Myths about Mexico to be shattered and other tips in general

1. You can drive your vehicle in Mexico without the gas ruining your car.

Providing you follow all the rules about license, insurance and registration

2. The roads are really in better shape and you have heard they are.

3. The roads that are bad are usually the roads that go to the pyramid sites and they are really full of pot holes from years of not being maintained.

4. You really can walk the streets alone without being mugged or assaulted.

5. 98 percent of the transactions made with cash are honest and not overly charged for and the change given is correct.

6. The military check points are looking for questionable Mexicans but not Americans.

7. You can eat from the food stands on the street if you look to see if the food is freshly made and hot.

8. You can communicate with little or no Spanish by using lots of hand gestures and small words.

9. Water and sodas are available everywhere. From the jungle shack to the big cities. Never in between towns and or villages.

10. Mexican food is not prepared with hot peppers in most cases. I always asked just to be sure.

Tips for safety and other general ways to make the trip easier

1. Don’t flaunt wealth or fan money

2. Don’t wear jewelry

3. Keep your hand on your bag when out in public

4. Wear back-packs on front of body.

5. Look assertive and be positive in body language

6. Have a plan made before you leave home and stick to it

7. Make arrangements for hotels on the internet and have the hotel and confirmation numbers printed out.

8. Show taxi driver the printed confirmation with the address of hotel on it.

9. Carry your money in a belt around your waist, ankle or in your bra

to make you feel better about safety and keep it out of site.

10. Only carry enough money for each day in your pocket or small change purse.

11. Carry enough change in coins to make lots of transactions, most vendors do not have much change.

12. Use bottle water always

12. Use a good map, preferably several and buy them in the US before you leave. Each map has different things on it with different spellings.

In Mexico you will only find a map in Spanish, and sometimes the names of the towns are spelled different or are completely different.

13. Study every tour book available and make copies of the places you want to see. Insert the pages in a photo sleeve book for ease of use that is not bulky. That way each at stop on your journey you can view one sheet instead of a heavy book.

14. No matter how big or small your expense allowance is, always write down what you spend and balance your cash so you know just how much money you have each day and how much you can spend in a given day.

15. Take a back up camera, film and more batteries than you think you will ever use. You will use three times more than you think.

16. If you use an ATM be aware that the charge for each cash withdrawal transaction is about 14.00.

17. Take a flashlight, umbrella, poncho, mosquito netting shirt, bug spray, candles, lighter, small bags for camera and to protect other things, army knife, or one with a good blade on it.

18. Other useful items include, plastic bags with zippers to protect clothes from moisture, water proof container for shower soap and shampoo, plastic accessory bags for cosmetic items to keep them intact, wet wipes in foil wrappers, hand sanitizer, tissues, toilet paper, Rolaids, water purifier and Pepto-Bismol.

19. Take your vitamins to keep up your energy, you will need it.

20. If you go by bus, take a small pillow and lap blanket for warmth, the busses are cold for the most part.

21. Buy a sandwich, chips, cookies and soda before you board the bus or get in your car to go. Sometimes there are long stretches of road with nothing.

22. The same way with gas, if you see a station, get gas. Never go below a half of tank. It may be a long way before the next one comes into view.

23. Most towns end at the city limits and the only thing beyond it is the jungle or desert. No isolated rest stops or quick markets in between.

24. Internet cafes are in every town, some are more high speed than others. Use them to keep in contact with family and or friends at home. If you get lost and or anything worse they have a place to start looking for you.

25. Give everyone your itinerary, a good way is to set up a web page on www.lonelyplanet.com. You can type a text and add pictures and send e-mails to everyone you choose before you leave home with one click of the button. That way everyone knows where you are and what your next stop is going to be.

26. If you are traveling by bus, you can make arrangements for smaller side tours through your hotel or in most of the larger towns to sites in the area. Refer to the guide books for general info.

27. Guide books can be wrong. Don’t rely to them for the gospel truth.

Check as many other sources as possible for the latest updates.

28. That includes prices to sites and attractions. I found them to be at

least a dollar higher than printed. Americans always pay on Sundays

and Holidays. Only Mexican nationals get in free.

29. If a pyramid site has a sound and light show you will be charged for

the admission whether you stay for it or not. No negotiations, that is just the way it is.

30. If you have a video camera, every site will charge you 3.00 to use it.

Believe me, they have men walking around asking to see your permit slip and if you don’t have one you have to go get one. Other cameras are free.

31. You can’t use a flash camera in any museum, but you can use a video camera, (for a 3.00 fee). If you use a flash you may have your camera taken away and not get it back. Be cautious.

32. Most large cities have one-hour photo developing services. Canon and Fuji are big in Mexico. Not all places will put digital pictures on a CD. None of the internet cafes offer USB ports to attach your camera to upload pictures. Some of them however, will put your pictures on a CD.

33. Most all of the museums have wonderful bookstores. If you see something you want, buy it, it may not reappear again. Especially if it is printed in English. If you don’t want to carry books around on your trip, use the internet and look up Amazon.com and see if they have the book. If so, send yourself a copy to be waiting for your return.

34. Art or craft items are regional and some things are not in all places. Seize the moment when it presents itself. I found Taxco silver jewelry in Coba, even though he said he made it in his shop, I didn’t believe him. It not only looked like a retail shop, but there was no workroom to be seen. Not only that but, I bought a bracelet that matched my necklace and earrings I purchased in Taxco two years ago, right down to the color of turquoise. I also found Oaxacan bark paper in Tulum in various colors that I did not find in Oaxaca. So I bought at both places.

35. The spotted animals made in the Oaxaca valley are sometimes other places but I only saw them in the same Tulum shop that had the paper. He also told me he made them there. He didn’t fool me.

36. Don’t believe everything the vendors tell you. Most of it is a sales pitch and they all tell you the sale comes with a free plastic bag.

37. I got the greatest bargains on clothes at the vendors outside the pyramid sites or on the streets. They are much higher in stores. As much as a ten dollar difference for the same item.

38. Most tee shirts are 3 or 4 for 10 dollars. Some try to sell them for 10 to 15 dollars each. Don’t bite on that hook.

39. The best shops and shopping I did was at Tulum, Merida, Oaxaca valley area and some at Palenque.

40. Chetumal City has an Office Depot store.

41. Some of the larger cities have wonderful supermarkets, some have Walmarts and the downtown stores are loaded with shoe stores, dress shops, hairdressers, internet cafes and everything else we have. In fact there was everything there we have, but it is divided into different shops. Such as, farmacias, or drug stores, some sold cosmetics and personal care, others only sold drugs items and some sold both.

42. If you have a digital camera, take more flash cards than you think you will need. They are 4 times the cost in Mexico. Put your pictures on CD every time you have a chance and save your pictures on the flash cards for back up. You will be glad you did. Set your camera to take the smallest pixel picture and you can really pack a 256mg card with over 300 pictures.

43. Even though I was told to dress modest, the women I saw wore every kind of clothing from very skimpy to over done. Dress for your personal comfort, but remember the sun will burn and burn badly any skin you haven’t revealed in years.

More tips later.