Cd.Constitucion, La Paz & Todos Santos

[Sparkle]

Well I told you I'd tell you the bad stuff along with the good and this morning as we were taking a truck ride down to Todos Santos we got a rogue cop. He pulled me over and said I missed a stop sign and I was speeding. I had just been complaining to Beth that it was a three lane road and there were no lane markers. I said I would follow the guy in the middle lane and hope he knew where the lane was. Whatever speed he was doing was the speed I was going, so MAYBE I was going too fast, but not once did we see a stop sign, and we now know to keep our eyes peeled for them as they can be on the right side, the left, or painted on the road! Our guy in front never stopped! So the cop is insisting I pay him 1100 pesos for speeding and 550 for the stop sign, right there and then, to him. Beth got on his case like a little terrier dog. We told him to write the ticket and we would go to the police station to pay it. He then decided that 400, persos would do and he wouldn't write the ticket. We split the cost and the terrier complained for half an hour that she should have said 200 pesos! She might be right, but by that time I was having back spasms and glad to get off with 400 pesos ( 32.00) So on with the good stuff.

Cuidad Constitucion Is what I call a working town, not a tourist stop. The only reason anyone stops here is it is the first break from Loreto to La Paz. The campground surprised us with its lushness. It's right in town, but once you go through the gate it's like an oasis. We stayed there one night. This is where we are now. We are not taking the rigs any furthur south. We just did a day trip to Todos Santos. We are camped at La Paz. If you go a little South and to the West of Baja that's where we are at this moment. First 4 photos are blurry. It was raining lightly.












Then on to La Paz. We will be staying here for 4 nights. We had planned on staying for a couple of weeks maybe. What's not to like about La Paz? The beach and scenery are lovely. Turquoise and Indigo Blue water, Palapas, white sand. FREE! But there are few birds and we did enjoy the parade of birds at Mulege. It's also known as a windy beach. Then when we went to town to do Internet, parking was an absolute nightmare. Then we discovered that the Internet all through town was down. We visited the Mission and the Malecon and had Mexican Icecream. Then after my police episode we are not feeling too warm about La Paz. It's also a party beach and people come to the beach at 3.00am and blast music until dawn. So tomorrow we point our noses North. We plan to take a month to get back to the US so there will be lots more posts from Baja. These photos of La Paz are a mix of Beths and mine.
Sunset on the beach. We are parked right on the sand. We fall asleep to the sound of waves.



The Ferry passes our beach on the way to Mazatlan



A close up of the Ferry in dock.



Directly out of our doors. The colors of the water are amazing.



The Mission and interior.




This guy dances outside a pharmacy to entice us in.



A small cruise ship in the harbor



The Malecon is decorated with lots of sculptures.



The courtyard of a restaurant

[Echo]

Beautiful, beautiful and more beautiful. Love that beach.

I can just imagine Beth getting after that cop! Kinda would have like to have let her rip into him some more tho! But then again the thought of a Mexican jail does not thrill me! I just know that you realize that she is not gonna ever let you live it down about the ticket!

[Liz]

Great pictures and audio/visual commentary as usual. Thanks.

[avalen]

oh that water is so pretty and the beach looks so inviting. Thanks for sharing
the pics with us, I know it can be a hassel when the internet is "iffy" but I sure
do appreciate it.

[DesireGMC]

My daughter got stopped by one of those cops in Baja - she gave him a $20 and basically let him look down her shirt. She was 18, driving a BMW convertible with several friends - and spoke Spanish. It was an interesting little adventure..... LOL Ah yes - spring break at Rosarita Beach! The things we Moms find out AFTER, LONG after, the fact! Thanks for sharing - I am loving this!

[retiredhappy]

Not surprised at your run-in with the police of Mexico. The people are poor and they think all Americans are rich and compared to them, we are. Just glad we didn't need the bail fund for you and Beth.

[OutandAbout]

Thanks for the beautiful trip report. The bad could have been worse and the good was great. I'm glad there will be more trip reports as I am enjoying all of them. Thanks again. Linda

[Cedar518]

Not surprised at your run-in with the police of Mexico. .... Just glad we didn't need the bail fund for you and Beth.

Yeah,.... that $32 would have just about wiped it out!

[asirimarco]

Been enjoying your trip. Sounds like you're mostly having a good time. Too bad you met up with the 1% of bad cops. The last few years we've had very good interactions with the police. No bribes or problems.
Great pictures, keep them coming. When you go back through Loreto - try to get to the San Ignacio mission up in the hills. Those early Fathers were sure determined to build their churches. In Loreto was the Huichol Indian man working on any bead work in one of the shops. Their stuff is amazing.
Take care have fun.

[JanetA]

Loving your adventurous posts and pics! Anxiously anticipating more!

[Getupngo]

Wait. Wait. Wait a minute! Sparkle, am I hearing you say that YOU'RE the reasonable one? I'd like to hear from Beth on this ....

Wonderful photos. I, too, like to visit churches when I travel. So much love and skill goes into the construction of those old churches. You two are having such a great adventure.

I was wondering, how have the roads been on your trip?

[bluepinecones]

Another great tour, Sparkle. Thanks.
Hope you are feeling better now.

[Sparkle]

Janice, the roads were a whole lot better than what I was led to believe. But as Beth pointed out both of us are used to driving the back roads of the US. We very rarely touch on an Interstate. There was one truck that passed Beth. My jaw dropped as I watched. I'm sure if his mirror hadn't been 6 inches higher than Beth's he would have whacked it off. We have never experienced having to stop and crawl past something coming the other way, as we had heard we might have to do. The road from La Paz to Todos Santos was 4 lane with center divide and shoulders! They are getting better all the time.

[Bethers]

No comment about Jean - regarding ME being the terrior. As to the cops - after this happened, we read a local paper geared to Americanos - and they had an article about being stopped. The couple writing, in the 6 months they've been here, have paid 3 bribes - one only a few pesos that they had to dig out of a pocket - all the money they had with. That said, in a survey, most Mexicans have paid bribes also. But just like cops in the US like to get folks from out-of-state, the cops down here will target the out-of-country plates. After reading the article, wouldn't have paid as much, I don't think - and Jean is now keeping less money in her wallet - hiding the rest - so if it were to happen, she couldn't offer as much. We can be sneaky, too.

[Sparkle]

We don't feel so bad because when we were returning we saw an Alto sign that we don't remember Altoing at. But I swear I'm going cross eyed looking for those signs now.