Is it worth it?

I called my mom yesterday to wish her a happy birthday.  It was late because I was returning from yet another adventurous trip south of the border.  In her cutest and most memorable mother voice she said to me "Aren't there enough waves in San Diego?  And I don't want your wife to become a young widow either".   I love you too mom.

I been asked about 25 different questions about Baja, but all of which culminate in the same question, "Is it worth it?"  Baja can be dangerous, as can America.  You can get lost in Baja for sure, the street and autopista signs always fuck me up.  But I get lost in America too. Everybody in Baja pretty much speaks some form of English, but the more I cross the San Ysidro, the more my Spanish gets better.  Just the other day, I had a conversation for 10 minutes, all in Spanish.  I was pretty amazed.  The lineups can get crowded, but crowded on that side of the world is about 8-10 people.  

But what really gets me is how Mexican Americans with strong Mexican roots in Tijuana are afraid to cross the border.  My buddy's mother always blesses us before we leave and constantly texts us when we are across to make sure we are safe.  I love my adopted Madre, and she is a strong and courageous woman.  And when I see her scared, I get a bit scared.   And she grew up in Baja, particularly T.J. and crosses over all the time to see family.

I've been over a dozen times now, have gotten to know a lot of good people down there including local surfers, fisherman, expats and so on, and there are some interesting fucking characters to say the least.  Their advice for me while visiting Baja are as follows:

1.  Know where your going.
2.  Don't travel at night.
3.  Minimize stopping while driving.
4.  Learn basic Spanish including greetings and small talk.
5.  No matter how much you cross over, and no matter how much nothing happens while you cross   over, remain aware of the fact that you are in Mexico.
6.  Respect.  Treat Baja like you do your home country.

It's worth it to catch waves in countries like Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, Chile, Indonesia, The Philippines and so on, all being in developing countries.  Why not Baja?  But of course, it all comes down to the individual, to know whether or not it's worth it to them.  I'm still trying to figure that out myself.


Tres Olas from Kookingitup on Vimeo.