Tijuana Guide Part 3
Getting around
Taxis do not have meters. You need to negotiate a price and that is it. It is best to do it where there is a hotel or cab stand where English so spoken. We got some advice just go with $5 dollars and no matter they will settle there and it works. However, most of our Uber rides were within 3 square miles of our activities and it was between $2 and $3. $5 is actually expensive.
If you can avoid it, do not drive in Tijuana. The cops there will deliberately stop cars just to get a bribe out of it. Out of state cars are often stolen in Tijuana.
Safety
When we were there, the federal government has deployed the national guard. They were in show of force in the high tourist areas. All websites I looked at confirm the local police are extremely corrupt. They will shake you down for money over anything you do. I also found that if you stray too far for tourist areas and you are not local, the odds of getting mugged and beaten goes up considerably. The cartels are a less visible but still has a lot of power over local government. The federal government has been trying to root out corruption for decades and the high military presence is to reassure tourists it is safe.
Unless you know the place well and speak good Spanish, go with a buddy, and don’t be flashing money and wear subdued clothes.
COVID-19
If you look at the COVID-19 for Mexico, it has been out of control through the pandemic. The country final got large doses of vaccine around March of these and has been vaccinating a rapid clip. Mexico City is the epicenter of the pandemic with it raging out of control. Baja California and in particular Tijuana has been undergoing a strong vaccination program because it needs tourist to come. The Tijuana government announced 70% first dose vaccine back in mid- July. Mexico as a whole is creeping to 40% vaccinated. The other statistic that I looked closely is the San Diego County vaccination report and the southern region has 99% of Hispanics vaccinated, while the rest of the county is closer to 45% Hispanics vaccinated. The only reason I can think of is because the land border was open to travel for workers, people from Tijuana were getting vaccinated when then came to the USA to work. However, there is some question about the WG because they come from all over Central and South America, vaccination status is always going to be a question.
Mask wearing is a must indoors, temperature checks are required and hand sanitizer used. In my trip about 95% of every indoor place was in compliance of this or you got turned away. Many locals on the streets wear masks, including the homeless. WG will wear masks or face shields also.
COVID-19 has devastated their economy. Restaurants were closing at 8 and 9 on a Saturday. Tourism offices were closed. Many shops catering to tours were not open. The bars may not be full and they keep trying. The lack of tourism money is hurting them badly. They had already been in months long total shutdown and there is not much aid from the federal government. Even though it was a holiday weekend in the US, we did not see a lot of American tourists at all and even the return home it is was mostly Mexicans returning back.
That is my summary of Tijuana that I hope is helpful. I may do some edits if something else comes to mid. It really is a fun place and the people are wonderful. You do need to be smart and careful in your travels there. | |
