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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8942
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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My San Ysidro crossing took 6 hours
After a great weekend in northern Baja, I drove my Jeep down 2nd Blvd (at 5 p.m.), and saw what looked like a traffic bottleneck 1 block west of Calle
Revoluccion. After 2 hours, I made it to the Smart & Final. By then, my Chihuahuas were whimpering and needed to go outside for a walk.
Gridlock was so bad, I was able to just walk away from the Jeep to walk the dogs for their relief. I kept the headlamps dimmed for the benefit of the
other drivers, tried to enjoy the music and avoid the toxic fumes being shared by others.
At 11 p.m., I made it to one of 12 gates that was open, and was able to run to the nearest gas station where the Wife and I were able to get out of
the Jeep and stretch our legs.
6 Hours in Gridlock??? Nomads Beware!
[Edited on 8-6-2013 by Ken Cooke]
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
Member Is Offline
Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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Uh, you need a SENTRI
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8942
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Uh, you need a SENTRI |
I keep putting it off, but things are getting worse, not better. Baja tourism is obviously rebounding, and the traffic is insane. I'm going to look
into SENTRI or a way to use Ready Lane (at the very minimum).
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Mula
Super Nomad
Posts: 1655
Registered: 8-16-2011
Location: San Nicolas y Lopez Mateos
Member Is Offline
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My husband crossed last Wednesday about 2 in the afternoon.
Took 2 1/2 hours and bad actor officer (?). He was pi$$ed.
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bajario
Nomad
Posts: 260
Registered: 1-7-2008
Location: Cardiff
Member Is Offline
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We got to Sentri about 12:20 yesterday afternoon and crossed at 1:10.
Had a friend get to the regular line at 1:00 and crossed around 6:15pm. He won't return until he has Sentri.
It was a zoo with escaped animals.
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Retireded
Nomad
Posts: 129
Registered: 10-4-2012
Location: El Sauzal
Member Is Offline
Mood: Wishin' I was Fishin', Oh, I am!
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It is a little longer drive, but I use Tecate. Average wait is .5 hr. Longest I have waited is just under 1 hr. Scenic drive beats hell out of
lines at that zoo at TJ. Lack of signs to help find ready lanes is just one problem in TJ. I won't go that way again.
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Retireded
Nomad
Posts: 129
Registered: 10-4-2012
Location: El Sauzal
Member Is Offline
Mood: Wishin' I was Fishin', Oh, I am!
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The one time I waited almost an hour was balanced out next trip by NO LINE- NO WAIT. Drove directly to booth and was waved through in less than a
minute.
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liknbaja127
Nomad
Posts: 463
Registered: 1-17-2012
Member Is Offline
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Wow, I though I had a long one, 4 hrs 45 min. that was 2 years ago!
have not used that crossing since. We try not to cross on sunday's.
even monday's can be a long wait.
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tehag
Super Nomad
Posts: 1248
Registered: 1-8-2005
Member Is Offline
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Tried Tecate last Monday at midday. 1hr 55min. Not worth the extra hour driving East and then back West.
Certainty is the child of ignorance, knowledge is the mother of doubt. Question everything!
http://bcsbirds.com |
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MMc
Super Nomad
Posts: 1679
Registered: 6-29-2011
Member Is Offline
Mood: Current
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I have waited 4.5 hours at Tacate. the report for TJ said 2 hours on the same night.
"Never teach a pig to sing it frustrates you and annoys the pig" - W.C.Fields
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Gaucho
Nomad
Posts: 405
Registered: 11-7-2008
Location: Laguna Beach/East Cape
Member Is Offline
Mood: Bohemia por favor...
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
| Quote: | Originally posted by bajaguy
Uh, you need a SENTRI |
I keep putting it off, but things are getting worse, not better. Baja tourism is obviously rebounding, and the traffic is insane. I'm going to look
into SENTRI or a way to use Ready Lane (at the very minimum). |
SENTRI: If there aren't any skeletons it's the best money you will ever spend...don't waste your time w/ the Ready Lane...
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BajaNomad
Super Administrator
Posts: 4994
Registered: 8-1-2002
Location: San Diego, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: INTP-A
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And also as a reminder - the "Best Time to Cross the Border" smartphone app has helped me greatly, with information updated on the hour.
It's been worth a wifi stop in Ensenada or Tijuana on multiple occasions.
Noted in this thread (among others):
http://forums.bajanomad.com/viewthread.php?tid=65937
More info:
http://articles.latimes.com/2013/mar/26/local/la-me-abcarian...
http://www.calit2.net/newsroom/release.php?id=1976
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting:
https://www.regionalinternet.com |
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55steve
Senior Nomad
Posts: 857
Registered: 4-24-2006
Location: Warner Springs, CA
Member Is Offline
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Damn Ken, that sucks huge! I've had waits close to that my last 2 crossings and vowed to not do it again until I had SENTRI - well I went through the
(semi-long) process and $120 later I'm good to go for 5 years.
