Mexico riders heads up

[MikeMike]

Just a quick heads up about two things that can affect your travel in Mexico. First, the money exchange locales are tied to the national banking system. So, if the banks are closed, your local "casa de cambio" is also closed if it is a legally operating money exchange operation. Second, and more important, at least three Mexican states are bankrupt or nearing bankruptcy. Veracruz, Chihuahua, and Quintana Roo have been bled dry by corrupt governors. This means road repairs, ambulance, policing services, and the general infrastructure are in severe disrepair in the kinds of areas that ADV riders like to frequent i.e. the rural and more remote areas. Also, with more government workers going unpaid, there are more protests in the urban areas. Mexico varies wildly from state to state in crime levels and corruption, some states are doing fine and business as usual and others are in the hole. An ambulance response time, on average, has never been exceptional, and you are simply on your own in more places, today, than before. More and more pressure is being put on the federal government for bailouts for the states with the worst financial problems.

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Come on , Pinproject !!!

Mike is doing a great service for visitors to Mexico by keeping us informed about situations that can and do impact is visitors . Why insist on more of the rose coloured glasses view offered by the glam tourist industry for resort areas .
It is good to be made aware of some of the underlying problems so that we can understand the situations that we may have to deal with in the regular back country .

Thanks Mike ,

[chris]

Thanks for your continued insights into important facts relevant to travel in Mexico, Mike.

[shu...]

Pinproject- I can't say that you have posted anything useful to me here.

I found Mike's information to be current and on-point for a traveler and it's the kind of information I can use to make good traveling decisions.

.........shu

[chris]

Originally Posted by thepinproject

I would appreciate more type of information like how to flush the toilet without blocking the pipes.. This is a great piece of advice if you are travelling in Mexico. All the other is just nonsense from people who commute, not TRAVEL.

Just like in Greece: Put the paper in the trash can provided

Originally Posted by thepinproject

Try to encourage more people to travel, dont create obstacles and make up stories.

Exactly which bit did Mike make up?

Originally Posted by thepinproject

By the way, the exchanges offices are open when banks are closed but also ATMs are ALWAYS open, so I dont see the point of the post.

I've tried plenty of ATMs in Mexico and they don't all work.

Originally Posted by thepinproject

About backcountry travel, are you really expecting in well developed countries to rapidly respond and rescue or whatever? Why Mexico has to be fast and responsive?

Mike never said Mexico had to have fast medical response. But knowing that responses might be slow, might focus people's riding behaviour (after all Mike's post was aimed at riders)

Originally Posted by thepinproject

At the end of the day, who is going to save poor Quintana Roo? Should we do some crowdfunding? Travellers do from time to time.. I think a facebook group #SaveQuintanaRoo could work.

Tasteless sarcasm.

Originally Posted by thepinproject

Stop terrifying people and let them leave their dream. If you want to make a contribution, while you are sitting in your desk, do offer more practical stuff.

What here is terrifying?

Your blog/website is very insightful if forming opinions for people who might want to give you money for advice that is freely available on the HUBB, so that you can extend your car travels.

[xfiltrate]

I remember Jack Kerouac. One of the Beat Generation. I met him at a bar called the Wild Boar in Tampa Florida. I was a student, he was already famous and had written many books since "On the Road" He died shortly thereafter.

“Nothing behind me, everything ahead of me, as is ever so on the road.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

If I may share the following, and I do so because I recognize here a much deeper philosophy than ATMs, and toilet etiquette, as necessary as these are, there does exist some purpose and meaning to travel. - xfiltrate

Perhaps this thread could benefit from a few of Kerouac's quotes. I sure hope so. I have lived and worked in Mexico 3 years 1980 -1983 and this year 2016 have lived in Kino Bay, Mexico for 5 months. I am fluent in Spanish and yes 7 gang members were gunned down by a rival gang 40 K from Kino Bay while I lived there, but life went on. ATMs and toilets continued working - just as they work in most of world. xfiltrate

"Perhaps it is the inner journey that is more meaningful to you. The reflections of life are just that, reflections" -
xfiltrate.

“The road must eventually lead to the whole world.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

“There was nothing to talk about anymore. The only thing to do was go.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

“For the next week that was all I heard - manana, a lovely word and one that probably means heaven.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

“He knew the road would get
more interesting, especially ahead, always ahead.”
― Jack Kerouac, On the Road

Eat, Drink and forever be "On the Road". xfiltrate

[RRHartzler]

I am leaving for Guatemala from Michigan. It's a 3500 mile (5600 klicks) trip and I for one am very interested in MikeMike's posts. I think Sjoerd is the bomb (bought his handy guides) too.

