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beachbum1A
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Registered: 6-17-2006
Location: Punta Banda, BC
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The Police really are helpful!
Every year a friend & I take a fishing/camping trip together, camping just off some beach and fishing from our 13’ tin boat or from shore. He
drives his Suzuki Samurai and tows a 4 foot square enclosed utility trailer – I drive my Suzuki Sidekick and tow our tin boat.
This recent trip was to Punta Morro Santa Domingo, about 7 miles west of Jesus Maria and 25 miles north of Guerrero Negro.
Driving down there (about 120 miles from our destination) Jim develops an over heating problems in his Suzuki Samurai.
Only able to drive 5-10 miles b4 it overheats and we have to stop, cool down and add water, then repeat!
We limped to within 40 miles of our destination but it's almost dark and we haven't eaten and need to find a place to spend the night (which we hadn't
planned on).
The Gods are smiling on us as we find a cheapo motel AND a restaurant nearby and spend the night there. I believe it was in the small community of
Punta Prieta. Next morning we make it to our destination and set up camp on the beach.
Then we drive into the tiny community of Jesus Maria and stop at the Police station to ask them for a recommendation for a radiator shop, perhaps in
Guerrero Negro some 25 miles away.
Next think I know there are 3 cops, outside, examining the engine in Jim's car! One suggests the water pump is bad. Another taps on the thermostat
housing thinking that the thermostat is stuck. After a bit one on them puts his fingers into the fan blades as the engine is running! IS HE NUTS! The
fan slows down and literally stops! Wow! He then explains that the problem is with the fan, that when the car is moving the incoming wind is stopping
the fan from turning and then the engine overheats because the blades are stopping the wind. Really? Ummmmm…….
This one cop tells us to follow him to his nearby house - which we do. He changes his uniform shirt for a tee shirt and starts taking the fan apart.
Has 2 Pit Bulls chained up nearby plus 2 other mongrel dogs sniffing around.
He drags out a electric welder and proceeds to weld 2 small pieces of re-bar to the fan! Then he puts it all back together. While this is going on his
wife (I presume) is washing clothes in a washing machine that is outside their house and on a wooden pallet with a long orange extension cord to it.
It's all back together and he proclaims that it is fixed! OK, how much do we owe you? $100 pesos!! IS HE NUTS! Jim can't believe it so he gives the
man $200 pesos and the guy doesn't understand why Jim feels is doubling the amount. We drive away shaking our heads and drive back to our camp. And of
course the damn thing worked perfectly all the way back to Ensenada. Crazy huh!! Only in Mexico......
[Edited on 8-10-2013 by beachbum1A]
Just do it!
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beachbum1A
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Posts: 442
Registered: 6-17-2006
Location: Punta Banda, BC
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Forgot to post this picture from the man's back yard as he was repairing the fan.
Just do it!
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woody with a view
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Location: Looking at the Coronado Islands
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Mood: Everchangin'
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cool story from a laid back place!
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Howard
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Registered: 11-13-2007
Location: Loreto/Manhattan Beach/Kona
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Mood: I'd rather regret the things I've done than regret the things I haven't done.
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I stopped by that delegacion municipal, police station, back in May looking for directions to Laguna Manuela. They went out of there way explaining
how to get there and had a smile on there face the whole time. It instantly reminded me of "the old days of Baja" and it also reminded me of why I
love Baja so much.
We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing
George Bernard Shaw
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TMW
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Registered: 9-1-2003
Location: Bakersfield, CA
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That's great. That's one of my favorite places to fish too.
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DavidE
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Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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When I encountered an especially amicable "modulo" or tiny commandancia, I would make an effort to bring them a case of made-in-USA Coca Cola not
because it is better but to them it is "exotic". They remember this stuff for years.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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beachbum1A
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Posts: 442
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Location: Punta Banda, BC
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
When I encountered an especially amicable "modulo" or tiny commandancia, I would make an effort to bring them a case of made-in-USA Coca Cola not
because it is better but to them it is "exotic". They remember this stuff for years. |
That's a great idea David. My friend was thinking of taking down a nice canned ham that they could heat up and share with their friends or family.
Maybe both now!!
Just do it!
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
When I encountered an especially amicable "modulo" or tiny commandancia, I would make an effort to bring them a case of made-in-USA Coca Cola not
because it is better but to them it is "exotic". They remember this stuff for years. |
I thought Mexicans didn't care so much foe US Coca Cola, given the different sweetness. They make their's with sugar from cane...... the US uses
sugar beets. [I think that's how it goes.]
Maybe they use the US stuff for interrogations. 
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shari
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Registered: 3-10-2006
Location: bahia asuncion, baja sur
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Mood: there is no reality except the one contained within us "Herman Hesse"
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thanks for the positive baja tale...actually that fan problem is very common...most of the time, they take out the thermostat and then weld the fan so
it is direct...works for us! excellent price and good for your bud for tipping him...central baja is great for displaying that OLD BAJA
culture...people are very friendly and quick to help.
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Actually the USA stuff is full of Archer Daniels Midland CORN SYRUP
And in my humble opinion GARBAGE
But it's something different to the cops and they'll enjoy it but secretly think afterward "I prefer Mexican Coca Cola"
But it's the THOUGHT that counts. Most Bajacalifornianos have never tasted USA Coca Cola. You bet they'll glance at the label written in "Ingles". I
sure as hell would not tell the cops it's better than Mexican Coca Cola. It's just the novelty.
Wanna another example?
