Is Mexico Safe?

[tricepilot]

Originally Posted by MikeMike

Nah, that's his prune juice. LOL!

[acejones]

Originally Posted by tricepilot

Kenny's V-Strom tucked into the stable at Casa Tricepilot.

He left SMA before 7 and got to the border around 1. Just pulled in from the rain.

Schizzman arrived and now it's dinnertime.

(I posted that photo via Tapatalk..not sure why its poster size)

SMA to the border in 5 hours ?

[VixObs]

Five us road to Baja this past week. Crossed the border south at Calexico. Spent two days in San Felipe and one in Ensenada. Crossed north at TJ. Had a great time No problems whatsoever. The guys are already planning to go back.

[tricepilot]

Originally Posted by acejones

SMA to the border in 5 hours ?

Correction: he left SMA 6:45 and got to Colombia at 3:30

[Old-n-slo]

[QUOTE=AK Smitty;18073953]Met SR yesterday and he was nice enough to get me this sweet key chain to make the 800GS a little more badass.



Hey, he must have an in with the "taller" where they make these. Olegeezer and I got similar mementos from our visit with SR in Durango. Great gift and a great visit.

BTW, his wife wanted us to go to Applebees with them, but he snuck us the name of his favorite DGO restaurant and we opted out. Sounds like we may have saved some money!
JohnD

[Old-n-slo]

Joe and I hit a campesino roadblock taking the old road from Pte Escondito to Oaxaca the other day. Tried to stare them down and play "dumb gringo" (not that hard to do, actually). But the mob with their machetes and clubs were quite persuasive and after about 30 minutes we turned around and found a real nice detour across the valley to Ejutla. Have been in OAX for a few days now, riding the Valles and eating. Great town, even after 35 years (since my last visit). Did I mention "eating"? Likely to head down to Mazunte or Zipolite soon and then take the "La Ventosa" route to San Cristobal.

To keep this on topic...I keep noticing these ankle breaking holes in the sidewalks, some with pipes in them, some with what looks like bare wires. I have determined that Mexico IS NOT SAFE and one should stay on the motorcycle at all times. I have seen similar holes in the sidewalk in Detroit. Staying on the bike, and moving at a high rate of speed, has been a good preventative measure there as well.

Via con dodos!

[SchizzMan]

Kiko drops in at Casa Tricepilot to say ¡Hola! on his way Down South.

No Magic Button


No problem


¡Vaya con Dios!

[tricepilot]

Originally Posted by SchizzMan

Kiko drops in at Casa Tricepilot to say ¡Hola! on his way Down South.



¡Vaya con Dios!

Excellent pic of two epic adventurers

[acejones]

Originally Posted by tricepilot

Correction: he left SMA 6:45 and got to Colombia at 3:30

That sounds more like it.

[acejones]

Originally Posted by Old-n-slo

Joe and I hit a campesino roadblock taking the old road from Pte Escondito to Oaxaca the other day. Tried to stare them down and play "dumb gringo" (not that hard to do, actually). But the mob with their machetes and clubs were quite persuasive and after about 30 minutes we turned around and found a real nice detour across the valley to Ejutla. Have been in OAX for a few days now, riding the Valles and eating. Great town, even after 35 years (since my last visit). Did I mention "eating"? Likely to head down to Mazunte or Zipolite soon and then take the "La Ventosa" route to San Cristobal.

To keep this on topic...I keep noticing these ankle breaking holes in the sidewalks, some with pipes in them, some with what looks like bare wires. I have determined that Mexico IS NOT SAFE and one should stay on the motorcycle at all times. I have seen similar holes in the sidewalk in Detroit. Staying on the bike, and moving at a high rate of speed, has been a good preventative measure there as well.

Via con dodos!

A buddy of mine used to trip over a marked handi-cap ramp on a side walk on Isla Mujeres. Everytime we went there he tripped over it. I'm sure it was the only handi-cap ramp on the whole island; probably the only one in the whole country. Mexico is not safe.

[rockymountainoyster]

It was reported on the radio this AM that Carnival Cruises has suspended its natural history bus tours out of Vallarta because a bus carrying some of their passengers was robbed by armed men with hoods on their heads. Anyone know anything about this, like where and when it happened? I haven't seen anything from any ADV Ride Reports.

[rockymountainoyster]

Tricepilot,

Found the reference on the previous page.

From reports in the news and on this site the bus robbery was south of PV, not Acapulco.

Here is the train robbery report from LA times:
World IN BRIEF / MEXICO

November 12, 1998|From Times Wire Reports
A Swiss tourist was killed when he attempted to videotape a train robbery in the state of Chihuahua, police said. Ernest Schmidt, 68, was shot three times in the chest and head by gunmen who also injured three other foreign tourists, identified as Louise Wintworth of Australia, Rodolfo Lagazzi of Italy and Michael Rosarth of Germany. The robbery took place Tuesday on the Chihuahua-Pacific Railway, a popular attraction that runs through the spectacular Copper Canyon.


