Bajadock: Apparently we were not punished enough a few weeks ago. The delays at the Ens-Tecate highway intersection in El Sauzal are back this week. There was a 5 minute delay here during my return from Valle de Guadalupe Saturday.
The Ministry of Infrastructure, Urban Development and Territorial Reorganization (SIDURT) reported that a temporary closure will be carried out on the Tijuana-Ensenada highway in both directions, starting this coming Monday, May 13. May.
Arturo Espinoza Jaramillo, head of the agency, announced that this measure will be carried out with the purpose of carrying out the assembly maneuvers of concrete beams on the main bridge of the new El Sauzal Road Node.
This intervention will take place at alternating times between 9:00 am and 12:00 pm on Monday and will also have alternative routes duly signposted.
In the Tijuana-Ensenada direction, you can use Ninth Street in the Fondeport Industrial Park. In the Ensenada-Tijuana direction, it is recommended to take the highway deviation towards Tecate and return to the highway at the traffic light located at the intersection of Vista al Mar street.
Vehicular flow on the highway, in both directions, will be reestablished starting at 6:00 a.m. on Tuesday, May 14. SIDURT calls on citizens to respect speed limits, road signs and use the detour routes established during this period of temporary closure.
Have been fairly quiet in 2024, but gaining some momentum about the Ensenada dining scene. Made my first visit to Comal in April.
Greeting was extra friendly and they assigned me with a bi-lingual server. I prefer my menu in Spanish as that sometimes will challenge me with new food descriptions. This one page menu is easy to review and offers plenty of tapas style offerings for tasting and sharing.
Tortilla soup is always a favorite, especially when there is some added creativity like this perfect appeteaser.
Enjoyed a Carta Blanca beer for an old school quenching.
Sauv blanc is my favorite white and this one from Tecate provided lovely swishes for my next two dishes.
Back to food wording surprises, the “Infladita de Conejo” I ordered had me very curious what might show up on my plate. Apparently tortillas being inflated on the comal is a popular thing. Have not had rabbit in a long time. So the “Rabbit Balloon” was the highlight of my spring dinner. Or does this prove that Easter bunnies are hatched from eggs?
This panceta de cerdo is another whimsical plate full of textures with chicharrones for added crunch.
The salsa verde was so scrumptious I dove into the deep end.
The atmosphere at Comal is spartan in brick, block and concrete. My seat at the bar was sushi style with a view of the kitchen and their hustle. This ain’t no fern bar! The food is the focus.
We are excited to hand Comal our prestigious 4.5 out of 5 blue corn husks award for excellent service, quality, flavors, creative dishes and overall value.
Comal is located at 666 Miramar in the Bodegas de Santo Tomas plaza. Hours are 9 – 5 seven days.
May 9: Updated Punta San Jose Lighthouse camping site below with photos and Google Earth map below.
Posting this as solid information gathered from FGE Mex investigation reporting as well as stitching together photos and videos of locations from various media. Google Earth is the only tool I used here.
Santo Tomas on highway 1 is a one hour drive from centro Ensenada.
Unfortunately there is much misinformation in this first week of the murder investigation of the 3 lost surfers, Carter, Callum and Jake. Photos and videos of areas 30 miles north of the Santo Tomas area have been randomly splashed into reporting.
I see reports calling out locations, but, really meaning AREAS. The crime scene is in “Ensenada”, “Santo Tomas”, “La Bocana” and “San Jose”. Hopefully more specific information will develop.
FGE’s own crime map above shows the burnt Chevy truck in Santo Tomas(punto azul). Reports it was “found on a ranch”. Punto rojo casa de campaña que quemaron(burnt camp site) is at the Punta San Jose Lighthouse. The well is 1.75 miles/2.8km north of the Lighthouse(2.5 miles/4.1km driving on road).
Guillermo Arias/AFP foto, shows the spot of the 3 surfers campsite, approx 400 meters east of the lighthouse. Though the spot look like a beach, it is raised approx 10 meters above ocean. (lighouse visible on horizon in above photo).
