The Church Book - Camping Mexico's Baja
The Mike and Terri Church Book. First let me say it must be a tedious and thankless job to slog through all the details that putting together this book takes. Much of it is very good. But because it is already 4-5 years out of date many things have changed DRASTICALLY. Here are some of the most important.
GAS STATIONS; there is a lot made in the book of being cheated by gas station boys by not zeroing pumps from the previous purchases and shorting change. Forget everything in the book. The VAST MAJORITY of Pemex stations (if not all) are equipped with electronic pumps that automatically zero themselves out from the last transaction (as pumps have for many years) Many Pemex are now Self Service just like in the USA. The bigger and newer stations may have self-serve and serviced pumps. Use the self-service.
Contrary to what is written in the book Every Pemex we went to took Credit cards. Even in small towns. AND in every case where we paid cash the gas station boys were scrupulous about giving us the right change and in many cases gave us more change than we had coming because there were leftover centavos. So if the bill was 150.30 Pesos they gave me 50 pesos in change. I always spoke Spanish to them and I don’t know if this made any difference as many spoke some English but they can’t keep the pumps open. So RELAX on this point it’s easy and straight forward.
CREDIT CARDS: We found that many larger Mercados and certainly the larger chain supermarkets all take credit Cards. I used a combination of Pesos and Credit Cards. This is true even in the smaller places.
Driving and Roads: I find the Mexican roads in the BAJA for the most part easy and enjoyable to drive. Yes there are challenging parts and narrow sections that require a heightened state of attention. But by and large there is nothing that should cause too much concern. Anyone decently competent in driving their rig will be able to negotiate the Baja roads.
Military Checkpoints: Many Americans I think are scared off by the idea of the Military Checkpoints in Mexico. In EVERY case (4) where we have been stopped and searched at a Military Checkpoint the young soldiers have been exceedingly polite, careful and respectful of us, our rig and our things. All spoke some level of English more than enough to do their jobs well. As I accompanied them through our trailer no matter where they looked or what cabinet they opened they were always careful to return things to their original place. (US Customs are you listening?)
In these cases I greeted them in Spanish but switched to English and stayed there. This comes from long experience with dealing with soldiers and checkpoints around the world. I think that you have nothing to fear from these checkpoints. These soldiers do not have that overbearing “Command Presence” and attitude you find among so many of our uniformed officers in the states whether Police or Customs or the local Dog Catcher. These young soldiers are simply doing their job and stopping all Mexican vehicles as well as tourist ones.
In summation; the Mike and Terri Church book, Camping in Mexico's Baja, is a great resource. A great foundation. But it is out of date and out of step with the realities of the Baja in 2015. Definitely get it and take it with you. But realize it’s shortcomings and don’t take it as Gospel.
Many of their RV park descriptions are accurate even to this day. Prices may be lower than are quoted in the book. But many of the highly touted parks I think have “rested on their laurels” and have declined. New ones have sprung up and offer a great experience.
We will have more updates as we go along and hope to bring you more of the reality of the day-to-day experience of traveling the Baja as we progress south. So far we have driven over 900 miles in the Baja and have enjoyed the vast majority of them. La Paz, Los Barrilles and Todos Santos await.
GAS STATIONS; there is a lot made in the book of being cheated by gas station boys by not zeroing pumps from the previous purchases and shorting change. Forget everything in the book. The VAST MAJORITY of Pemex stations (if not all) are equipped with electronic pumps that automatically zero themselves out from the last transaction (as pumps have for many years) Many Pemex are now Self Service just like in the USA. The bigger and newer stations may have self-serve and serviced pumps. Use the self-service.
Contrary to what is written in the book Every Pemex we went to took Credit cards. Even in small towns. AND in every case where we paid cash the gas station boys were scrupulous about giving us the right change and in many cases gave us more change than we had coming because there were leftover centavos. So if the bill was 150.30 Pesos they gave me 50 pesos in change. I always spoke Spanish to them and I don’t know if this made any difference as many spoke some English but they can’t keep the pumps open. So RELAX on this point it’s easy and straight forward.
CREDIT CARDS: We found that many larger Mercados and certainly the larger chain supermarkets all take credit Cards. I used a combination of Pesos and Credit Cards. This is true even in the smaller places.
Driving and Roads: I find the Mexican roads in the BAJA for the most part easy and enjoyable to drive. Yes there are challenging parts and narrow sections that require a heightened state of attention. But by and large there is nothing that should cause too much concern. Anyone decently competent in driving their rig will be able to negotiate the Baja roads.
Military Checkpoints: Many Americans I think are scared off by the idea of the Military Checkpoints in Mexico. In EVERY case (4) where we have been stopped and searched at a Military Checkpoint the young soldiers have been exceedingly polite, careful and respectful of us, our rig and our things. All spoke some level of English more than enough to do their jobs well. As I accompanied them through our trailer no matter where they looked or what cabinet they opened they were always careful to return things to their original place. (US Customs are you listening?)
In these cases I greeted them in Spanish but switched to English and stayed there. This comes from long experience with dealing with soldiers and checkpoints around the world. I think that you have nothing to fear from these checkpoints. These soldiers do not have that overbearing “Command Presence” and attitude you find among so many of our uniformed officers in the states whether Police or Customs or the local Dog Catcher. These young soldiers are simply doing their job and stopping all Mexican vehicles as well as tourist ones.
In summation; the Mike and Terri Church book, Camping in Mexico's Baja, is a great resource. A great foundation. But it is out of date and out of step with the realities of the Baja in 2015. Definitely get it and take it with you. But realize it’s shortcomings and don’t take it as Gospel.
Many of their RV park descriptions are accurate even to this day. Prices may be lower than are quoted in the book. But many of the highly touted parks I think have “rested on their laurels” and have declined. New ones have sprung up and offer a great experience.
We will have more updates as we go along and hope to bring you more of the reality of the day-to-day experience of traveling the Baja as we progress south. So far we have driven over 900 miles in the Baja and have enjoyed the vast majority of them. La Paz, Los Barrilles and Todos Santos await.
