A New Chapter Begins

This past August we sold our 2007 Fleetwood Discovery and purchased a 2016 Thor Challenger. We went from diesel to gas, complex to simple, and, hopefully, more expense to less expensive (nothing is cheap about motorhoming!). If you have followed this blog in the past you may be aware of the bad luck that seemed to accompany us in the Discovery. Particularly on our long trips to Mexico and Canada. We hope the black cloud remained with the Discovery and better luck will follow us in the new motorhome.

Even though we have had the new motorhome for 4 or 5 months, we have been too busy to go on any trips in it. Until this weekend, that is. We went on a short trip with our local chapter of the Good Sam RV Club. It was 3 days and nights at a KOA in Rusk, TX, only about 45 miles each way. It was an almost eventless trip and our “fix it” list for the dealer is rather short and without anything major.

The key word in the previous sentence is “almost.” We did have one rather startling, yet humorous experience. It happened as we were getting ready for the group’s “pot luck” supper. Carol Ann was going to bake a corn casserole in the convection microwave (we use the gas oven as a bread box) if we could figure out how to use it! I got out the manufacturer’s manual which was not much help. There were about 15 pages of installation instructions and only about a half page of user instructions. After several attempts we managed to set it properly and the baking began. It needed 45 minutes of cooking time and due to the delay in starting would have to go immediately from the oven to the clubhouse once the time expired. We gathered our paper plates, utensils, and other necessities and put them in a shopping bag, ready to grab and go.

As soon as the timer reached zero, I removed the very hot casserole from the oven while Carol Ann filled two cups with ice and grabbed a couple of drinks from the fridge. At the last minute she decided to take a plastic pitcher of ice with us and as she was taking it from the freezer, lost her grip and ice cubes were bouncing all over the floor between the fridge and the motorhome’s door. The 3 steps in the step well to the door were covered in ice cubes. I got down on my hands and knees and began rounding them up but I managed to loose my balance and fall against the wall. All of a sudden there was a very loud “honking” noise and everything went white for a couple of seconds, much like being in a white out during a blizzard. I was a bit shaken until I realized as I fell against the wall I had bumped into the CO2 fire extinguisher mounted in the step well and caused it to briefly discharge. At least we know it works but we will have to clean up the white powder coating the lower portion of the fridge and the floor in front of it.

We hope this was not a portent of things to come in our new motorhome. We have a big trip coming up next month and are hoping it will be uneventful. Stay tuned to find out.

Lipstick on an Alligator, The Sequel

Since my last post, Lipstick on an Alligator, March 2, 2014, I have been accused of editorializing, distorting facts, and “Baja Bashing.” I was also told that it was not my place to write about someone else’s accident and, to add insult to injury, I seem to have distressed someone in Mexico because negative accounts such as mine are hurting Mexico’s tourist industry.

I have no desire to misrepresent any facts and I did offer to correct any inaccuracies that may have been in my last post. However, the individual making those accusations would rather not provide me with any corrections to the story of Hugo’s accident. He feels that it is not his place to write about someone else’s accident and I respect that.

I do apologize to Hugo for any errors that may have been made in my retelling the story of his accident. Yes, it was an accident. I thought that was made clear in recounting the story. There was no crime involved.

I checked the latest State Department travel warnings for Mexico and there are none for Baja California Sur (the southern half of the peninsula). However, tourists in the northern half are urged to exercise caution, particularly at night. It is true that a majority of the crime is near the border, particularly in and around Tijuana, as mentioned in my previous post. I will stand by the crime rates quoted in that post. Once you run the gauntlet through the border area you should be in the clear.

As far as the brief summary of unpleasant things experienced a couple of years ago while on an RV caravan to the Yucatan and back, that all happened, just as I wrote. I was there.

Perhaps I should have divided the post into two separate posts. One to tell the story of Hugo’s accident and the other to discuss Baja’s crime rate and how a very successful public relations program has helped shift people’s perceptions of the Baja from major crime to the art and food scene.

But please, don’t let me stop anyone from going on a road trip to Baja just because I am too much of a wimp to ever go to Mexico again. Make your own decision.

