Information on Laredo,TX to Central Mexico

Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:

Exchange Rates: We changed our dollars into pesos in Laredo and got
11.10 pesos to the dollar.

We paid around $29 USD to get our automobile registered and obtained a
"permiso" to import our car. I forget what the tourist visas cost, but they
were around $19 USD each.

Toll Road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey: 167 pesos

Toll Road around Monterrey: 92 pesos.

Toll Road leaving Saltillo: 32 pesos I think, but maybe it was more.
I don't know, I'm kind of sleepy because we didn't get back until 2:00 AM
this morning.

Toll Road from Atlamoculco to Toluca: 21 pesos.

Total round trip tolls from San Antonio to Toluca and Back: 624 pesos
or $56 USD

One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.

We stayed at the Panorama Hotel in downtown San Luis Potosi, very, very
nice for 629 pesos, or $56 USD. Its located in the center of San Luis, and
the price includes parking and breakfast for everyone.

We saw lots and lots of dogs that had been turned into hamburger by one
or more of the passing double, tractor-trailer trucks. There was even a
couple of mangled donkeys on the side of the road too. If you or your
family are overly squeamish about roadkill, I suggest that you stick to the
resort towns.

We broke all of the "Americans Driving in Mexico" rules by driving a.)
At Night, b.) In The Rain, c.) During a Rainy Night. Going slow and
yielding to faster vehicles helped us avoid driving off a cliff or into an
oncoming bus. I also discovered the unique smell created by your brakes
when you go down a very steep hill that stretches for several kilometers.

We saw no other American vehicles once we passed Monterrey. Everyone in
central MX was very friendly. The only bad part of the entire trip was
coming back over the bridge into Laredo. The wait on the bridge on Sunday
night was an hour long and the border guards welcomed us like red-headed,
foster children. Don't go over the bridge in Laredo on a Sunday night
unless its after 11:00 PM, else be prepared to wait for a couple of hours!!


Hasta Luego

Wow.... toll roads in the entire Coahuila, Nuievo Leon area?

In 1994-1995 they were only just planning all these highways and all
there was between Laredo and Monterrey was a 2 lane (one each)
road....

Also, for going to Laredo we always took the border west of town. From
there it connected straigth to the shoping area of Laredo (Wal Mart,
etc.... on the west side of town) and the connection to San Antonio.

Nice reading about the area.

Jaap


On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:09:31 -0600, "Bob F." wrote:

Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:

Exchange Rates: We changed our dollars into pesos in Laredo and got
11.10 pesos to the dollar.

We paid around $29 USD to get our automobile registered and obtained a
"permiso" to import our car. I forget what the tourist visas cost, but they
were around $19 USD each.

Toll Road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey: 167 pesos

Toll Road around Monterrey: 92 pesos.

Toll Road leaving Saltillo: 32 pesos I think, but maybe it was more.
I don't know, I'm kind of sleepy because we didn't get back until 2:00 AM
this morning.

Toll Road from Atlamoculco to Toluca: 21 pesos.

Total round trip tolls from San Antonio to Toluca and Back: 624 pesos
or $56 USD

One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.

We stayed at the Panorama Hotel in downtown San Luis Potosi, very, very
nice for 629 pesos, or $56 USD. Its located in the center of San Luis, and
the price includes parking and breakfast for everyone.

We saw lots and lots of dogs that had been turned into hamburger by one
or more of the passing double, tractor-trailer trucks. There was even a
couple of mangled donkeys on the side of the road too. If you or your
family are overly squeamish about roadkill, I suggest that you stick to the
resort towns.

We broke all of the "Americans Driving in Mexico" rules by driving a.)
At Night, b.) In The Rain, c.) During a Rainy Night. Going slow and
yielding to faster vehicles helped us avoid driving off a cliff or into an
oncoming bus. I also discovered the unique smell created by your brakes
when you go down a very steep hill that stretches for several kilometers.

We saw no other American vehicles once we passed Monterrey. Everyone in
central MX was very friendly. The only bad part of the entire trip was
coming back over the bridge into Laredo. The wait on the bridge on Sunday
night was an hour long and the border guards welcomed us like red-headed,
foster children. Don't go over the bridge in Laredo on a Sunday night
unless its after 11:00 PM, else be prepared to wait for a couple of hours!!


Hasta Luego

"Bob F." wrote in message
. ..
Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:

Exchange Rates: We changed our dollars into pesos in Laredo and got
11.10 pesos to the dollar.

We paid around $29 USD to get our automobile registered and obtained a
"permiso" to import our car. I forget what the tourist visas cost, but
they
were around $19 USD each.

