Memorial Day Weekend in Baja, California

I went to San Felipe, Baja California, Mexico, for the long Memorial Day Weekend. This was my first trip to Mexico, and it was an interesting experience. Mexico is both similar and vastly different from the United States. A lot of things seem to be less regulated than they are in the States, and the entire country seems to operate on the concept of "not quite good enough" (as opposed to "nearly good enough"), although there are some great innovations in home construction and flying apparati. Apparently, you can secure a door frame using wire hangers and concrete, and you can make a flying dune buggy with the wing of a hang glider and a lawnmower motor and blade. Also, apparently it's safe to have both swimmers and motored boats in the same section of water at the same time. There are also military checkpoints where (I think) being a pasty white guy definitely has its advantages. I definitely got a strange sense of liberated suppression there.

I guess Baja California is having an election this year; I'm not even sure what he stands for, but I saw enough posted flyers to want to vote for Jorge Hank.

The beach was delightful to lay on, and the water was warm. The water and beach were also relatively clean compared to California beaches; there was no kelp at all in the water, although there was a lot of litter (even glass!) on the beach. During low tide the water recedes far enough to strand boats and allow curious explorers to wander far beyond the high tide mark.


I didn't see a computer for 3 days; it was fantastic!

We crossed the border at Calexico/Mexicali because the line going into Tijuana from the U.S. side was never-ending. Even so, we waited an hour to cross back into the U.S. yesterday afternoon. Bring playing cards or some other amusement for while you wait. I think I'm doomed to always be disoriented in Mexicali; we got lost both trying to find Mexican Hwy 5 (going to San Felipe) and the U.S.-Mexican border (getting back to civilization).

Some tips for when you go:

• Bring Hand Sanitizer, Sunscreen, Aloe, and lots of Bottled Water. Extra Towels and Tissue/Toilet Paper would be good too. I recommend the new spray-on sunscreen. It works fabulously.
• Don't forget your ID; you won't need your passport until next year.
• You don't need to worry about exchanging your money; I don't know anyone who turned down the all-mighty dollar.
• Don't leave your stuff unattended; things have a habit of wandering off when you do. It's probably best to not bring your wallet or purse with you when you're wandering around either. Just your ID and some cash is good enough.