day:
We’re, sorry your morning coffee will be delayed do to circumstances beyond our control
Now here’s something you don’t see every day; the Mexican Navy stopping by to scout the area out as a place to set up an encampment to try to put a
dent in drug trafficking. I the scouting party was a guy with lots of medals and 3 stars on his lapel, another guy had 2 stars. The grunts all had
machine guns.
Not sure what this will mean for future visits. The owner of the beach is fine with us camping here, but this may completely wreck the feel of the
area 
Incoming!
planting the sign
what is says
The fishermen stopping by for some conversation, Tequila and ice cold beers.
Mexitron; my younger sister, Libby; Bernie; and Enrique
Here’s a dog that adopted us for a day and a half. The closest fish camp is probably 8 miles away. We gave him shade, some water, dog briskets,
dried deer meet from the fishermen, and left-overs from dinner. He returned the favor by barking and letting us know every time a coyote tried to
get close to camp in the middle of the night  Because he was white we called
him Paloma. He had very beautiful golden eyes.
Trinity and Libby going after the big ones
The creatue from the Baja Lagoon
Some memorable meals:
Mmmm Halibut, He got grilled with bacon and rosemary
Mmmm Cioppino
Blackened halibut with red beans and rice
A parting group shot
Moonrise in the desert on our final night
Sunrise the next morning 85degrees, 7:00 am
A parting sunset sometime during the trip.
Back to the border around 3 on a Monday, traffic was backed up to the bridge, we all got in line by 1-2 cars before the Mexican cops closed the access
ramp down. Wait was around an hour, very fast considering how backed up the traffic was. My two sisters got sent to secondary as they had some left
over bacon in their coolers, but otherwise a smooth transition back to reality
[Edited on 9-4-2007 by Taco de Baja]
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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Cypress
Elite Nomad
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Location: on the bayou
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Taco de Baja Thanks for the pictures and the report.
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mikeintj
Junior Nomad
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Registered: 8-27-2006
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I am interested in the area where you got the ticket. I thought that area was a no-ticket area, something that the Tijuana police made a big thing
about to encourage tourists!
For what its worth, when I used to live in Tijuana and got pulled over by the police I would usually start at $30, and slowly go to $40. peees me off
when I read about tourists going straight in at $100! I know the locals start at $20 and max at $30.
I am reminded of a Mexican friend of mine who got pulled over by the cops. They wanted their mordida so he offered them a bill. But he had folded the
bill so it looked like two bills! Unawares the cops took it. 5 minutes later the cops came past him again, and laughingly waved the money to him. They
saw the funny side.
[Edited on 9-4-2007 by mikeintj]
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bajalou
Ultra Nomad
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Location: South of the broder
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Great report Taco, thanks
No Bad Days
\"Never argue with an idiot. People watching may not be able to tell the difference\"
\"The trouble with doing nothing is - how do I know when I\'m done?\"
Nomad Baja Interactive map
And in the San Felipe area - check out Valle Chico area |
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toneart
Ultra Nomad
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That white dog sure looked well fed for a Mexican dog. Looks like he is somebody's pet. Also, you can see he is well socialized.
Good report, Tacos.
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Taco de Baja
Super Nomad
Posts: 1913
Registered: 4-14-2004
Location: Behind the Orange Curtain, CA
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Mood: Dreamin' of Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mikeintj
I am interested in the area where you got the ticket. I thought that area was a no-ticket area, something that the Tijuana police made a big thing
about to encourage tourists!
For what its worth, when I used to live in Tijuana and got pulled over by the police I would usually start at $30, and slowly go to $40.
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Here is map of where it went down. Happened around 5:45 am.
I tried several time offering him $40, but he wanted more.
Incidentally, on the way home we saw lots of gringos pulled over in small towns, something I have not seen before....Maybe the cops have moved out of
TJ and Ensenada to points south....
