Is Mexico Dangerous

[El Stigo]

Is Mexico dangerous?

Stigo

Originally Posted by El Stigo

SR,

I know the areas pretty good...traveling surface streets mostly.

Monterrey, been here. Learning more and got some good tips from a guy at the apple iShop who is an avid hiker and camper so next trip will mean more exploring.

Mty to Torreon....BORING!

Parras, been there. I am associated with the wine business out of Valle Guadalupe and happen to know the owners of Casa Madero and Rivero Gonzalez wineries in Parras. Nice place to visit

Torreon, been there. Don`t much care for it but business is business
Durango, been there. Have visited...need to spend more time.

All are nice but I have not explored outside of the pueblos themselves for lack of time.

After Durango I am heading to Sombrerete/Sierra de Organos then down to Zacatecas and Jerez, then on to Aguascalientes, Leon, etc

Just looking for good insider info for this and future trips.

A meet up would be great! Looking foward to it.

I am in Monterrey Monday then off to Torreon Tuesday, expect to be in Durango on Wed or Thur and then need to kill the weekend and begin fresh in Zacatecas monday morning then off to Aguas.

My best

Stigo

[SR]

Geez! now we have is Mexico Safe and is Mexico Dangerous. Who wants to talk about that every day. Not me!

Stigo, when you get to town we can chat about restaurants and nice things to see.

[El Stigo]

Originally Posted by SR

Geez! now we have is Mexico Safe and is Mexico Dangerous. Who wants to talk about that every day. Not me!

It`s a joke SR...I have been living here for 15 years....

Stigo....

[SR]

Originally Posted by El Stigo

It`s a joke SR...I have been living here for 15 years....

Stigo....

I know, I was just sayin, we have 2 threads on the same subject going.

[booger1]

Can you point me too a nice trail, road from Durango to Copper Canyon?
Also, about how long will it take to get from Mazatlan to Durango?
Was thinking about staying in Durango (just passing through) but not sure if I would make it before night fall.

[SR]

Originally Posted by booger1

Can you point me too a nice trail, road from Durango to Copper Canyon?
Also, about how long will it take to get from Mazatlan to Durango?
Was thinking about staying in Durango (just passing through) but not sure if I would make it before night fall.

Heading north, the road from Durango to Parral has a long flat stretch of highway that is kind of boring. That part can be made more interesting by going on country roads through Canatlan, Tepehuanes and Santa Maria del Oro. That will get you into some nice countryside. If you really want a trail, there are some nice stretches if dirt in that area. The ones I know of are fairly isolated and run along the mountains instead of the valleys in this areas. I can give you tracks if you are interested.

Earlier this year, I recommended to some people that they stay away from this area due to security concerns but in the last couple of months it seems to be getting better. I'd go there, in fact I probably will soon. It is nice up there in the Fall. It's apple orchard country. From Parral, it depends on where you want to come into Copper Canyon. It's hard to beat the road from Parral to Creel through Guachochi.

If you wanted a trail you would have to stay in the Barranca country, I think you could do a full off road route from Durango to the south side of Copper Canyon. I would involve 3 or 4 days of serious off road riding through very heavy narco country, as heavy as it gets. Sorry I don't have a specific track. I have thought about it though and I think it would be something like Durango, Miguel de Cruces, Otaez, San Miguel de Cantil, Topia Tamazula, Los Frailes, Guadalupe y Calvo, and Baborigimi CHI, Copper Canyon. It would be a great adventure but not to be taken lightly.

You can easily make it to DGO in a day from Mazatlan. It takes about 5.5 hours. If you try to make a speed record you can cut a little off that, but it's nice to stop and enjoy if you haven't done it before. I like to stop in La Pitaca for the view and in Copala for the old church and Daniels restaurant. Durango is a nice city and you will want to get there to relax and have a beer after riding that road. I have a great full off road track that runs parallel to this road but it's a solid 2 day ride if you are up for it.

Suerte
SR

[El Stigo]

Originally Posted by SR

Heading north, the road from Durango to Parral has a long flat stretch of highway that is kind of boring. That part can be made more interesting by going on country roads through Canatlan, Tepehuanes and Santa Maria del Oro. That will get you into some nice countryside. If you really want a trail, there are some nice stretches if dirt in that area. The ones I know of are fairly isolated and run along the mountains instead of the valleys in this areas. I can give you tracks if you are interested.

