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By Karen McConnaughey 

Are you afraid to cross the Mexican Border? Did you know that millions of foreign travelers visit Mexico every year without any problem on their vacation? Did you know that Bill and I have lived here over seven years and crossed the border at least five times and have never had one problem?

I have been thinking about this for a long time. I thought one web site said it best, “Our culture has become ruled by fear.  Fear is a healthy emotion when in the context of real and present danger.  Fear kicks in our fight or flight response, flooding our bodies with adrenaline and glucose.  I don’t believe that the fear culture is real and present danger. Rather it is a chronic state of low-grade fear.”

Bill and I watch the news every morning. Recently when I went to see Barbara Rotthaler for a ‘tune-up’ on my back, we discussed why my back was hurting and whether I was stressed. So I started talking about the media…the newspaper and the TV news shows. And, I said I get stressed a little bit for both Mexico and the United States…there seems to be so much anger and rage everywhere. Barbara asked me why I was doing that to myself. What? Doing that to myself? It’s the media, isn’t it? It’s not me. Barbara just looked at me and pointed out that we have options in what we feed our bodies and our brains, and I was feeding mine fear. No wonder my back was acting up!

We also get emails all the time from alumni who are wanting to drive down, and their friends and family are horrified…sure they’re not going to make it here or back! It’s hard believing that you are doing the right thing when everyone around you is telling you you’re wrong. They come down here for six months too…so they’ve generally got their cars packed to the dome light. We try to calm their fears as much as possible. Just travel on the toll roads (cuotas) during the day and don’t do anything foolish.

One lady wrote, “Our decision to drive to Mexico has been met with all kinds of responses ranging from envy to fear.  Some say, ‘Oh, I wish I could do that,’ or, ‘That is my dream,’ to ‘Are you crazy? Have you heard what is going on down there??? My answer is…we are not crazy.  My husband and I have a healthy sense of fear.  We have done our research and talked to many people about how to cross, where to cross, when to cross, and what to do once we get into Mexico.”

She went on to say, “What are many of us afraid of?  All kinds of things like embarrassment (like every time I start speaking in Spanish!), not being liked, looking foolish, not knowing where we are.  These are all necessary risks of traveling outside of our comfort zone or just traveling in general!  The risk of violence is often overblown but no less real…but fear can keep us from experiencing new and wonderful things.”

I like her attitude.

I corresponded just recently with a couple and a single man who were considering driving to Lake Chapala from the states, and had let the fear from friends seep into their lives.

Bob Brandson was driving from Winnipeg, Canada, where the weather was -22 degrees F around the time he left(!), and an alumni couple (Jack and Nicole Hodgkins, driving from Oregon ) who were worried about their trips across the border. We had many back-and-forth exchanges, especially with Bob who was wondering whether he should just fly down and rent a car here instead.

Bob wrote, “I wonder if crossing over early in the morning makes more sense?  The Canadian Government has issued an advisory against all land travel into Mexico that is non-essential, which, of course, makes me very nervous.  That being said, I'm thinking banditos aren't likely up looking for easy pickings at 8 a.m., but who knows?  They say foreigners aren't usually targeted unless they're driving big fancy SUV's or trucks, which I'm not.”

I wrote back, “I don't blame you for being nervous. Bill and I have made the crossing about five times in seven years, and this year when we went in October, I got so anxious I got some Mexican Xanax to take with me. I was a wreck, and Bill was getting really annoyed with me. I even wanted to drive our Honda instead of Volvo thinking it would be less enticing for the banditos! The evening before we left I went to dinner with friends, and for some reason we started sharing stories about our wonderful Mexican friends. I felt my anxiety waning, and I never did take those pills. I guess the point I'm trying to make is that I live here and the media got to me!! So I can well understand how you're feeling. Believe me when I say that I think you're going to have a great trip, and you're going to meet some nice people. My only advice is just drive defensively, take the cuotas (toll roads) and follow the laws...I don't think you'll have a problem. Bill always drove above the speed limit, but all I asked him to do was not be the fastest car on the road! :-D”  