Toll Road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey: 167 pesos

Toll Road around Monterrey: 92 pesos.

From my experience these are the 2 most expensive tolls in Mexcio, per mile
anyways. They are a complete rip-off, but I suppose it's a captive audience.
I have never really understood the logic behind the great variance in price
between the different tolls.

But Mexican toll roads by and large are great roads, you can make excellent
time on them.

Toll Road leaving Saltillo: 32 pesos I think, but maybe it was
more.
I don't know, I'm kind of sleepy because we didn't get back until 2:00 AM
this morning.

Toll Road from Atlamoculco to Toluca: 21 pesos.

Total round trip tolls from San Antonio to Toluca and Back: 624 pesos
or $56 USD

One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of
a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.

We stayed at the Panorama Hotel in downtown San Luis Potosi, very,
very
nice for 629 pesos, or $56 USD. Its located in the center of San Luis,
and
the price includes parking and breakfast for everyone.

About 4 or 5 years ago I stayed in a hotel that used to be the Governor's
Palace in San Luis. 220 pesos a night, about 25 bucks at the time. The place
was beautiful.

We saw lots and lots of dogs that had been turned into hamburger by
one
or more of the passing double, tractor-trailer trucks. There was even a
couple of mangled donkeys on the side of the road too. If you or your
family are overly squeamish about roadkill, I suggest that you stick to
the
resort towns.

We broke all of the "Americans Driving in Mexico" rules by driving a.)
At Night, b.) In The Rain, c.) During a Rainy Night. Going slow and

Driving the main toll roads at night is fairly safe in my opinion, but when
you get off those roads though you are chancing it a bit, esp hitting an
unmarked Tope at night, something I've unfortunately done a time or two, and
man do they ever have some Topes done there.

yielding to faster vehicles helped us avoid driving off a cliff or into an
oncoming bus. I also discovered the unique smell created by your brakes
when you go down a very steep hill that stretches for several kilometers.

We saw no other American vehicles once we passed Monterrey.

Wow, that's very unusual. I drive in Mexico frequentley, deep into Mexico
and the amount of US reg cars on the road is quite substantial, mostly
Mexicans who live and work in the States going home to visit.

Everyone in
central MX was very friendly. The only bad part of the entire trip was
coming back over the bridge into Laredo.

Twice I have run out of gas while waiting on the bridge and have had to push
the car into US customs.
I know, I'm a cheapskate, I usually wait to fill up with cheaper American
petrol. But I always underestimate the volume of traffic on that bridge. You
can expect extra attention from the Customs/Border people too when that
happens

The wait on the bridge on Sunday
night was an hour long and the border guards welcomed us like red-headed,
foster children.

I wonder if they deliberately hire detached, semi-surly, unfriendly people.
They are not the most welcoming bunch for sure.

Don't go over the bridge in Laredo on a Sunday night
unless its after 11:00 PM, else be prepared to wait for a couple of
hours!!


Hasta Luego

Did you happen to see any 18-wheelers laying on their side after
trying to make a sharp turn on a narrow, curvy road? I've driven
across Mexico 3 times and have always been pleasantly surprised
by the friendliness of the people, especially in southern Mexico.

"Bob F." wrote:

Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:

Exchange Rates: We changed our dollars into pesos in Laredo and got
11.10 pesos to the dollar.

We paid around $29 USD to get our automobile registered and obtained a
"permiso" to import our car. I forget what the tourist visas cost, but they
were around $19 USD each.

Toll Road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey: 167 pesos

Toll Road around Monterrey: 92 pesos.

Toll Road leaving Saltillo: 32 pesos I think, but maybe it was more.
I don't know, I'm kind of sleepy because we didn't get back until 2:00 AM
this morning.

Toll Road from Atlamoculco to Toluca: 21 pesos.

Total round trip tolls from San Antonio to Toluca and Back: 624 pesos
or $56 USD

One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.

We stayed at the Panorama Hotel in downtown San Luis Potosi, very, very
nice for 629 pesos, or $56 USD. Its located in the center of San Luis, and
the price includes parking and breakfast for everyone.

We saw lots and lots of dogs that had been turned into hamburger by one
or more of the passing double, tractor-trailer trucks. There was even a
couple of mangled donkeys on the side of the road too. If you or your
family are overly squeamish about roadkill, I suggest that you stick to the
resort towns.

We broke all of the "Americans Driving in Mexico" rules by driving a.)
At Night, b.) In The Rain, c.) During a Rainy Night. Going slow and
yielding to faster vehicles helped us avoid driving off a cliff or into an
oncoming bus. I also discovered the unique smell created by your brakes
when you go down a very steep hill that stretches for several kilometers.

