Appropriate Attire: Baja is one of the more casual corners of Mexico. In resort areas -- remote and well traveled -- pretty much anything goes. By day, flip-flops and shorts (for men) or skirts, shorts, and sundresses (for women) are standard apparel for locals and tourists alike. If you want to blend in with the local crowd of Los Cabos, La Paz, Ensenada, and Tijuana by night, trousers and knit shirts (for men) and dresses, skirts, or trousers with heels, pumps, nice sandals, or wedges (for women) will show the right amount of respect for the dining establishment or nightclub you choose. The rest of the beach resorts are 24/7 flip-flop-and-shorts land. That said, plenty of female tourists think it's ok to cruise town in their bikini top and a sarong, and for every such woman, there's a shirtless man toting a six-pack of beer and a sunburn. In the ever-proper country of Mexico, please cover up, keep your beer in the bars, and be respectful of the town you're exploring.
Gestures: Some gringos think it appropriate to kiss the cheek of everyone they meet in Mexico, but this happens only when you're meeting a friend of a friend, not your fishing-boat captain, an employee, the housekeeper, the gardener, the timeshare salesperson, or a new business associate. Friend-to-friend kisses occur between man and woman and woman and woman, but men always shake hands with new acquaintances. Do expect Mexicans to stand a little closer to you than your non-Latin friends; they have a much different definition of personal space than gringos do.
Avoiding Offense: Mexico social interactions are founded on extreme politeness and a complex web of social considerations that incorporate respect and prevention of shame. In fact, saying so much as "I need to leave" after an hour-long lunch may be deemed an insult to your dining companion. (It's better to say something like, "shall we go?" or the like.) Outright negativity is rare and offensive, so you'll rarely hear the word "no" from a Mexican, especially in laid-back Baja, and you will come across as abrasive if you use it very often. Most importantly, if you're negotiating a difficult situation, never get angry. Stay as patient as possible and keep the ball in play. No matter how dire the situation seems, there's almost always a way for you to get what you want if you remain polite, courteous, and persistent in a nonconfrontational way.
Eating & Drinking: If you want to eat and drink like a local in Baja, breakfast in the morning is whenever you have time, lunch is around 2 or 3pm, coffee with friends substitutes for happy hour, dinner starts between 8 and 10pm, the nightlife kicks off around 11pm, and tacos are there to refuel after dancing and to continue the evening with friends -- not to help "soak up the alcohol" before you head home. On the whole, it is shameful to appear drunk if you're Mexican, and the drinking-equals-partying attitude is a behavior brought to Mexico by gringos, not the other way around. That's not to say the alcohol doesn't flow at dinner parties and clubs, but Mexicans are much more modest about the process than most non-Latin cultures. So, if you can, try to avoid saying things like, "Dude, I am so wasted!" and drinking so much you think it's a good idea to stand on a cocktail table and try to dance like a stripper.
If you've been invited to someone's house for la comida (lunch, turned into a social event on a Sunday) dinner, it's considered polite to bring a bottle of wine or alcohol, but be sure you double-check with your host the actual arrival time; I often ask my friends if they mean "Gringo Time" or "Mexican Time." For example, in Baja, an 8pm dinner invitation means an 8:15pm arrival on Gringo Time and a 9pm arrival on Mexican time -- at the earliest. If you're not sure, just ask your host. Once you're there, be prepared for a long cocktail hour followed by an even longer, lingering meal that takes you into the wee hours. There is never the slightest rush when dining at someone's home, so plan to stay a while and give yourself up to the sobremesa (conversation around the table long after the meal, usually accompanied by a bottle of wine or a little tequila).
