Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Mexico

9 bytes added, 22:07, 8 October 2013
m
no edit summary
'''Mexico''' is a country in [[North America]]. Despite its notoriety, hitchhiking in Mexico is not only possible but it can be a rather enjoyable experience. Due to its sheer size it's impossible to give a general hitchability rating for this country: the experiences vary from state to state. As anywhere, you can go fast on highways and very slow on small less trafficky roads.
Peculiarity of Mexican hitchhiking are the ubiquitous pick-up trucks where you just jump in the back, hold onto your hat, kiss the wind and forget about communicating with the driver. Many people will offer you food and drinks, especially Coca Cola! On routes with poor public transportation, payment is sometimes expected and ordinary pickups magically turn into ''collectivos '' (shared taxis).
On the small roads, however, hitchhiking can sometimes be time-taking - waits and walks consuming – waiting times of 2-3 2–3 hours are not unheard of. Be prepared with patience, water and sun cream. Although in many places locals hitch to get home from the grocery store for instance, hitchhiking as a lifestyle or as a means of long-distance travel is not so common in Mexico and not everybody might immediately understand what you want. So, on the mountain paths for instance, your brain should be wired more to enjoy the magnificent views and eating the abundance of fruit the nature has on offer rather than making a lot of progress.
As for security, most hitchhikers never encounter any major problems. Mexico is an enormous country and experiences vary a lot from state to state. If you want to avoid risks, you can avoid the states close to the border with USA - Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Chihuahua and Durango, i.e. take buses and collectivos when traveling north of the line between Tampico, San Luis Potosi and Mazatlan (the map). Apparently also the states of Guerrero, Michoacán and Veracruz can be risky.

Navigation menu