Driver's training

Bob’s not feeling well but his deeply developed host personal will not let him disappoint. As he fiddled with our shower which was producing only a trickle of water, he share with me the anomalies of Mexican water management. This lead to a discussion of the road conditions. I was impressed by the new blacktop on the road from Cabo. Bob looked pained by the reminder. He explained that NAFTA enabled Mexicans to bring old, unwanted cars from across the border into Mexico for free. Previously it may have cost as much as $3000 to bring a car into the country. For the small town of Todos Santos, and for all towns in Mexico, this resulted in a massive explosion of personal vehicles. Todos Santos has 3 times the cars and trucks that it had 3 years ago.

Suddenly the loose interpretation of the stop signs I’d witnessed made perfect sense. It is a country of first time drivers – dear God! My thought of renting a bike immediately dissipates.

Bob went on to say that prior to last year when Todos Santos became the magic city – I don’t know if that is an official distinction but judging from the sneer on Bob’s face, I’m guessing it is an unofficial nod from the Mexican tourism gods – police from La Paz would come into town each day, stand on the street corner and ticket foreigners who feel prey to following the driving example of the locals. When in Mexico, do as the Mexican’s do will land you a ticket – or more likely an opportunity to bribe your way out of a ticket. When the tourism gods meet to designate Todos Santos the magic city, it was agreed that this practice would stop. Consider it a hospitality improvement process.