I'm selling my couch.

I still have my couch, but I do not sit on lie on it. I let my guests have that priviledge.

... Zigeuner53, Kusi1 and Joel33, your information is very helpful.
I'll ad Mexico at the tail end of the trip, bike's already on its way to Lima.

Ciao, Helly

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South+Central America 2012: http://allthoseroads.wordpress.com

I'd really like to know about which places in Mexico, if any, are to be avoided. It's fair to claim that the news media has blown things out of proportion, but posts from people who are there or who have been there recently would be much more useful and appreciated by me. Thanks!

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SF to TdF via KLR! http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=784921

Two Canadian tourists murdered in Mexico the past couple of days. The boyfriend of one was also murdered. Seems like a common happening there. Adventure riders like to downplay the dangers but the truth is that travel in Mexico is much more dangerous than in the USA or Canada. Not saying you can't travel there and return safely but if it's adventure you want that's the place.

I live in Mexico City which is as safe as a city with 20 million people can be. The north of the country seems to be the most dangerous. Border towns being some of the worst. In spite of this I would still travel anywhere in Mexico and not worry about it too much. Use common sense, which may not be that common. Avoid travelling at night. Don't go looking for drugs unless you like problems.
Having said that we have put up about 70 travellers over the last 5 or 6 years and only 1 has had a serious problem. He was killed in a traffic accident. You are riding a motorcycle in a foreign country that will be by far your biggest risk.
If you plan on coming to Mexico City send me a PM or post here and we can fix something up.
Safe travels

The two Canadian deaths, and the numerous others are senseless tragedies.

On the other hand, almost 1.5 million Canadians visited Mexico in 2010. I can only assume that the numbers for 2011 were similar. The number of Canadians murdered in Mexico for 2011 was 6. So that means that approximately 0.000006% of Canadians visiting Mexico were killed. Those are odds that I can definitely live with and I would hardly consider it "adventure" ...unless I feel that interacting with helpful, friendly, caring, interesting people is considered an adventure. All I can say is that I must have been one of the "lucky" 99.999994% of Canadians who didn't get murdered while visiting Mexico 6 times.

Of all the places I've been (Mexico, Cuba, Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, USA, Canada, Barbados, Antigua, Morrocco, Germany, France) I've only once truly feared for my safety. That was right in my current home town of Victoria, BC (metropolitan population 330,000), where two drunken young men briefly taunted four of us in the early morning hours.

Mexico definitely has its' problems but let's keep it all in perspective. The chances of being murdered in Mexico are still pretty darn slim regardless of a number of tragic deaths. A quick search on Google will reveal that Mexican cities generally have a lower murder rate than many cities in the USA, yet people visit those US cities in droves. I'd honestly rather travel to most places in Mexico than many places in the USA, where I don't feel particularly safe in the big cities with their high crime rates.




...Michelle
www.scrabblebiker.com

Helly, everything I have heard bears out what others in the thread have said. I'm headed through Mexico to Guatemala and points south at the end of November.
http://snipr.com/reno-padre-atitlan

Here are some reasonable guidelines for safety. Others with experience in Mexico, please add corrections, additions and deletions.

1) Take off reasonably early in the morning and plan on being at your overnight location an hour before sunset.
2) Chain your bike at night through the frame to a pole or immovable object in a lighted area (if available).
3) Don't park the bike at a bar and hang out until the late night hours.
4) Don't dress in wealthy style or stand around chatting on a smartphone in the middle of nowhere.
5) Enjoy the cleanliness of the towns and the warmth of the people. I find Mexican towns cleaner and the people less crass than in the US.

Other suggestions?

The world is full of people who forego adventure and excitement in life for excessive safety. They lose out. Weigh counsel based on the type of people giving it. Cheers!

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2007 Suzuki Boulevard S83
http://snipr.com/reno-padre-atitlan

Hope this gets to the right thread... Mexico has been great..The people, the cops and the military.. Im riding solo and I crossed the border at Eagle Pass Texas about 3 weeks ago...It was Fine... Yes military is everywhere, armed and ready to fire at a moments notice..Police toooo... I havent been stopped once. They are looking for drugs and weapons..Just get south of the border asap..I have spent time in San Miguel de Allende, Oaxaca city, Puerto Escondido, San Cristobal de Las Casa and a bunch of places in between...I'd cross the border again... All The Best.. Eliza

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http://www.elizajmassey.blogspot.com/
http://www.elizamassey.com/

In the early 80's I traveled all over northern Mexico. Near the border there were often openly well-armed (m-16,ak's, not just pistols) guys who were involved in the drug trade and they couldn't care less that I was there. Of course all I heard in the US was that I'd die, be robbed, run over, blah, blah, blah and all that happened was I had many excellent trips and met some awfully nice people. Oddly, one of those well-armed people struck up a conversation about my bike (81 bmw R80GS) which made me a bit apprehensive. As it turned out, he had exactly the same bike himself and we had a great conversation. Had I listened to the doomsayers, I'd have missed out on some great trips. Remember, you are not going to live forever and it's better to die doing something you love than die at work. That would be truly depressing.

Hey Helly, I am doing the same thing you are. I am leaving from Oregon in a week or so and i plan on crossing the border into mexico around the beginning of November. I have been given the same advice about 100 times. I just decided to look around and see if anyone would be interested in travelling together. I am planning on going through Baja as well. Saftey in numbers. My email is rpopma89@gmail.com. Please feel free to email me if you are even slightly interested even if it's just to compare travel plans and preparations. My goal is Tierra del fuego. Cheers!

Helly posted in 2011. You might think about starting a fresh thread.