We had heard that we should drive very carefully right through Constitucion as the cops were on the look out to tap tourists, looking for any infraction to charge them with - and of course to collect their mordida (bribe). We stopped at Misiones RV Park http://www.misionesrvpark.com/ for the night. We have made friends with the owners, Jaime and Patty and their girls in previous years. They are lovely people, very easy to befriend. I think anyone who stays there would say the same.
Lorne was looking to buy a special plug for the motor home (which we lost somewhere along the trip) so we could plug into their power so, just like any other RV park owner in Canada and the US; Patty drove him around to a number of potential stores - they were unsuccessful. Upon return Patty told Lorne that she knew he wouldn't be able to find such a thing in town but she didn't want him to drive around the town on his own and in our car with Canadian plates because the police were on the prowl for tourists and he would certainly be stopped. She also said that she had spoken to the mayor about the police behaviour before and that the police had stopped stalking tourists for awhile but they are at it again. It is very bad for any business that relies on tourists and she said she has not had the numbers staying with them that she has in previous years. She believes it is because of the reputation of the police and she is likley right. Baja regulars have a number of news groups so word about anything and everything gets around very quickly.
This is all most unfortunate for Jaime and Patty as they are such nice people and I hope that their business picks up again. It is election year so campaigning is going on all over. Perhaps a new mayor will have influence over the police in this city. We have always found the people in this city to be very helpful and friendly so it would be nice to feel relaxed there again.
Indeed, as we were leaving town in the morning, the police were cruising along with us. They finally stopped Lorne. While I was circling back in the car to demand his release, they told him there was a problem and clearly thought they got him for no seatbelt. When he showed the police his lap belt they still thought he needed the shoulder belt (which would be great if we could have one installed but it can't be done). When Lorne explained it was a 1976 vehicle they seemed to understand that vehicles that old don't have shoulder belts and they let him drive on!! So, we were lucky that time, whew!!
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