We saw no other American vehicles once we passed Monterrey. Everyone in
central MX was very friendly. The only bad part of the entire trip was
coming back over the bridge into Laredo. The wait on the bridge on Sunday
night was an hour long and the border guards welcomed us like red-headed,
foster children. Don't go over the bridge in Laredo on a Sunday night
unless its after 11:00 PM, else be prepared to wait for a couple of hours!!

Hasta Luego

In article ,
"Bob F." writes:
Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:


One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.


So now you've discovered the real reason why you shouldn't drive at
night in Mexico. Getting stopped by _anyone_ at night is potentially
dangerous and expensive. You got lucky.

Acutally I am relieved that the tolls or cuotas were "only" 167 pesos
to Monterrey and "only" 92 around Monterrey because I was looking at
a web page and the tolls listed were much higher.

We are driving to Saltillo at the end of November from Ottawa Canada.

Did you get insurance? We are visiting family in Saltillo and I was
thinking of not getting insurance but also of not driving when we get
there (go with our family on outings). Its something like $150 for 2
weeks insurance from the online quotes and since its not required by
law and the toll roads are good I don't want to get hozed on 2 weeks
insurance when we will not be driving much if at all once we get to
Saltillo. But then again I got wrong info on the tolls perhaps you
could help me out?

Oh ya and while it takes you about 3 or 4 hours to get to Laredo from
San A it takes me about 40 hours (we've done it twice before).

As far as changing money why did you change all your money at the
border? Is it cheaper and if so where did you change it?



On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:09:31 -0600, "Bob F." wrote:

Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:

Exchange Rates: We changed our dollars into pesos in Laredo and got
11.10 pesos to the dollar.

We paid around $29 USD to get our automobile registered and obtained a
"permiso" to import our car. I forget what the tourist visas cost, but they
were around $19 USD each.

Toll Road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey: 167 pesos

Toll Road around Monterrey: 92 pesos.

Toll Road leaving Saltillo: 32 pesos I think, but maybe it was more.
I don't know, I'm kind of sleepy because we didn't get back until 2:00 AM
this morning.

Toll Road from Atlamoculco to Toluca: 21 pesos.

Total round trip tolls from San Antonio to Toluca and Back: 624 pesos
or $56 USD

One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.

We stayed at the Panorama Hotel in downtown San Luis Potosi, very, very
nice for 629 pesos, or $56 USD. Its located in the center of San Luis, and
the price includes parking and breakfast for everyone.

We saw lots and lots of dogs that had been turned into hamburger by one
or more of the passing double, tractor-trailer trucks. There was even a
couple of mangled donkeys on the side of the road too. If you or your
family are overly squeamish about roadkill, I suggest that you stick to the
resort towns.

We broke all of the "Americans Driving in Mexico" rules by driving a.)
At Night, b.) In The Rain, c.) During a Rainy Night. Going slow and
yielding to faster vehicles helped us avoid driving off a cliff or into an
oncoming bus. I also discovered the unique smell created by your brakes
when you go down a very steep hill that stretches for several kilometers.

We saw no other American vehicles once we passed Monterrey. Everyone in
central MX was very friendly. The only bad part of the entire trip was
coming back over the bridge into Laredo. The wait on the bridge on Sunday
night was an hour long and the border guards welcomed us like red-headed,
foster children. Don't go over the bridge in Laredo on a Sunday night
unless its after 11:00 PM, else be prepared to wait for a couple of hours!!


Hasta Luego

"George" wrote in message
news

Acutally I am relieved that the tolls or cuotas were "only" 167 pesos
to Monterrey and "only" 92 around Monterrey because I was looking at
a web page and the tolls listed were much higher.

We are driving to Saltillo at the end of November from Ottawa Canada.

Did you get insurance? We are visiting family in Saltillo and I was
thinking of not getting insurance but also of not driving when we get
there (go with our family on outings). Its something like $150 for 2
weeks insurance from the online quotes and since its not required by
law and the toll roads are good I don't want to get hozed on 2 weeks
insurance when we will not be driving much if at all once we get to
Saltillo. But then again I got wrong info on the tolls perhaps you
could help me out?

That figure seems high, but then I don't know what kind of car you are
driving.
I suppose you could chance it, but if you did get into an accident without
it you will be personally liable and the resultant hassle could be a
nightmare and you probably wouldn't be able to leave the country till you
got it sorted out.