Lipstick On An Alligator

Some of you began reading my blog a couple of years ago when I started writing about our experiences on a 47-day, 18-RV Caravan my wife and I took to Mexico. We went down Mexico’s Gulf coast to the Yucatan Peninsula and back to the US through central Mexico. It was the trip from Hell but it produced some great blog material. We experienced armed bandits with AK-47s, customs agents searching our RVs for weapons at a border crossing, waiting for hours to cross the border, then being turned away from a border crossing because we were not cars or trucks and they didn’t know what to do with RVs. We had Federal Police attempting to extort us on false traffic violations, men masquerading as road workers flagging us down and asking for money, RV wrecks, car wrecks (and a $4000 charge to have the car towed 1200 miles back to US border from a Merida body shop), downed utility lines, an air conditioning unit knocked from the top of an RV by a low entrance to a Walmart, a broken wrist, several broken shocks and springs, cracked batteries, substandard electrical hookups (low voltage, high voltage, or no voltage), a snake in a swimming pool, a drive along Mexico’s “murder highway” and through the “murder capital” of Mexico, an untold number of dings, dents, and scratches on the RV’s, flat tires, narrow gates, narrow roads with no shoulders, potholes the size of automobiles, narrow bridges, temporary bridges, speed bump after speed bump, wrong turns and getting lost, bad water, and numerous other problems that tormented us on the trip.  We all swore we would never, ever, return to Mexico again! 

All of the aforementioned bad experiences aside, it was a great trip because we made some good friends. It was on that Yucatan trip that we met Richard and Helen. The next year we joined them on another RV caravan, but in the opposite direction of Mexico. It was a 47-day trip through the Canadian Maritime provinces, which produced very little exciting blog-worthy material, except for the $10,000 it cost me to have the fuel injection system replaced on my rear-end diesel.

It was on the Canadian trip that I began to doubt Rich and Helen’s sanity. Apparently they learned very little from the Yucatan trip, as they informed us of their decision to go on another RV caravan to Mexico. But some people tend to forget their unpleasant experiences faster than others. This time it would be a 37-day excursion to the Baja peninsula, which Rich and Helen said was the “safest” area in Mexico (once you manage to make it through Tijuana). You could also say of the lakes in Louisiana, the lake with the fewest alligators is the “safest” lake in Louisiana. I’m still not going swimming in it.

The Baja is a peninsula with only one “real” highway that stretches the length of the peninsula, from Tijuana to Cabo San Lucas, a distance of approximately 1045 miles. Most of the highway is narrow two-lane blacktop with little or no shoulder. If a wheel slips off the edge of the pavement there is an excellent chance of ending up in the ditch.

Over the past few days I have received emails from Richard and Helen reporting on the progress of their trip. They related to me a horrible account of a fellow traveler named Hugo and some exceptionally rotten luck he was experiencing. Richard asked if I would retell the story in my blog just in case any of you are considering a trip to the Baja. The events are true as told to me, however I have taken some literary liberties in the retelling.

Hugo was driving his motorhome with his car towed behind it when one or more of the motorhome’s passenger-side wheels dropped off the edge of the pavement where there was no shoulder. Hugo managed to wrestle the motorhome back onto the pavement but he was not quite as lucky with the car he was towing. Still attached to the motorhome by its tow bar, the car rolled over three times, causing Hugo to lose control of the motorhome, which skidded across the highway and took out a utility pole and a power line. When the dust cleared, live, sparking wires were laying across the roof of the motorhome. Amazingly, no one was injured in the accident. 

In Mexico, one cannot move a vehicle from an accident scene until the police have given permission, which usually will not happen until after the insurance adjusters have arrived and documented the damages to the involved vehicle(s)/property. In this case there was more than the motorhome and tow car for the adjuster to evaluate. The amount of damage to the utility pole and power line would also be included. Once the adjuster had arrived and inspected the scene he agreed with the police that Hugo was liable for the damages, not only to his own motorhome and car, but also to the federal government’s utility pole and power line. Until payment was made for the damage to federal property it would be necessary for Hugo to be incarcerated. 

Hugo was taken to the police station in Guerro Negro and placed in a small, dirty cell. The lighting was bad and the plumbing worse. The bed was bad and the food intolerable. In other words, a typical Mexican jail cell. Visiting hours, or perhaps I should say “visiting minutes,” were five minutes twice a day. The jailer was afraid of his superiors so no favors could be expected from him. Any attempt to complain was countered by threats of false accusations that could only make matters worse. No cameras were allowed in the jail so no photos are available, but the description of the jail sounds like something out of the movie “Midnight Express.” Hugo decided not to eat or drink anything while in jail so he would, hopefully, not need to use the broken plumbing. I have no information on how that worked out.       