Google Earth view of burnt campsite in relation to Lighthouse.
The summary at end of my mapping video is that the drive from the coast at the old well site is 1 hour to get back inland to Santo Tomas. The surfers burned truck was reportedly found in Santo Tomas.
Hope more information is forthcoming to complete the investigation and provide some peace for the devastated family and friends of these young men. Let us know how we may help.
Three surfing buddies have lost their lives on our beaches due to the insecurity and violence that we experience daily on our coasts. Today it was them, tomorrow it could be any of us!!!
We deeply mourn their loss and stand in solidarity with their family’s grief in a Peaceful Protest where we will demand justice, but also dignified and safe access to our beaches to prevent this from happening again.”
Sunday, May 5th, 12:00pm “Plaza Las Tres Cabezas”, Ensenada, B.C.,
Bajadock: Major Baja News Media all reporting bodies found in La Bocana, including El Vigia(below), Zeta, La Jornada BC.Identifications of bodies still unkowns as of noon Friday.
This morning the mobilization towards the south along the Transpeninsular was recorded, of a delegation made up of elements of the anti-homicide unit and rescue specialist firefighters, for work to recover bodies, presumably related to the instigation of the missing tourists.
The meeting point was set at the Maneadero delegation, and the specialists would leave for the town of Santo Tomas, where the “surfers”, Australian and American, got lost.
According to unofficial versions, the human remains are located on a cliff in said delegation.
Bajadock: Identities confirmed . This story is terrible. I hope that the family and friends can find some peace in the future.Descansa en paz!
Friday 10AM, 3 bodies found(+1 local from a previous “disapperance) approx 1.7miles north of Punta San Jose Lighthouse. No identification as of 1PM. Reports were that Australian family members were flying to Baja Friday.
Friday May 3, no updates after scanning Baja, Australia and San Diego news sites and popular Baja social media as of 7AM. 3 suspects arrested, cell phone found seems to be of one of the missing, burnt truck ID’d as theirs and tent campsite evidence near La Bocana were Thursdays updates. The 3 were last seen near La Bocana on April 28. La Bocana is approx a 70km/42mile drive south of Ensenada. The San Jose surf spot was a planned stop on the young men’s vacation and is also being searched. U.S. FBI is assisting Mexico.
Three people have been arrested after one was found carrying the phone of one of two Australian brothers who went missing while on a surf trip in Mexico.
Perth brothers Jake, 30, and Callum Robinson, 33, and their friend Jack Rhoad, 30, failed to check into their Airbnb in Rosarito, near the US-Mexico border on Saturday morning.
The brothers’ mum Debra Robinson raised the alarm in a local Baja California community page after she was unable to contact them for a few days.
Missing Aussie brothers Callum and Jake Robinson. Picture: Instagram
On Friday morning, Baja California Attorney-General María Elena Andrade Ramírez told reporters three Mexican people had been arrested in connection to the case, Nine reports.
It is understood police were able to make the arrests after one of the brothers’ mobile phones was turned back on, and pinged a local mobile tower.
A woman was found in possession of the phone as well as some illicit drugs.
She was arrested along with two other men.
A burned out car was found on a ranch in the Santo Tomás area after the ranch manager called 911 on Thursday (local time), according to local media TalkBaja
A check of the vehicle’s VIN reportedly identified it as belonging to one of the three missing surfers.
The men were said to be driving a Chevrolet Colorado with the Californian number plate 70189W1.
Three abandoned tents were discovered south of the Ensenada region and local authorities have searched hundreds of square kilometres of land in the surrounding area.
Perth man Callum Robinson is missing in Baja California region near Ensenada. Picture: Instagram
His brother Jake Robinson is also missing. Picture: Instagram
“A working team (of investigators) is at the site where they were last seen, where tents and other evidence was found that could be linked to these three people we have under investigation,” Andrade Ramírez said on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.
“There is a lot of important information that we can’t make public.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Friday morning that DFAT has been in touch with the brother’s family.