I made a film on the privately operated Sierra Pacifico train in 1996... there was no sign or talk of any troubles, lots of soldiers in Creel "enforcing" cultivation laws. Since then the gun battles in Creel and Batopilas have gotten some attention. The guy I bought my GS from was down in Bato a couple of years ago in his camper and his dad in his camper was with him. The Federales were using his camper and his dad's camper for "cover" as they were firing into a house occupied by "bad guys" Tom got his family down on the floor and crawled out to say something to the Feds... they were highly suprised that the two campers contained gringos. The experience has not discouraged him from returning to Mexico and the Copper Canyon.

[rockymountainoyster]

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico — Mexican security officials say an armed group has robbed 22 foreign tourists who were traveling by bus near the coastal city of Puerto Vallarta.
The city’s public safety secretary said in a statement that the tourists weren’t injured in the Thursday night attack although their possessions were seized.

The statement said a group of hooded attackers intercepted the bus while it was passing through the town “El Nogalito.”
The statement didn’t disclose the nationalities of the robbed tourists and police hadn’t found the suspects.
The U.S. State Department recently warned against nonessential travel to parts of Jalisco state, where Puerto Vallarta is located. The warning didn’t name Puerto Vallarta itself.

[rockymountainoyster]

(10:15 a.m. EST) -- Cruise lines are staying the course and keeping Puerto Vallarta on the schedule, days after 22 Carnival passengers were robbed just outside the Mexican resort town during a ship-sponsored tour.

"We are aware of the recent incident," said Julie Benson, Princess vice president for public relations. Benson said Princess' security has reviewed the situation and, "based on the information available at this time," decided that it was safe to proceed with Sapphire Princess' call today.

"Princess Cruises does not offer this specific tour, nor do we offer any excursions to this area," she added.

The ill-fated tour took Carnival Splendor passengers to El Nogalito, an area some 40 miles outside of Puerto Vallarta known for its lush natural setting. While they were returning to the ship, masked assailants stopped the bus and robbed the cruisers of their money, watches, cameras and other valuables. A statement from Carnival said there were no injuries, and all passengers returned safely to the ship.

Calls by Disney Wonder, due in port Wednesday, and Carnival Splendor (Thursday) also remain unchanged, according to spokesmen from each line. Like Princess, Disney does not offer the tour in question.

After the robbery, Carnival announced it was cancelling the tour in question -- a guided nature trail excursion sold and booked through the line -- indefinitely.

Meanwhile, Guillermo Ohen, director of Puerto Vallarta's Tourism board, told Cruise Critic that the operator chosen by the line went off course, deviating from the route as planned. Carnival spokesman Vance Gulliksen refuted that claim, saying that the tour was operating as scheduled at the time of the robbery.

On Saturday, Latitude International, the public relations firm representing the Puerto Vallarta Tourism Board, called Thursday's robbery an "extremely rare incident." A statement on Latitude's Facebook page said, "minutes after we learned of the incident representatives from the local and state government, tourism leaders and tour operators [moved] to provide assistance to those involved and police and the district's attorney office started their investigation."

The robbery comes at a rough time for the beleaguered Mexican Riviera cruise region, which has seen numerous lines pull out over safety and security concerns, as well as issues with demand. Lines have primarily cut calls in Mazatlan, which has seen its scheduled ship visits plummet from 200 in 2010 to roughly a dozen in 2012, but Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta have also suffered.

Earlier this month, the U.S. State Department issued a new travel warning for Mexico. It re-affirmed an earlier warning, in effect since April 2011, saying that millions of Americans safely visit the country annually, and that the majority of drug-related violence happens near the Mexico-U.S. border and along drug-trafficking routes, rather than in resort towns.

This is not the first case of cruise passengers being targeted while on shore excursions. In November 2010, 17 Celebrity Mercury passengers on a tour bus in St. Kitts were robbed at gunpoint. In 2009, 18 cruise passengers on two separate ship-sponsored tours were robbed, again at gunpoint, in the Bahamas.

[SR]

[QUOTE=Old-n-slo;18092718]

Originally Posted by AK Smitty

Met SR yesterday and he was nice enough to get me this sweet key chain to make the 800GS a little more badass.



Hey, he must have an in with the "taller" where they make these. Olegeezer and I got similar mementos from our visit with SR in Durango. Great gift and a great visit.

BTW, his wife wanted us to go to Applebees with them, but he snuck us the name of his favorite DGO restaurant and we opted out. Sounds like we may have saved some money!
JohnD

Yeah, I'm guilty of giving several people the same Recuerdo de Durango but those little Alacran key chains are cool, and I do have a bit of a dialog going with the manufacturer. I'm considering commissioning a special ADV version.

Yes Applebee’s, it was Valentine’s Day and my wife wanted to do something special (not eating Mexican food for a change). That night my daughter fell asleep in the car on the way to Applebee’s, so we settled for the drive through at Burger King. You made the right choice not joining for dinner. Authentic traditional Mexican food at La Fonda de Tia Chonas, much better!