Anyone Been to Baja Lately???

Hi all, havent been online in a long time.  Has anyone been down to Baja lately?  We are planning on heading down there for three weeks in May, primarily Sea of Cortez
side.  Other than spending a night somewhere after we cross over, first real stop will be LA bay then southward.  We plan on pulling our kayak trailer with a couple kayaks, do a combo of tent camping, staying in a few motels, do a little fishing, hopefully some snorkeling, etc.  No real itenerary, never driven down there, just gonna wing it, see how/what areas we like there.  Any suggestions from anybody in the know would be appreciated.  Being a baja newbie, am of course worried about crime, getting yaks stolen, or worse getting killed!!! On the other hand many have said once you get down south aways its pretty nice/laid back there. One good thing is my wife speaks fluent spanish.  Ive heard also you get some serious westerlies on the Sea of Cortez side that can go from 0-60 in an instant and can and will blow one out to sea never to be seen again!  Lots to see/learn on this first trip I guess.
Thanks,
Walter

its been 15yrs since i went. i highly reccomend camping at santispac beach just south of mulege. they have a little resturaunt/bakery at the beach. there are little islands close by to explore,while paddling the crystal blue waters. we would fill-up our game bags with the little picante clams and steam them up at the beach over few pacificos at night. we got them by freediving for them. the town of mulege is close by for resupply. baja is bliss.

Thanks KayakJack.  I was planning on Santispac stop as well.  I think though things have gotten a bit more dangerous, especially the past year or two, especially in the north on the drive down.  Ive been reading more and it sounds a bit scary.  Americans being oulled out of campers, tents, autos at gun point, women raped, vehicles, money, gear being stolen, some of this happening as far as 200 miles down from the border.  I know it doesnt happen to everyone and I know it can happen here in the states as well, but at least here, I can arm myself.  Down there seems to me it seems to reinforce the old cliche....when guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns..... not sure I want to put myself at the mercy of some south of the border gangbanger with no protection. May think about going to plan B.

Ojos_raros just came back from Baja. You should ask him about it.

I was there one year ago. No problems at all.

I was looking over an intelligence bulletin Wednesday and it said there were an estimated 2300 Mexican law enforcement officers killed last year in Mexico. Kind of scary, but I'm going anyway.

I guess a favorite intimidation tactic of the drug cartels/gangs there is to behead some of their victims, to date I think mexican officials, police, etc, and plant the head in a strategic location in hopes of obtaining maximum effect. Is it only a matter of time til this happens to an American tourist???  Kinda scary, yes.  Unfortunately this is affecting the tourism industry greatly down there, from what Ive read in some areas 30 to 50% reduction. 

Hi Jon here. I drive, or rather should say drove, down there about 10 times a year. Not anymore- until it changes. Yeah I speak Spanish, my wife is from Mexico, and my brother in law is a Fed cop there. That won't  make a diff to the people who pull me over if they have bad intentions and I am not going to risk it. I mean, they have even considered having aides down there who act as go-betweens between the local cops and the people who are pulled over- to try and discourage the cops and other people there from continuing their shenanigans.

 It's not like before when you just had to occassionally fork over 40 bucks. It's like, you get out of there with the clothes on your back, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, or worse. That's not to say you will have problems, just know that yes it is a real factor that you have to weigh. I'm only flying in and going further south- like flying into Loreto, La Paz, Cabo, or the mainland. But you won't see me in my car within 7 hours of the border.
http://www.bluewaterjon.com/

Hi Jon here. I drive, or rather should say drove, down there about 10 times a year. Not anymore- until it changes. Yeah I speak Spanish, my wife is from Mexico, and my brother in law is a Fed cop there. That won't  make a diff to the people who pull me over if they have bad intentions and I am not going to risk it. I mean, they have even considered having aides down there who act as go-betweens between the local cops and the people who are pulled over- to try and discourage the cops and other people there from continuing their shenanigans.

 It's not like before when you just had to occassionally fork over 40 bucks. It's like, you get out of there with the clothes on your back, if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, or worse. That's not to say you will have problems, just know that yes it is a real factor that you have to weigh. I'm only flying in and going further south- like flying into Loreto, La Paz, Cabo, or the mainland. But you won't see me in my car within 7 hours of the border.
http://www.bluewaterjon.com/

Has it changed since last January? I drove as far south as Mag Bay. Never had one problem with locals, cops, or soldiers.

