Avoid at all costs the ‘direct line’ phone booths where they want your credit card for a call. Instead, buy a Ladatel or Telmex card in 30, 50 or 100 peso amounts. These phone cards can be found in the small stores up and down the shopping districts. If one store is out of them, another will have them. Sometimes there’s even bonus minutes added the first time you use the card. The Ladatel/Telmex phone booths are found almost everywhere in the Baja. (Although not in Catavina.)

Insert your card, wait for the prompt which shows how much is left on the card, and punch in 001 + area code + phone number to call any number in North America. After you hang up, that beeping noise is to remind you to remove the card.