"John Doh" wrote in message
news:1143147598.399643.90940@e56g2000cwe.googlegroups.com...
>
> Howard wrote:
> > >
> > Realistically, a new driver in mexico shoud allow four days for the
ride
> > from the border to Acapulco.That's going to work out to eight days on
the
> > road and only six in Aca. Not worth the hassle. Take the first class
bus. If
> > you had more time, the trip is very doable. I have driven some 80,000
miles
> > or more in both my California lisenced pickuo and my BMW motorcycles.
Never
> > had a problem, paid more than a few mordidas (every one of which was
EARNED)
>
> Mordidas?
> What's that?
>
> And what is the deal with not driving at night?
> More stuff on the road, like deer?
>
A Mordida is a bribe paid to a police officer. It is the fastest route out
of any jam in Latin America. Culturally its very hard for the average
American to get past the thought that an attempted bribery of a police
officer is a serious offense. In Latin America it is nothing more the a
manner of susidizing police wages, while enforcing common traffic and other
laws. ( A Guadalajara motorcycle cop earns $125. dollars/mo. What he earns
in "mordidas" is what keeps food on his family's table.
" Never drive at night" has lonh been the #1 rule of driving in Mexico.
Decades of stories of "bandidos" on the highways have kept even mexican
travelers off the highways at night. Twenty years ago it was common for all
types of large animals to wander across the road in front of you at any
hour. Broken down vehicles often simply remain where they break down, and
the driver or his partner go off in search of parts. Meanwhile the totally
darkened vehicle sits in the middle of the road while you approach.
Sometimes with the driver asleep in a hammock slung between the axles of his
truck. Goats sheep, cattle and horses used to wander the roads. Much of that
has changed in recent years, and now its far more common to see horses
staked out to graze alonside the road, but they cannot get into the roadway.
Roads are inevitably dark and narrow, frequently without lane markers or
lines of any kind. There are seldom any guardrails. Sand, gravel, and
spilled diesel are all common. Pedestrians, drunk and sober are also common,
as are bicyclists. Then there's the drunks........Howaver, in recent years,
with the advent of the Toll road system in Mexico, night travel in many
areas has become relatively safe. Large boulders can be expected though
during the rainy season in many areas, but at least there are no "bandidos"
on the tollroads. They are heavily policed.Traffic is generally light due to
the high cost.
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