I was daydreaming in the hot tub yesterday about getting into a convertible (either the MGB when it’s done, or the Triumph Herald) and driving down to Mexico where I can lay in the hot sun for a week (long enough to remind me how much I hate being too hot) and swimming or diving in the warm water (as opposed to the 42°F water we have up here).
I talked to a friend the other day. She and her husband enjoy going to Rosarita Beach. She said that she either wanted to go there a month ago, but that she didn’t because her husband couldn’t go; or that she did go alone. I told her she should have called me. She said that a girlfriend told her the same thing. Who knows? Maybe I’ll have a travel buddy in the future? (They’re taking off two-to-six months for a Central American vacation. They do that a lot, going to a foreign country every couple of years for an extended period. Last time was Southeast Asia.)
Anyway, Mexico. The last time I was in Mexico I was a tow-headed five- or six-year-old. Tijuana. I think I was nearly kidnapped. A woman kept trying to grab my hand and shouting, ‘Casa! Casa!’ Doesn’t mean anything. Just an anecdote.
What’s it like to drive to Mexico? I’ve heard you have to buy car insurance a the border. What are the odds that one of the cars I mentioned would be a target? As for general travelling tips, is there anything of which I should be aware? (Yeah, yeah. ‘Don’t drink the water.’ ) My Spanish is pretty much limited to ‘Dos tacos con queso y una copa de frijoles refritos con queso y una cervesa grande, por favor.’ I’m guessing my rusty German won’t be of much help. I didn’t have much trouble in Italy, not speaking Italian; nor in Sweden or Denmark, not speaking Swedish or Danish. I’m guessing that Rosarita (being a tourist hangout) will present few language problems? (Hey, I’m American. If the locals don’t understand, I can just speak English louder! )
Mexico is very nice to drive in (with the exception of Mexico City)…they have some interesting road “rules” and you should get to know them before going. In the tourist areas, look out for the angels, not federales if you have car troubles. We have driven in the riviera and huatulco…it is definitely interesting!
We have found being Canadian (seems there was a thread about this) helps with our lack of spanish and my pitiful attempts at speaking it although I’m still trying. It also helps with general acceptance. Being American, and speaking english louder, would be what they would consider typical American behaviour (no offense . I believe, in most tourist areas, there is english speaking locals. However, they appreciate your attempt at their language.
In the two mexican states we have been in, gas is distributed by government only … they will pump your gas for you and generally keep the change from the bills you give them. Watch the pump reads zero before they start pumping.
The majority of mexicans we have met there are wonderful, considerate and polite people. If you stick to the main roads, you should be all right. The federales are very strict, they take no bull*& ( and they can and WILL arrest and keep you for as long as they wish if you are caught breaking their laws.
There is an excellent book available from CAA or your version of the American Auto Club?) on driving and travelling in Mexico.
I’ll definitely check out a travel guide before I go. When will that be? I don’t know. Summers are very nice up here next to the Canadian border. I’m thinking of attending the L.A. Film Expo in Santa Monica in November, and I still have to get the car from SoCal. Then it will be Winter.
Johnny, I’m thinking that you will have to go much further south than Rosarita if you want truly warm weather. I went to San Felipe, a little farther south and on the bay side, not the Pacific side, for Christmas last year. It was in the high 60’s, the wind blew strong and cool, and the water was around 60 degrees. We were told that going south was a multi-day drive, so we didn’t go. We had a blast, though. There was nothing, I mean nothing to do. You could charter a boat for fishing, that was about it. Ate shrimp the size of my fist, and clams, almost every day.
There are hot springs 50 miles south of San Felipe. You gotta go during high tide, though, because they get way too hot if the tide’s not high.
I doubt I’d be going at Christmas. I was thinking that Summer would be good – if amazingly hot. (Remember, I found L.A. summers a bit too warm.) But I’ve no idea when this will happen. For the moment, I’m still looking for work. I’m shooting a wedding at the end of the month, and expect to be doing more throughout the summer. If I’m doing that during the wedding season, I can’t go until September or October at the earliest. Or it may be put off until next Spring. Then there’s the car issue, settling my mom’s estate, making my short film, etc.
Completely ignore Canadiangirl. She obviously has little experience driving in Mexico.
Northern Mexico in the summer is definitely blazing hot. In fact anywhere along the coast will be very hot, there is mostly a difference in humidity from north to south.
Driving in Mexico can be both a challenge and an exciting experience. The country has some very beautiful landscapes. But a week wouldn’t be long enough to really enjoy yourself.
I drove in Mexico once, completely by accident. All five minutes of it was thrilling.
Intending to park at the border and take a bus, I left San Diego in a rental car, and somehow misinterpreted the 900 “LAST EXIT” signs. Next thing you know I’m across the border and in downtown Tijuana where I drive smack into one of those crazy roundabouts like they have in London and D.C.