The toll road to Monterrey doesn't start till about 30 miles the other side
of Laredo, so that's 30 miles of city streets and regualr roads. From there
it's toll almost all the way into Monterrey, there's about 5 miles or so,
can't remember exactly, of regular and city roads before you get on the
Monterrey by-pass. The road up to Saltillo is not a toll IIRC, but it is a
good road, though it does get some heavy traffic on it, I drove it once at
night in a dense fog.... was kind of scary. The Toll roads to and around
Monterrey usually have fairly light traffic so the likelyhood of an accident
is not great. So you'll have a 100 to 120 or so odd miles of non-toll roads
and city streets.


Oh ya and while it takes you about 3 or 4 hours to get to Laredo from
San A it takes me about 40 hours (we've done it twice before).

One of the benefits of living in Texas..... Mexico's right next door.

As far as changing money why did you change all your money at the
border? Is it cheaper and if so where did you change it?

Use your ATM card, there's machines all over the place in Mexico, there's as
many as what you see in the US and Can. You get a much better exchange rate
when you use ATM as oppossed to Bureaux de Change.

On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:09:31 -0600, "Bob F." wrote:

Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:

Exchange Rates: We changed our dollars into pesos in Laredo and
got
11.10 pesos to the dollar.

We paid around $29 USD to get our automobile registered and obtained
a
"permiso" to import our car. I forget what the tourist visas cost, but
they
were around $19 USD each.

Toll Road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey: 167 pesos

Toll Road around Monterrey: 92 pesos.

Toll Road leaving Saltillo: 32 pesos I think, but maybe it was
more.
I don't know, I'm kind of sleepy because we didn't get back until 2:00 AM
this morning.

Toll Road from Atlamoculco to Toluca: 21 pesos.

Total round trip tolls from San Antonio to Toluca and Back: 624
pesos
or $56 USD

One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of
a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.

We stayed at the Panorama Hotel in downtown San Luis Potosi, very,
very
nice for 629 pesos, or $56 USD. Its located in the center of San Luis,
and
the price includes parking and breakfast for everyone.

We saw lots and lots of dogs that had been turned into hamburger by
one
or more of the passing double, tractor-trailer trucks. There was even a
couple of mangled donkeys on the side of the road too. If you or your
family are overly squeamish about roadkill, I suggest that you stick to
the
resort towns.

We broke all of the "Americans Driving in Mexico" rules by driving
a.)
At Night, b.) In The Rain, c.) During a Rainy Night. Going slow and
yielding to faster vehicles helped us avoid driving off a cliff or into
an
oncoming bus. I also discovered the unique smell created by your brakes
when you go down a very steep hill that stretches for several kilometers.

We saw no other American vehicles once we passed Monterrey. Everyone
in
central MX was very friendly. The only bad part of the entire trip was
coming back over the bridge into Laredo. The wait on the bridge on
Sunday
night was an hour long and the border guards welcomed us like red-headed,
foster children. Don't go over the bridge in Laredo on a Sunday night
unless its after 11:00 PM, else be prepared to wait for a couple of
hours!!


Hasta Luego

George on 30 Oct 2003 suggested:


Did you get insurance? We are visiting family in Saltillo and I was
thinking of not getting insurance but also of not driving when we get
there (go with our family on outings). Its something like $150 for 2
weeks insurance from the online quotes and since its not required by
law and the toll roads are good I don't want to get hozed on 2 weeks
insurance when we will not be driving much if at all once we get to
Saltillo. But then again I got wrong info on the tolls perhaps you
could help me out?

Before you make that decision to NOT get insurance, please be sure
to read the following two websites, which though sponsored by a company
selling insurance for Mexico, seems to be very fair in its evaluation of
rights and exposu
1) http://www.drivemex.com/Your_Legal_Rights.htm; and
2) http://www.drivemex.com/Liability_Ex..._in_Mexico.htm

--Douglas

Hi,
No, I didn't get insurance. The van that I drove had 130K miles on it
when I started, 132K miles when I finished. I don't have insurance on it
here in Texas, so why should I get insurance on it while I'm driving in
Mexico? Driving to and from Saltillo will be cake compared to some of the
roads that I traveled last week in and around Toluca. I'd say that you
should put the $150 in your pocket or use it to buy some "recuerdos". Yeah,
yeah I know all of the arguments about liability. In America we are so
brainwashed against taking risk now its a real
wonder that anything of value ever gets done.

No one is going to ask to see your isurance papers. Once you get to
Mexico 99% of the drivers around you won't have insurance either, because
they can't afford it!! The most important thing to get is your "permiso",
you'll definately get stopped to show this.

