Date:         Mon, 14 Jan 2008 15:29:12 -0800
Reply-To:     VW Doka <vw.doka@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         VW Doka <vw.doka@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Fw: MSNBC.com Article: Tourists shun crime-hit Mexico beaches
In-Reply-To:  <002301c856bf$921f0d70$6500a8c0@480037D956F7448>
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Baja is a funny place.  I've been going there since I was a child (think
late '60s), first to watch my Father race the Baja 500 & 1000.  Later, in my
teen years and beyond, to ride dirt bikes, camp, and race the Baja as well.
We were good for about 2 trips a month to Baja.

About every third trip, one of us would get caught in Tijuana for some
invisible traffic violation that would end up costing between $5 & $20
(after negotiations).  The only other losses we incurred were items that
went missing from the back of trucks when we weren't watching closely
enough.  I lost my favorite helmet that way.  Still miss it...

All in all, Mexico was awesome.  Once you got out of the cities, the people
were some of the friendliest and most helpful you could ever meet.  One of
the strangest things about Baja, and something we've always joked about, is
that you could be on a one lane dirt road out in the middle of nowhere, and
stop for a water break and leg stretch, and sure enough, some local will
turn up within a few minutes and say hi.  It's one of the odd, but common
things that happen down there.  Picture this... 5 or 10 dirt bike riders
sitting on the side of little dirt road 50 miles away from the nearest small
town.  Five minutes or so after stopping, down the road walks (yes, walks) a
local who just smiles and waves as he passes by.  I'm not making this up.
It happened all the time.  And I really mean 'middle of nowhere'.  I'm
talking about small dirt roads south of Gonzaga Bay, east of L.A. Bay, and
the like.  Strange stuff...

But I digress.  As time as marched on, things have definitely gotten more
dicey.  Unfortunately, for business reasons, I moved north from my home in
Encinitas to Sacramento, so my trips to Baja became less frequent.
Eventually, I even sold my share in my house (calling it a house is being
generous) in Gonzaga Bay.  However, my brother and many of my close friends
continued to go to Baja on a regular basis.  Weekend trips to Mike's Sky
Ranch, 3 or 4 day'ers down to Gonzaga Bay, and the occasional long trip to
San Felipe.  We're talking about 10-12 Baja regulars here: long-time, hard
core Baja travelers.  Well... as of today, all of these guys have stopped
going into Baja unless at least 3 vehicles and 8 or so people go together.
Four of them have been robbed, at gunpoint, of all their gear, including
dirt bikes within the past year (two separate incidents).  Another had his
truck and gear taken from him during a fake police stop on Hwy 1.  I'm sure
that trucks packed with ATVs and such make a more desirable target than a
solitary Westy tootling down the highway.

I've seen, and done, a lot in Mexico.  Some good, some bad, and I've had to
deal with the Mexican bureaucracy many times: I spent the night in the
Ensenada jail when I was younger (and I deserved it, too); had to shuttle
badly injured friends (broken back, collapsed lung, etc.) across the border;
we even had to "negotiate" the release of a good friends body from the
Tecate morgue so we could take him home to his family after he died on one
of our rides.  Things definitely operate differently down there and most of
the rules do not apply.  But there does seem to be safety in numbers, and do
recommend that people travel in groups on the highways when possible, and
always maintain a low profile.

99% of the people down there are still good people, it just seems that the
bad ones have gotten a lot worse.

That's all I have to say about that...

Happy Travels,

Jeff