A lot of the stuff Ive read about seems to have happened within the last 6-7 mos.  There are some first hand, not media hype, posts by several of the people who were actually the victims of the violence on Iwindsurf forums.....reading their accounts was/is downright spooky! We are talking they were giving themselves last rites type spooky here!!!  I think for sure its plan B for us, kind of a disappointment as I was really looking hoping to be able to explore the area a bit. 

Walter, I read your PM but will reply here since it may benefit others as well. I just got back from a trip I guided for some locals to Bahia de los Angeles. No post because it was mainly a Sea Kayaking gig and the fishing was so-so. I felt the same way as you before going and crime hasn't let up one bit since the 1st of the year and change over in government. Mahi is right about the assault on law officers there by the cartels. They're losing as many guys as we are in Iraq! with that said I had a great drive down towing a trailer of yaks. It was uneventful and I made it to La Bay in 12 hours of straight driving.

 I crossed the border at 7:00 am when all the methhead gangsters are going to bed. I wasn't as familiar with the road from Tecate to go that way so I crossed in Tijuana. This is your first indicator of how your trip is going to go. Getting waved over by the federales usually means they need time to phone their buddies ahead and let them know another gringo towing toys is headed their way and to save them a cut. I never even look at them and always position in the center lanes. Once across I made my way towards the toll road at playa de tijuana. I was so nervous about running the 2 mile quantlet of cops through TJ that I let a bus get in front of me. He prevented me getting over and I missed the exit. AI YAI YAI I'm now driving through downtown TJ. Rather than pull over and ask directions I kept cruising towards Rosarito (gangland central) The nice thing about the toll roads is that it bypasses Rosarito and your worst fear is paying a $50 mordida to a crooked cop. The actual crooks use the free road. So there I am on the free road sh@#ing bricks and after 30 minutes I see a sign to the toll road.

I cruise trouble free to Ensenada where I usually stop to get my tourist card, fishing license, and Island permits. Not this time; I took care of all that in San Diego the day before when I purchased my Mexican auto insurance.This is the way to go, so what if the money stays here in the US, you'll have plenty of opportunities to "support the locals" down there. The toll road ends right before Ensenada and after that there are a few military checkpoints between there and El Rosario. I always gas up before making this leg even if I still have over half a tank. This stretch of road is really the last concern of the drive. It's open country from there and you'll see plenty of trucks but not so many people from there on out.

My amigo Antonio Resendiz saved a palapa for me at his beach side resort Campo Archelon. It was the coldest I've ever seen in Baja but the weather was clear for island kayaking and we fished for Bonita and Sand bass. The variety of fish that I've seen there in years past was missing but we gorged nightly on Ceviche from what fish we did catch. Antonio told me about he 36 gringo homes there in LA Bay that were all burglarized and when they caught the guy, the drug lords paid the cops to let him go. Things are bad everywhere not just north. Law abiding Mexicans are furious with their government and the police.

The drive home was as uneventful as the way in. I guess it's true that all the trouble happens at night. I did however decide to take the Tecate Route back home rather than cross at Tijauna again. Much better, it's my new way. I did manage to get turned around though in Tecate and ended up driving to hell and back through neighborhoods and back alleys. I asked a drunk walking down the street -Donde es Ruta de Tecate. He looked at his beer which happened to be a Tectate and gave me the cheers wave. I finally got in at the border crossing and was never so thankful to be back on US soil.

I love Baja and theres little that will deter me from going especially if I'm working. I've realized that as long as you travel during daylight, stay above board and always maintain the spirit of adventure, Baja will take care of you and recharge your batteries. My next trip down is May 23rd-27th plenty of spaces available. I'll even drive your boats down for you if you don't want the hassle.
-HAWK

Glad you had an uneventful drive. Reports are your colleague Jen at SD's big paddle shop Aqua Adventures has curtailed her N. Baja trips. That says a lot to me about the situation - I believe this shop pioneered a lot of Baja sea kayak routes.

Thanks for the Report SwellRider...

 Man, what a Read... I could just imagine running through those back alleys in TJ... Yikes!!!

 Glad your trip was uneventful.. '

I'm also bummed that it looks as though I've missed my oportunity to exsplore Baja

Danglin, I don't think you've missed your chance, you just have to find others to make the journey with you. One gringo American rollin deep on the Mex hwy 1 with a trailer of beautiful, expensive kayaks is scary as hell! A group of Gringo American men caravaning for fish,  hopped up on tequila and bravado; now theres an international incident! Are you in

                                        " Getty UP "

Ive been there lately. We spent 2 weeks there, from Dec 26 - Jan 10. We were paranoid about crossing too so we decided to caravan with 2 other cars. Check out www.bajanomad.com