Straight into the center lane (of three) on my way in, a quick 180, and straight back out through all three lanes getting honked and yelled at by the locals and right back to the border where it takes an hour to get back into the US to park and take the bus :smack:
Johnny, I thought you were thinking around November according to your post. As to driving, I went with my wife, my MIL (the most nervous person on the planet) and the doggie. We drove through Mexicali and down 5 to San Felipe. It was just fine. No cop hassles at all. The same should be fine for Rosarita. Hell, I think it’s only an hour or so from San D. Tourist money rules down there so I imagine they don’t want to fuck with the flow. If you get off the major highways, and even sometimes on the highways, the roads are terrible, so your underslung British speedsters would not be the best choice. Take the Jeep.
We did buy auto insurance online for about 100 bucks, well before we went. We didn’t stop on the way in, and we were waved through on the way back. Did not have to show ID or anything.
There are some websites that we used to answer any questions we had. Search on baja califonia travel, or something along those lines. Oh yeah, we have no Spanish and we were fine. The one thing we noticed was that prices, particularly restaurant meals, were not cheap. Restaurants basically charged the same as they would up here in Oakland.
I hope you go. We had a ball, and I noticed, unfortunately after I got back, that the lack of input resulted in me feeling more relaxed than I had in years.
Actually, the MG is a unibody and the Triumph’s frame goes over the suspension. They’re low, but not underslung. I doubt I’d get off of the paved roads, so being ‘lowslung’ shouldn’t be a problem. The Jeep would be much better in terms of comfort and reliability; but it sucks gas at a rate of 18-20 mpg and you can’t take the top off (or put it down – I might go for the more-modern Michelotti-designed folding top for the MGB, since it already has the non-period-correct-but-stronger Salisbury differential). The MG, BTW, can get up to 28 mpg, and the Triumph is said to be capable of up to 38 mpg. (Mileage depends on how they’re driven, of course. Heck, I can get up to 25 mpg in the Jeep if I keep it at 55 mph!)
I gather from posts you’ve made to other threads that you are a shooting enthusiast. If you decide to drive in Mexico, make sure every last gun-related item is out of the car before you leave. A single round of ammunition, or even a fired casing, can and will get you in horrific trouble should you be stopped for any reason and it is discovered.
I lived in Laredo TX for several years and used to go on car trips into Mexico. I have some interesting memories of those trips. Not all are pleasant, but all are interesting.
You’d be surprised at what constitutes “paved” down there. If you were planning on going anywhere besides Rosarita, you would more than likely run into roads so ridden with potholes that our Outback was struggling and bottoming out at 15 mph.
Yes, I’ve heard horror stories of people snagged by the Draconian Mexican laws because they had a single round of ammunition in the car. Although I enjoy shooting, I haven’t been shooting in about two years. No plans to drive the convertibles to the range. (Although there may eventually be blanks in them if we proceed with plans for a couple of films.)
Soul Brother Number Two: Wow. Those roads sound pretty bad! I remember being on dirt washboard roads in one of the MGBs, and being on a rocky road in another. Scared the hell out of me when I hit a big rock on the latter!
Incidentally, please forgive me if I was being a bit pedantic in my last post (‘underslung’ vs. ‘lowslung’). I do tend to become pedantic at times. :o
Actually in the last 15 years Mexico has built a series of toll roads that crisscross the country and they are well maintained. The free roads or libres (there is always a non-toll alternative route) can be rough sometimes especially during and after the rainy season.
The libres pass through the towns and villages and you run across the ubiquitous topes or speed bumps. A low slung sportscar may have some trouble here. The biggest problem is they aren’t always marked or painted so you have little or no warning and you hit them way too hard.
Hey, no need to apologize, but it’s nice that you chose to. I actually had no idea that there was a difference between underslung and lowslung.
Here’s a map of the San Felipe area. You can see that highway 5 is THE road, very few others around. About 20 miles south of San Felipe those potholes started cropping up…
http://www.sanfelipe.com.mx/about/san_felipe_area.html
I don’t know what it may be like on the other side, but if 5 is representative in any way, I would say it would not be a good idea to take the MGB or the Triumph. I also recall being told that driving down the Pacific coast to Cabo and places like that would take several DAYS.
5 just about all the way to San Felipe was well maintained. The last 20 minutes or so was washboard. And Rosarito is only 20 minutes from San D, so I’m sure the road is fine there as well.
There’s a toll road down at least as far as Ensenada, which is beautifully maintained as well as gorgeous scenery-wise. There’s also a free road which is not quite as good, but still acceptable. Of course you know L.A. so you know the water down here is still not all that warm, but maybe down in Baja it’s a couple of degrees warmer.
Compared to up here, the water is like taking a bath! I was diving off of Nanaimo last year, and the water was in the mid-40°s. The 60°F water one gloomy June day in Malibu was fine once the shock wore off. Didn’t want to get out. It’s just a wee bit brisk here, off the Strait of Georgia.
) My Spanish is pretty much limited to ‘Dos tacos con queso y una copa de frijoles refritos con queso y una cervesa grande, por favor.’ I’m guessing my rusty German won’t be of much help. I didn’t have much trouble in Italy, not speaking Italian; nor in Sweden or Denmark, not speaking Swedish or Danish. I’m guessing that Rosarita (being a tourist hangout) will present few language problems? (Hey, I’m American. If the locals don’t understand, I can just speak English louder! 
)
. I believe, in most tourist areas, there is english speaking locals. However, they appreciate your attempt at their language.