Bob replied with “Karen, you're a Godsend [had to throw that in! :-D]...which undoubtedly Bill tells you daily!   ; )   I had a friend nagging me the other night about how crazy I am to be driving down, and to add to my nervousness, I just learned that Ken and Dianne, who were looking to create a convoy to drive across the border, have now opted to fly in.  So if I continue to fret myself into a frenzy, I may just do the same thing and pick up a bicycle or scooter to get around with.  But hopefully I can man up and hit the road.”

I wrote back and, among other things, shared with him this story from alumni Bunny & Dave (Canadians from Calgary) too:

The Laredo crossing is a 24-hour border and permit office. There is another stop further up where they checked our papers, asked where we were going and waved us on. We stopped at San Luis Potosi for the night. We stayed at the Real De Minas. The hotel was very nice with a restaurant and parking in back had a 24-hour guard. Buffet breakfast from 7 - 10.

We went the speed of traffic and had no trouble, getting to or through Guadalajara. We arrived at our home in Lake Chapala around 12:30pm.

All in all we had a safe enjoyable trip and are so happy to be here.

B&D

It's funny...no one ever talks about being unsafe...most of our replies are just like the above...factual, short and a little boring, which is how we like it! In fact most alumni don’t write when they get here…after an uneventful trip, they don’t feel it’s necessary!

However, Bob wrote to say: “And the banditos missed another one!”

I finally got hooked up with the internet here today and just wanted to let you and Bill know that, yes, I did manage to drive all the way down here on my own without any major incidents.  All the hype about how horrible it is to drive across the border is total B.S.!  You were right and should tell the world!  [We’re trying our best, Bob!]

I took your advice and crossed at Piedras Negras....got the red light and had a brief car inspection....all very friendly...then just drove to the place you told me about (though the people at the border had no clue where it was!) and got my Tourist Visa and car permit and that was that, green light...good to go!  It really was no big deal, though they spoke no English at all in the building where I had to get my permits ....habla mas despacio por favor!

I have to say the worst part of the whole trip was from Matehuala to Ajijic.  I didn't copy down your instructions that were in the December Focus newsletter and was relying solely on my GPS.   Uh oh.  I thought the speed limit would rise to 110 as it was before Matehuala, but no, not once, strictly 80 all the way.  Everyone was blowing by me because I figured I'd stick to around 90 or so just in case the cops were eager to target a gringo.

And for whatever reason I ended up driving through San Luis Potosi, through narrow roads and densely populated neighbourhoods....it was surreal and I got lost a couple of times, but in the end made it to the Guadalajara cuotas.  Surely there is a cuota or some better route around San Luis Potosi! 

At any rate, thank you for your help, and hopefully we can get together and share a laugh or two while I'm here. 

Bob

So some good advice…look at the instructions on our web site, and, yes, there is a cuota around San Luis Potosi. We missed it too, once, and we hired a taxi driver to lead us to the toll road…it was well worth the money. And, unfortunately (or fortunately), Mexico's road system is changing day-by-day, so your GPS might not have the most current updates.

And, after Nicole and Jack got here, Nicole wrote:

“We arrived just fine after a very long six-day car trip but the Laredo crossing was totally uneventful and we weren't even stopped, even though our car was packed to the hilt, so tell your alum that as long as he/she is pleasant, polite, and say gracias and smiles a lot, everything should
be fine, Karen.

“We look forward to the info re the return trip to Laredo when you can get to it, as we want to make sure we don't get lost as we did driving down (we must have taken the wrong turn somewhere and ended up on the highway to Queretaro!).

“Again, thanks so much!”
Nicole

So…please…see for yourself. Don’t feed your fear. If you sincerely want to visit one of the friendliest and most diverse countries on the planet, c’mon down. It will be one of the best decisions you ever made.