The People's Guide to Mexico
The People’s Guide to Mexico
14th Edition
Carl Franz and Lorena Havens
Published by
Avalon Travel
a member of the Perseus Books Group
1700 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710, USA
www.moon.com
Text © 2012, 2006, 2002, 1998, 1992, 1990, 1988, 1986, 1982, 1979, 1976, 1975, 1974, 1972 by Carl Franz and Lorena Havens.
Maps © by Avalon Travel.
All rights reserved.
Some photos and illustrations are used by permission and are the property of the original copyright owners.
ISBN-13: 978-1-59880-960-2
eISBN: 978-1-61238-049-0
Editor: Sabrina Young
Acquisitions Director: Grace Fujimoto
Copy Editor: Justine Rathbun
Cover and Interior Design and Production: Elizabeth Jang
Map Editor: Mike Morgenfeld
Indexer: Greg Jewett
Proofreader: Cinnamon Hearst
Illustrator: Glen Strock
Printing History
1st Edition — 1972
14th Edition — October 2012
5 4 3 2 1
Distributed by Publishers Group West
Printed in Canada by Friesens
Portions of this book were previously published in The People’s Guide to Camping, Backpacking, & Boating in Mexico; The People’s Guide to R.V. Camping in Mexico; The People’s Guide Travel Letter; and The Tour Express Insiders Guide to Mexico and are used here by permission of the authors.
Avalon Travel is a member of the Perseus Books Group. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be translated or reproduced in any form, except brief extracts by a reviewer for the purpose of a review, without written permission of the copyright owner.
Although every effort was made to ensure that the information was correct at the time of going to press, the author and publisher do not assume and hereby disclaim any liability to any party for any loss or damage caused by errors, omissions, or any potential travel disruption due to labor or financial difficulty, whether such errors or omissions result from negligence, accident, or any other cause.
Please send all feedback about this book to:
The People’s Guide to Mexico
Avalon Travel
1700 Fourth Street
Berkeley, CA 94710, USA
feedback@moon.com
www.moon.com
Title Page
Copyright Page
1. Traveling in Mexico
Planning Your Trip
A Travel Routine
Where to Go
How to Get There
Travel Packages: Too Good to Be True?
Tours
Traveling with Friends
Traveling Alone
Traveling with Kids
2. The Best of Mexico
Wherever You Go …
A Mercifully Brief Lesson in Geography and Climate
The Seasons
Baja California
Copper Canyon
Pacific Beaches
Central Mexico: The Colonial Heartland
The Gulf Coast
The Indian Highlands: Oaxaca and Chiapas
The Yucatán Peninsula
The Ruta Maya
3. Getting Around
Buses
Trains
Rental Cars
Taxis
Colectivos
Navigating in Mexico City
Air Service
Ferries
Boats and Beasts
Hitching
A Ride to Remember
4. Driving
Why Drive in Mexico?
Why Not Drive?
Driving Overview
Hazards
Churpa’s Driving Story
Road Conditions
City Driving
Night Driving
Traffic Signs
Toll Roads
Cops
Surviving Mexico City
Steve’s Bypass Operation
Police Roadblocks and Highway Checkpoints
Parking
Finding Your Way
Ferries
Green Angels and Breakdowns
Gas Stations
Rip-Offs
Preparing Your Car
Buying a Car
Living in Your Vehicle
Do-It-Yourself Camper
Car Repairs
Travels with Woody and Sonny
5. Accommodations
Hotels
Renting a Place
House Hunting
Wood-Fired Water Heaters
Living with Mexicans
Maids and Gardeners
6. Camping
Camping with Children
RV Motor Homes and Trailers
RV Caravans
Van, Pickup and Car Campers
Rent-a-Car Camping
What Will It Cost?
Privacy
Where to Camp
Is It Safe?
Where to Be Careful
Exploring
Camping and Kitchen Gear
A Traveling Kitchen
Food from Home
Odds and Ends
Camping Skills
7. Packing Up
Clothing
Travel-Light Packing Suggestions
The Hidden Pocket
Health Information and Insurance
Useful Travel Accessories
Odds and Ends
Gifts and Trade Goods
8. Mexico: A to Z
AA and 12-Step Meetings
Addresses
Banks and Money
Bank and Legal Holidays
Bathing
Bathrooms
Business Hours
Computers
Consulates and Embassies
Electricity
Email and Cyber Cafés
Fuels
Laundry
Meditation
Post Office and Mail
Taxes—IVA
Telegraph Service
Telephones, Cell Phones, Online Calling and Fax Services
Time and Zones
Tipping
Tourist Information
Vegetables: Purifying
Volunteer and Aid Groups
Water
9. Staying Healthy
Prevention
Got Sick Anyway …
Health and First-Aid Kit
Remedies and Cures
Secrets of the Maya Revealed!
10. Safety
Is Mexico Safe?
