Hola! John and I just returned from Cabo and have a few notes for you. Since you have just returned, our only road comments are on Highway 19.

The bridge over the vado around Km34 north of Todo Santos is complete. The vado at Km78 between Todo Santos and Cabo is still unpaved. It is still just dirt (believe that is the one you had a picture of).

We spoke with a fellow traveler in Cabo who had taken Highway 1 around the East Cape. He said he encountered a military gun/drug check between San Jose and Cabo. Couldn't verify with anyone else.

On our return yesterday (Sat. 2/20), we stopped for lunch south of Rosarito, then decided to take the old road through town. We encountered a military check point just south of Rene's. This was a surprise as we go to Rosarito frequently and have not seen this check point before. It was your typical guns and drugs search. There was also a local police check point just past the AM/PM and just before you get back on the toll road.

Now the info on the Tourist cards. When we stopped in Ensenada on 2/12 to have our cards stamped, we asked if they had a supply of forms. They did not. This was a different Immigration officer than the one we had spoken to the week prior. He said too many people came, and in July would charge $15.

While in Cabo we saw a brief article in one of the local papers mentioning the $15 charge and saying the 72 hour/75 mile gratis was to be revoked. None of the gringos we talked to had any info. When we stopped in Rosarito yesterday, we picked up a copy of the Baja Sun. There was an extensive article on the front page. I've scanned it and attached for your info.

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Fred Metcalf: To avoid any copyright infringements, I'll paraphrase the main points of the Baja Sun article (February 1999).

An item in the Diario Official of December 31, 1998 states that there will be an action instituted on July 1, 1999 which will require all tourists to Mexico to carry an FM-T (Tourist Permit) at all times anywhere in Mexico. It appears there may be a financial exclusion for "Local Visitors," i.e., those staying within the border area for less than 72 hours.

The new FM-T will be valid for up to six months and will allow multiple entries and exits. The cost will be $15US, except for "Local Visitors."

It seems that such a program would be impossible to implement at the border in TJ, and so it will probably go through much modification.

The Baja Sun notes that the cost for a Mexican citizen to obtain a border crossing card into the United States is $45 for a ten-year permit, plus about $10 for a phone call. Each trip beyond 25 miles from the border also requires a $6 monthly pass. The Mexican action is, in some sense, reciprocal to what the U.S. imposes on Mexican citizens.