I think that the prices for the tolls go up and down. You are visiting
in December, so I would look for the prices to go higher. If you want to
avoid the tolls just take the free roads. Around this time you can expect
to see lots more traffic too. I once waited six (6) hours in Nuevo Laredo
to get a permiso, this was a couple of weeks before Christmas.

And don't worry! Lots of the alarmists who posts to this NG probably
have never actually driven in Mexico. Its really very easy and once you do
it you'll feel a sense of personal accomplishment at navigating on your own
in a different country. At least that's what I feel every now and then.

Change your money in Laredo, you'll see a casa de cambio at the end of
interstate 35. You won't be able to miss it. I don't remember the name.
Have a nice trip!!!


"George" wrote in message
news

Acutally I am relieved that the tolls or cuotas were "only" 167 pesos
to Monterrey and "only" 92 around Monterrey because I was looking at
a web page and the tolls listed were much higher.

We are driving to Saltillo at the end of November from Ottawa Canada.

Did you get insurance? We are visiting family in Saltillo and I was
thinking of not getting insurance but also of not driving when we get
there (go with our family on outings). Its something like $150 for 2
weeks insurance from the online quotes and since its not required by
law and the toll roads are good I don't want to get hozed on 2 weeks
insurance when we will not be driving much if at all once we get to
Saltillo. But then again I got wrong info on the tolls perhaps you
could help me out?

Oh ya and while it takes you about 3 or 4 hours to get to Laredo from
San A it takes me about 40 hours (we've done it twice before).

As far as changing money why did you change all your money at the
border? Is it cheaper and if so where did you change it?



On Mon, 27 Oct 2003 14:09:31 -0600, "Bob F." wrote:

Hi,
Got back this morning from a 2,000 mile rodetrip to Toluca, MX and
Valle de Bravo from San Antonio,TX. We went to visit friends there.
Here's some information that I thought might be helpful to future
travelers going this way:

Exchange Rates: We changed our dollars into pesos in Laredo and
got
11.10 pesos to the dollar.

We paid around $29 USD to get our automobile registered and obtained
a
"permiso" to import our car. I forget what the tourist visas cost, but
they
were around $19 USD each.

Toll Road from Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey: 167 pesos

Toll Road around Monterrey: 92 pesos.

Toll Road leaving Saltillo: 32 pesos I think, but maybe it was
more.
I don't know, I'm kind of sleepy because we didn't get back until 2:00 AM
this morning.

Toll Road from Atlamoculco to Toluca: 21 pesos.

Total round trip tolls from San Antonio to Toluca and Back: 624
pesos
or $56 USD

One irritating aspect of this trip was being stopped twice on the
highway from Monterrey to Saltillo so that the "Policia Federale" could
inspect our "permiso". They were polite, but pulling over to the side of
a
superhighway at night onto a ripped up shoulder just to flash a piece of
paper did not make us feel safe.

We stayed at the Panorama Hotel in downtown San Luis Potosi, very,
very
nice for 629 pesos, or $56 USD. Its located in the center of San Luis,
and
the price includes parking and breakfast for everyone.

We saw lots and lots of dogs that had been turned into hamburger by
one
or more of the passing double, tractor-trailer trucks. There was even a
couple of mangled donkeys on the side of the road too. If you or your
family are overly squeamish about roadkill, I suggest that you stick to
the
resort towns.

We broke all of the "Americans Driving in Mexico" rules by driving
a.)
At Night, b.) In The Rain, c.) During a Rainy Night. Going slow and
yielding to faster vehicles helped us avoid driving off a cliff or into
an
oncoming bus. I also discovered the unique smell created by your brakes
when you go down a very steep hill that stretches for several kilometers.

We saw no other American vehicles once we passed Monterrey. Everyone
in
central MX was very friendly. The only bad part of the entire trip was
coming back over the bridge into Laredo. The wait on the bridge on
Sunday
night was an hour long and the border guards welcomed us like red-headed,
foster children. Don't go over the bridge in Laredo on a Sunday night
unless its after 11:00 PM, else be prepared to wait for a couple of
hours!!


Hasta Luego

From: "Bob F."

No, I didn't get insurance. ... I don't have insurance on it
here in Texas, so why should I get insurance on it while I'm driving
in Mexico?

Apparently their legal system isn't built on "innocent until proven guilty" but
rather on the Napoleonic Code, and from what I've heard if you are in an
accident and don't have insurance you are locked up until you come up with the
pesos to cover any and all potential losses.

As I said "from what I've heard" and sometimes hearsay is wrong. Would be
curious to hear from people who've experienced this first hand.

No one is going to ask to see your isurance papers

Until you get into a wreck?

Bill
(driven in Mexico many times but always with insurance