Traveling in Mexico

Traveling in Mexico is easy. Now, having said that, there are a few unusual things and behaviors you need to understand. The first is that Mexican drivers apparently consider speed limit and no passing signs to be merely suggestions made by someone who doesn’t know how to drive. You should obey these signs but take care that you are not run over by another driver while you are doing it.

Another quaint custom is the use of wide shoulders on two-lane highways. They are used to facilitate passing. If a car pulls up behind you wanting to pass, you are supposed to move over onto the shoulder. The car then straddles the center line and passes you. Any on-coming traffic is supposed to move over to make room. It sounds very risky, but in practice it works quite well. However, it takes a great deal of faith and courage to pass a car this way. My first thought when I pull out to pass is that the on-coming car may be an American tourist that never heard of this custom.

Visitors to Mexico are advised not to drive after dark. Part of this warning has to do with security and animals on the roads, but another very good reason concerns an ingenious and sadistic device called a "tope". Topes are frequently used in the US in parking lots. They are usually called "speed bumps". In Mexico, topes are used mostly on the highways. Every small town or village will have at least one. If you hit a tope at any speed greater than 10 miles per hour, you will do serious damage to your vehicle. Mostly there are warning signs and usually the topes are painted white but not always. Topes are not all bad. Generally, there will be someone standing by the tope to sell you something as you come to a near stop. You may get some of your shopping done without ever leaving your rig. Akin to the tope is the "vibradore". It is smaller and can be crossed at a higher speed; usually at the posted speed of 40 kMH (about 25 MPH). Vibradores usually come is sets of up to ten or twelve with less than a car length between each one.

Another hazard on the road at night or even in the daylight is the practice of grazing animals along side the road. Sometimes there is a herder watching them but not always. Some are tethered so that they cannot get onto the road, but I have seen many burros wandering along the road with what is left of the tether after he chewed through it. I talked to a man in Mochis who had hit a horse on the road. He had been there for a month already and his truck would not be repaired for another two weeks.

Mexico has a system of toll roads called the "autopista". In general, the toll roads are in good shape; many are four-lane divided. However, the tolls are rather expensive. On our last trip, we entered Mexico at Brownsville and drove across the country to the west coast to go to Mazatlan. The toll roads were available as far as Durango, about 560 miles. The cost of the tolls was about $90 US. However, the small rig I drive is charged the same as a car. A truck towing a fifth wheel would be charged more than twice as much. In general, there is a free road corresponding to each toll road; so you have a choice. When you approach a toll road, you will come to an intersection with one exit marked "cuota" for the toll road and the other marked "libre" for the free road. I usually choose to drive the toll roads because 1) it is a better road, 2) there is less traffic, and 3) there is a higher speed limit. I have talked to others that never use the toll roads and they have made out just fine. A primary consideration is that you need to get to where you are going to spend the night and you need to get there before dark.

The highways are reasonably well marked. Where a highway goes through a city, you need to be very careful to watch for the signs. If you miss a highway turning sign, it may take a while to get back on the right road again. The signs are there but, often, there is no warning. The sign will be right on the corner where you need to turn.

In the US there are often highway loops that branch off the main road and loop through a nearby town. These are usually marked "business" highways. The same thing is done in Mexico. However, the loop highway is usually marked with the same number as the main road. I remember one intersection where I had a choice of three roads; all marked with the identical highway number. The toll roads are often marked with the highway number followed by the letter "D". Good highway maps are essential but, unfortunately, not fool-proof.

Other highway signs are plentiful, especially on the toll roads. My Spanish is limited. We brought along a Spanish dictionary to augment the little that I remember. Some of the signs I can understand. For the others, my wife looks up the words I don’t know. Occasionally, even this is not enough. One sign translated to "Don’t leave rocks on the road". While I could agree philosophically, I didn’t understand the reason for the sign. We found out later that when truckers break down, they often place piles of rocks on the road to warn oncoming traffic that their truck is parked on the side of the road. The sign is to remind them to remove the rocks before they leave.

Campgrounds in Mexico can be an adventure in themselves. They vary from as modern and well-equipped as any you would find in the US to the how-the–hell-did-I-ever-wind-up-here kind. In most cases you will find only 15 amp service. In a few cases that meant 15 amps for the entire campground. The wiring in some looked as if it had been designed by Rube Goldberg and installed by untrained monkeys. I would suggest using a circuit tester on the outlet before plugging in. The testers are small and inexpensive and can be found in almost any RV supply store. In one campground we were in on the Gulf Coast of Mexico, a camper pulled into the campground one afternoon and plugged in his rig. When he went to enter his rig, he got a terrific shock as soon as he touched his door handle. It seems that the neutral and high-side lines were reversed on the outlet he used. The one next to it was correct.

When water connections are available, the water pressure is always low; sometimes too low to be useable directly. We just used it to fill our fresh water tank and then turned it off. The tap water is seldom safe for gringos to drink. We treated the water with Clorox (1 tablespoon to 10 gallons of water) and had no problems at all. Filters are needed since the water pipes are often rusty. Sewer connections are sometimes available but we were warned not to leave the sewer line permanently connected or any number of unpleasant critters might enter through it.

My limited Spanish was very useful but not essential. On the east coast of Mexico, we found that often in the small stores in the villages no one spoke English. However, the people were so nice and helpful that other methods of communication could be found. Sign language and pointing usually worked. One person we talked to had gotten lost in one of the small towns. He was trying to ask for directions but wasn’t able to understand the responses. The villager finally got into his car and led the man back to the highway and sent him on his way. There were two words in Spanish that I found to be very useful; "quanto" (pronounced ‘kwan’ toe’) and "demasiado" (pronounced ‘day mas ya’ do’). The first word means "how much" and the other means "too much". On the west coast there were many more people who could speak at least some English.

Shopping for groceries can be an experience in itself, especially in the small towns and villages. The store will be small. In comparison, a 7-11 or Tom Thumb store could be described as a supermarket. Fresh fruits and vegetables are in abundance. They are mostly locally grown and are very good. There will be few canned goods or prepared foods. Both package sizes and quantity available will be small. A package of sliced cheese contained six slices but, if you like, they would open the package and sell you one slice. Eggs were usually available. They were in a crate and you could buy one egg if that’s all you wanted. Sliced bread might not be available but there were always fresh made bread rolls that were terrific. When we were camped in Sayulita, there was a small store about a block from the campground. I went grocery shopping every day. My usual list was 4 rolls, 4 Cokes, 2 bananas and 3 eggs.

The basic rules for traveling in Mexico are the same as for traveling anywhere else: 1) be sure your rig is in good working order before you start, 2) think about what you are going to do before you do it, 3) obey the laws even if no one else does, 4) don’t be in a hurry. The last rule is especially important in Mexico. There is a popular misconception that the word "mañana" means tomorrow. In actual practice in Mexico it means "not today".

Have a great time traveling in Mexico; we do.