Fear of Mexico

The closer we get to the border, the more we encounter people who are fearful of entering Mexico. A number of people we've met or talked to have expressed concern about our plan to drive there, especially when they find out that we're going deeper into the the country than just the border towns or the Baja. We've heard comments like “Why would you want to do that?” “Are you sure it's safe there?” Or, “You're very brave.” People seem to think that it's safe to fly in and hang out on the beach for a week but unsafe to drive across the border. We've heard stories of Mexican drug wars, stabbings, and robbery.

Because we haven't actually driven in Mexico before, we're starting to get a bit jittery, even though we know people who have travelled down the west coast before without any problem. My theory is that people in the southern part of California and Arizona know about Mexico only from the media and from stories of the border towns. We've spent quite a bit of time in various parts of Mexico and have never felt unsafe, however it has been a while since we were there. This morning we spoke to a Mexican mechanic who assured us that if we speak even a little Spanish everyone will love us—and in fact this has been our experience in the past.

The border crossing itself makes us a little nervous though, with the paperwork for the vehicle, the dogs, the passports, the insurance etc. But I expect that it will all work out and before long we'll be joining Lorne and Anne in San Carlos—that is once we get this rig back on the road. We're still waiting for parts to fix the starting problem.