Is Mexico Safe?

[SchizzMan]

Originally Posted by Bato

^ Fixed

That piece of road right there is worth the trip. Just to ride that. We discussed joining y'all to Maz then running down the coast to Oaxaca but that will be for another time.

Maybe Patzcuaro next year?

[WakeDude]

^^^ Is that a paved route?

-Alex

[Mikaiyel]

Originally Posted by evilwerkz

On a side note......on november, a friend from spain, who had never been outside of spain, had to travel to mexico city, somthing about his studies and such, and he was SCARED shitlees ot the mere idea......he got here, i helped him around, got an apartment and would not go out of it unless i picked him up to go somewhere, or take the daily taxi to the college campus.......well, after a month and a half....15 pounds ligther from not going anywahere and not eating much ( another worry....dreaded FOOD ) he started going about by himself after ai showed him around and explained to him, not to go to dangerous known places.....he went back to spain mid january, with the perception that the media from spain had shit so overblown......he enjoyed his last month in mexico, and wants to come back for vacations.....oh, on a final note, the very first day he got here, i had to go to a very nasty part of town, we saw a dead bloody body inside a car as we where walking by, he almost fainted....well, shit happens....but he got over it....i'm used to seeing shit like that, from the time i lived in L.A. and Fresno....drive by all the time in the shitty neighborhood i lived, such is life.....

Great attitude, cant wait to ride to Mexico

[MikeMike]

Pepper spray is a gray area. The "authorities" here deal with it on a case by case basis and if it has been used aggressively. The problem for foreigners is in the turn around of events that can happen when you defend yourself and then the attacker, with a crooked "abogangster" lawyer, smells a payout for everyone by claiming you used excessive force to defend yourself. Go figure. I have seen it happen here. There is a guy who posts on here who is a Mexican criminal lawyer, he will know exactly what I mean. The entire affair will rest upon just how corrupt the local Ministerio Publico is, and here in Veracruz they are so corrupt that if they ever change the locals will think of it on the same scale as waking up and finding 3 suns in the sky. I would recommend that if you want to carry it, get the kind that is a pump bottle and strip the label off and then if questioned tell them it is an insecticide. They will not want to touch it then. If you are carrying a can of something with a flash label it will draw attention.
The real problem is how you are going to spray it in someone's eyes while driving 100+mph running for the border!
Or how you are going to spray it in someone's eyes, then collect all your travel gear, get on your bike, and book on out of the situation. You better be pretty good with it because if you have misread the situation and used it aggressively someone is going to be real PO'd now. Frankly, I have always worried more about what kind of diseases I could get from using a Pemex toilet than about getting into a violent situation.

[tricepilot]

Originally Posted by Arte

Just do not wear tenis shoes and formal dressing socks

[SchizzMan]

Originally Posted by WakeDude

^^^ Is that a paved route?

-Alex

Yes. Paved 2 lane.

[SR]

Originally Posted by SchizzMan

Yes. Paved 2 lane.

Here is the off road version. I have GPS tracks if anyone is interested.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=701682

We are heading into the Sierra for another 2 day off road ride this weekend.

SR

[Animo]

Originally Posted by tobster9

So I guess what im asking is, has anyone here, successfully protected themselves and avoided a worse situation because they were carrying something, and would that apply to travelling in Mexico...............

I carry a cigarette lighter. It makes it easier when I'm at a bar and someone asks if I can share a smoke. It always worked for me and has made me many newfound friends.

[Bato]

Originally Posted by SR

Here is the off road version. I have GPS tracks if anyone is interested.

http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=701682

We are heading into the Sierra for another 2 day off road ride this weekend.

SR

[SR]

Originally Posted by Bato

Bato, I will be happy to pass you the GPS route and with a couple days of planning ahead, I'd go with you. We can chat at the end of the month when you are in town.

