Lynn0527 wrote:
This is an interesting thread. As a brand new RVer, hoping to head to Mexico for 6 weeks, perhaps I can shed some light on what the new RVer is thinking. While you were going down to Mexico every year, I was traveling around a variety of other countries. I no longer want to go to other countries because traveling by air is a nightmare. It costs a fortune to travel now and stay in decent hotels and eat in restaurants. I traveled all my life for work and the appeal is long gone. Last year I was in Greece and I was so disappointed by the bad food, Grafitti on the sites, rude Greeks who could care less for customer service. Never again. I was in Greece 20 years ago and it wasn't the same Greece.
This is rather long winded but my point is that EVERYWHERE in the world has changed. Everything is more expensive, travel is more dangerous, bureaucracy is more onerous.
Mexico is still an inexpensive place to travel to relative to other countries. The good thing about RVing is sleeping in your own bed, being able to pick up and leave when you want, carrying all your junk with you and not having to lug everything around. For those of us who will be experiencing Mexico by RV for the first time, it will all be good.
I am sure Mexico was amazing in the earlier years but everything is more expensive now. I live in Canada so I am used to expensive gas.
To be honest, I am just happy not to have to get on a plane to travel. I have seen Mexico lite at the resorts but also the real thing, Mexico City and Guadalajara. The Mexicans are wonderful people and that is what I hope to see.
I can relate to this post although we are doing it backwards. Started with Mexico and went to other Latin countries and Europe from there. There is good and bad anywhere and an open mind is important. Europe in general is considerably more expensive and makes Canada look down right cheap. Gas is Canada right now is around 3.60 US to 4.00 US per gallon. In Europe it is well over 7 with maybe the exception of Spain. The one big thing we noticed every where in Europe was the massive amount of graffiti EVERYWHERE. Wether it was the canals of Venice or Downtown paris. The lawns along the main tourist areas in Paris probably haven't been cut in years and the garbage is everywhere. Germany is fairly clean and Spain isn't bad but really all over Europe its a problem. It would not stop us from going back as there is a lot to see and do AND LEARN. Mexico in general is cleaner, better preserved and better presenteted than many areas we saw in Europe. The "pueblos magicos" of Mexico are amazing and I recommend them over any beach location we went to in Mexico. We have had friends in the US tell us they wouldn't go to Mexico because of the check points and soldiers with automatic weapons. We advise them never to go to europe as this kind of thing is common there. There are 7000 pick pocket incidents PER DAY in Paris and Madrid. Meh, keep thirty bucks in your front pocket and a dummy wallet in your back pocket and somebody will cop a little feel of your hiney. :) As far as checkpoints in Mexico we have overnighted at a couple with the invitation of the commandante. As far as bad cops in Mexico I'm sure there are some, we just never ran across one in our 4 years of RV travel and we rarely sat in one place for more than a few weeks. I don't want to minimize Mexicos problems but it is what it is. I don't recommend un informed travel in Mexico (or anywhere else) as there are real security risks that need to be mitigated or reduced. If money is a concern (totally understandable for those of us on a budget) then consider staying in Yuma for the winter, BUT you get what you pay for. The words interesting culture and history don't come to mind when thinking of Yuma or any of the many snowbird haunts...including where we presently are in Palm Springs (although we kinda like this community with its strong latin routes) It all depends what you are looking for. Looking for cheap stay north of the border, looking for an enriching cultural experience in an amazing country then open your mind, open the spanish phrase book and head south.
All just my humble opinion. What do I know about culture. I like padre kino wine. :)