Truth generally lies in the coordination of antagonistic opinions
-Herbert Spencer
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Skipjack Joe
Elite Nomad
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Registered: 7-12-2004
Location: Bahia Asuncion
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| Quote: | Originally posted by mikeintj
They wanted their mordida so he offered them a bill. But he had folded the bill so it looked like two bills! Unawares the cops took it.
[Edited on 9-4-2007 by mikeintj] |
That's funny. A bit of their own medicine.
The latinos do that a lot in south america. Tourists rarely go to a bank in peru to exchange money. Instead it's done on the street. But you've got to
be careful because they'll fold their bills like that and flip them real fast while counting and you walk away with half of what they counted.
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
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Nice trip report and photos. Someone in your group is a good cook, that is for certain! Their morning coffee may taste a bit off, but dinner made up
for it, as far as those pictures were concerned.
Too bad about the mordida, but at least you didn't let it ruin your trip. I'm sure if you had insisted on going ahead to the station the second time
he stopped you, you would have been let go from there. If you had gone in, the fine most likely would not have been as high as you were quoted,
specially if you mentioned that you weren't comfortable paying ahead of time as the officer so politely offered.
I understand the Bacon Frustration in Secondary. We got pulled into secondary on our last trip. They didn't find anything in the back of the truck so
they moved to the cab. I have a taxidermy bullfrog purse that rides on our dash. The officer asked to look at it and said that anything made of animal
is "usually" not allowed. I explained to him that it was a stateside Ebay purchase, crossing my fingers the whole time that he didn't unzip the frog's
belly. If he had, he would have found a plastic zip lock filled with a white powdery substance. How was I going to convince him that it was only my
father in law Joe's cremains and not a white powdery drug that it so closely resembled? Luck have it, he did not unzip "Sappo Joe" and we didn't have
to go through that drama. Next time we'll stick Joe away, so he's not so obvious...
Thanks for taking the time to do the report. It was a good read.
P<*)))><
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Paulina
How was I going to convince him that it was only my father in law Joe's cremains and not a white powdery drug that it so closely resembled?
P<*)))>< |
Wait a minute. You take Joe with you, in the belly of a frog, to Baja?
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3810
Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DENNIS
| Quote: | Originally posted by Paulina
How was I going to convince him that it was only my father in law Joe's cremains and not a white powdery drug that it so closely resembled?
P<*)))>< |
Wait a minute. You take Joe with you, in the belly of a frog, to Baja? |
Dennis,
Let me clairfy, and appologies to Taco de Baja if I've morphed his thread. After Joe's services we handed out "Joe to Go" in small ziplock baggies. He
went to be spread in those special places where those who loved him and spent time with him remembered him most. Almost everyone who took Joe to Go
couldn't part with him, and still have him in their vehicles, or somewhere close by. The rest of Joe is at our home in Morro Bay, but where else for
us to keep our "ziplocked to go dad", but in the belly of a bullfog traveling through out Baja? I wish I had a photo....He'd die laughing if he only
knew.....
[Edited on 4-9-2007 by Paulina]
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
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Location: Punta Banda
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That would be a hard sell to a police officer but, I like it.
OK.......Back to our regular programming.
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David K
Honored Nomad
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Location: San Diego County
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Mood: Have Baja Fever
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This was a good photo spot for me too! Is the federally landing spot near here?
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mikeintj
Junior Nomad
Posts: 45
Registered: 8-27-2006
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This is what I remember reading
"Earlier this year, coastal condo developers successfully got the city of Tijuana to declare a road frequently used by tourists as a “no-ticket” zone.
The road connects the Mexican port of entry near San Ysidro to the tollbooth at Playas de Tijuana.
“We had cancellations from people who were stopped by cops,” said Gabriel Robles, president of the Resort Developers Association of Baja California,
who attributed $3 million to $5 million in lost sales to the problem."
from,
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/mexico/tijuana/20070617-9...
Seems not all the cops are listening!
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