I Told Everyone to Avoid Mexico. Here we go...

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Teknav

"

I must be missing something in the translation! The US has millions of Mexicans, among others, who do not want to assimilate the culture let alone learn English. They even have radio and TV stations in Spanish, all over the country. You'd think, if you're going/wanting to live in the US you'd want to excel in English before everything else!

What the hell does this and all related posts have to do with the topic

[Lake-Effect]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

What the hell does this and all related posts have to do with the topic

Cruisers like to bicker. I don't quite get it either. If you can't beat'em, join'em . Our water is currently hard. I'll be alot less argumentative come launch (15 weeks! )

It is unearthing some root issues, attitudes and causes, but as always we won't be solving it here.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by boatman61

That'll be the Cabernet, Shiraz, Chardonnay regions I presume..

Ahhhhh... The good old Napa Valley.... Well yep.... plenty of Mexicanos there too... How else would you harvest the grapes???? White people???

(intended racial insensitivity to make a point... keep your shorts on...)

[David_Old_Jersey]

Be interesting to know what percentage of long term gringo visitors speak Spanish in Mexico......

. ...judging by the number of posts that started "I phoned up the Mexican tax offfice" I suspect the percentage is low.

[senormechanico]

While we were cruising Mexico, I began to dream in Spanish, could make up puns in Spanish on the spot, etc.

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by senormechanico

While we were cruising Mexico, I began to dream in Spanish, could make up puns in Spanish on the spot, etc.

What about limericks???

There once was a Señora from Senora….

Also… Señorita rhymes with Lolita???

[mottseng]

This thread has really digressed from the OP. Take the time and write the requested letter.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by mottseng

This thread has really digressed from the OP.

I think the proper nautical term would be "Set and Drift"....

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by mottseng

This thread has really digressed from the OP. Take the time and write the requested letter.

*raised hand*

Guilty as charged....

This is a letter writing campaign.... Lets get back to it....

[IdoraKeeper]

I once took a very expensive aircraft down the Baja, did all the research I could prior to going. There were no real problems but there was a sense that there could be. Mexico is Mexico not Kansas. If you run into trouble your options are few. Just being a good guy is not necessarily enough to stave off troubles. It is not surprising that the priorities of Mexican officials are inconvenient for non Mexicans. Likely some affected cruisers will get their boats released and some will not. Is it worth it to risk going down there? I think it depends on who you are, who you know, how you act and if you can afford the loss.

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by IdoraKeeper

Likely some affected cruisers will get their boats released and some will not. .

The odds of a cruiser that followed the rules yet finds themselves sucked into this latest example of Governmental incompetence not getting their boat released is ZERO.

[S/V_Surya]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

The odds of a cruiser that followed the rules yet finds themselves sucked into this latest example of Governmental incompetence not getting their boat released is ZERO.

Someday......

[Lojanica]

Originally Posted by HappyMdRSailor

If by LA you mean Los Angeles California, you are sorely mistaken.... Oh sure there are people of Hispanic heritage that speak perfect English...

BUT... There vast and numerous areas in Southern California where Spanish is the primary language...

I love Mexico. I love the Hispanic culture but I visited a restaurant outside of Temecula California (about 60 miles north of the US Mexico border) recently on a road trip and thankfully I speak decent Spanish as no one spoke any in the establishment. This was not a "Mexican Restaurant" but a chain of "American Restaurants."

There are differences in the culture. Having said that I've noticed it really helps to be low key and respectful when traveling in Latin America not just Mexico. Even then one can experience difficulties. But then again ever been to a big US city and not had the same? I can only imagine how a Mexican immigrant must feel when they first arrive to the US had they not already have an established friends and family network to help them through the culture.

Anyways I wish the best for everyone as I plan on cruising Mexico in a year or two. Hopefully cruising doesn't undergo the same as happened to other areas of tourism in Mexico. It has been one of the areas that sort of escaped the same level of difficulties that other land based travel underwent in the last 10 years.

[Argyle38]

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

The odds of a cruiser that followed the rules yet finds themselves sucked into this latest example of Governmental incompetence not getting their boat released is ZERO.

I'm no more attached to this than most of the other people on this thread, but according to the reports on this and other threads, that is exactly what has happened. Boats that did follow the rules and had their papers in order did have their boats impounded. They had their paperwork on file at the marina and when they showed up to submit the paperwork to the authorities, the they still would not release the boat.

Either some cruisers are lying about actually having followed the rules or a lot of posters here are ignoring the fact that good law abiding people are being caught up in this and they (the posters) are still wanting to blame the innocent. What am I missing?

[SV THIRD DAY]

Originally Posted by Argyle38

They had their paperwork on file at the marina and when they showed up to submit the paperwork to the authorities, the they still would not release the boat.

Either some cruisers are lying about actually having followed the rules or a lot of posters here are ignoring the fact that good law abiding people are being caught up in this and they (the posters) are still wanting to blame the innocent. What am I missing?

No lies, no head in sand, and no blaming anyone except the incompetent Mexican authorities. What you are missing, is Time and the False Assumption that the Mexican Governmental system works as fast as we want it to work. What I said a few pages ago about this fiasco still holds true.

Originally Posted by SV THIRD DAY

We also know EXACTLY what is going on in Mexico..we may not like it....but we know exactly what has happened.

1.
Mexico rightfully wanted to inspect boats to make sure they had the correct paperwork, no problem.

2.
The inspectors, most likely due to ignorance, didn't know what they were doing and put boats with correct paperwork on the "can't leave the port list" until the paperwork is checked and verified.

3.
We now have to wait for Mexican Officialdom to go through the process of cleaning up the paperwork mess, which will take longer than it should, be a pain in the ass, and piss people off.

We are in step 3, waiting for the Mexican Officialdom. We would all say that 20 minutes of having to wait is TOO long in this ridiculous mess. But how long does US or Canadian paperwork take to make it's way through the system? Add in the fact that someone knows they swatted a hornet nest and everyone is in CYA mode and that adds extra time to the mix.

Does it suck...absolutely
Is it a black eye for Mexico...definitely
Is the Mexican Government not going to release the innocent cruisers once it gets through their Government paperwork system...absolutely

They don't want your boat...they just screwed up.
It's as simple as that. But to say that some won't get their boats released is as crazy as thinking the Government machine in Mexico is any faster or smarter than that in the US that decided to let assault rifles walk into Mexico to track the guns.