Baja, Mexico- Report

[scott vos]

Rolf
on the way down, I was waived thru 6 military check points. On my way back home, I was searched at five of them. I purposely brought home 2 cases of "Modelo" (beer) in the Refer and the inspection usually stopped once I offered them some cervesa. My worst experience was at the border as "OUR" Homeland Security seamed intent on finding drugs or weapons of mass destruction in my boat or truck. 5 of them search for 1 1/2 hours and seemed disapointed when they came up empty handed

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

the federales used to search on the way down, now (in the last year or so) thay wave you thru.
it's on the way home that they stop you.

i think most of it is for show. that is, since most travelers of wealth are from the US, it's a "feel good" that the military is patrolling the highway.

coming back from Mexico across the border is absolute chaos. no wonder the illegals don't bother to stand in line (instead cross in the desert), it'd take them days.

Hint: use the carpool lane when returning to the US, regardless of how many you have in your vehicle. it really speeds up the process & there's no one writing $250 carpool violations.

[BK]

Great trip. Have to comment on driving at night in Mexico though. The warm asphalt attracts the animals such as cows. You will see many semi's with cow catchers on their front bumpers. If your car breaks down at night it is a big problem as there is no shoulder.
One question, since the Mac is 8 feet wide, do you feel that is the limit for driving in Mexico? I tow with my RV and it is 102"wide plus another 6" for the mirrors. Did any one come very close to you when passing from the other direction?

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

Have to comment on driving at night in Mexico though. The warm asphalt attracts the animals such as cows. You will see many semi's with cow catchers on their front bumpers. If your car breaks down at night it is a big problem as there is no shoulder.

in nearly 20 years of driving to and from Cabo we have learned one thing...don't drive at night.

start your day at 5am, end it at sunset.
it's generally takes 20+ hours to drive the peninsula, so make it a two "day driving only" affair.

[Divecoz]

Double Tractor trailers are everywhere in Mexico so your length shouldnt be a problem. I agree with Bobbie as well , having driven a bit in Mexico myself . . . drive during daylight hours only !!!!! Few to any shoulders in Mexico fewer turn off's so you dont want to break down at night with the Aldo busses running hull bent for election.

[richandlori]

Great Story Scott....if the Admiral is giving you a green light...start looking for that larger boat! That is what happend to me, and we plan on spending months and months down in Mexico...great to have confirmation of your great experiences, as great experiences are all I have ever seen!

our first "big" trip on THIRD DAY is planned for the sea of cortez after we head down the Ca/Mx west coasts...then hang out exploring for a few months...kind of our first "shake down" to cruising!

Hearing your story gives me an extra boost to tackle my list of upgrades: installing dingy davits now, ordering solar system now, ordering refer system now, THEN....I will be ready to go...with a few small items.....

Congradulation in using your Mac for more of an adventure than 80% of the 40ft yachts sitting in their slips! You make all of us current and former Mac owners proud! You should write up your story, add some photos and send it to the sailing rags....they just may publish it...

[scott vos]

BK
Heading down the Baja I encountered 3 different cars broken down and stoped in the lane as you mentioned, pulling off the road is not an option on most of the HWY. However, as most of the HWY is a long, straight desert road, you can see miles ahead for oncomming traffic, slow down and go around.
We saw a couple 35-40' motorhomes pulling 3-axel trailers with boats. I wouldn't recommend it.
In the mountians, you come within inches of the semi trucks as their trailers have to track across the line into your lane, and they don't slow down. Its pretty scary. Thats why I felt much better traveling late at night, from 9pm thru 6am I probably saw 3 semi's in 9 hours of driving. and i saw their headlights miles and miles in advance allowing me to slow down when passing.
I saw many dead cows and burrows along the roadside, this was late at night and with the headlight brights on, driving down the center of the two lanes, most of the time at 70+ mph. Let me also point out that because I didn't know what I was getting into driving down the Baja , I purchased the Admiral a one way ticket to fly down and meet me in Loreto. After the drive down, I insisted she fly back !

Scott

[aya16]

Scott you coming back to MDR mast up? are you going to sell the Mac?

[Bobby T.-26X #4767]

i've got some unbelieveable stories of things we've seen and experienced on the "drive only" over the last 20 years. i'll tell just one...

one of my family members lost their car on one trip heading south. it was a Jeep Cherokee. 300 miles south of the border.
going around one of the curves on the mountain road section and a truck ran them off. had to get towed about 50 miles.
vehicle was put inside a locked 10 foot high fenced area. they tried and tried but couldn't get the towing company to release the vehicle.

"manana, manana" they said. turned into three days of waiting so they purchased a "beater" from a local for $300 (burned a qt. of oil every 100 miles) and drove back to the states.
parked the beater in a LAX hotel garage where it sits today. the beater, that is. won't start, so they left it there for all of eternity. after four years it still hasn't been towed away by security ( i wonder what the parking fee will be @ $20/day x 365 days x 4 years?).

anyway, final paragraph of the story.

their intent was to drive back down to where the jeep was located in a F-350, fix it, and tow home if necessary. well, you know what happened. they arrived at the mexican tow yard 7 days later and the Jeep was gone. nobody knew anything, none of the people that they had spoken to a week earlier were there. nobody knew nothin'.

they did notice a truck in that mexican town with similar rims and tires that they had on their Jeep, but to no avail...

moral of the story is:
1) if you break down, try to fix and move yourself to the closest town immediately.
2) don't leave anything unattended (i.e. a broken down Mac or vehicle) because when you return it will be gone forever.

[BK]

Thanks Scott, I fiqured as much that my extra wide, 102" RV is too wide for Mexico, especially in the mountains.