Tramel's Tijuana travelblog: A fascinating but dangerous city in an idyllic setting

The sand is the same. The waves are no different. The weather identical – 10 months of virtual perfection, with only May Gray and June Gloom interrupting. 

But the glorious settings of Tijuana and San Diego have produced drastically different results. A walk along the beachfront in Playas de Tijuana, the western-most borough in Mexico’s second-most populous city, tells the story. 

The three-tiered setting should be functional and picturesque perfect. Commerce on Avenida del Pacifico, with the back side looking out over the ocean. A short descent, via steps, to a boardwalk that extends probably a mile. Another short descent to the sand itself. 

And indeed, visitors flock to the beach. Mostly Mexicans, it appears, but some internationals, too.  

Yet Tijuana’s idyllic setting is not thriving. Some of the buildings overlooking the Pacific are rustic, to put it kindly. Others are dilapidated. Some are gone, merely empty lots. 

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A few renovated residences are sprinkled among the ramshackle line of businesses on Avenida del Pacifico. But no hotels, at least not along the mile or so of beachfront that I walked. 

I am in Tijuana for a missions trip with Antioch Community Church, and we’re staying at the Hotel Jatay, on the non-beach side of Avenida del Pacifico. A one-minute walk to the boardwalk. 

Summer is here. The beach beckons. The Hotel Jatay is not luxury lodging, but it’s a perfectly fine hotel with some beach views and incredible access to the Pacific. And nightly rates are about $80. 

A local who owns a very nice house on the non-beach side of Avenida del Pacifico said a small lot overlooking the beach would probably cost $30,000. I figured the same lot on the north side of the border would cost $3 million. 

Why has Tijuana not exploded as a tourist destination? Locals say government corruption. Certainly, Tijuana’s reputation as a crime-ridden, poverty-stricken city doesn’t help. 

Our hosts at All People’s Church, a few blocks from the beach in Playas de Tijuana, don’t sugarcoat the city’s problems. What you’ve heard about Tijuana is true, they say. 

The traffickers in drugs and humans have exacted a heavy toll on the city. The sex trade, including a legal Red Light District, is abundant. 

Tijuana is home to many migrants, people coming from other parts of Mexico or Central America or South America, hoping to cross the border. A massive iron fence, which extends 300 feet into the Pacific, is a constant reminder that Tijuana is a border city. 

After 9/11, U.S. border patrols increased, security intensified and long waits developed to get back into the U.S. American visitors to Tijuana dropped sharply. 

Drug violence also caused a drop in visitors. Many of Tijuana’s elite moved to California, taking investment opportunities with them. 

Tijuana is a dangerous place. Playas de Tijuana is relatively safe, a few miles away are the neighborhoods and boroughs we won’t be visiting. 

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Still, safety is paramount. We have a two-man security force with us when we head out for ministry. Even just walking around the beachfront near our hotel, we’re required by our Antioch leaders to stay in groups of at least three. We have a 9 p.m. curfew, which is no problem but still a little startling considering I'm a year-and-a-half into my 60s. 

Before we left, Trish the Dish was required to sign a hostage negotiation release form. That will sober you up. 

My brother has visited Tijuana. He told me if I encountered any trouble, don’t go to the police. Go to the military. I have no idea if he knows what he’s talking about, but he was serious. 

With all that said, I don’t feel uncomfortable. I'm breaking no protocols, but I would have no qualms walking alone down Avenida del Pacifico or the neighborhoods around All People’s Church, as long as it was daylight. 

The people of Tijuana seem like the people of Oklahoma. Most friendly, a few not. People who are busy living their lives, whether it’s delivering goods or baking pastries or buying groceries or sitting in the Dairy Queen drive-through lane. 

Tijuana was incorporated in 1889 and has been a tourist destination since at least the 1880s. Curio shops, food, thermal baths, horse racing and boxing brought visitors to Tijuana back then. 

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During U.S. prohibition, drinking and gambling were legal in Tijuana. 

In 1928, the Agua Caliente hotel opened and became an instant magnet. Hollywood stars and gangsters routinely came to Tijuana. Rita Hayworth was discovered at the Agua Caliente. But in 1935, Mexican President Lazaro Cardenas del Rio ordered casinos and gambling to close in Baja California. 

The tourism boom was over. The economy diversified – Tijuana today claims to be the medical device manufacturing capital of North America – and massive population growth ensued. 

Tijuana’s population in 1940 was 22,000. Today it is 1.9 million. Tijuana gained half a million people in the 1990s alone. 

Tijuana is a fascinating city, but a troubled city. A city that is not what it could be. 

Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.