travel updates

Here's the scoop on the new $15.00 U.S. tourist entry tax. I drove down last week, 8/20/99 and went through the entire procedure. Don't believe everything you hear. I was stopped at the permanent drug check point south of Ensenada. After the drug inspection, I was pulled to the roadside where immigration filled out and issued me and Bob tourist permits. We asked if we could obtain extras to give to friends so they could fill them out ahead of time and were told absolutely not. The old pale blue visitor permit is no longer valid and they do not use them anymore. You can no longer go to Auto Club or to a travel agent and get permit blanks ahead of time.	The immigration officer looked at our birth certificates and drivers licenses and then gave us our papers. We were instructed to pay the tax at a Mexican bank. I asked if it was okay to pay in Guerrero Negro and was told yes. Other people I talked to tried to pay in Ensenada and ended up wasting hours driving around and waiting for the bank to open. The law only requires you to pay before leaving Mexico. Other people I know did not pay at a bank, but simply drove out of the country again. I am opposed to doing this. If you are not prepared to spend $15 to see improvements to tourist facilities, such as the roads, maybe you should just stay home.	The immigration officer was courteous, he spoke English far better than I speak Spanish, and his work only slowed us down about 15 minutes. Don't be a jerk and you won't have a problem. Come off like a smart ass gringo and there's no telling how long it will take you to get your papers filled out. I give everyone this same advise for the military check points and for the occasional police pull over. If you were in the U.S. and got stopped at an alcohol check point, you wouldn't smart mouth the cops there. So why do people do it down in Mexico? ? ?
If you are driving in Mexico you must have Mexican issued auto insurance. Last week a tourist without mex. insurance had a horrible accident. Because of no insurance there were significant delays in getting him to a hospital. I hear he is paralyzed and that it might been avoided with prompt transportation to a good medical facility.	Warning! Read this carefully ! ! ! There is a crackdown now being enforced in Baja for driving with an open container. I was stopped at an inspection point in Guerrero Negro as I drove back from hiring the band Saturday night. We had been in Vizcaino and drove through town to drop a friend off at his house. They were not messing around. We didn't have any open containers and they didn't hassle us. Just the usual "where are you from", "where are you going" sort of thing.	Don't drink and drive in Mexico. Don't carry empty containers inside the vehicle with you. If you do, be prepared to pay the price.
In 1992 I had a momentary lapse of concentration and hit this tope going about 45 mph. I bit my tongue and I broke a stabilizer on the front end.	Tope at edge of Guerrero Negro. Beware! ! ! This Topes was removed in 2000.	If you have traveled in Baja, then you know what a tope is. If not, the two photos to the left show the speed bumps that will tear the bottom of your car to shreds if you don't slow down to a crawl before going over.