Need to get around Cabo? Hey it’s a lot better now. Years ago many of the streets were not named, or if they were, the name signs were not placed at the corners. Okay, so it’s not perfect yet but most of the streets have names and if you get lucky there will be a directional arrow at the corner. Not always though, so if you are driving, look to see which way MOST of the cars are parked. This is not foolproof but it is a good indication.
We now have crosswalks…well in a lot of places. North of the border pedestrians have the right of way and a driver can be ticketed for not allowing a pedestrian to cross the street. Same here in Cabo but not everyone adheres to this courtesy right of way. I think one of the reasons, and it is the same reason some drivers do not stop at stop signs, is the fear of getting rear ended. When I first got here I had my handyman with me and he was appalled that I was stopping at all the stop signs. His remark was: Are you nuts…we are going to get rear ended. So much for that story. Enjoy walking the streets of Cabo. They are safe but the same safety rules apply here as in the U.S. and Canada. Do not walk the back streets late at night and stick to populated areas. Ask yourself…would I walk these same back streets in Detroit (apologies to Detroit)?
I’ve included a map of downtown Cabo…please not the direction of the arrows which indicate which are up streets and which are down. I still get confused because after about 10 years of learning the one-way streets, about 2 years ago the city muckety-mucks decided to switch them all. Verrrry confusing.
The following blog was written by a friend of mine and long time Cabo resident, George Landrum. He has given me permission to reprint it. You can also find Captain George’s weekly fishing report at http://captgeo.wordpress.com/
About Town by Captgeo.
Cruising through town yesterday I noticed a policeman on a small scooter, all dressed to the nines and looking like a California Highway Patrolman with his knee high leather boots, white shirt with those little things on the shoulders and his white helmet. All of a sudden he zipped off and several blocks later He had a car pulled over and one of the corner policemen was walking over to him. You know who I am talking about? The corner policemen, the ones who stand at the corners and intersections to mess up the traffic flow. Yep, the ones with no gun, just a nightstick and radio. Well, it appears that they now have their own enforcement division! Before, if one of these corner cops tried to wave you over you would just pretend not to have noticed them, knowing that they were going for a shakedown looking for 50 pesos or so. Now they call the guy on the scooter, and he scoots along until he finds you, then either collects money or gives you a ticket. Since giving you a ticket here involves removing your license plate, and he has no place to store license plates, I think you know where this is going! Anyway, I thought it was cute and have nicknamed the guy C.R.I.S.P. instead if a C.HI.P. That stands for “Cabo Radio Intercept Scooter Police”. Cute, huh?
Downtown Cabo
