That's My Story

CRIME & HONESTY IN BAJA – PUBLISHED Oct. 2004 – WESTERN OUTDOOR MAGAZINE BAJA BACKBEAT

Several weeks ago, I was having dinner in a beachfront restaurant with a bunch of my fishing clients. It was one of those famous great warm Baja sunsets. The restaurant with it’s white sand floors; requisite Tecate beer white plastic chairs; and palapa roof blended nicely with the aromatic garlic shrimp and grilled dorado being delivered in heaping portions to the table. Generous baskets of fresh warm torillas moved from hand to hand while generous dollops of salsa dropped into make-your-own tacos. As is typical among vacationing fishermen, the conversation drifted and rambled raucously between the day’s great fishing; the strength (or lack thereof) of various mixed drinks; and who-did-what-to-whom.

In the middle of all this, one of the group named Taylor stood up and announced that he had a story to tell. Taylor is an extremely successful salesman and adept speaker. He had kept the table rolling all evening with his philosophical observations on life.

“Today was one of best days I’ve ever had,” he started. “In fact, it was enlightening day.” He had everyone’s attention.

“This morning at the hotel, I put about $800 into a money clip and stuck it into my pocket. This afternoon, that money was gone. I looked all over my room; the hotel; the pool…everywhere! I really had no hope of finding it. As a last resort, I sent to the hotel receptionist and told them I had lost my money clip.”

“How much money was in it?” asked the receptionist? “Eight hundred dollars,” replied Taylor. “It’s right here, Sir. One of the camaristas (cleaning ladies) turned it in.”

“I was speechless,” said Taylor. “I come from a place where no one gives anyone a break. In my work, it’s dog-eat-dog. There are some of YOU at this table that would probably not have given me my money back!” he said jokingly. “However, I was always told that there are so many banditos in Mexico and here some little gal returns my money. It just made my trip that anyone could be that honest in this day and age and I just want you all to know that!”

I informed him that she probably turned in the equivalent of about 3 or 4 months salary and his mouth dropped. He went on to say he made sure to find the young lady and thank her plus give her a reward and proposed a well-received toast with his amigos.

I bring thousands of clients into Baja and one of the most frequent questions I receive is about crime and honesty. “Is is safe to bring my family?” “Can we walk the streets?” “What are my chances of being robbed?” “What are the chances we’ll get shook down by the policia?” I sometimes really just have to shake my head. I won’t deny there’s crime and some places are more dangerous than others, but I can say the same about many places in the states too. However, many of the questions I get are almost as unfounded as my Mexican friends asking me if it’s true that drive-by shootings take place daily on every Los Angeles street corner. (It’s what they see on Mexican TV all the time.)

I can only speak from personal experience and quite a few years of living and working in the Baja. I would say that crimes follow people and where there are the greatest concentrations of folks like Tijuana , Ensenada, Mexicali the incidence of crime will be highest. This is especially true nearer the border cities which also have higher numbers of transient population.

However, speaking in general of the majority of Baja, the response I usually give folks is that if you use common sense, it’s no more dangerous than most American cities and probably safer. Ergo, I wouldn’t leave the proverbial diamond ring on a barroom table and expect anyone to know anything about it 10 minutes later. Nor would I leave my wallet on the beach and expect someone to return it…but then again, someone just might. I mean, when was the last time you left your house or car unlocked in your home town? Where I live in La Paz, a city of almost 200,000, that’s pretty common.

One example I like to give was actually told to me by a Mexican police officer. In his example, if you were to lose your child in the U.S., chances are you’d think the worst. In Mexico, your child would probably be in someone’s home watching TV and 10 people would be out looking for you instead. When they found you, you’d be the one to get scolded for losing your kid! He admitted that unfortunately there is crime, but debated whether it was worse in Baja than anywhere else. Again, he stressed the use of common sense, e.g. do not camp on remote deserted beaches; do not leave valuables lying around; do not flash cash. He said that these were things people should do even in their own home towns. As far as trouble with police, he said most police take their jobs very very seriously and consider themselves professionals. Unfortunately, there are corrupt people and it’s unfortunate that so many old stories of mordida (bribes) are hard to extinguish. However, I still remember his words, “Americans should remember that we welcome our neighbors, but they should remember that they are guests and should act like guests. Our laws are our laws and just as America has it’s own laws. You would not go to a neighbor’s home and act improperly.”

More often than not, stories of great kindness and honesty abound. In one of my favorites, my amigo was traveling up the Transpeninsula Highway on his way back to the U.S. He stopped to eat in Loreto and accidentally left his briefcase with money, documents and identification, but didn’t discover it until he was nearly to Ensenada many hundreds of miles away. Frantically, he was able to call back to the restaurant where he had eaten. To his great relief, he was informed that someone was actually driving up the highway to find him. They had found his address and had intended to find someone to bring the briefcase across the border to his home some 700 miles away. He backtracked to meet the driver and gratefully found his briefcase and his contents fully intact.

In my own travels up and down the Baja, I’ve had my car towed out of sand by cows. I’ve had my busted vehicle stored for months by strangers until I could come back to get it. They never asked for a dime. I’ve been fed by folks who slept on dirt floors. One amigo drove 100 miles to a gas station and back to bring me gas and a hose clamp and refused to accept anything from me except some cans of soda and beer. I had one small hotel owner actually take out newspaper ads offering a reward for anyone who could help me locate a valuable camera I had misplaced because he felt so badly that I had lost it. (It was completely my own fault.) A famous sportfishing writer who came to see me when I lived on the East Cape accidentally left his own camera and diving gear in a duffle bag in the back of a taxi. It was worth thousands of dollars, but he climbed on a plane and flew off. He didn’t realize it was gone until he had been home a few days. The taxi driver didn’t realize it was in his back seat until several days later either ,but promptly and apologetically returned it to me to make sure it got to my friend.

Bottom line, you’re no more in danger in Baja than if you were at home. It’s probably no worse and in many chances, much better than in your own hometown. Sure, things can happen in Baja and do, but more often than not, they are aberrations as thousands vacationers visit Mexico yearly and have incredible experiences. Baja welcomes you, but still try not to leave your money on the floor!