Saludos

SR

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Arte

like this one? Soldier have seen it while they have searched me, and said nothing, just look at it, and look at me. then they wave me off. Oh, some times they have had wanted to purchase it from me.

Yup. I was thinking about you Amigo but I didn't want to tell anyone about your amazing collection of outdoor knives without your permission.

[PirateJohn]

Originally Posted by Arte

Just do not wear tenis shoes and formal dressing socks

Sandals and those tight medical socks that folks wear when they have circulatory problems. That's the winning combination among us old timers from Florida. All the 70 year old chicks dig that look.

[Dan Diego]

Great news--Mexico dropped to only the 4th deadliest country in Latin America! Honduras wins with the most homicides: the other countries being El Salvador, Panamá and the former British colony of Belize, which is geographically in Central America.

In Mexico, the murder rate has increased 65 percent from 2005 to 2010.

The violence in Central America and the Caribbean, according to the study, is reaching a "near crisis point."

Honduras led the world in homicides per capita in 2010, according to an international study. The Central American country was not the only Latin American country listed among the most dangerous places in the world, according to the first United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Study on Homicide. In fact, four of the top five countries are from Latin America.

The study found that while extremely bloody and dangerous, these countries continued to offer "ricos tacos" to the daring adventurers who chose to risk life and limb to travel there.

Not really, though...

On the upside, homicide rates have dipped in South America in the last 15 years, mostly due to economic growth there.

Overall, there were 468,000 homicides worldwide in 2010. The majority of homicides occur in Africa (some 36 percent of all murders worldwide take place there). That's followed by 31% in the Americas and 27% in Asia.

(C'mon, boys, take it easy, it's just one of the many articles available and I'm certain you can-- and will-- counter it with personal anecdotes of the generous denizens and playas bonitas.)

[PirateJohn]

From what I have heard if you exclude Belize City from the stats then Belize is safer than pretty much anywhere in the USA. You never have any trouble on the cays where the gringos live, and out in the country many folks don't even have locks on their doors.

Mexico is the same way. Stay away from Juarez and you miss half the "fun."

Lately it looks like Veracruz is a dangerous place to be. Dangerous if you are a lookout for a cartel that is, so I doubt if that applies to very many motorcycle tourists.

ADDED:

This conversation reminds me of something that I remember reading in one of my aviation magazines. One of the columnists said that the most dangerous places that he had ever been to were Belize City and Washington, DC, USA and he had actually considered a job offer at one time that would have had him working in DC.

So you have to put this stuff into prospective.

[MikeMike]

Originally Posted by PirateJohn

Lately it looks like Veracruz is a dangerous place to be. Dangerous if you are a lookout for a cartel that is, so I doubt if that applies to very many motorcycle tourists.

That nails it exactly. There have now been 5 major incidents within a kilometer from where I live as the crow flies. Am I moving any time soon? Nope. I live here, deal with things, just like everyone else does and I do not feel any less "safe" today than when I moved here. Am I more aware? Yes. Do I post warnings? Yes, when things merit it. Body dumps don't affect ADV motorcyclists because they are not the ones being dumped. Yes, it sure gets peoples attention and that is why it is done.

This is what "shock and awe" really means.

The grenade incident outside the Aquarium in the summer and the shoot out on a Sunday afternoon that preceeded it in downtown Boca Del Rio, all deserved mention because that could easily affect a traveler. Yes, the urban stuff has now been moving into some historically hot zones like Tierra Blanca etc...not to mention Rio Blanco, too. Though that has been limited and didn't warrant any special mention in my opinion.
None of this is going to keep me off the road and it shouldn't keep anyone else off the road or keep ADV riders from passing through. Yes, I do recommend that you stick to rural areas for lodging and sightseeing, and part of that is because so many people really miss what this part of the world has to offer. Arte can vouch for that because he has taken the time to get off the #180 and experience things. SR also knows exactly what I am talking about.

You can listen to all the "news" and water cooler chit chat you want, or you can listen to someone who actually lives and rides here.