Date:         Thu, 15 Jun 1995 14:45:00 +0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         wigley@server.uwindsor.ca (Neil Wigley)
Subject:      Baja and Mexico

We spent 10 days in Baja this Spring with eleven other people, all of them
Baja experts (most of the common denominator was the primitive cave
paintings which can be found in many parts of the peninsula -- they compare
favorably with those of Altamira in N. Spain). The general concensus was
that there ain't no theft in Baja, except in the big cities (and Tijuana is
now #3 in Mexico, isn't it?).

I think the world over it's in the crowded areas with poor people and
visible tourists that you get problems. Certainly there's much more crime
aimed at tourists in Italy than in Mexico, from what I hear. And if you're
driving a bus in Mexico you're probably going to spend most of your time in
the boondocks; precisely where problems are minimal.

There have been cases of bandits in certain very selected parts of Mexico,
e.g. Chiapas a few years back. These guys are to be avoided, certainly. But
I think that with a bit of caution (ask AAA before you go, for instance,
and talk to other knowledgable tourists) the probability of getting into
serious trouble in Mexico is not different from the probability of getting
bombed in Israel. It makes for great headlines, but the probabilities are
very low.

Northern Europeans (Lars Poulsen: let me guess, Swedish?) especially find
Mexico enchanting and the people charming. There is a ton of culture, lots
of poverty and lots of dignity at the same time.

I would encourage you to go. Buy the insurance at the border (a few bucks a
day), drive defensively, never ever drive at night, and don't trust anybody
at the Pemex stations, where a lot of cheap cons congregate (and some
damned poor people as well). Your friends are the green Turismo trucks (The
Green Patrol, or Patrulla Verde, on the major highways). But most everybody
else is friendly and helpful.

I've been going to Mexico since the first trip in 1949. Once we got screwed
at a Pemex station (paid double, big deal!); another time my two-month-old
'84 Mazda got key scratches from a pair of eight-yr-olds in Oaxaca. Other
than that I can't recall any difficulties whatsoever. Oh, yeah; New Year's
Day AM in Mexico City I got shook down by a couple of cops who wanted to
impound the car and take my driver's license, because I had failed to
signal a turn. Traffic was non-existent due to the holiday and the night
before. They suddenly became very friendly when I suggested referring the
matter to the Oficina de Turismo. End of problem.

Neil Wigley
U of Windsor
<wigley@server.uwindsor.ca>