The Accidental Tourist
Drinking and Drugs
Valuables and Rip-Offs
Swimming and Lifeguards
Parasailing
Revolutions and Guerrillas
11. Red Tape and the Law
Tourist Cards
Vehicle Permits: A Step-by-Step Explanation
Yachts and Private Aircraft
Pets
Guns and Hunting
Fishing Licenses
Car Insurance
Accidents
Official Documents and Checkpoints
Mexican Customs Inspections
Tourists and Mexican Law
12. ¡Viva Mexico!
Customs and Traditions
Superstitions
Celebrations and Fiestas
Holiday Calendar
Festivals, Fairs and Circuses
Beggars and Con Artists
National Lottery
Machismo
Brothels
The Bullfight
Mexico: A Brief History
What th
e Hell Is That?
Saints’ Days
13. Shopping
Shopping and Souvenirs
Haggling
Imports: Fortune or Fantasy?
Shopping for Arts and Crafts
Steve’s Shopping Tips
Parrot Fever
14. Restaurants and Typical Foods
The Joy of Eating
Types of Restaurants
Street Food
Mexican Fast-Food Tips
Ordering a Meal
Paying Up
Tips
Vegetarians
What You’ll Eat
Beverages
15. Booze and Cantinas
Drinking Customs
Vino or Wine?
Beer
Tequila and Mezcal
Hard Liquors
Pulque
Home Brews
Bars and Cantinas
16. Markets and Stores
Markets and Tianguis
Ins and Outs of Haggling
Shopping Suggestions
Stores
The Shopping List
A Typical Marketing Trip
Market Days in Mexico
Market Days in Guatemala
17. Our Favorite Mexican Recipes
Valuable Cooking Tips
Our Favorite Mexican Recipes
18. Speaking Spanish
It’s Worth the Effort
Greetings and Salutations
Hand Signals
Formalities and Titles
A Typical Polite Letter
Slang
Nicknames
The Mexican Media
Speaking Spanish: Where Do I Start?
19. Live or Retire in Mexico
Don’t Burn Bridges or Make “Pink Cloud” Decisions
What Will It Really Cost?
A Few Words from Friends and Readers Living in Mexico
Disconnecting from the “Real World”
Can a Tourist or a Foreigner Own Land?
If You Want to Read More …
20. Back to the U.S.A.
Searches
Is It Legal?
Declare Your Purchases
Duty-Free Limits
Mail It Home
Pets and Plants
Last but Not Least
A Typical Border Crossing?
21. For More Information: Websites and Book Reviews
Mexico Guidebooks and General Information
People’s Guide to Mexico Website Highlights
Discuss Mexico and Latin America Online
The Best of Mexico: From Baja to Central America
Archaeology, Anthropology and Ethnology
Booksellers and Sources
Border Crossing: Before Leaving Home
Border Crossing: Mexico (Red Tape)
Border Crossing: U.S.A. (Back to the U.S.A.)
Children
Culture: ¡Viva Mexico!
Driving
Food and Recipes
Gay and Lesbian
Health
History, Novels and Nonfiction
Hostels
Live or Retire in Mexico and Central America
Maps and Sources
Media
Meditation
Money
Movies
Music
Natural History
Newsletters
Outdoor Activities
Packing Up: Travel Accessories and Gear
Pets
Phones
Photography and Photo Galleries
Public Transportation: Getting Around
Real Estate, Rentals, Vacation Properties
Research, Archives and Libraries
RV and Camping
Shopping
Spanish Study
TV and Radio
Volunteer and Social Action Groups
Weather, Climate and Hurricanes
Women
Working in Mexico
Appendices
Index
Acknowledgments
Editing and research: Lorena Havens, Steve Rogers, Felisa Churpa Rosa Rogers, Linda Reybine, Lety Hall, Stephanie Hopkinson, David “El Codo” Eidell, Beatriz, Vee Webber, Bill and Claire Gray, Paul Balbin, Robert Heston and many others.
As we celebrate this book’s 40th birthday in 2012, we want to extend a very warm abrazo and special acknowledgment to Avalon Travel. Grace Fujimoto has supported us with great patience through many editions, never once resorting to arm-twisting or other dramatics when we miss yet another deadline. Updating a book of this size and complexity is no small task. For all of their fine work, we offer special thanks to Sabrina Young and Elizabeth Jang.
Encouragement, suggestions, criticism and more: Ken and Barbara Luboff, John and Eve Muir, Susan Fiksdal, Tom Scott, Dr. Matt Kelly, Lic. Napoleon Negrete, Nacho and Teresa Espinosa, Mauro Lopez, Felicia and family, Martha Brewster, Stephanie Hopkinson, Kimberly Brown.
Design: Lorena Havens.
Lorena and I sincerely thank those of you who have taken the time to write us about your travels in Mexico. Your letters and emails not only provide much appreciated moral support, but they also contribute valuable information that we pass on to other readers through regular revisions of this book and The People’s Guide to Mexico websites, www.thepeoplesguidetomexico.com. “¡Qué le vaya bien!” to you all.