Sometimes WALDO'S carries made in Canada, canned soup. Try it. You'll soon see just how big a screwing the USA soup canners have been giving the
public for the last 100 years. Canadian processed foods are light-years superior in quality. Like Canadian Robertson drive threaded screws. Phillips
drive? You have to be joking. The Canadians are smart enough to make affordable hand tools, like the ones that have the wolf head emblem on them.
-Enough Gossip
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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DENNIS
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 29510
Registered: 9-2-2006
Location: Punta Banda
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
And in my humble opinion GARBAGE
But it's something different to the cops and they'll enjoy it but secretly think afterward "I prefer Mexican Coca Cola"
But it's the THOUGHT that counts. |
My THOUGHT is they would prefer a box of Tecate Roja. Why go all that way to give them a box of GARBAGE?
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Paulina
Ultra Nomad
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Registered: 8-31-2002
Location: BCN
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It's always an adventure with Jim! We love to hear him retell the highlights of his journeys. Thank you for sharing this one.
P>*)))>{
\"Well behaved women rarely make history.\" Laurel Thatcher Ulrich
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Barry A.
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Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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Great story!!! Thanks, Beachbum.
Barry
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vgabndo
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Location: Mt. Shasta, CA
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Mood: Checking-off my bucket list.
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NOT, I repeat NOT a good idea to disable the fan clutch on a Sidekick. The extra stress is very likely to cause a failure of the bracket which holds
the the fan, fan clutch, and idler pulley. In my case, when they came off they destroyed the radiator. 50 km north of Loreto.
Three weeks and $1700. later, I got the POS home.
Search under my user name and "I can laugh now" for the four part horror story.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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BajaBlanca
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What a wonderful story!
I like the IDEA of bringing something from the states or canada as a little memento. It says that you thought of them when you were mucho far away.
And they surely will never have a chance to go north.
You can always add the Tecate, right?!?!
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Whale-ista
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Posts: 2009
Registered: 2-18-2013
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Sunny with chance of whales
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Baja ingenuity
Great report on Baja kindness and ingenuity. Thanks for a good news story.
Clearly, when you live/work far from traditional repair shops, this is the sort of skills you need to develop in many Baja towns.
For those who go to San Ignacio (town and/or lagoon), Maldo Fischer of Campo Cortes is descended from a German "Fischer" who jumped ship in Sta.
Rosalia during WWI and made it to San Ignacio where he married into a local family. The family also operates a small shop on the square, across from
the mission, on the northwest corner. Maldo's father used to greet visitors there. I'm not sure if he's still around? If so he'd be in his 90s by now.
How did a Fischer wind up in San Ignacio? The US had asked Mexico to embargo all German ships during WWI, including commercial freighters. The 1st
Fischer was a merchant marine and welder, who escaped after staying 2 years aboard ship in Sta Rosalia harbor.
To this day Maldo takes great pride in his ability to manufacture his own parts and tools and do repairs to cars, tents, cabins, pangas etc. at Campo
Cortes. (I certainly benefitted from these skills to repair my various cars and trucks, after bouncing down 50 miles of dirt road to get to his camp
when the pavement ended at town.)
I like to deliver supplies to his camp when I travel down to see the whales. He runs a great family operation and always makes people feel welcome.
\"Probably the airplanes will bring week-enders from Los Angeles before long, and the beautiful poor bedraggled old town will bloom with a
Floridian ugliness.\" (John Steinbeck, 1940, discussing the future of La Paz, BCS, Mexico)
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Barry A.
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Registered: 11-30-2003
Location: Redding, Northern CA
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Mood: optimistic
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| Quote: | Originally posted by vgabndo
NOT, I repeat NOT a good idea to disable the fan clutch on a Sidekick. The extra stress is very likely to cause a failure of the bracket which holds
the the fan, fan clutch, and idler pulley. In my case, when they came off they destroyed the radiator. 50 km north of Loreto.
Three weeks and $1700. later, I got the POS home.
Search under my user name and "I can laugh now" for the four part horror story. |
True, but in an emergency-----------------it WILL most often work. Have them replaced when you have the time.
I converted all my "clutch-fans" to solid-fans for the vehicles used in Baja before I ever went down. I have had too many "clutch fans" fail north of
the border. The only down-side that I have noticed is slower heating up to operational temps, and the wind-noise whine of the solid fan which you get
used to, especially in Baja. 
Barry
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luv2fish
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Registered: 5-8-2011
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| Quote: | Originally posted by Whale-ista
How did a Fischer wind up in San Ignacio? The US had asked Mexico to embargo all German ships during WWI, including commercial freighters. The 1st
Fischer was a merchant marine and welder, who escaped after staying 2 years aboard ship in Sta Rosalia harbor.
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Not to hijack the thread, but is there any chance that these people were N-zis ???
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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| Quote: | Originally posted by luv2fish
| Quote: | Originally posted by Whale-ista
How did a Fischer wind up in San Ignacio? The US had asked Mexico to embargo all German ships during WWI, including commercial freighters. The 1st
Fischer was a merchant marine and welder, who escaped after staying 2 years aboard ship in Sta Rosalia harbor.
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Not to hijack the thread, but is there any chance that these people were N-zis ??? |
Nope.
WWI was from roughly from June of 1914 with the Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. to November, 1919
The National Socialist German Workers Party (N-zi) was established in February of 1920 and grew in power and influence from then.
I doubt of a German sailor who jumped ship during WWI would even know or have involvement in The National Socialist German Workers Party.....unless he
was a member of A Partido Nacional Socialista Mexicano during WWII.
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acadist
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Location: Spanaway,WA
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Mood: Waiting for the Sun
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Rather than US Coca-Cola bring AW root beer, now there's a treat 
Dave
I moved to CO and they made me buy a little rod to make it feel like a real fish
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