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RE: Ajo AZ to San Carlos on Hwy 2 & 15
re; vehicles using the shoulder for a second lane. Get used to it, it's done everywhere in Mexico (and the RGV in the US). :)
Actually, this done on just about any road that isn't four lane in the entire State of Texas. Driving Texas Friendly means you make way for those who need to get there before you if you're going slow.
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drtee
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11/09/09 06:56pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: pics of Dia de Muertos at La Madera in Zihua
Way to go, Linda.
Your blog looks fine, but you sure had a long lag between last post (in May?) and now.
drtee3 ;-)
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drtee
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11/03/09 04:06pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: US Dollars--take note:
As we are speaking about US currency used in Mexico....some campgrounds charge by the US dollar. Does this latest information concerning banking effect payment (to the campground) in U.S. dollars for a price (the campground)pegged to the U.S. dollar?
It seems to me as the peso falls the benefit goes to those Mexican merchants pegging a price for service on the U.S. dollar. In other words the service industries mostly catering to U.S. and Canadian customers are floating their price on par with the U.S. dollar regardless of the value of the peso. As the peso drops in value against either currency, the vendor benefits a windfall profit margin as compared to his compatriots pricing in pesos.
...
My wife and recently took advantage of the JetBlue "All you can Jet" program which offered a month of travel on their system for $500USD. Our first major trip was to Bogotá, Colombia. We found that the charge of admission to all museums and other attractions were always stated in USD for foreigners. The cost would then be calculated in their currency at the current exchange rate.
This assured them that their admission income would always receive the benefit of whatever their exchange rate might be. No impact on the locals, as their prices were stated in Colombian pesos.
Expect to see more businesses in México that receive significant
Moderator's edit: Corrected the quote tags.
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drtee
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11/01/09 02:59am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Books and EBooks
We know we are going to get an eBook. We just do not know if it is going to be Kindle or Barnes and Noble Nook.
Did anyone at B&N ever say the name of the "Nook e-book" out loud? Could be be embassing if you asked someone for one, don't 'cha think?
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drtee
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10/30/09 01:46pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: US Dollars--take note:
I really don't understand the reasoning behind this policy, if it exists. The Dollar/Peso ratio has been quite stable over the past six months. The dollar has cropped to about $1.48/1 Euro, which is about the same as before the big drop in the US market last year this time.
Perhaps there is fear of counterfeit money as this is certainly an issue that someone in the cuota station would not be able to deal with. You might take your money to a casa de cambio as they usually give a premium for good US $100.00 notes. That's the currency of preference in the drug trade. The casetas de cobro on las autopistas in Sinaloa probably are worried about robbery as they are a long way from law and order, usually.
As for the $133.00 BF Goodrich tire in Costco, maybe the 15% VAT has a bit to do with that. In the US, we don't quote the sales tax in with the price. Here, in Texas, the total price of the $79.00 tire would be $85.76. I notice that the big box stores usually scan the price of an article at the net price and then add the VAT before the total is rung up on computerized cash registers.
I lived in Aguascalientes for four months last year and noticed the disparity between the price of most US-made goods in Mexico versus the US.
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drtee
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10/30/09 01:39pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Mazatlan Info
Speaking of casas de cambio, does anyone know where they came from?
I have traveled in Mexico since 1976 and when I first traveled there the only place you could change money was at a bank. They were very stingy with exchange, too. I remember changing in Tapachula on the way back from El Salvador in 1978 and I could only change $40USD. Why? Who knows?
I first saw a casa de cambio on the north malecon in Mazatlan in about 1982 or 83. There was a booth set up on the sidewalk that was offering bank rates for US dollars. I asked the guy how he could possibly make any money when he was charging the same as the banks.
While he didn't tell me, I later learned that he was simply working for farmers and other businessmen who were looking for a way around the Mexican government's exchange controls. No one could buy more than $400USD at the bank. They didn't want to have their hard currencies to leave the country.
So, the farmers who needed thousands of dollars to buy heavy tractors and equipment set up the casas de cambio that gave the exact exchange rate as the banks. No profit margin, but they could get the hard currency they needed to buy equipment for import.
