[Aztlan] Mexico's Message

[brucewrite at aol.com]

Hola Viajeros,
I'm sure many of us have anecdotal examples of travel in Mexico, much of it
up to luck.  Last summer we drove the 
Gulf Route from Pharr/Reynosa to Cancun and had no problems whatsoever
(except for passing mucho accidents 
over the mountains).  Over the years, we've driven all over the Yucatan in
rental cars without incident.  
With the only Subaru now in Puerto Morelos, this August we had planned to
drive from there to San Cristobal, 
Chiapas, and then maybe to Oaxaca.  If someone is familiar with this
trip/route, please let us know.  Anyone who 
wants to know about driving in the Yucatan or the Gulf Route, you're
welcome to ask us.
Bruce Conord
author of Adventure Guide to the Yucatan
www.adventureguides.com


Original Message:
-----------------
From: Matt O'Mansky omansky at gmail.com
Date: Sun, 21 Jun 2009 20:21:36 -0400
To: Aztlan at lists.famsi.org
Subject: [Aztlan] Mexico's Message


While it may be inexpensive to travel to Mexico now, there may be
other complicating factors.  I just returned from 3 months of
fieldwork and a faculty-led study abroad trip in Guatemala and El
Salvador.  Driving my pickup through Mexico, I had several problems
with corrupt local police, particularly in Poza Rica and Reynosa.  I
was pulled over for various made up reasons.  In reality, my only
violation was being obviously white with US tags on my vehicle.  It
cost me hundreds of dollars in blackmail (the various police wanted
well over $1000 in total).  The problem seems to be specific to local
police -- I had no problems with the federal police or the military,
who were all very professional.

In addition to this problem, the trip with the students was originally
planned to go to Guatemala and Mexico but my university forbade us
from entering Mexico due to the flu.  Before that, I talked to the
travel company with which I was working in Guatemala regarding costs
for various things.  When I asked about border fees with Mexico, the
reply was, "It depends on who is working that day."  I have had no
such problems with Guatemalan borders and the Salvador border was
refreshingly fast and easy.  When I discussed these various problems
with friends and acquaintances, it became apparent that the problems
with Mexican police and border officials is fairly endemic -- many
people shared their own horror stories.  I realize that Mexico is
dealing with some serious problems right now, but if Mexican officials
want to increase tourism then they really need to crack down on
corruption.  I am going to fly to Guatemala in the future and I don't
know that I would take students to Mexico unless we fly into Mexico
and do not cross any borders.  It's too difficult and frustrating,
particularly when neighboring and nearby countries seem to be free (or
largely free) of such problems.  Perhaps I'm just bitter right now,
having just returned a few days ago, but these are real problems --
beyond the flu.
Matt
_______________________________________________
Aztlan mailing list
http://www.famsi.org/mailman/listinfo/aztlan
Click here to post a message Aztlan at lists.famsi.org
Click to view Calendar of Events http://research.famsi.org/events/events.php




--------------------------------------------------------------------
mail2web - Check your email from the web at
http://link.mail2web.com/mail2web