Cover, Illustrations and Graphics:
Glen Strock
Special Thanks:
Toby Williams for contributions marked TW,
Peter Aschwanden for Day of the Dead cartoons and
Nancy Gale for Mayan temple, Chichen Itza
Introduction to the 14th Edition, 2012
We can scarcely believe it ourselves, but this edition marks the 40th anniversary of The People’s Guide to Mexico. To say that it has been an amazing journey is certainly an understatement. We’ve seen tremendous changes in Mexico over the years, but like so many of our readers, our long love affair with the country and deep respect for its people are as strong as ever.
This edition, like all the others before it, required many hundreds of updates and corrections, both small and large. The least agreeable of these has been the need to expand our warnings about personal safety because of the increase in narco violence. Tourists are seldom directly involved in the conflict between the drug cartels and Mexican law enforcement, but it isn’t easy to ignore the worrisome presence of the Army and special police units, especially in northern Mexico and along the U.S.-Mexico border.
On a far more positive note, with this edition Lorena and I are very happy to introduce Churpa Rosa Rogers as our “official” coeditor and contributing author. Previous readers of The People’s Guide to Mexico will recognize Churpa as the daughter of Steve Rogers, our much loved but long departed coauthor. Churpa not only grew up while traveling in Mexico but also inherited her father’s now legendary affection for good food, hot chilies and offbeat adventure. To top it off, she combines these with a delightfully twisted sense of humor and a very serious talent for writing. In addition to an increasing presence in future editions of this book, you will find much more of Churpa’s writing on our website,www.thepeoplesguidetomexico.com.
Introduction to the 13th Edition, 2006
Have you heard the expression “The more things change, the more they stay the same”? There have been many changes in Mexico and also in the lives of the authors since the last edition of this book was published in 2002. Fortunately, however, it takes far more to alter the true heart and soul of Mexico than a chain of superstores and golden arches.
Back in the so-called good old days, when it could easily take all day to make a long-distance phone call from Mexico, we used to say that wintering in Mexico and spending the summer up north was the best of both worlds. That is still a highly desirable routine, but to be quite honest, the changes we’ve seen on both sides of the border in the past few years make it tempting to stay even longer in Mexico.
 
; To begin with, many practical aspects of living and traveling in Mexico continue to get easier and more convenient. Highways around the country are being built and improved, airports are modernizing and communications have improved drastically. Internet access is now taken for granted virtually everywhere, and cell phone service is widespread and affordable. Discount airlines are also just starting to take off, offering fares within Mexico in direct competition with buses. There’s even a chance that passenger trains will eventually return.
Don’t let me forget Wal-Mart. In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that I am drawn to their extra-virgin olive oil and shelves of hot sauces like a moth to a flame. I bemoan the impact that this form of “progress” has on small Mexican businesses, but like many others we occasionally take advantage of their bargains and selection.
Not too many years ago the principal sources of information on travel in Mexico were limited to guidebooks and a few knowledgeable travel agents. We’ll discuss this in far greater detail later in this book, but it is worth mentioning that the Internet now offers a wealth of information about Mexico. This includes everything from personal travelogues, blogs, message boards and podcasts to homemade travel videos. Unfortunately, some of this stuff is published quite raw, without being fact-checked or reviewed by a sharp-eyed editor. Be very careful.
Now that this book is well into its fourth decade, it is fair to ask if our “People’s Guide” style of travel is still possible in modern Mexico. Based on our own travels and that of many readers who send us detailed accounts of their experiences, the answer is an emphatic “yes.” It doesn’t matter if you’re traveling on a starvation budget or with a platinum Visa, the best of Mexico is available to everyone. I’ll try to boil it down to just a few words: Travel slowly, spend your money wisely and don’t be afraid to suddenly change your itinerary. One more thing: Swallow your embarrassment and make an effort to speak Spanish. The rewards are tremendous.
As for those personal changes I mentioned earlier, Lorena and I have returned to our original routine of traveling back and forth between our cabin in northwest Washington and Mexico, after living full time in Mexico for several years.
That long-promised People’s Guide book on retiring, living and working in Mexico is still a work in progress, but Lorena assures me that we are indeed making progress! Thanks to a painful misadventure with a horse, I can no longer guide hikes in the Copper Canyon and Sierra Madre. Between trips to Mexico, Lorena continues to devote a great deal of time to www.thepeoplesguidetomexico.com, our ever-expanding People’s Guide to Mexico website.
In closing, Lorena and I would like to acknowledge the truly inspirational support we’ve been given by Avalon Travel and our publisher, Bill Newlin, editor Grace Fujimoto and production director Jane Musser. The People’s Guide to Mexico has traveled a long road since its first publication in 1972. A great deal of the credit for its continued success is due to our publishers and most especially, to you, our readers. We deeply appreciate your help!