Hugo’s driver’s license, passport, and visa were confiscated and his motorhome and car were impounded. He was asked to sign papers written in Spanish even though no interpreter was available to translate the documents for him, nor was there a copy machine on which to make copies of the documents. It seems that one of the documents was in effect a promissory note to the local Magistrate for $4,000 in damages. Hugo would remain in jail until payment was made. Payment was required in cash or by wire transfer. No credit cards and checks would be accepted. Calls were placed to the US Consulate in Cabo San Lucas in hopes that they might be able to keep Hugo from being kept locked up in the “slammer.” There was no response from the consulate so the group was on their own.

Two days later an attorney, sent by Hugo’s travel insurance company, rode into town on a bus from La Paz, a distance of about 500 miles. The damages were paid and Hugo was released from jail after spending two days and nights in the filthy hole.

Hugo’s car and motorhome were released from the police impound but neither one is drivable. The car was a total loss, for which Hugo will receive an insurance settlement. The motorhome will be placed on a flatbed truck and transported about 500 miles to San Diego for repairs. Hugo and his wife will continue the trip by riding along with other members of the caravan and staying in hotels at night.

The members of the caravan were very upset with the way in which the Mexican police treated Hugo. One of the group members is reported to have given the local RV park owner an earful until he was finally convinced to offer what little help he could. The caravan members were quite vocal in accusing the police and Mexican government doing everything they could to drive tourists away rather than assisting in solving their problem. Several members of the caravan are planning on filing complaints the Mexican Ministry of Tourism, writing their US congressmen, and contacting other influential persons. They have all agreed that they would never, ever, return to Mexico (I’ve heard that before).

The group realized a degree of immediate success a day or so later while the caravan was in the small east coast tourist town of Bahia de Los Angeles. The wagon master (caravan leader and tour guide) received a visit from the Governor of Baja California Norte who was accompanied by his director of tourism in an effort to salvage as any remaining, if any, good will.

Everyone seems to agree that Baja is the safest part of Mexico in which to travel. According to Mexico’s crime statistics this is true. However, that does not mean there are no alligators in Baja. The peninsula is composed of two Mexican states. These are Baja California Norte, the northern half, and Baja California Sur, the southern half of the peninsula. Tijuana is on the Mexico–US border, in Baja California Norte, and accounts for the majority of crimes committed in that state. If you can safely run the gauntlet through Tijuana the remainder of the drive down to Cabo is relatively safe (except for the occasional alligator). But you should also know that the US Consulate in Tijuana does warn travelers to exercise caution throughout all of Baja California. 

The Consulate receives numerous reports of extortion by supposed police officers, and sometimes criminals using fake police uniforms and credentials. The latest crime craze is “virtual kidnappings.” The extortionist calls the prospective victim on the telephone, often posing as law enforcement officials, and demands payment in return for the release of an arrested family member, or to supposedly forestall a kidnapping. Prison inmates using smuggled cell phones often make these calls. These criminals have extorted thousands of dollars from their victims, all done by wire transfer.

It is interesting to take a look at the 2013 crime rates per 100,000 population (provided by RRS y Asociados S.C. at www.prominix.com) for all 31 of the Mexican states (plus one federal district). 

Combining the two Baja states as one, they would rank:

House burglary............... #1

Business burglary............#1

Car theft...........................#1

Assault.............................#1

Rape................................#1

Extortion..........................#2

Robbery...........................#3

Homicide.........................#12

So why does everyone seem to have the perception that it is perfectly safe to travel about the Baja peninsula? It’s because of a very good Public Relations (PR) campaign. The state of Baja California spent $500,000 on public relations in 2009 and then hired Allison + Partners, a public relations firm, in 2010 to “reactivate” American tourism in the region. The state of Baja California will not disclose the price tag for their new image.