I would like to get contact info from ex-pats and residents as I travel through so I can reach-out if I run into trouble. My travel outline (very loose) is enter at Nuevo Laredo, travel down 85, swing around on 57, 70 back to 85 and the ruins at Tula and Teotihuacan. To Veracruz and Oaxaca then along the coast to Tapachula to cross into GT then over to Lake Atitlan.

I am keeping an open mind and schedule so fire away and tell me the "can't miss places" and the "avoid if possible areas"

If anybody out there is a friend of Bill W. I'd like to meet up with you!

[Sjoerd Bakker]

Pin, apparently you had some problem with the blockades in Chiapas or Oaxaca , unfortunate but you got over it by your own . But now you are wishing to blame these websites for not helping you while in the midst of that ?
Really ,there have been a good number of posts by Mike to alert you to what might be going on .Those situations and other crime events flare up and die down in various places very unpredictably . Furthermore he and others have made frequent posts that stated the need for all travellers to exercise their own observational skills and to keep informed on local developments . It seems that you may have been remiss in those awareness - gaining activities and were surprised by a blockade while thinking only about the wonderful tourist targets ? To blame someone else for that is silly .
Its like when a kid wants to cross the road, he should first look left and right and left again before deciding if the time is right to cross to the candy shop (or whatever delights he sees) on the other side . He can't expect his parent to be there all the time to hold his hand and help him cross .

There are plenty of other resources to deal with explaining the details of the minutiae of daily living like toilets , which faucet to use, feul grades ,how many pieces of underwear to take , etc... ...
, if one needs that much guidance and can't figure it out alone.

[markharf]

So let's review:

Forum rules prohibit personal attacks. This is true even when, for whatever reason, you feel totally justified in posting an attack. It's even true when you've been the target of personal attacks by someone else.

Therefore: please cut it out. You are welcome to debate local politics, activities you believe worthwhile, or even underlying philosophies of travel itself. Personal attacks--including by sarcasm or name-calling--are not allowed.

Don't like that? There are other on-line venues where personal attacks are well-tolerated. Go there.

Thanks.

Mark

[markharf]

Addendum to my last post:

The topic of this thread was established by the OP. Please stay approximately on-topic. Anyone wishing to address other topics may start a new thread in the appropriate forum.

Thanks again.

Mark

[chris]

Originally Posted by RRHartzler

I am leaving for Guatemala from Michigan. It's a 3500 mile (5600 klicks) trip and I for one am very interested in MikeMike's posts. I think Sjoerd is the bomb (bought his handy guides) too.

I would like to get contact info from ex-pats and residents as I travel through so I can reach-out if I run into trouble. My travel outline (very loose) is enter at Nuevo Laredo, travel down 85, swing around on 57, 70 back to 85 and the ruins at Tula and Teotihuacan. To Veracruz and Oaxaca then along the coast to Tapachula to cross into GT then over to Lake Atitlan.

I am keeping an open mind and schedule so fire away and tell me the "can't miss places" and the "avoid if possible areas"

If anybody out there is a friend of Bill W. I'd like to meet up with you!

Don't know who Bill W is, hence will struggle being his friend (possibly due to the fact I'm not a native of North America, so struggle with some Gringo turn of phrases), but if you're intentionally or inadvertently passing Mexico City, please drop me a line, either via PM or email (see my website).

¡Suerte!

[xfiltrate]

Thanks Markharf -
I agree with you and Hubb's policy of no personal attacks.

Not sure why some people take all this so personally?

xfiltrate

[MikeMike]

Whoa! All I was trying to do was give a heads up. I've had the pleasure of meeting with and sometimes riding with people on this forum. Some have become great friends. I've been living here and riding daily in Mexico for almost 2 anda half decades and know the area since 1978. I prefer to avoid arguments and simply pass along information. I also prefer to not sugarcoat anything. If someone doesn't like what I post, then skip it, but don't start an argument over facts, please. I appreciate the kind words from those I have helped, really it is simply about sharing info and making any ride easier!

RRHartzler, I am a friend of a few friends of Bill W. if that helps anyone. Bill W. is like a very, very good mechanic

[RRHartzler]

Hahaha MikeMike, "Friends of Bill W." is code for a members of Alcoholics Anonymous...I'm in recovery and was wanting to see if anyone along the way was a member and would like to get together and maybe hit a meeting. But hey! if Bill W's a mechanic, I'd definitely like to e a friendd of his as well.

[RRHartzler]

Thanks Chris! I will be visiting Tula and Teotihuacan, you just might get a shout out. Bill W. was the founder of AA so we just use that phrase "Friends of Bill W." as code for members in recovery. I actually attended a meeting in Cancaun on my honeymoon years ago and it was great, I didn't understand a word said but understood exactly what was being shared.