Lets go surfing in Mexico

General Discussion
21

My grand mother built the first gringo house on the beach in La Mission, just south of La Fonda. It was about 1963 or so. The house was passed down to my Dad, and then to me.....From 1989 to October 2001 the house was broken into at least twice per year.  At first the break ins were hospitable, things like tosters, TV's Stereos, all kind of stuff you could replace from the Public Administrator sales etc.   The last 3 years the break ins got mean spirited....people would break in, take shits in the beds, break window, rip up carpet, break furniture etc...really evil shit.

Then in July of 2001 my next door neighbor got shot by a 22 during a robbery....in his house, at 12:00 noon, while he was talking on the phone.

I have a wife and kid.....the house was fantastic, 1,000,000 dollar view, right on the beach, nothing but white sand, and cold beers and bbq on the balcony!  Kept our boat at the Coral Marina, Yellow fin tuna, Mahi, Stripers, White Sea Bass... straight out, only a  1.5 hr boat rided, living the dream guys, living the dream.....I sold it right before 9/11.  I miss it, but I love my family and security too much.  Good by PITA Mexico, no more picking up some crack heads dump in my bed, or sweeping up glass in the living room.

I traveled the Northern Baja coast from 0-38 years old. Surfed every nook and cranny from TJ to where ever.  You might get lucky in Baja nowadays, but trust me, your luck will run out.  

I've seen it deteriorate long before all this current stuff going down.  Mexico is a Third World country just like any other arm pit of the World.  It's taken a long time for it to deterioriate..but it has. It was going to shit back in the late 80's...Good luck Mexico, you'll need it.

So if you want to travel to Mexico, make sure you go way South...way, way , way south. Way South like Equador, or Costa Rica.

22

Resinhead, that’s got to break your heart losing a little slice of (natural) paradise. I think you nailed it by identifying it as “evil sh%^”. There has been a severe attitude shift from alot of folks from south of the border. If you listen to am mexican LA. radio the talk is increasingly; “taking back what is ours”. Entitlement is an ugly trait.

ps. I think I remember your place. Had some good times in La Fonda. A friend’s sister moved to Rosarito a couple of years back into a “gated community”. The house was just built and didn’t come with a hot water heater. She asked her realtor (local) if he knew anyone that could install one and he recommended some guys and she hired them. While she was gone they stole everything in the place including her records. As far as justice or retribution she’s up the creek. Why don’t we have rights down there and they DEMAND rights here?

23

sorry to hear it.

24

Lenny The Ox; And your ancestral hands are unsullied?

 

ps. don’t know why your full message was deleted. You are no different.

25

Spain took it from the native populations…and tortuosly at that…the “Mexicans” took it from the Spaniards…then lost it to the gringos in a (fair) fight.

The Mexicans are no more entitled to “it” than Spain and, in turn, less entitled than the natives who were living a pretty spartan and lowly existence in the first place…which is to say…are you really trying to convince yourself that California would be better if the Mexicans took it back (or kept it)!? oh great…300 more miles of corruption and filth…AWESOME. morons. Frankly, they are lucky America got it’s mits on this state so that Mexico would have an example to strive for…200 years later.

You get the government you deserve…

 

 

26

TBlanks.

I deleted the message because I realised that is was a stupid and provocative thing to say and that if I thought about it what I really felt was sorry that things have got so bad.

I’ve had many unreal times in Baja.

I’m sorry it’s turned into a warzone.

My point is that sometimes people from the west (mostly America but other countries as well) who have a long history of violently appropriating other peoples resources and sovereignty have a blind spot when it comes to realising why other countries don’t dig 'em too much.

Maybe a better examination of history might provide a few clues.

27

 

But wait, there is more.

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/officials-say-gunmen-kill-17-at-party-in-mexico/19558786

28

I’m so frustrated with the world view that the west (United States) is the greater imperialist.  Japan against China,  Mongolia against the West and China , (too many victims to mention)  Spain against the world.  Portugal against the world.  England against the world. Catholics against the indigineous peoples of the Americas in a search for gold.  Jews and Arabs.

Lennox, no it isn’t mostly America (United States).  We’ve had a good run in the last century of dominating the weaker,  but that time is over.  Now we spend billions freeing oppressed peoples, and then setting them loose to do as they wish. This includes them turning their back on us.

We might be accused of wanting to buy their oil, but we no longer take it.

On a smaller scale, all against their neighbor.  No one is free of the blood on our collective hands. It is in our nature.

I don’t bring up Mexico’s trouble as a way to bash my neighbor to the south.  Every time I have a buddy go south on a surf adventure, I hold my breath.  Hoping they make it back O.K.  Awareness of the danger.

29

This song pretty much captures my feelings about Mexico, anymore:

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ckf45BotISs

30

It says alot about a country when you're afraid to drink the tap water.

31

"We got a kinder gentler machine gun hand"

also Neal Young

32

Boarders seem to bring out the worse in both countries.  Even back in the late 1960s and the 1970's there was violence around Tj and even Ensenada. I was held up 3 times down there. I also had my car broken into at cardiff. My house in Encinitas was burgerilized and don't even get me started on the crime in Oceanside! 

