Is Mexico Safe?

[BobLoblaw]

Originally Posted by CO/WV

I do remember....... it is paved south of Puertocetous now.......... with the throbbing head was a welcome site
the road is paved nearly to Gonzaga Bay. We spent the night there.
The next day was to Coco's..... road was is good condition........ we meet a girl who took her honda civic on it.

No big areas of sand or silt

OK Good to know I can partake of the drunken shrimp fest in San Felipe and ride on the next day

[kaotickustomz]

Originally Posted by Turkeycreek

Yes, I did my time collecting FF miles in and out of Detroit Metro and spending time in the lovely bombed out downtown. I did always like Greektown at lunchtime. Actually, my job was to help move the company out of downtown to Southfield.

I'm not picking a fight either but putting info out there for the onlookers and innocent bystanders who will make their own decisions. So time to plan an escape from the Snow Belt/Rust Belt and head south.

Yeah tell me about it, its cold here! Sounds good right about now!

[kantuckid]

Originally Posted by Turkeycreek

Bottled water is a good idea. You can bring a Katadyn filter or an ultra violet sterilizer like the Steripen if you want. Bottled water is available at all the small stores and gas stations but it can be a bit pricey for the brand names that are shipped in. We don't provide plastic bottles anymore because there is no viable plastic recycling plan here. Instead, we use 5 gal. bottles from the local water purification plant. We provide guests with carafes of water. I brush my teeth with tap water and drink it sometimes without problems. My advice is to start eating yogurt daily and your intestinal flora and fauna will be up to the task of protecting you form any bad effects. If you eat salad, it will have been washed in tap water.

Oh, and throw some immodium in your tank bag just in case

I'll share briefly: I was using a non virustat water filter while backpacking in CO in 2006. I contacted a virus(was/is unknown even after 3 days in hospital & many tests-$10k worth!) & proceeded to lose 1/3 of my kidney function in that one event. I like your steripen idea but caution that many filters out there from most of the mfgs. are for bacteria only. Furthermore it is a huge risk to "play" with unknown water sources. We eat from our farm/garden everyday here & eat lots of veggies,etc., but my point is that no one should take a water risk anywhere. We drank/bathed in/with our untreated spring water here at home as our only water source from 1979 until we got city water 3 yrs ago, so it isn't just about if my intestines have the flora & fauna thing going on & I don't think yogurt would have saved me from the virus. BTW, I eat street food often when traveling in Mexico. Nice place, yours!!! Maybe we'll meet?

[Craneguy]

Originally Posted by kantuckid

I'll share briefly: I was using a non virustat water filter while backpacking in CO in 2006. I contacted a virus(was/is unknown even after 3 days in hospital & many tests-$10k worth!) & proceeded to lose 1/3 of my kidney function in that one event.

Sounds to me like you were either very unlucky or I'm very fortunate. I forgot to avoid the tap water years ago, and no problems so far.

I think it has a lot to do with where you are. I think the city water here is probably pretty safe.

Simply the different minerals in the local water are enough to give you "the Aztec two-step" or "Montezuma's revenge" Wait... Maybe those phrases are trying to tell us something

That said, I get nailed after eating chain restaurant fast food all the time.

[jimmex]

Originally Posted by operaflute

How seriously should one heed the "don't drink the water" admonishments? If so, do you buy bottled to refill your on-board supply?

Very. Bottled water is ubiquitous.

[operaflute]

And now, tell me about camping. (again by my female self) Not necessarily planning this for Baja next month, but for potential long trip on mainland this spring.

[Turkeycreek]

We have spring water that feeds our town well. The water is from the foothills of the mountains to the east. But you never know how many cows are up there. The locals protest every time the state of Sonora forces the town to use the chlorination system because they hate the taste and the smell. The state has promised a new system - we'll see. I have come to like the taste of our local purified water product. It does have the unfortunate name "River Water" though. With bottled water available everywhere in Mexico you are well covered.

I used to drink right from the streams up high when I lived in Colorado but I stopped after finding a dead marmot in the water about a quarter mile up stream from where i had just taken a drink. I guess I'm luck as well.