Anyone know another story about this?
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drtee
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10/29/09 08:32pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Rving in Mexico lately?
If you speak Spanish you should have no real problem crossing over the Monterrey. I would recommend the crossing at the Los Indios (Free Trade Bridge) bridge. It's easy and there are no lines. You will need insurance on your car for Mexico, which you can buy by the day, month, or year. It's cheaper to buy by the six month period of the US side. See the listing at the top of the RVing in Mexico and South America forum.
Be sure to bring proof of ownership of your vehicle and a US passport.
Do some more homework before you attempt this. Use this forum and read the first few listings, which are called "stickies" as they don't get dropped. They're there for folks like you.
¡Buenas suerté!
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drtee
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10/18/09 07:15am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Canadians gunned down in Puerto vallarta
I would like to have a solution to the drug problem spelled out and justified. I know lots of folks talk about legalizing drugs and taxing them, but what do you not legalize? Meth is the major drug today in much of rural America and it's not smuggled from anywhere. It's home made in America!
Tell me your solution. I'm sure Obama wants to know how to fix it. I think it's the major problem facing our world's future.
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drtee
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10/01/09 07:00am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Handling mail in Mexico
Last year, while teaching at Monterrey Tec/Aguascaliente, my wife and I applied for absentee ballots from our home county, which is Cameron...right on the border. They mailed our ballots from Brownsville and they arrived in Mexico and were marked "received in Mexico" on the 12th of October. They arrived in Aguascalientes on November 2, which was too late for us to vote. Only 21 days to get to us from Mexico City...but then it's about 500 miles.
Didn't get to vote, which was the first time in 45 years of marriage that my wife didn't get to cancel my vote for President. Don't blame me.
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drtee
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09/25/09 06:48am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Tachos RV Park
Moisheh mentions the major factors that have led to a downturn in tourism in the interior or Mexico. There's another factor that has had a major impact on the border area...passport requirements. The pedestrian traffic at Nuevo Progreso was down 42% in June and 29% in July. August has also been terrible and the dentists are practically standing in the doorway to attract patients.
The drop was immediate with the imposition of the passport requirement. Traffic had actually been up for the first five months of the year. This data is available online at the TAMUI.edu site. They gather the data from all of the Texas/Mexico bridges.
I don't suppose many of the regulars traveling to camp in Mexico have passports, but they should be aware that they will be required this winter season, so "if you ain't got 'em. You better get 'em." (as they say here in Texas.)
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drtee
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08/26/09 06:54am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Laredo to Ajijic Mexico
Karead mentioned the drive thru Saltillo, which works quite well. If you go through there, why not take a few hours and visit the Museum of the Desert which unique and fantastic. It's on the southern bypass and has a marvelous presentation that I've not seen many people mention.
Try it and let us know how you like it.
drtee
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drtee
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08/21/09 07:19pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: A change in Mexico is underway
I have noticed that the technology has been upgraded at the Nuevo Progreso crossing. They have even tested the x-ray technology with a temporary vehicle. The weighing will be accomplished by a special device in the roadbed and will weigh the front and then the back as the car passes over it.
I had wondered what was happening, as the computer for license plate search has been there for about 60 days and was rarely utilized. The previous customs guys usually were sitting on the bench chatting with locals and talking on their cell phones. They rarely even look at the pedestrians crossing there, and there are usually several thousand per day during the winter and a couple thousand in the summer. Traffic is down significantly since the passport requirement went into effect.
I don't think many Mexican shoppers used this crossing as it is quite inconvenient to pass through the little town of Nuevo Progreso and the connection to the autopista and passage through Reynosa makes it just too much trouble. The shopping here in the Rio Grande Valley by Mexicans is huge and I would expect that the opportunities for "mordidas" assessed against these shoppers returning to Mexico with lots of new stuff would be significant. That's the primary concern of the Mexican government.
Gringos going south will not be bothered too much by this program, so long as they don't have boxes of new stuff stacked on the roof or stored in their trailers.
