Policia Shakedown

So we were at the end of a wonderful vacation in Baja California Sur, it was Friday...and gorgeous! We rented a hot ride for a day trip to....La Paz (I know, why? Well on the way is Todos Santos, more on that inna' second).

So, in the car we were (myself, Barb and Kimberley) and off we go, in Mexican traffic....thats a whole chapter in a book I would never write. A hint: no lane markings, no transitions from paved to dirt at 80 km per hour, two lane traffic over blind hills/mountains with fuel trucks passing in the opposite lanes, roadside memorials-literally every 50 yards or so, four lane highways with livestock roaming around in traffic lanes...you get the point...I was stressed! Anyway my enthusiastic carmates (one being my lovely wife), lost the enthusiasm about an hour into this road trip and fell fast asleep. So, I was left to worry about getting to La Paz safely...and with what I hinted at above, not likely.

First stop on the tour was Todos Santos, and what a pretty little clean town. Todos Santos is known to most of us because it is home to the Eagles Hotel California...and the lyrics fit when seeing the town first hand. We, unfortunately breezed through on our determined quest to reach La Paz (again why...?).

On through another stretch of mountainous, desert terrain and zillions of cactus. The upside to this portion of the trip was an actual highway (that most resembled our U.S. highways) , well a highway with goats and cows walking free among cars, motorcycles and tractor trailers driving anywhere between 45 mph (me) and 130 mph (everyone else). Weird.....boy am I glad I live in the United States.

So, here we are entering the metropolis of La Paz....finally...and if I had hair I would have some gray after this journey. Well, La Paz was everything that Los Cabos up to Todos Santos was not....a ugly and congested city. WHY did we make that trip on our last day....we stopped at a mall, which resembled a bizarro world version of a US mall. The movie theatre rivaled a mega plex theatre here, only there were strange things you would never see here (like a elevator with no doors and fully functional). Well the bathrooms were clean and this was the primary reason for our stop...now it is time to leave La Paz.

Now I am so happy to be heading back to Los Cabos...and trying to navigate, super chaotic La Paz traffic. I come to an intersection devoid of any control or organization (I am sure a bit of a mirror reflection of the government in general). As I drive through the intersection in our RED Chevy compact with Big White Letters "National Rental Car" translates to "foreigners with money you can take"...care to guess? YEP, you are Correct, I get pulled over by the Policia. Great, all of the stuff I've heard and read about the corrupt Mexican Police...I get to experience with Barb and Kimberley.

At this point everything from being taken into the desert and shot while "who knows what happens" to the girls, to being thrown in a Mexican prison, to being extorted for all the cash/credit and stuff we had on us and the most remote of my thoughts, maybe they are honest. A sad reflection on a country that relies so heavily on tourist, U.S. Tourism....here that Mexico. Well, after the "Policeman" told me it was a $110 fine but if I paid him $80 he would let me go. I told him I couldn't help him because we didn't have that amount on us (a lie), and that I was at his mercy...maybe we should just go to the station (this is what many recommend and I had read about this tactic). He then had his buddy (Policeman) come over and they had a discussion. His buddy conveniently blocked the side rear passenger window with his body and "Officer Friendly" leaned in and said, "Forty US".....(I felt like punching his little fat face). I relented and said that was all the money we had, ..he could care less. I paid him his precious forty dollars and he gave me back my license. Thank you La Paz..Thank You Mexico.

Well we headed back through much of the same experiences I described above and this time we stopped in Todos Santos. My attitude lightened immediately, this is a pretty town, one that we have all seen in paintings of old Mexico....or ones we have imagined with the hammocks hanging out front, panchos slung over stools and open air taco stands. Just a nice place, with equally nice people. Right in the middle of town sat the beautiful Hotel California and I couldn't get the song out of my head...."such a lovely place (such a lovely place)...." Well, the girls shopped with the cash the cop didn't steal from us and I took in the beauty of the town. I would recommend a road trip from Cabo to Todos Santos to everyone...just stop there, thats where the fun ends and the real Mexico begins.

As we walked back to the "Gringo" mobile, I inhaled a bit nervously as I walked past a Todos Santos Policia Man.... He smiled and said "Hola"....I smiled ,and exhaled, and said "Hi". All is good again. But, isn't it ashame we are made to feel this way as visitors?

Adios!