The program has been so successful that in 2012 it won a Bernays Bronze Award for “outstanding public relations tactics.” In February of last year, at a pay-per-plate event – formally titled “How PR Shaped Baja California’s Resurgence” – the Public Relations Society of America paid tribute to the ongoing PR campaign. The campaign has been enormously successful, increasing tourism by 75% in Baja California. Before the PR campaign began, Baja California was on the US State Department’s “defer non-essential travel” list. As a result of the ongoing PR campaign, it is no longer on that list. The campaign has succeeded in combating the negative image of being best known for dismembered bodies to generating positive stories and hailing Baja California as a culinary epicenter with a vibrant art and music scene.

How has Allison + Partners managed to turn Baja’s image around? With what the PR industry calls “fam trips” (familiarity trips). These are paid junkets to Baja, normally reserved for people in the travel industry, for journalists and celebrities. They are wined and dined and listen to targeted pitches on Baja’s cuisine and travel attractions. There seems to be an implicit understanding that the journalists will write positive reviews of Baja and the celebrities will publicize what a great time they had in Baja and how safe it is. Journalists from the New York Times and the New Yorker have been on these “fam trips,” after which they wrote positive stories about the art and food scene.

Movie celebrities who have been on the “fam trips” include Sylvester Stallone, Emily Watson, and Robert Redford. Celebrity chefs, such as Anthony Bourdain of the Travel Chanel’s No Reservations, and noted food writers, such as Erin Jackson of San Diego’s DiningOut Magazine and www.ejeats.com, have also been on these Baja “fam trips.” Bourdain included the Baja in one of his show’s 2012 season. Bourdain said that he knew very little about Baja, but that he “helped shift the focus tremendously from murder to food and wine.” 

While searching the Internet I discovered a two-page Allison + Partners’ document titled “Bi-weekly Campaign Update,” dated August 10 – August 24 (year not given), which contains a great many bullet-points under the headings of media relations, coverage, upcoming coverage, media leads, writing, social media & website (including Twitter and Facebook), and admin/counsel.

A survey of 600 Southern Californians was conducted in December of 2012 to judge peoples’ perceptions of Baja’s reputation. Respondents “who perceived Baja as unsafe” decreased by 16% from the previous year and those “who would not visit Baja because of the perceived danger, crime, or drugs” decreased by 44%. I believe that these results most likely reflect the perceptions of the general population. So travel Baja at your own risk and watch out for the occasional alligator.

Someone may have put a lot of lipstick on an alligator, but it’s still an alligator. 

D-Day Was A BUMMER!

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This was posted a day after it was written due to lack of Internet access. Glad I purchased that WiFi extender/repeater.

Saturday's departure was scheduled for 10AM.  There were still a few little things to do. Departure was pushed to 11 AM.  After all, our first overnight stop (Victoria) should only be a 5-hour drive.  What's the rush?  11 AM came and went.  We were still not ready.  We could leave at noon and be in Victoria around 5 PM.  No problem, it doesn’t really start getting dark until around 5:30 PM.  We almost made it off by noon.  It was about 12:15 PM. 

Only ten minutes into the trip I had one of those “OH, SHIT!” moments.  I left my laptop on the couch – the one at home, not the one in the motor home.  We turned around, went back to the house, and I retrieved my "external brain".  Too bad I can't actually plug my head into it.  OK, change departure time to 12:45 PM.  We may still make it before dark-thirty.  We had only one stop to make (in Lufkin, about 25 miles down the highway) to pick up a couple of spare parts at Mustang CAT. 

When we hit the Lufkin loop we began looking for Mustang CAT's sign (I had never been there before, but thought I knew about where it should be).  Carol Ann spotted the CAT sign first.  Fortunately it was on the right-hand side of the road so it would be an easy turn.  As we were pulling off of the loop onto the side street I said, “THIS IS NOT MUSTANG CAT!”  It was a Peterbilt service center that had a CAT sign out front because they serviced CAT engines.  No problem, turn around and get back on the loop.  Problem.  There was no good place to turn around and I had no idea where this road would lead.  No problem.  We saw a place were we SHOULD (not a good word when driving a 40-foot motor home towing a car behind it making it impossible to back up) be able to turn around. 

I knew the second that the rear wheels dropped from the pavement to the dirt that I was in trouble.  How could I tell?  In addition to the loud scraping noise, the real give away was when I realized that the rear wheels were turning but the coach was not moving.  After a few choice words I exited the coach to take a look.  The rear wheels were hanging over a ditch, barely touching the dirt.  The rear skid plate was resting (although it looked more stressed than resting) on the pavement.  Then of course, our tow car was still in the road.  Because I had turned left to turn around, the car was now blocking both lanes with the tow bar resting (that word again) on the pavement.

