Artisans in Oaxaca Mexico: Vacation Travel

Mexico: Driving Hazards

I hate driving a car with a passion. I know this is a strange statement coming from an American. I've never liked getting into a car and driving a gasoline-filled bomb (they have a habit of exploding on impact with something immovable).

When I was a teenager, the age where every male is looking forward to getting his license, I tried avoiding the horror completely. I told my Dad that I couldn't take driver's education because of a class conflict. I signed up for a class that would prevent me from having to take driver's education. Eventually I had to go through this forced rite of passage.

Cars are dangerous: people don't drive them safely, they pollute the environment, cost a lot to own, give you a nervous breakdown when they malfunction, run over our pets, and are often nothing more than status symbols. I hate them.

The reality is that in most cities in America you have to own a car to get anywhere. You can't walk to the store, church, the movies, work, your sister's house, or softball practice. In most cities in the United States, you have to own a car. I tell you, it's an evil plot!

An immediate attraction to our moving to Mexico was that I would never again have to get into another car (bomb) and risk life and limb to drive. I love this country!

Public Transportation in Mexico negates the need of having to own and drive a car. You could have one if you wanted one, but why would you?

In Guanajuato, where we live, we have cheap and efficient cabs. They are so efficient that they are often at our front gate honking their horns before we can get the front door locked and down the steps. The cabs are plentiful and cheap.

The buses are also delightful. We mainly use them since they cost a mere 2.5 pesos. The bus stop is a convenient three minutes from our house. They get you to where you need to be for almost nothing. If we are in a hurry or the weather is a little rough then we call for a cab.

If I had to offer a complaint about the public transportation in Guanajuato it would be that the bus drivers, as a whole, drive like they want to end their lives and everyone else's with them. Why the hurry? It isn't as if someone gets on the bus screaming, "Step on it, Jose! Follow that car!" or, "My wife is in labor, get us to the hospital!"

You see, the streets in Guanajuato are quaint throwbacks to a time when burros and foot traffic were what was in the minds of their designers. They are narrow cobblestone streets that can give even a burro fits trying to turn at tight corners. In addition, here are these buses, the size of humpback whales, with hyperactive drivers racing through the streets. We know some Mexicans who will thank the driver for not killing them. Interesting!

In the past few weeks, the drivers seem to be slowing down. I think it is because of complaints from the masses that the city government may have intervened to slow these speed demons down.

Another complaint is that they pack people into these buses like sardines in a can. It looks like they can get as many standing in the aisle as there are available seats. This is not good especially if you have a phobia, bad hair day, bad breath, or your deodorant has stopped working.

I am happy to report that, unlike in Guatemala where buses go over cliffs at least weekly, I have never been in, witnessed, or heard of a bus crash here. I've seen a few parked cars taken out by these behemoths but then you know how I feel about cars!

Expatriates Doug and Cindi Bower have successfully expatriated to Mexico, learning through trial and error how to do it from the conception of the initial idea to driving up to their new home in another country. Now the potential expatriate can benefit from their more than three years of pre-expat research to their more than two years of actually living in Mexico. The Plain Truth about Living in Mexico answers the potential expatriate's questions by leading them through the process from the beginning to the end. In this comprehensive guide, you will learn not only how-to expatriate but will learn what to expect, in daily life, before coming to Mexico. BUY BOOK HERE: http://www.universal-publishers.com/book.php?method=ISBN&book=1581124570

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