[Bato]

[Turkeycreek]

Originally Posted by operaflute

And now, tell me about camping. (again by my female self) Not necessarily planning this for Baja next month, but for potential long trip on mainland this spring.

You can get very inexpensive lodging in Mexico (except of course at my luxo hotel ) so if saving money is the object you won't save much. Check in with ADVer Hewby as she is una mujer sola on her way to TDF.

[operaflute]

Have been following Hewby, but will ask directly.

You can get very inexpensive lodging in Mexico

"Inexpensive" means different things to different people, but your comment duly noted.

[tricepilot]

Send John a PM about camping. He's in Mexico right now, and nobody posting in this thread is/has camped more in Mexico than him.

He'll tell you the good, the bad, and the in-between of the whole experience. He's really pushing economy and not trying to be one with nature. If he had a bigger budget, I don't think he'd camp if he didn't need to - but get the straight skinny from him.

I'm in Sjoerd's camp (no pun intended) - there is so much low cost hotel space to be found. But like you say, low cost means different things to different people.

These are fair questions. Like the ones on insurance, paperwork, security, and recommended things to see, they come up all the time, but they're fair questions.

To search the historical archive on camping south of the border, type site:advrider.com camping in Mexico into the Google search box. You can place anything you want after the protocol site:advrider.com and search for that too.

[airdale7]

Originally Posted by Snownut

Current Canadian warning for Florida..

3. SAFETY AND SECURITY

The decision to travel is the sole responsibility of the traveller. The traveller is also responsible for his or her own personal safety. The purpose of this Travel Report is to provide Canadians with up-to-date information to enable them to make well-informed decisions.

Street crime can spill over into commercial, hotel, and entertainment areas. Riots, though rare, occasionally occur; these are usually confined to the poorer districts of major cities, but the violence can spread to central commercial and hotel areas. Full cooperation is recommended when stopped by police.

Violent crime remains a serious concern in Florida. Criminals have demonstrated that they will use violence with little or no provocation. Many attacks have occurred in the Miami area, and others have taken place on rural roads and at interstate highway rest areas. Some rest areas have dusk-to-dawn security on site (which is indicated on the highway sign). Proceed cautiously when exiting a freeway (including Interstate 95) into large urban centres, especially after dusk. Theft has increased, particularly from trunks of parked cars in the North Miami Beach area, South Beach and at airports. Be alert, as criminals use a variety of techniques to steal personal belongings.

Passport theft is on the rise in the United States. Travellers should ensure that their travel documents are secure at all time

This travel alert is a bit audacious. Someone trying to make a name for themself by posting an extreme warning. On the other hand theft is abundant in the Miami/Ft Lauderdale area. We stayed in a RV resort and during the two weeks we were there a bike or two was stolen every night. My car was broken into as well as my neighbors.
All around Miami and the metro area there are police watch towers in the parking lots of major retail stores. We moved across the alley to Naples and found it to be a much safer.

[operaflute]

Send John a PM about camping. He's in Mexico right now, and nobody posting in this thread is/has camped more in Mexico than him.

Will do. Thanks for the reference.

If he had a bigger budget, I don't think he'd camp if he didn't need to - but get the straight skinny from him.

Generally I've enjoyed my US camping, but there always time when I'd like to do otherwise. Being a flutist and having a herd of bikes... well, then way I afford it is to cut corners everywhere else.

site:advrider.com camping in Mexico

Forgot about that trick. Works better than forum searches, often, dunno why.

[Craneguy]

Do they make lava proof tents?

Popol angry today!



Beautiful sight for about 100km. The clearest view I've ever had of the smoke.

Unfortunately I only had my cell phone with me





If only the resident photographer was there to do it justice



That's just his day job. At night he puts his underwear on the outside of his pants and swings from buildings. No restraining order will stop him! No sir!

He's going to retaliate now by posting a picture of me in my power-ranger suit.

[MikeMike]

No, I won't do that, I am too busy prepping the tell all tale of how and where I found La Hayek's furry little monkey!

I only did the underwear building swing trick a couple of times on a bet. I stopped doing that but I miss it.

Nice pics of the big smoke, bet it smells like Los Humeros where we were on Monday. Remind me to tell you the Los Humeros joke, I forgot to mention it.