It wasn't too long ago that traveling to Baja meant completely dropping out of society for the duration of the trip. Telephone service was difficult, expensive and reception was often poor. Internet access was not available at any cost so checking your e-mail while in Baja was not even an option. But since the turn of the century, Baja has come a long way on both fronts.
Not only has telephone service improved significantly in Baja over the last few years, but at long last the Internet has come to Baja. Year by year, city by city, Baja's entrepenurs have established Internet Cafes in most of Baja's communities. While there is still no Internet access in most of Baja's remote outback (and that is a good thing!), Baja villages and towns are now on-line and offer an easy way to keep in touch with family, friends and business associates back home.
Rates for Internet access in Baja vary considerably, depending upon the scarcity of the service. Where a person might pay $3.00 US for 15 minutes in the remote coastal community of San Juanico, that same person might find Interet access available in Cabo San Lucas for $1.00 US for 30 minutes. Competition keeps prices down and the customer benefits.
INTERNET ACCESS IN BAJA
Internet Cafes in Baja are a great place to meet other travelers.
The vast majority of the Internet Cafes in Baja charge for their services in pesos, although they will almost alway accept US dollars as payment. So if the total cost of your on-line experience is $30 pesos, $3.00 dollars US will do the trick, using the popular 10 to 1 pesos-to-dollars ratio.
While the newer Internet Cafes in Baja are using US keyboards (and you thought all keyboards were the same!), some of the older Cafe's in Baja have Mexican keyboards. Fortunately, Mexican keyboards are not a whole lot different from US keyboards. The letters are all in the same place on the keyboard, but some of the other keyboard items and functions have been moved around or removed. If you can't find the "@" sign on a Baja computer don't be afraid to ask the person behind the counter. You won't be the first person that day to do so!.
A word of caution! Now that Internet access is so readily available in Baja, it takes a certain amount of discipline to break the habit of checking your e-mail all the time. Remember...you are on vacation and there are many more important things for you to do that delete a bunch of spam in your e-mail in box. Take a hint from Carlos Fiesta...check your e-mail no more than once a day when in Baja, usually after 5:00 pm 'home-time'. If there are any important e-mails waiting for you this will allow you to respond the same day the e-mail came in, which is about all anyone can expect from you while you are on vacation. And by clearing your e-mail in the late afternooon, you are all set to take on the Baja evening, have a worry-free meal and cocktail, and sleep like a Baja Buzzard knowing that you are all caught up with the drama back home.