‘This is a really concerning situation,” he said.
“Our embassy in Mexico is working with local authorities as well to try to ascertain what has happened here.”
“We hope that these brothers are found safely but there is real concern about the fact that they’ve gone missing.”
“Their mother is obviously very distressed about this and we just hope for a positive outcome.”
Callum Robinson pictured with a friend. Picture: Instagram
Jake Robinson is missing. Picture: Instagram
Mrs Robinson made the call-out on Thursday after she hadn’t hear from her sons in a few days.
The brothers failed to check in to their Airbnb and Callum who was due back at work in San Diego never turned up.
“Reaching out to anyone who has seen my two sons,” Ms Robinson wrote on Facebook.
“They are travelling with another friend, an American citizen.
The post shared to a local community page. Picture: Facebook
“They were due to book into an Airbnb in Rosarito after their camping weekend but they did not show up.”
Their mother is also particularly concerned because Callum suffers from type 1 diabetes.
She also shared a photo which said her sons had gone missing around the Rosarito and Ensenada region of Baja California on Saturday morning.
Rosarito is a coastal city in Baja California, Mexico and is about an hour’s drive north of Ensenada and a 45 minute drive south of the US city of San Diego.
The Robinson brothers with their parents. Picture: Instagram
Lacrosse Australia issued a statement on social media expressing its concern over the whereabouts of Jake, Callum and their friend, Jack Carter Rhoad.
It described Callum as an “Australian lacrosse star”.
“We urge the Australian lacrosse community and our global lacrosse family to continue sharing the post from Callum’s friends and family (located on the LA Facebook and Instagram story) in the hope that Callum, Jake and Jack are found safe and sound,” it said.
“Our thoughts are with the families and friends of the Callum, Jake and Jack during this incredibly stressful time.”
Callum Robinson is described as a ‘lacrosse star’. Picture: Instagram
WA Premier Roger Cook said the situation was “very worrying”.
“When we do send our young men and women overseas to enjoy that adventure holiday, they invite an element of risk and this is really quite distressing,” he told reporters.
“I understand that one of the individuals has a medical condition that would need ongoing care, so I share concerns of all Western Australians in terms of their welfare.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade confirmed they were assisting the family.
“The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade is providing consular assistance to the family of two Australians reported missing in Mexico,” a spokesperson said.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment.”
The project funding platform GoFundMe announced its arrival in Mexico , becoming the first country in Latin America to receive full support on the platform that, after six years of operations, takes its first international step, joining the 19 countries where it already operates and to its global community of 150 million people.
Founded in California in 2010, GoFundMe is a platform dedicated to making it easy to channel people’s generosity toward various causes, needs, and dreams. Its mission is to provide tools for creating fundraising campaigns, amplifying stories and connecting donors with beneficiaries.
“Launching in our 20th country is a huge milestone that will allow people across Mexico a safe, easy and powerful way to raise money for the people and causes they care about most,” says Tim Cadogan, CEO of GoFundMe.
GoFundMe is used to raise funds for a variety of purposes, including medical emergencies, educational expenses, travel, support for athletes, funerals, animal care and protection, and social projects. From Mexico, the platform seeks to unlock and expand peer-to-peer fundraising throughout Latin America and beyond.
With 88 million internet users, Mexico represents the first step towards this expansion, being the starting point to unite people from across the region in acts of generosity. Every year, tens of millions of dollars are donated on GoFundMe to support Mexico-related fundraisers.
In Mexico, anyone can now create fundraising pages , receive donations, and withdraw funds in Mexican pesos through local banks. GoFundMe automatically deducts 2.9 percent plus 5 Mexican pesos from each donation, which, the company assures, provides transparency and offers the most competitive prices on the market. Additionally, the platform does not charge any fees to start a fundraiser, and instead accepts optional contributions from donors.
GoFundMe has helped raise more than $30 billion and the company is also experiencing rapid growth globally, with a 400 percent increase in donation volume in non-English-speaking countries over the past six years.
EXPAT in BAJA Mexico 