 The Truth is once I was past the populated areas and further south everything seemed to calm down. People were friendly smiled always helpful.  I have great memories of surfing the Baja and on down the mainland coast. 

33

…I tell your another point of view that is more real and might be not so nice for some body…

First, Mexico is bigger and not only baja calif

and have plenty of fine waves in other places and without any violence.

Second, the USA middle (upper middle) class perspective is a reality very different than low/poor classes round the world.

so, cross the border in a new 4x4 truck or whatever like that, full of boards and gear is perceived in a bad way. This is very difficult to explain or to understand (due to what I say previously)

You re not a surfer, not a tourist, you re the enemy for a % of people.

And you re enter to another context but bringing there your reality…the % to have a “crash” is high.

Remember, people spend their lives to try to buy a new car or whatever and in USA is “nothing” at all.

 

-If you travel smart and alone in a normal way not talking out loud and with low profile, you dont have problems anywhere, included Hawaii

Always, and I mean always the people who have problems are in one of these categories (high profile, tourist- look- a- like, problematic people, fighters, rich trying to be rich in a poor context, people that have kind of a sticker in their faces with words like: gringo)

If you travel the world or have friends who do that or are wise and know how to “read” the world, you notice the “hate” to Gringos, Germans, Argentinians, Brazilians (depends on what part of the world you are, but these are the most “hated”).

Some for the gov, some for the idiosyncrasy.

 

 

34

Reverb, I agree with what you said and it is true about how you present yourself.But the predators will always be there and they are increasing in numbers and boldness.

35

That is the problem Even the low key guy. The one attempting to put out the good vibe and try to give back more then what he takes is a Target of the increasing violence.

36

At what point do they call it a civil war?

http://www.aolnews.com/world/article/bodies-found-at-northern-mexico-dumping-ground/19566970?icid=main|main|dl1|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.aolnews.com%2Fworld%2Farticle%2Fbodies-found-at-northern-mexico-dumping-ground%2F19566970

37

Been watching this this thread with some interest. Everyone brings their prejudice, including me.

Just got back from mainland Mex and it was epic. Will travel down to TJ this week to do volunteer work. Yes, there's risk but Mexico's murder rate is half that of Brazil.

There isn't an easy solution. I think a lot of the crime can be explained by population pressure. There were maybe 10,000 indigenous people living in Baja before the Spaniards came. We live in a desert, and today Tijuana is bigger than San Diego with nearly 2 million people.  

One of the saddest things I've seen in Mexico in recent years is increased indigenous drug use. It used to be unheard of. Now there are junkies providing a domestic market to the narcos. In other words, our (American) drug war is actually creating junkies all over the world. Meanwhile, illegal drugs have never been more available in the U.S. Glenn Greenwald for Cato: http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=10080 

Sincerely,

C  

38

EAT ME C-Slug, What is happening in Mexico is NOT THE FAULT OF THE US. DON’T TRY TO BLAME THE AMERICAN PEOPLE OR THE GOVERNMENT ON THE PRE-EXISTING WIDESPREAD CORRUPTION OF MEXICAN OFFICIALS. IF ANYTHING THE DEGRADATION OF OUR SOCIETY, SCHOOLS AND OVERALL LIFESTYLE IS DUE TO THE FLUX OF ILLEGAL INDIVIDUALS HERE IN CA. WHEN DID YOU EVER HEAR OF A HIT AND RUN AS A YOUNGSTER? NOW IN SO. CAL. IT IS A DAILY OCCURANCE. THIS HAS NOT BEEN A TRAIT FOUND HERE TO FORE. YOU WANT TO DO SOME REAL HELP GET YOUR ASS TO THE HILL COUNTRY OF KENTUCKY OR WEST VIRGINIA AND HELP OUT THE HOME CROWD. OTHERWISE GO TO TJ., LET YOUR HEART BLEED ALL OVER THERE AND DON’T COME BACK. YOUR PREMISE IS TOTAL BULLSHIT!!! GO BACK AND TALK TO ANY MESTIZO AND ASK ABOUT THEIR “HERBAL PLASTERS” THEY HAVE BEEN USING FOR CENTURIES. IT WAS THERE ALL ALONG. YOU ARE FULL OF SHIT!!!

39

Hey Slug, next time you are down there ask anyone you know and those you don’t: Que es “Dedazo”? Explicarse por favor.

40

I’m not in to the whole self-loathing, blame whitey game…but to deny that the cartels have proliferated due almost exclusively to the enormous size of the US drug market is disingenuous; sure it helps that the mordida reigns supreme in Mexico, but that simply facilitates the satisfaction of our massive domestic demand.

90% of the heroin bound for the US travels through Mexico.

America is the world’s largest consumer of cocaine…also largely transported through our border with Mexico.

blanket legalization and formalization of importation would be DEVASTATING to the cartels because the vast majority of their money comes from the sale of illicit substances.

(I cannot find any data to substantiate the hit and run scenario…)

all that aside, I hope that the country has the resolve to stick to their principles and continue the fight…it’s been 4 years and they continue to pick off the figureheads…to quit now would be tantamount to a formal surrender to thugs.