Posted on 11/19/2007 11:16:35 AM PST by DogByte6RER
Surfer's Baja tale is warning to others
Camping trip ended in robbery, assault
By Terry Rodgers
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
November 19, 2007
Pat Weber didn't plan on being part of a crime trend that has generated worldwide buzz this past week, but he didn't have much choice.
The Encinitas resident and surfing instructor got lost on a dirt road in Baja California last month while looking for a surfing spot called Cuatro Casas. He and his girlfriend decided to park for the night on a bluff overlooking the ocean.
Just after sundown, two men wearing ski masks approached Weber's motor home and ordered him to come out. He refused but surrendered after they fired a bullet through a window.
The assailants held a gun to Weber's head while they ransacked the motor home and took about $10,000 worth of items. They also sexually assaulted his girlfriend, Weber said.
It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune not to identify victims of sexual crimes.
The Oct. 23 attack was one of at least six armed robberies and carjackings in the past five months that targeted surfers en route to camping spots in northern Baja. Some of the victims reported their experiences to the police, while others posted their stories on surfing and travel Web sites.
The Union-Tribune published details of the crimes Wednesday. Since then, blogs and TV and radio stations based everywhere from Southern California to Australia have covered the topic.
They have featured tourists who never encountered trouble in Baja and those who stopped visiting the peninsula's remote, picturesque beaches because of crimes that happened 10 or 20 years ago. A few included safety tips ahead of the Thanksgiving vacation stretch.
On Friday, a crew from CNN came to town to produce a segment about what Weber and his girlfriend went through.
“I'm not asking for sympathy,” said Weber, who said he went public to warn other travelers.
Weber said feels guilty that he couldn't defend his girlfriend, and he keeps second-guessing himself about the decision to camp in an isolated area. His sleep has been fitful, and he often feels a knot of emotions.
“I'm like a piñata on wheels, loaded up and ready to be smashed open,” he said.
Despite the trauma, Weber is thankful to be alive. “(The gunmen) had all the cards,” he said. “It could have ended 100 different ways much worse.”
Weber, 47, had logged more than 500 days in Baja and has taken dozens of students there over the past 10 years. Now he vows to never return.
“I can't in good conscience take someone down there and say it's safe, because it's not,” he said. “For me, this is the end of an era.”
On Friday, Weber invited friends and past students to a surfing session and potluck lunch at South Carlsbad State Beach, the home base for his San Diego Surfing Academy.
Weber said the “group hug,” his term for the event, will help heal his mental and emotional wounds. “It's part of my catharsis,” he said. “I'm still numb and reeling from the experience. It's like a bad dream.”
When the CNN crew showed up, Weber pointed out the bullet hole in his motor home.
“That, I'm not going to get fixed,” he said. “I'm just going to plug it with a cork from a wine bottle.”
Amid the rising concern about what some surfers see as sophisticated, paramilitary-style crimes in Baja, longtime visitors to the peninsula said tourists can take steps to reduce their chances of becoming victims.
They advised people to travel in caravans of two or more vehicles and to stay in campgrounds that have security guards. Some surfers urged campers to bring a dog and said it's a good idea to have a cell phone or rent a satellite phone.
“When in Mexico at a remote site, you are vulnerable and you need to pay attention,” said Kent Layton, who operates a fenced-in surf camp at Cuatro Casas called the Boat Ranch. “Be proactive. Have a plan, and whenever possible, leave yourself an out.”
Layton also recommends that travelers leave a copy of their itinerary with friends and family members.
LOL :)
LOL! WiseOldPro. You can't surf crime waves.
“Weber said the “group hug,” his term for the event, will help heal his mental and emotional wounds”
His wounds? What about his girlfriend...he does not mention her horrible experience...
My, my - a Statist like you is advocating illegally taking a firearm into a foreign nation? What is the world coming too?
That’s a really bad idea. The federal thugs down there set up roadblocks and search vehicles for weapons.
After being stopped at one of these checkpoints back in ‘95, I saw the writing was on the wall. I’ve never gone back.
That’s what I’d suggest - just stay out of Mehico all together. If they want gringo tourist dollars, let them clean up their socialist criminal cesspool.
Mexico has very strict gun control. A caller to Dennis Prager’s show said that Mexico has always been problematic, but back in the 50s and 60s it was at least livable. Then gun control came and now the citizens are helpless against the Mexican Mafia, the Federales, the local police, drug and gun smugglers, etc.
I’ve heard the same thing about Venezuela, and look how insane that country is now. I would never go to a foreign country except Canada or Costa Rica. It’s not worth the risk.
The surfer guy in the story said he’s not going back to Mexico, but he’d better locate the slug in the trailer if he changes his mind. The Federales will find it and charge him with a felony.
North American Union? Anyone?
>>Mexico has very strict gun control. A caller to Dennis Prager’s show said that Mexico has always been problematic, but back in the 50s and 60s it was at least livable. Then gun control came and now the citizens are helpless against the Mexican Mafia, the Federales, the local police, drug and gun smugglers, etc.
That’s what I figured. I’ve talked to a young Mexican professional here in the US who described the towns along the drug routes in Mexico that are run by gangsters.
When I told him that they would have to get that under control, he said, “Good luck.” He’s powerless, but more importantly, just accepts it.
I wish we had taken Baja as part of the US when Mexico nearly defaulted on their debt back in the 90s. It would have been a lot of work to convert it to our laws and civilization, but worth it, I’d think. It’s too nice a place to be in Mexico.
Very strange indeed!
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