[Edited on 8-6-2013 by 55steve]
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Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8942
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Its Pole Line Road time
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| Quote: | Originally posted by 55steve
Damn Ken, that sucks huge! I've had waits close to that my last 2 crossings and vowed to not do it again until I had SENTRI - well I went through the
(semi-long) process and $120 later I'm good to go for 5 years.
[Edited on 8-6-2013 by 55steve] |
$120 is money well-spent. It was slow enough in La Linea that my Wife took this great photo.
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SFandH
Elite Nomad
Posts: 7084
Registered: 8-5-2011
Member Is Offline
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Ken Cooke
At 11 p.m., I made it to one of 12 gates that was open, |
That's about 1/2 the number of gates, right?
Why are the others closed?
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David K
Honored Nomad
Posts: 64757
Registered: 8-30-2002
Location: San Diego County
Member Is Offline
Mood: Have Baja Fever
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I would rather drive than idle in a line for that time, wouldn't you?... Tecate is less than an hour extra driving time instead of Tijuana or Otay. It
is on a nice country road (Mex 3 or CA 94), and the wait is USUALLY much less. However, I have had the two longest waits ever at Tecate (3 hrs. and 5
hrs.) out of the many times I have crossed there. They were on a Sunday afternoon or a Monday of a 3 day weekend... so AVOID those times to come home
if at all possible.
That said, I am going to Baja far less often because of the economy, but the possible wait time is becoming a bigger deterrent for us. It just seems
that the government in charge now puts serving the (traveling) people at the bottom of its priorities.
I love Baja so much, but anything longer than 2 hours, after all the 'upgrades' they have been bragging about put in recently, is nutz.
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chuckie
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6082
Registered: 2-20-2012
Location: Kansas Prairies
Member Is Offline
Mood: Weary
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I wonder if this has anything to do with the massive terrorist alert across the world we have been reading about?
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Mexitron
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3397
Registered: 9-21-2003
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Member Is Offline
Mood: Happy!
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| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
I would rather drive than idle in a line for that time, wouldn't you?... Tecate is less than an hour extra driving time instead of Tijuana or Otay. It
is on a nice country road (Mex 3 or CA 94), and the wait is USUALLY much less. However, I have had the two longest waits ever at Tecate (3 hrs. and 5
hrs.) out of the many times I have crossed there. They were on a Sunday afternoon or a Monday of a 3 day weekend... so AVOID those times to come home
if at all possible.
That said, I am going to Baja far less often because of the economy, but the possible wait time is becoming a bigger deterrent for us. It just seems
that the government in charge now puts serving the (traveling) people at the bottom of its priorities.
I love Baja so much, but anything longer than 2 hours, after all the 'upgrades' they have been bragging about put in recently, is nutz.
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Same here David---used to three and four day trips on a whim (5pm Friday: "Hey Steve, What're you doing this weekend?" "Nothing." "Let's go to
Mex." "Okay!").
But now the whip of the bordermaster is blazened into my psyche and I have to make longer trips but much less frequently....
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Frank
Senior Nomad
Posts: 861
Registered: 6-5-2005
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
Mood: Is it time to leave yet?
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Mexitron
| Quote: | Originally posted by David K
I would rather drive than idle in a line for that time, wouldn't you?... Tecate is less than an hour extra driving time instead of Tijuana or Otay. It
is on a nice country road (Mex 3 or CA 94), and the wait is USUALLY much less. However, I have had the two longest waits ever at Tecate (3 hrs. and 5
hrs.) out of the many times I have crossed there. They were on a Sunday afternoon or a Monday of a 3 day weekend... so AVOID those times to come home
if at all possible.
That said, I am going to Baja far less often because of the economy, but the possible wait time is becoming a bigger deterrent for us. It just seems
that the government in charge now puts serving the (traveling) people at the bottom of its priorities.
I love Baja so much, but anything longer than 2 hours, after all the 'upgrades' they have been bragging about put in recently, is nutz.
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Same here David---used to three and four day trips on a whim (5pm Friday: "Hey Steve, What're you doing this weekend?" "Nothing." "Let's go to
Mex." "Okay!").
But now the whip of the bordermaster is blazened into my psyche and I have to make longer trips but much less frequently.... |
The border wait really puts the damper on quick weekend getaways. I guess Ill have to look into Sentri.
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Pescador
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3587
Registered: 10-17-2002
Location: Baja California Sur
Member Is Offline
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Tecate may not be the total answer either. Over on Bloodydecks, there is 5 pages of ranting about a couple of rogue cops who have taken the Mordida
to another level. A friend crossed there a week ago and got pulled over for a supposed speeding violation. Found out he was supposed to have his dog
in a cage, got asked what the bulge was in his front pocket and when he pulled out his billfold, a small pocket knife fell on the ground which the
cops says is a felony. The cop says this all adds up to 6,000 pesos but lets go look at the laws, so they head to his car, and he makes an offer for
2,000 pesos. Before he could get back in the line the cop already had another "tourist" pulled over.
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