Earlier this year, I recommended to some people that they stay away from this area due to security concerns but in the last couple of months it seems to be getting better. I'd go there, in fact I probably will soon. It is nice up there in the Fall. It's apple orchard country. From Parral, it depends on where you want to come into Copper Canyon. It's hard to beat the road from Parral to Creel through Guachochi.

If you wanted a trail you would have to stay in the Barranca country, I think you could do a full off road route from Durango to the south side of Copper Canyon. I would involve 3 or 4 days of serious off road riding through very heavy narco country, as heavy as it gets. Sorry I don't have a specific track. I have thought about it though and I think it would be something like Durango, Miguel de Cruces, Otaez, San Miguel de Cantil, Topia Tamazula, Los Frailes, Guadalupe y Calvo, and Baborigimi CHI, Copper Canyon. It would be a great adventure but not to be taken lightly.

You can easily make it to DGO in a day from Mazatlan. It takes about 5.5 hours. If you try to make a speed record you can cut a little off that, but it's nice to stop and enjoy if you haven't done it before. I like to stop in La Pitaca for the view and in Copala for the old church and Daniels restaurant. Durango is a nice city and you will want to get there to relax and have a beer after riding that road. I have a great full off road track that runs parallel to this road but it's a solid 2 day ride if you are up for it.

Suerte
SR

VERY NICELY DONE SR.

MUCHISIMAS GRACIAS!

EL STIGO

[MikeMike]

When you get tired of that boring gringo filled west coast (LOL!) head over here to the Gulf side.
Someone is usually around that can take you on some good rides few people know about.

[El Stigo]

Originally Posted by MikeMike

When you get tired of that boring gringo filled west coast (LOL!) head over here to the Gulf side.
Someone is usually around that can take you on some good rides few people know about.

Love the east coast Mike....have spent lots of time in the entire country for business purposes and the Tampico down to Campeche areas are fantastic.

Enjoy quite a bit Puebla, Oaxaca, Veracruz, Chiapas, and of course the rest of the peninsula, etc., etc. as well.

Looking for local info not the traditional paved waves of the gringo world! LOL.

Stigo

[booger1]

Thank SR
The route to CC through Narco country was the intended route, without knowing that's what it was. I will choose the safer route now, Thanks again. It's good to have intel all over for what could have been a mistake.

[SR]

Originally Posted by booger1

Thank SR
The route to CC through Narco country was the intended route, without knowing that's what it was. I will choose the safer route now, Thanks again. It's good to have intel all over for what could have been a mistake.

Booger, don't let me discourage you. The narco Sembradores wont just kill you on the spot, but it would be preferable not to go in there during Harvest season (late Oct Nov Dec). I'll tell you about running into narcos in the Sierra over a beer. It is not as bad as you might think. Equally concerning is the question of where to get food, water, lodging and gas. We're are talking about over 1000 km of off road riding through an area three times the size of Copper Canyon and way more isolated.

Of course, it all depends on the route. You wouldn't have to go that extreme. You can dip in and bite of a smaller chunk. The Sierra Madre is huge and the sun doesn't rise and set only in Copper Canyon.

"Never Ventured Never Gained"
Booger1 (2011)

[booger1]

I'm traveling alone, so I'd rather not take too many chances.
I'll be in Mazatlan on the 25, the ferry should land around noon, so I'll probably get a place for the night and then ride to Durango on the 26th. If your interested, I'd love to hear the stories, I'll buy the beer.

[SR]

Deal, but I am out of town the 21st to the 27th. Back the morning of the 28th. If you run late, we should certainly meet up.
Saludos
SR

[jimmex]

Somebody on this board did the route from Culiacan to Guadadupe y Calvo and said it wasn't too sketchy. i would heed SR's advice about harvest season though. Then the route (paved) from Parral to Guachochi would take you straight to the entrance to Sinforosa Canyon; worth a stop just to look out over the overlook. That ride down into Sinforosa is one I'd really like to do. (Inmate Skinny hAs done it). Then the ride on to Creel is killer and then Mex 16 to Hermosillo is über killer.

[SR]

Most people around here will agree that the harvest season is the time to stay away from narco country. A buddy of mine (walter) who spends a lot of time in the Sierra says he thinks the worst time is right before the harvest. I asked why? That's when the narcos are the most broke!