“MY BEACH…MY WAVES!” INSISTS KAREN AND KEVIN

Originally Published in Western Outdoor Publications the Week of July 12, 2025

No question about it.  Baja is booming.  There isn’t a week that goes by that someone doesn’t ask me about real estate or a real estate agent. 

Or they arrive at our restaurant and during conversation they tell me they are looking for real estate or have already purchased their house, condo or lot.

It’s probably a bit like where you live.  You remember bare land and empty hills that are now blanketed with development.

In our case, the magic word is “beachfront” or “ocean-view.” 

I don’t know many folks who come here to buy a piece of “dusty desert.”   You can do that in plenty of places in the U.S.

Nope.  I get it, everyone wants that dream home or vacation spot.  It’s an attractive proposition. 

I mean, relatively speaking, purchasing down here with a view or great location is expensive (in my small brain). Easily approaching or over that 7 -figure price tag.

But, unless you’ve got really deep pockets, there’s no way you could touch this kind of real estate in the U.S. where 1 bedroom condos fetch those same 7-figures.  OUCH.

So, let’s buy in Baja!

From where I’m sitting right now in my office, I look around and see lots of very expensive custom houses surrounding the nearby hills. 

The local colonial houses are all being snapped up as well and being “remodeled” and updated by new owners as well. There’s a huge ridge of condos behind us now and new construction can be seen everywhere.

Baja is a good place to set up.

There’s just one catch.  And it’s a big one.  It’s in the fine print somewhere.  I’m sure of it.

Even if it isn’t, there’s that saying “Ignorance of the law is no excuse.”

A few years ago, a bunch of homeowners who owned some pricey villas on a local bay, put up a dirt berm to block the ingress to the beach in front of their homes.  A 3-foot high dirt wall blocking the road. 

It surely prevented folks from driving over to water’s edge.

That included anyone who didn’t own one of the beach castles there in the enclave.

Well, it also prevented dozens of panga captains from getting to and from their fishing boats.  This was a spot they had been using for generations.  It’s how they made their living either as commercial fishermen or taking clients sportfishing.

Several local pueblo villages and their resident families depended on the use of this beach.  Like several hundred people.

Well, the homeowners manned the barricades and railed against the locals that  “WE OWN THE BEACH.”  And “destroying their view from their homes” and “no privacy” Blah blah blah.

It got pretty tense.   Folks living off the sea pretty much hand-to-mouth rallying against indignant entitled obnoxious rich gringos feeling under siege in their beach castles.

The homeowners weren’t backing down. 

So, in comes the cavalry.  And it wasn’t to rescue the beleaguered homeowners.

The government sent in a bulldozer to knock down the barriers. Problem solved. 

Let’s get back to work.  The kids need food!

Stuff like this happens more often than you might think.

Here’s the thing.  You are welcome to build that dream house or move into that beach villa.  But you do NOT and CANNOT own the beach.

The beach lawfully belongs to the people.  You are not entitled to block access or chase people off “your” beach, Karen!

You are not entitled to build barriers, berms, walls or fences that block the right to enter the beach. 

Certain activities might get waivers for example a water-front restaurant, but that still does not allow the business owners to stop whoever wants access to the beach and water.

It might mean you’re gonna get folks messing up your gorgeous view or loud music you’d rather now hear.  Or people splashing in your ocean and more trash than you want. 

Or not.

But it could happen.  Pick your spots carefully.  

Understandable.

 The reality is that the beach belongs to you, but not exclusively to you.   You have to share and play nice with everyone.

That’s my story!

Jonathan

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Jonathan Roldan has been writing the Baja Column in Western Outdoor News since 2004.  Along with his wife and fishing buddy, Jilly, they own and run the Tailhunter Sportfishing Fishing Fleet in La Paz, Baja, Mexico  www.tailhunter.com .  They also run their Tailhunter Restaurant Bar on the famous La Paz malecon waterfront.  If you’d like to contact him directly, his e-mail is: jonathan@tailhunter.com

Or drop by the restaurant to say hi.  It’s right on the La Paz waterfront!

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