Tijuana introduction, cops, safety and information

Excuse me, did I really mean to write this article? Am I really publishing this article on the web? Excuse me, on my personal web site? Well, here goes...

I can only relate my personal experiences in my adventures to Tijuana. And believe me, every trip to Tijuana is an adventure, as Tijuana is a place of changes. I suppose if you safely park your car at one of the border parking lots, and then hop on a border bus that will shuttle you to Av. Revolucion, and you don't set your feet off the six-block, tourist-oriented strip, than you'd probably say that Tijuana is just a ticky-tacky, tourist-oriented border town dedicated to relieve norteamericanos of their hard-earned wages. And, if that's all you saw of Tijuana, perhaps your description would be correct, at least from your perspective.

Left: Tijuana, from the U.S. side, looking south-southwest across the border. The dark fence is the actual border and just north of it, the highway is the "fast road," Mexico Federal Highway 1, which leads south to Ensenada and points further south on the Baja California Peninsula. Right: In Tijuana, the city's footprint is small, so buildings are constructed up to the U.S. border, which is marked by the dark fence in the lower right-hand corner of the photo.

Tijuana is a prosperous border city, with a population approaching well over a million, that has to be experienced, seen, felt, and tasted to believe. In my many travels to Tijuana, it would be difficult for me to describe the place in a word, or for that matter, in a coherent sentence. Perhaps the phrase "the San Francisco of Mexico" might be sort of close, although comparing the two cities is not really fair to either city, but they do have many things in common. I won't elaborate at this time, but you've toured either city, you will understand the similarities.

Left: The classic shot of traffic crossing the border. The mini-van in the lower center has it's rear end in the U.S. and the forward 2/3 in Mexico, as it approaches Mexican customs, under the famous M-E-X-I-C-O arch. Right: The famous Tijuana arch and huge Mexican flag, as seen on the U.S. side of the border.

The major question that I get from my readers about Tijuana, and my other Mexican adventures, is, "Is it safe?" Well, yes, and no. Outside of Times Square, Piccadilly Circus, or Gastown, I wouldn't tread the fringes of downtown New York, London or Vancouver after dark. Neither would I in downtown Tijuana. During daylight hours? No problema amigo. However when I'm hiking the Zona Norte, I tend to walk as close to the street as possible, keeping a sharp lookout over my shoulder and generally put myself in a "sensory awareness" mode. I stay sober in public, I avoid drugs like the plague, I do not patronize "farmacias," I attempt to keep a low-profile, and in a phrase, I stay out of trouble. If I get caught someplace after dark, I always take a taxi to "la linea," after first agreeing to the price before I step in to the cab. Never in my travels to Mexico have I had any trouble, but I keep myself clean and practice "smart street survival techniques." Like a said before, Tijuana isn't any more dangerous than any other city with a population of over a million folks, and I'd wager a whole lot safer than many others.

I grew up in California's great San Joaquin Valley, when it was a very rural place in the late 1960's. I needed money, so I found a job with a labor contractor, and my duties consisted mostly of harvesting tomatoes by hand. No problem, except that I was the only person around the field that didn't speak English. So at work, I forgot about my English, did a lot of listening to my co-workers, and, lo and behold, I started speaking a foreign language. After a couple of semesters of high school and college Spanish, not to mention a bit more "on the job training," I got to the point where I was at least able to order a fine taco of my choice from a Tijuana street vendor, and maybe a little bit more.

Left: At Plaza Viva Tijuana, a patron gazes out toward the fountain at the center of the plaza. Right: On the walk toward Av. Revolucion, walking along Av. Puente Mexico, one can't help but to navigate toward the huge Tijuana arch.

In addition to acquiring a basic grasp of the language, perhaps more importantly I learned how Mexican culture works, how to respect it, live within it, and deal with it. Once you step south of that ugly steel fence the U.S. government has erected, you leave behind American culture and things are very different. It's been said that no two countries on the planet are closer together, yet so far apart, as the U.S. and Mexico are. I highly agree with that statement.

Crooked cops in Tijuana? Yes, I'm sure there are a few, just as there are in San Francisco, Sacramento or Toronto. It is against Mexican law to offer a bribe to any uniformed officer, as the federal government of Mexico and the city of Tijuana have made great efforts to shred the stereotype of the crooked cop. I have had dealings with the police force of Tijuana, and I can personally tell you that they are as professional as any police force north of the border. Don't break the law, don't smart off to them, behave as a lady or a gentleman, and you won't have any problems. Like police forces anywhere, the Tijuana cops are the good guys. If you care to explore this article about my visits to Tijuana, you'll find an article where I describe an up-close and personal brush that I had with Mexican law.

Left: In Zona Norte, I'm looking south on Av. Heros Ninos, from the cross street of Calle 1A, a.k.a., Articulo 123. Right: When you're walking from the U.S. border to Av. Revolucion, along Av. Puente Mexico, you'll see this sign, with the half-cow image, and it will give you the urge to drink more milk. Well, maybe... It prompted me to drink a couple of shots of Tequilla at Leyva's on Av. Revolucion.

Most of the photos in this article were published using a Fuji FinePix S5100 digital camera, which I acquired after hitting a $.25 jackpot in Reno and walking out with $400.00. There are other images that have been scanned from 35-mm photos and slides that I took back in the days before I went digital. The quality isn't as good as I'd like, but the images and the messages that they convey are irreplaceable.

So now explore Tijuana with me, a border city that bashes all stereotypes and defies all descriptions.

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