This is the final stretch, the toy drive is on Sunday January 19, please help us make it possible.
There are 2 drop off locations, one in San Diego, Baja Bound Insurance, and you can send toys to"Toy Drive c/o Baja Bound Insurance Services, Inc."
750 11th Avenue #101
San Diego, CA 92101
Phone (619) 702-4292
Also if you are in the Rosarito area and want to donate, the drop of location there is Cindy's Mexican Insurance, they are conveniently located on the
main Blvd, at the Rosarito Beach Hotel Shopping Center
Blvd Benito Juarez #31, Suite 9
Phone (661) 612-2641
If you would like to donate toys or food but do not know what to get, there is a Paypal account, fernando@vivabajacalifornia.com
Note; We have a lot of soccer balls, we now need toys, bikes, dolls, etc.
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
Yesterday was January 6th, officially “Dia de Reyes” and many, many people bring gifts from the USA to México for friends, family, orphanages,
shelters were abandoned children live and more. They cross the border with no problems.
Well, we received for the Baja Nomad Dia de Reyes Toy Drive a large donation of soccer balls from a secret santa. You have all probably noticed that
I’ve been posting that we have enough soccer balls. It was a shipment of 480 soccer balls.
The good idea (I had) was to go to Baja Bound and get them all and since it is Dia de Reyes, just load them up in the family van and bring them across
all at once.
What can go wrong? We (the girls and I) just drive across with all those soccer balls and if we get a red light, well we just say the truth, it’s a
donation for Dia de Reyes and done.
Well, we went to BajaBound, loaded up the van with the soccer balls and headed south towards Good Old México. As we crossed, we got a Green Light,
Wow, Great! This is something we have never done, every year we do the “Contrabando Hormiga” that is when we smuggle gifts across in small quantities
by making many trips, getting friends involved in getting toys across in small quantities. This is probably the most time consuming part of all the
toy drive, getting the toys to México.
After getting the green light we continued but we got flagged down by one of the Mexican customs agents and pulled to a secondary inspection and to
make this story shorter, even thou there were 3 of us, it was just way to many balls so after 3 hours there they confiscated the balls and our van and
we were sent on foot.
They said that the balls are confiscated; I need to pay the fine for the merchandise that they figured at a value of $35 pesos each X 482 = $16,870.
15% IGI tax $2,530.00 + 16% IVA tax $3,104.00 for a total of $5,634 pesos in taxes. Above that there is a fine to get the car back which they did not
know the amount, I will have to go to Otay so they can tell me but they estimated about $5,000 pesos.
So, we are without a car and secret santa, I am so, so sorry we lost the soccer balls. This is what really hurts or were I feel terrible, because of
the gifts that were lost. As for the car, well they gave me 10 days to pay and I can’t afford that so we will start walking.
I asked the girls if maybe we shouldn’t do a toy drive and they both gave me a mean look and said I was crazy, we have to do a toy drive. Danielle
said that there is a silver lining here; we just don’t know what it is yet.
I guess we need soccer balls again.
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
OMG Ferna, that is terrible... is there not some authority who knows about your program and history of what you have done for so many years that can
release your vehicle, at least... if not return the donated soccer balls?
That is what I'm going to do at noon, a friend who has some connections at aduanas is going with me to Otay, better yet I'm going with my friend since
I don't have a car
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
Well, we're not getting the balls back at this time. We are getting an invoice from secret santa were it shows that the true cost of the balls is much
lower than what mexican customs figured so this should bring down the cost of the taxes and fines to about half of what they are asking for. This is
only to get the van back. In a separate instance, since the balls are embargoed / confiscated, we are going with a charitable organization and request
from the customs administrator that they, customs, donate those balls for the children. this might take a while and will probably not happen by the
date of the toy drive but if it works, we will have them for the next event.
I guess that without all this exitement it would be very dull organizing this toy drive
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
Sara and I feel just sick about these problems, and the loss of your van. We hope it is only a temporary loss. Your hard work has always been admired
by us, and we hope your efforts to get this all corrected work in your favor.
We only have 7 available delivery days left to do this, Baja Bound is closed saturdays and sundays.
Please wait no more, feel free to send all the toys you have now.
A well informed Baja California traveler is a smart Baja California traveler!
Please give what you can. I have participated several years, and my daughter is flying in from Colorado to attend. She and her boyfriend joined me a
couple years ago and agreed that this is an outstanding event to attend and support.
We look forward to seeing everyone and thank you for your support.
"If it were lush and rich, one could understand the pull, but it is fierce and hostile and sullen.
The stone mountains pile up to the sky and there is little fresh water. But we know we must go back
if we live, and we don't know why." - Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
"People don't care how much you know, until they know how much you care." - Theodore Roosevelt
"You can easily judge the character of others by how they treat those who they think can do nothing for them or to them." - Malcolm Forbes
"Let others lead small lives, but not you. Let others argue over small things, but not you. Let others
cry over small hurts, but not you. Let others leave their future in someone else's hands, but not you." - Jim Rohn
"The best way to get the right answer on the internet is not to ask a question; it's to post the wrong answer." - Cunningham's Law
Thankyou to Baja Bound
Mexico InsuranceServices for your long-term support of the BajaNomad.com Forums site.
Emergency Baja Contacts Include:
Desert Hawks;
El Rosario-based ambulance transport; Emergency #: (616) 103-0262
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