Across the Sea of Cortés on Ferries

About a week before our six-month Mexican tourist visas expired, we drove up the east side of the Baja peninsula from Loreto to Santa Rosalía to catch the ferry to Guaymas on the mainland. We left late in the morning when the sun was high and the air was warm. It was Semana Santa (Easter Week) and we had been warned that the roads would be crowded with travelers. Mario, our neighbor just back from Mulege, told us that the beaches along the Sea of Cortés were packed with campers.

Playa El Requeson on Bahiá Concepcíon

La Mordida

La mordida, “the bite,” is a bribe in Mexico. While we were waiting for the ferry in Topolobampo, an American couple in line behind us told their story of being stopped by a municipal transit policeman between Los Mochis and Topolobampo. The policeman read a prepared text about their violation of the 60 kilometer/hour (km/h) speed limit. He showed them a radar gun displaying 80 km/h and said they were speeding. The driver, a recently-retired federal contractor, said that he was moving along with traffic, implying that everyone was speeding. The transit policeman told them that the place where they had to pay the fine was closed until the following morning. In the end, the couple gave MX$1,500 (pesos), about US$120, to the policeman so they could catch the ferry. La Mordida.