My wife and I just returned from a drive to the East Cape. She had never driven south of Ensenada [we are from San Diego], and I had never been past Loreto. My last trip was with a buddy back in 1987. I consulted your web page prior to going and the information provided was very helpful.

Our trip started 5/13/99. Gas was plentiful and the 'rip offs' I was worried about never materialized. There are several reasons that we did not suffer any gas station rip-offs. First, the Mexican people, with few exceptions, are honest. Secondly, many of the Pemex stations are now self-serve. Third, I was pretty watchful for situations where a rip-off might occur. Even at the notorious Santa Rosalia Pemex, the attendant was careful to zero out the meter before pumping. On the subject of gasoline, Magna Sin was everywhere, and there were even a few places with Premium. Also, a lot of the Pemex stations have been upgraded and are pretty nice, with nice bathrooms.

The checkpoints were not a problem either. We were waved through three and "searched" at three [southbound 28th Parallel; northbound La Paz and 28th Parallel]. The "searches" were brief, consisting of the soldiers gently looking through the car and opening one or two pieces of luggage. The stops were really no problem at all.

About the soldiers manning the checkpoints: They were all very nice kids, the oldest being possibly 21 years old. I asked one very heavily armed young soldado his age and he turned out to be 17. They are very stern in appearance and they all wear new olive drab uniforms. However, I chatted with them in my pidgin Spanish and they were very nice, polite and friendly kids. My wife brought her little Pomeranian and when the soldados saw the pampered, manicured little dog strutting around and acting fierce, their stern looks would disappear and they would grin and chatter like teenagers.

Immediately south [about 1 minute's ride] from the checkpoint at the 28th Parallel is an agricultural inspection station. They will charge 10 pesos or $1 for spraying the underside of your vehicle.

On the road conditions, several places now have topes [speed bumps] but they are clearly marked for the most part. Northbound Viscaino did not have its topes marked and they are some big, gnarly topes. Hit one at more than five miles an hour and you will crack your head on the roof and probably damage your vehicle. The other big topes were in Mulege, but were clearly marked. You need to come to a full stop before climbing over these bad boys.

There were several areas with resurfacing going on: around 140 km south of Maneadero; around 208 km south of Santa Inez; in the hills south of Loreto; and about 60 miles south of Ciudad Constitution. Also, going in and out of La Paz is complicated by some serious construction work without any detours marked. We just looked at our map and wandered a little bit before getting into town, and got directions from a female cop on the way out of town.

There are also a number of areas where new pavement has just been put down. The roads there are wonderfully smooth, but there are no lines or stripes down yet.

The truck drivers were really amazing. Their ability to roll those big rigs through and around the sharp twists and turns through the hills was something to behold. They were also very polite. We would approach from the rear and wait for an opportunity to pass. The drivers would frequently turn on their left turn signal to let us know that they saw us and that it was safe to pass. That signal was very helpful and reassuring since we frequently couldn't see whether it was safe to pass. The truck drivers never let us down and it made the trip far less harrowing. On the other hand, it was a bit nerve-wracking to have those monsters roaring at you from the other direction.

We stayed at La Pinta in Santa Inez the first night, Hotel Perla in La Paz the second night, and made our destination [Hotel Punta Pescadero near Los Barriles] easily on the third day. After several glorious days there, we started home on Wednesday, May 19th. We stayed at La Pinta in Loreto on the 19th, Molino Viejo [Old Mill Motel] in San Quintin on the 20th, and got home in San Diego by about 1pm on the 21st. The La Pinta Hotels were in the $60-$70 range and just fine. The Hotel Perla was overpriced at $80, but the location made up for it. The Old Mill Motel was the least expensive with rooms from $34 to $60. It is an eccentric place, but does have its charms.