Fred: First, thanks for your very inclusive pages on Baja. Yours and a few others really gave us the background to take advantage of our too short time in Baja. (Only one suggestion: the pages that concern where to stay are spread out and hidden within more general sites; perhaps a special board/link page could collate unofficial information about the many small [and sometimes only] places to stay. We could have used some advice about Ensenada and would volunteer some about the other little places. I think as long as it's not seen as promoting one place over another, it might work. As I say, only a small suggestion - your page otherwise provides more than enough info.)

We had a very easy ride along Mexico route 1 from Tijuana to Bahía de Los Angeles - the road was in better shape than the PA turnpike, for instance. The spur road to Bahía de Los Angeles was full of shallow potholes, but given how it was layed (one layer of macadam right on hardpacked but sandy dirt), that wasn't surprising. Only the road up to San Pedro Martir presented any serious gullying, and frankly any sedan with good shocks could handle that.

We were prepared for the worst as far as gas, but gas availability was good, though the pump at Cataviña didn't have gas when we were going north. That somewhat put a damper on our trip into El Rosario, but we made it to the new Pemex station at the turn (by Mama Espinoza's, where we enjoyed the lobster burritos). Otherwise, no incidents, and no one seemed to be trying to rip us off; I was vigilant about los llenos, though.

Checkpoints were a breeze, though we did get our stuff searched at Maneadero and Cataviña. Having a gorgeous 17-year old named Selena may have had something to do with distracting the soldiers, who wanted to look more at her than our bags. They also appreciated that we spoke a little Spanish. Everyone was polite both ways.

As to tourist cards, I'm afraid our ignorance and that of the people we asked saved us the $60 it would have cost. When we asked at the hotel in Ensenda, they told us to do it in San Quintin. When we asked an expat there, he said, "As long as you're just going to L.A. Bay, don't worry. They're only turning them back at Guerrero Negro." The migración station at Maneadero wasn't open when we went through and I guess we were lucky everywhere else. I wouldn't recommend trusting one's guardian angels or coasting on naivete, but that's how we go through life sometimes. Sometimes the harsh realities catch up with you, though.

Anyway, I appreciate the passive help you've offered through your page. I hope to have some of our photos scanned and find a place to put them up. I'm trying to write up our account for the paper here and hope that pans out, too. If not, I'll put it up on some page. It was a dreamlike trip. Baja is far more beautiful than I could have imagined, and we only got halfway down the peninsula!