| |
Subject |
Author |
Date Posted |
Forum
|
 |
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
|
drtee
|
08/17/09 07:46am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
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
|
drtee
|
08/14/09 10:12am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
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.
|
drtee
|
08/08/09 10:29am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
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.
|
drtee
|
07/30/09 10:30am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
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.
|
drtee
|
07/22/09 06:57am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Mexico keeps getting cheaper for us Canadians...
The rate is actually 13.37 Pesos: 1.00 USD.
|
drtee
|
07/19/09 01:47pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Solar Panels on sale for Canadians
On sale for most folks for $903.00 USD at this location.
Free shipping, too!
|
drtee
|
07/19/09 01:45pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
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
|
drtee
|
07/18/09 08:34pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
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
|
drtee
|
07/12/09 08:30pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Canadians: Is it true that OHIP covers Mexican Medical Bills
You obviously haven't seen mine.
drtee
|
drtee
|
06/27/09 07:52pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Passport or ID
go here to get the facts. Requirements came into effect on June 1, 2009.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cbpmc/cbpmc_2223.html
Depends on where you are, but passport cards ($40) or passport books ($100) take about two to four weeks to obtain. Go to your nearest post office.
Passport card is for surface travel across US border while books are required for flights to any country. Get both if you cross into Canada or Mexico frequently and the card only costs $20 more.
|
drtee
|
06/24/09 04:38pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Family RV Trip around the world
tonyandkaren gave us the bumfuzzle.com site to look at. I've read it for the last few years. These folks are a couple with no kids and travel in a 1958 VW van! I don't think this is a good source, although they do tell you about the difficulties of traveling in South America.
Traveling in Mexico is pretty easy, but Central America and South America are tough. I wouldn't take toddlers into that world. If so, be as small as you think you can live in and have a vehicle that can be worked on in virtually anyplace!
drtee
|
drtee
|
06/24/09 04:31pm |
General RVing Issues
|
|
RE: Dentists in Mexico
For anyone else who might be somewhere other than in New Mexico, Arizon, or West Texas area, you might want to look at the option of going to Nuevo Progreso site, which is www.shop-progreso.com and learn about the many fine dentists who operate there.
|
drtee
|
06/07/09 04:26pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
 |
RE: Is Acapulco a good place to stay.
I hate to do this, but you should read
this:
|
drtee
|
06/07/09 04:14pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: COMING FROM AUSTRALIA
Here's a link you might try. These folks have travelled over most of the Americas by now. You can get an insight into some of the problems you might encounter. Interestingly, they didn't avoid Colombia and found it to be quite nice.
http://www.travelin-tortuga.com/Site/Home_Page.html
|
drtee
|
06/02/09 04:28pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Perpetual Highway construction-what's yours?
Chris,
You'll be happy to know that the Expressway 83 construction is now 99.5% complete. They are putting final cosmetic touches on the Rabb Road overpass just West of La Feria, which will complete the project. I share your frustration with the rate of construction on the project as I commuted from Brownsville and later La Feria to Edinburg from 1989 thru 2008 and there was constant construction at various places along the route. Now that I'm retired, and no longer commute, I can drive non-stop and trouble-free to Edinburg.
I would have much preferred that they build a monorail train system down the median, which already belonged to the state, and which would not have cost a bit more than the expressway expansion that cost an incredible amount of money. Such a train system would have reduced the demand for commuting and provided a more economical solution for the low-income residents of the area. What's more, it would have been a more energy efficient long-term solution.
You get around to various forums, huh?
drtee
|
drtee
|
05/31/09 08:53am |
Roads and Routes
|
|
Towing Ford Focus 5 spd
I have a 2006 Ford Focus ZXE 5 spd that I would like to tow behind my Winnebago. I need to know what I need to tow it. Frankly, I don't like to deal with motorhome dealers who charge $100+ an hour. The car weighs about 2,200 pounds.
What's a good source of information on set up? I'd like to have a reasonably easy towbar disconnect and don't really want to have a lot of junk hanging on the front of the Focus.
drtee
|
drtee
|
05/20/09 08:28pm |
Dinghy Towing
|
|
RE: Well It Finally Happened.....In Monclova
Chris,
Thanks for the link to the acronyms dictionary. I didn't know it existed.
;–) >
|
drtee
|
05/13/09 09:15am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Well It Finally Happened.....In Monclova
Actually, I believe the correct acronym is PITA. It's a theory in management.
drtee;-}
|
drtee
|
05/12/09 08:22am |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
|
RE: Well It Finally Happened.....In Monclova
I had this experience in the little town of Sta. Catarina just west of Monterrey this past December. I was driving my Winnebago, closely watching my speed as I drove into town. I was on the main road down from Saltillo and didn't take the toll bypass. I got waved over by transito cops who told me that I was driving in the wrong lane; that I should have been in the extreme right lane as I was no longer on the Federal highway. I was now under the "municipio jurisdiction" and their laws.
I asked them to show me the sign that told me about this change in jurisdiction and where the sign was that mentioned the requirement that I was to drive in the extreme right lane. They told me that everyone knew, but I told them that I was an American and that I had never seen a sign that informed me of this and asked how I was supposed to know this requirement.
They said that ignorance was no excuse and that I would have to receive a ticket and demanded my license and 'papers', which apparently meant my proof of insurance. I gave them a copy of my license and told them they should give me the ticket and I would either accompany them to the court or would pay the fine later. I showed them my Monterrey Tec-Aguascalientes faculty ID and assured them that I would comply as I live near McAllen.
I also pointed out a number of heavy vehicles, both buses and trucks, that were passing us in the middle lanes while they kept telling me that I was breaking the law. I asked why they weren't stopping all of these vehicles, too, and they didn't really have an answer.
They weren't interested in going to the station with me and eventually told me to just go on down the road. I think that just being firm and not belligerant or agitated worked well in this case.
Chris is right. Don't pay 'em. They will not drag you off to jail and they won't assault you or seize your vehicle.
It does take a bit of nerve to stand up to them, though. Most cops in the US don't issue worthless tickets, but then they don't usually accept bribes. Note the word "usually."
drtee
|
drtee
|
05/03/09 05:41pm |
RVing in Mexico and South America
|