I began “un-hitching” the car, which was somewhat difficult due to the position of the tow bar.  I had no trouble disconnecting the cable for the running lights, the air hose for the pneumatic braking system, the “break-away” cable, and the two steel safety cables.  The pins holding the tow bar to the car were hard to remove because of the angle.  I finally managed to remove them with the aid of a rubber mallet and considered myself lucky to have smashed only my left thumb and index finger in the process.  At least we weren’t blocking both lanes anymore.  Traffic could still get by us by sharing a lane.

This is the kind of situation in which you are so glad that you upgraded your Good Sam Emergency Road Service to the “PLATINUM” service.  I got out my cell phone and called.  They answered right away.  Great.  I explained the situation to them.  I was put on hold while they “validated” my location.  The music-on-hold made me feel even worse.  After no less than 5 minutes of this torture the agent returned to inform me that she had “validated” my location and that, yes, I was where I said that I was.   She informed me that with my “PLATINUM” membership I was entitled to one truck and one man for two hours.  I was then asked to repeat my membership number, the manufacturer of my motor home, and its length.  I was placed on hold again while she sought someone to help me.  After 10 or 15 minutes (which seemed like 30 minutes) she came back on the line to tell me that she was having trouble finding a tow service in my area that could help me.  Translation:  "I can't find a tow service that will accept the job for what Good Sam is willing to pay."  She said she may have to look for a tow service “out of the area”.  Translation: "You might be there a long time."  Not wanting to be placed back on hold, I asked her to please call me back before she started looking "out of the area."

Half an hour later, and still waiting for a call back, I walked the 100 yards to the Peterbilt Service Center and asked if they would please recommend a good tow service.  You figure a Peterbilt place has to know a good tow service.  With no hesitation the man said, “Rick and Collins” and wrote down the name and phone number for me.  I walked back up the road to the RV and consulted with Carol Ann.  Translation:  “I don’t care if we do have an emergency road service policy, I am calling Rick and Collins!”  So I called Rich and Collins and was told that they would be there in 15 minutes.  YES!  As soon as I disconnected, my phone rang.  Good Sam had finally found someone that would accept the contract.  They would be there in 45 minutes to an hour.    Translation:   "Bubba should be there with his '49 Ford pickup in a few hours."  I thanked her but told her to cancel the tow call because I had someone coming to help in 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, Carol Ann volunteered to go find the parts store and purchase the spare parts while I waited for the tow truck.  True to their word, they arrived on the scene about 10 minutes later and had me out in 5 minutes.  I didn’t even ask the man “how much?”  I just handed him a credit card.  It was the best $150 I had spent in some time.

Carol Ann returned after we had gotten the coach back on the roadway.  We got the car “hitched” back up and we were on the road again around 2:45 PM.  Feeling somewhat better, I asked Carol Ann if she had any trouble finding Mustang CAT.  No, she said, but they were CLOSED!  All that trouble and grief and we didn't even get the parts.

The rest of the day was uneventful and we arrived at the Victoria, Texas Sam’s Club about 7:15 PM.  We parked in a secluded section of the parking lot and I was able to settle into my recliner only to discover that they had NO FREE WIFI!  What a way to end the day!  I may as well go to bed.  Guess I’ll have to wait and post this from Harlingen.  Bummer!

Our 47 Day Mexican Adventure

On 11 January 2012, Carol Ann and I (not to mention our 3 cats!) will begin an RV adventure with 18 other RV's on a 47-day Fantasy RV Tour of Mexico.   The caravan will travel along the Gulf Coast of Mexico from Harlingen, TX to the Yucatan Peninsula with its beautiful beaches and dense jungles.  We will also make a day trip into the English-speaking country of Belize.  On the return trip we will travel the interior of Mexico, exploring colonial cities and the ancient cultures and ruins of the Aztecs, Mayans, Toltecs, and the Olmecs.

When we return to Harlingen, TX we will have traveled 3, 732 miles in our motorhome, not to mention the miles put on our "toad" (the car we tow behind the motorhome) making side trips.