WRONG PLACE… PLEASE GO HERE……….
February 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment
This is not an active blog.
If you’re looking for Carl’s “Talk About Mexico” blog (part of The People’s Guide To Mexico website) then please click this Talk About Mexico link:
Yes, I know it is confusing but the page you are presently puzzling over is actually a clone of Talk About Mexico that I use for experimental purposes and trial-and-error changes for the “real” blog.
Op-Ed Contributor - The Mexican Evolution - NYTimes.com
March 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Is it a war that Mexico can win? Not through the tactics of any conventional war. But there can be progress by restricting the range of the enemy. Since taking power in 2006, President Felipe Calderón has sent more than 40,000 army troops to various Mexican states to combat drug gangs, and has had some victories in drug-related seizures and arrests. Even though Mr. Calderón enjoys a relatively high approval rating, the government has not managed to reassure the general population. Large sectors of Mexican society seem to endure these events as if they were part of a nightmare from which some morning we will awake. But it will not just disappear, and Mexicans must help fight the war by mobilizing public opinion, supplying information to the authorities and vigilantly supervising both elected and appointed officials. This kind of civic participation has already begun to yield some successes in Mexico City.
[From Op-Ed Contributor - The Mexican Evolution - NYTimes.com]
Peoples Guide to Mexico
March 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Life has kept me pretty busy since then, but now I’m thinking of leaving my log house in the wilds of central B.C. to retire in warmer climes. Imagine my surprise and joy when I began to do some research, and found not only an updated edition of your amazing book (which I immediately ordered - my old dog-eared copy having disintegrated from overuse many moons ago), but also your excellent website.
[From Peoples Guide to Mexico]
bookmarklet for ecto
March 23, 2009 | Leave a Comment
fter installing the bookmarklet, you can create weblog entries from any webpage you are visiting. When viewing a page that you want to write about, select some text you want to quote, and then choose or click the “ectoize” item from the browser’s Bookmarks Bar. This will open a new draft window in ecto with text from and details about the current webpage.
[From bookmarklet for ecto]
Is Mexico Still Safe?
March 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Published January 09
Hello David,
I found your email address on the Peoples Guide to Mexico website. I have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind. I do enjoy reading your additions to the site….very entertaining and informative!
1st question: My wife and I are retired and had been living down in southeast Arizona and so much has been in the news about how unsafe it is to cross into Mexico especially in Nogales, Naco, Agua Prieta…. Read more
LIVE LINKS?
March 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Is Mexico Still Safe?
My wife and I are retired and had been living down in southeast Arizona and so much has been in the news about how unsafe it is to cross into Mexico especially in Nogales, Naco, Agua Prieta…. Michael
Senor Codo: Border towns have never been a great inspiration. Nogales on both sides of the border is at best more than a bit seedy. I do believe that those crossings that manage to avoid extensive travel in downtown and suburbs may be the best choice… (more) (1-09)
copper canyon test
March 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Hi Carl & Lorena
I had planned to send you my Mexican Traffic Cop stories, but Curly was very insistent that I pass on information about the road conditions from Creel to Batopilas. This is as of 02/14/08…
The pavement from Creel to Samachique is in great shape, though drivers should keep an eye out for rocks in the road. We let down our guard, and hit a boulder and had it not been for the rock guard Curly added, we’d have lost our oil pan. In several areas, the state has put up a sort of netting that looks like it would hold most rocks. Other places, they’ve used spray-on concrete. The purists may say it screws up the aethetics, but they probably aren’t driving their own vehicles. I think it’s a small price to pay to avoid having a rock come thru your windshield.
The two lane rock/dirt road is another story. There is major construction underway. There are several bridges being installed, so there are lots of detours around those. According the the bus driver, who has been driving the Creel/Bato route for 17 yrs., the road is being paved (two-lane) to Quirare. In the proper vehicle, there should be no problems. SUV’s and trucks with good road clearance are a must.
I’m working on the story of our latest trip to Batopilas, and will send you some of the highlights soon. Just as a teaser, here is the first line… “In hindsight, it was a bad idea to drive the Mercedes to Batopilas.” And, so you won’t think we’re total idiots, we have driven there in a car five times before. But, those cars were set up for off-road conditions and the Mercedes, well, it isn’t. But, we did make it and we had lots of laughs and met some great folks on the way. Can’t wait to tell you about it. Also, want to give our impression of the risk factor concerning the drug problem there. It’s no more serious than it is right here, but, there are places here that I would advise people to avoid. Same goes for there.
March 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Cheap Hostels & Stunning Scenery Make a Great Budget Break
With a tropical landscape dotted with ancient Mayan ruins, a lively capital and two attractive coastlines, Mexico has plenty to offer both adventurous travelers and holiday makers seeking a spot of relaxation in an affordable paradise.
Great water-sports, vibrant nightclubs and a low cost of living add to the charm of both Mexico’s scenic shores and thriving cities. In recent years, it has also become a very comfortable destination even for tourists on a budget, thanks to an increase in quality Mexico hostels….. more by Alison Woolliams, HostelBookers
Health post
March 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment
this is a new post about health
image test
March 5, 2009 | Leave a Comment
this is an image test
Talk About Mexico
Is Mexico Still Safe?