I'll give a link to pictures I've taken of changes later.
drtee
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drtee
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08/17/09 07:46am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Flu Tracking Map
Hey, PopBeavers,
What was it like? Was it similar to the other types of flu that you might have had? What did you do to survive it? Still working, so you must be under 65, huh?
drtee
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drtee
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08/14/09 10:12am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Visa requirement Changes for Canadian's??
If you are a Canadian traveling by surface to Mexico you will need a passport to return to the US.
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drtee
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08/08/09 10:29am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Any support for a spanish language forum??
Good evening Barb John. The gest of the above is that I agree with previous posters that the best method of learning spanish is through talking and conversation. However unlike Americans it is more difficult for Canadians to find opportunitys to speak spanish as Canada is a bilingual country in English and French and not English and Spanish. I explained that every day I read the "noticias" (news) in spanish from the Tijuana and Hermosillo newspaper sites and every day I learn something new. Eventually new words and phrases make it into my spoken vocabulary and i hopefully don't sound like a newspaper article when I speak. :) I also mentioned that a forum in Spanish with topics of interesting places to camp and general camping discussion etc would be a reasonably good medium to learn. As I said in Spanish, "Esta es mejor que nada". (Its better than nothing). Like my french I tend to speak (and write) in baby spanish but I seem to get my point across so for the most part...communication takes place. :)
You might find it somewhat offensive if the 'moderator' who translates from Spanish should correct your spelling and grammar.
For example: "gest" should be "gist."
"spanish" should always be "Spanish."
"However unlike Americans" should be "However, unlike Americans, it.."
"opportunitys" should be "opportunities".
"every day" should be "everyday".
"Eventually new words and..." should be "Eventually, new words and..."
"discussion etc would" should be "discussion, etc., would"
"french" should be "French".
I guess you get the idea.
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drtee
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07/30/09 10:30am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Mexico keeps getting cheaper for us Canadians...
You will get official exchange rates...not the casa de cambio rate...if you use your debit card at a major bank, such as Banamex, HTSB, or Santander. Their rate is the official rate established each morning and is generally better than the casa de cambio will give you.
The official rate as of this morning (7/22/09) is 13.36 : 1.0. The rate has been fairly stable, moving within a range of about two cents over the past four months, according to the graph shown in the initial posting. Why not just draw a couple of hundred dollars worth of pesos when you see the rate is favorable? That's what I do and I haven't been burned yet.
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drtee
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07/22/09 06:57am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Mexico keeps getting cheaper for us Canadians...
The rate is actually 13.37 Pesos: 1.00 USD.
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drtee
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07/19/09 01:47pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Solar Panels on sale for Canadians
On sale for most folks for $903.00 USD at this location.
Free shipping, too!
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drtee
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07/19/09 01:45pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: Dentists Revisited
I don't know about interior towns in Mexico, but in the border towns that thrive from the "dental tourism" business mentioned above usually have several labs so they can have work done quickly. In Nuevo Progreso there are about 40 dental clinics with two or more dentists and about 8 dental labs that are staffed with experienced craftspeople. They know that people can't come back several times for crowns or bridges and strive to get you in and out within three days.
As for technology, there are dentists there using water laser drilling, or simply laser drilling. There is a lab that makes Zirconium crowns and another under development. The labor costs for good techs there, most of whom received initial training as apprentices under experienced lab techs, is a small fraction of what a dental lab tech makes in the US. That's how a porcelain crown can be prepped and placed over a weekend for about USD200.
Look at a few of the dental office pictures on the www.shop-progreso.com website and I believe you'll be impressed by the modern equipment and hygiene being used. You can always walk in and look around and walk out if you don't think the facilities are up to your expectations. All it takes is the huzpah to do it.
Hey, it's a major industry there and they know how to produce the needed resources to provide quick, clean, and inexpensive dental care.
drtee
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drtee
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07/18/09 08:34pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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RE: San Miguel de Allende
Chris,
When my wife and I stayed there last fall, the folks at Siesta CG said they would be closing in January of this year. I don't know if they did or not. The other place, San Miguel Park, the tennis courts, is nearer to the downtown and is said to be for smaller units. I think your TT will fit. From what I've heard, it's a great place.
It's in the Church's book.
drtee
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drtee
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07/12/09 08:30pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
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