I'm going to Mexico! First time in the country, first big ride on the KRL!

Plan A - Enter at Yuma 12/31, take five days exploring/traveling to Cabo, rest butt, regroup, five days exploring/traveling back.

I have a couple different Baja GPS maps, a very nice $10 paper map and I've heard of Mike's Sky Ranch. Beyond that, I'm clueless!

I'll be googling madly but welcome any advice about the following, or about all the stuff I don't even know I should ask:

Mexican insurance - that's bike insurance, right? Available from my agent?

Vehicle entry fee - didn't I hear a few years back that you had to post some sort of deposit to take a vehicle into Mexico?

Banditos - I'm sure this is mostly bull**** but I HAVE heard credible reports that there are nasty people operating in the vicinity of the border. My logic is to use a smaller port of entry - (Yuma/San Luis) and head straight south for 50 or 100 miles before I start "wandering."

Camping - No clue, except I want to!

Water - I'm assuming "Montezuma's Revenge" is inevitable. I can't imagine carrying enough water to not require local restocking. Is there bottled water at Pemex stations? Should I take some sort of purification tool or is that overkill? Will the stuff out of the tap kill me or just make me "runny."

Tires - I'm inclined to put on knobbies and just suffer on the pavement, knowing how helpless I'll be on some sandy unmarked trail if I do it the other way around. But I'm also open to suggestions.

Documents - Passport/DL,bike registration and insurance card/copy of the title/medical records/emergency contact...all of it photocopied in color and stored in two places. Anything else?

Rented satellite phone - Seems like a logical safety measure and a way to check on the kids! Do they really work anywhere?

MY WIFE'S LIST

Medical evacuation insurance - Anybody have any experience? If I fall down/go boom, it WOULD be nice to have the Lear jet touch down and whisk me to a nice hospital in San Diego, but I imagine it's not that simple and I assume it's WAAAAAY expensive.

GPS locator - She insists I should have one of those little "push the button, alert the authorities" GPS devices and I'm arguing that (1.) If I'm able to "push the button" I can use the satellite phone and (2) the likelihood that there really ARE authorities who would give a S*** in the wilds of Baja are pretty slim. Any experience?

It's a long list but my forum experience has been that there are a lot of people here eager to help a newbie. Thanks in advance...Vamanos Amigos!

Jerry,
Here is a thread I have started in ADVRider. I am headed to Baja the first 2 weeks of March, there are roughly 10-12 people going. Some of your ?'s might be answered there. As far as papers, you won't need any until you get to Guerrero Negro, then you will need tourist papers. You will only need vehicle papers if you plan on ferrying over to the main land. Oh, and my brother has Med Jet Assist. Says it is around $225 a year, and they will bring your bike back to. Hope this helps.
http://www.advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285281
http://www.medjetassistance.com/default.asp?partner=

I tend to do most things alone or with my best bud who is also wife of 33 years, but if this were my first time on a trip such as you plan, I might try to hook up with another rider or two.

Years ago, I rode to Monterrey with two other guys - we all spoke Spanish and one was a Mexican national, so no problems at all. But the world is different now - I'm very hesitant to drive in the frontera (immediate border area), but still don't mind driving inland.

But no matter your confidence level, by all means go -- one way or another.

Yo Tim
By "the first two weeks of March" you talkin the 1'st to the 14'th? If so I can swing 12 of those days off and may consider this ride. I'd talk to you about it over on advrider but them bastages have me banned again

Check your PM's Tom