February 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Is Mexico Still Safe?
by Michael and Senor David “El Codo” Eidell
Published January 09
Hello David,
I found your email address on the Peoples Guide to Mexico website. I have a couple of questions, if you don’t mind. I do enjoy reading your additions to the site….very entertaining and informative!
1st question: My wife and I are retired and had been living down in southeast Arizona and so much has been in the news about how unsafe it is to cross into Mexico especially in Nogales, Naco, Agua Prieta….
Hi Michael,
I just turned 62 and am enjoying my retirement. Thank you for the kudos — sometimes armchair travel is all that some folks can enjoy. I do hope that sensational news reports aren’t going to color your impression of Mexico incorrectly. I think it best if I insert my answers within the text of your letter:
Border towns have never been a great inspiration. Nogales on both sides of the border is at best more than a bit seedy. I do believe that those crossings that manage to avoid extensive travel in downtown and suburbs may be the best choice for crossing the border. Mex 1D through Tijuana seems to be OK as is Mex 57D out of Piedras Negras (Eagle Pass) 45D From El Paso, and Mex 15-D through Nogales.
Here is a not-so-comical prescription to find almost certain “trouble”. Go to a border town or one within a hundred miles. Frequent a disco or cantina where the hard core younger generation like to mix & mingle. Use drugs or worse yet, purchase drugs preferably in large quantities.
None of us seem to fit that profile, so we are automatically limited to less than say one-tenth of one percent chance that we are even going to be aware of anything amiss. I remember in our little village when someone found six sacks of pot hidden a few miles off the road, caused big local headlines. Sounded dire. The truth was that a hundred military and police types were in the village for a couple of days and the owners of the village tiendas had two of the biggest sales days in their history. The cops and soldiers mostly stood around swapping jokes and laughing.
Michael:
We took a 3 day trip down the Sonoran River Valley and enjoyed it much. Do you still feel Mexico is safe to visit?
David:
Absolutely!
Carl Franz gives excellent advice and tips in the People’s Guide to Mexico. The advice is just as valid in 2009 as it was in 1972 when the first edition was printed. Drinking in cantinas, or using drugs (purchasing especially) eliminates the safety buffer that normal tourists enjoy. We don’t drive at night, we don’t prowl pitch black beaches at night, camp in locations where there is no one else around, or prowl run down barrios in large cities. I do none of that here so why should I believe that doing the same in Mexico would be any safer.
Michael:
Are there definitely areas to avoid?
David:
Again, absolutely!
Within a hundred miles of the border except for perhaps Ensenada. Places outside the gringo trail in northern Mexico. Deserted beach camping anywhere. I am extremely conservative all the way down Mex 15 to Mazatlan because the sierra is dope growing territory and highways are all part of the dope shipment corridor. But the Copper Canyon, Alamos, Guaymas, San Carlos areas are all safe.
Michael:
Even the army base in Sierra Vista, AZ has told the soldiers that Nogales is off limits for them.
David:
In March of 1966, when I “graduated” from class 004 at Navy boot camp in San Diego, I remember standing in formation as a grizzled Chief Petty Officer told us in no uncertain terms that “Tijuana is OFF LIMITS!”
Michael:
We have traveled a lot in Mexico and really enjoyed but with all this latest activity my wife is now hesitant to head down south anymore.
David:
Take a jaunt to say Mazatlan and then celebrate in perhaps Plaza Machado in which you may feel a bit sheepish about being unduely concerned.
Prudence is entirely different from paranoia.
Michael:
Our best trip was getting on a Mexican bus and doing 2000 miles up and down the Baja Peninsula….a great memory.
2nd question: Most of the things I look at on the Peoples Guide website seems to be old….half a year or more. How are Carl and Lorena? Are they updating the website at all?
David:
I sure hope that they update the site. It is so sad to return month after month and find everything the same. It’s like visiting when all the furniture is draped with covers.
Lorena’s editoral note:
Sarcasm does not become you señor Codo. As Carl once noted, “This website is run entirely by two aging hippies, in a drafty old log cabin in the north Cascades, off the grid and with a cranky satellite connection.”
David:
Same with Carl & Lorena: I sure hope that they remain healthy and vigrous!
Michael:
Thanks so much for any info.
ps What is rentmexbungalow? Cheap bungalows for rent in some Mexican town??
David:
Ahem! Cheap? The bungalows are rustic but apparently beloved by a lot of folks from all over Mexico, from Germany, Russia, the UK, Australia, Canada, and the US. The bungalows therefore must remain affordable. My Mexican customers really appreciate the fact that the rates have not skyrocketed. There are some images on the People’s Guide website.
Rates are 400 pesos per day and the room have a full kitchen. The place is perched on a bluff overlooking the blue Pacific and hundreds of passing whales.
Saludos!
David
[From The People's Guide to Mexico: ]
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