General

• Call airport to verify departure times before leaving for the airport.
• Mexico is one of the world's top ten tourist destinations.
• Yucatan Peninsula is on Central Standard Time.
• Try to use restrooms in hotels, restaurants, or airports, or bus stations (not gas stations). Carry your own toilet paper.
• Mexican men love to charm and female travelers may receive openly admiring looks or remarks.
• It takes hundreds of years to form large coral colonies; don't break off pieces (find them on beaches). Also while in the water, avoid touching fire worms, sponges, and manta rays, stepping on sea urchins, and feeding the fish.
• In 1988, the eye of Hurricane Gilbert passed between Playa del Carmen and Puerto Morelos.
• Expect to see a wide variety of lizards and birds. Stay clear of cobra related coral snakes (in jungles) and the crocodilian caiman (in estuaries on northern edge of Yucatan where we don't expect to go).
• Yucatec fiestas are called vaquerias. The dance by couples dressed in the regional white costumes are called jaranas. We won't be in town during any fiestas; the Days of the Dead (Los Dias de Muertos) are celebrated November 1st and 2nd; the days after we leave. However, Days of the Dead Eve is celebrated. The popular belief is that on those days the dead are allowed to visit the living. Columbus Day, known as Dia de la Raza (Day of the Race; i.e. birth of the Mexican race) is October 12th. We arrive four days after that.
• The three major ethnic groups in Mexico, among which there are power struggles, racism, and significant tension, are the white ("Pure Spanish bloodlines"), the Indian, and the Mestizos (mixed European and Indian descent). This last is the Mexican "Race" of the "Day of the Race" as it includes 75-80% of Mexicans.
• Ask permission before taking pictures of Indians.
• Women don't wear shorts in villages and cities and never in churches (bring wrap-around dress
• Electrical current in Mexico is the same as the US (110 volt, 60 cycle AC).
• When calling Mexico from any other country dial 011 (the international code), then 52 (country code for Mexico), then the Mexican area code (single digit), and finally the local phone number. Telephone service can be problematic. To dial the US, dial 96 plus area code and number. Dial 09 to get an English speaking international operator.
• All Mexican beaches are public, even those that seem to be associated with a hotel.
• Hot and humid days imply we take siestas in the afternoon; minimize midday sun.
• October is the 2nd wettest month (8 days, 8.6") with temperatures 87/74.
• See 1996 AAA Mexico guide p.292 for a map of the Yucatan Peninsula and attached maps.
• The two Mexican states we will be visiting are Quintana Roo (which includes Canc�n and the eastern coast; it is mostly flat, contains tropical forests and beautiful white sand beaches with a 250-km-long coral reef just offshore) and Yucatan (everything else; its topology is mostly flat scrub land). See AAA guide p.247 for Quintana Roo, p.289 for Yucatan.

Dining

• Avoid uncooked vegetables or fruits that don't need to be peeled (including uncooked tomatoes).
• Use only bottled water.
• Freshly squeezed fruit juices are readily available, inexpensive, and refreshing. Ask for a liquados (fruit shake) made with bananas or papayas. Bananas, mangoes, oranges, limes, papaya, avocado, and grapefruit abound as do the fruits from mammey and guaya.
• To eat native foods, find them in smaller restaurants as cenadurias, taquerias, or merenderos. The sign "Antojitos Mexicanos" indicates that local fare is served. Restaurant service tends to be slow. The Mexican schedule for dining is lunch from 1:00-4:00 (the main meal), cocktails at 7 p.m., and dinner at 9-11 p.m.. Many restaurants offer a comida corrida or lunch special. This is a large but set meal so it may not work for us (it will include meats).
• Many businesses may close from 2-4 p.m. for lunch.
• While in a public market, watch the tortilla machine and get fresh, hot tortillas right off the grill.
• See "Meals and Dining in Canc�n" webpage (www.interlog.com/~john13/cancun/meals.html) for more information
• Part of our planning for a trip to a non-English speaking country involves translating our vegan card into that country's native language. A Spanish speaking co-worker friend of Curt's provided the following translation:

• The monetary unit is the "Nuevo Peso" (N$) or New Peso. One New Peso is worth 1,000 old pesos. There are 100 cents to every New Peso. Prices may carry the abbreviation "m.n" (moneda nacional) or "dlls" (American dollars).
• Banks usually provide foreign currency transactions between 10:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. only.
• Use Mexican currency in Mexico.
• As of 8/7/98, there are 8.97 Mexican pesos to the US dollar (a few years ago it was 3 to the dollar). Check rate before leaving at www.x-rates.com/htmlgraphs/MXP30.html
• ATM machines are very common in Canc�n and M�rida but the only other place on our itinerary they are known to exist is in Playa del Carmen. For VISA Plus System at AV BENITO JUAREZ, POR 25 COL CENTRO (Institution: BANCOMER) and AV JUAREZ S/N, ENTRE LA 10 Y LA 15 (PROSA-CARNET). For MasterCard Cirrus System AV. JUAREZ S/N ENTRE LA 10 Y LA 15.
• Commit to memory three PIN numbers for credit cards before departure.
• Register items with serial numbers (our cameras) we are bringing into Mexico with the nearest customs office before departure to facilitate reentry. Admissible photographic equipment: one still or movie camera with up to 12 rolls of unused film, as well as one video recording camera and 12 blank cassettes. Tripods and flash equipment require special permits for use at archeological sites, museums, and monuments. Other duty free items include up to five toys for tourists who are minors.
• Mexican crafts (pottery, woven goods, hand-blown glass, hammocks) are available at indoor and outdoor public markets (these have the best variety and prices but include lots of shoddy merchandise), government stores such as FONARAT, and at tourist boutiques and shops in hotels, malls, and resorts. When bargaining, the implicit rule is to offer no more than half the price and come up slowly. Most crafts can be brought back duty free. Silver that is genuine bears the numerals ".925" (92.5% pure). It can be considered offensive for foreigners to wear native costumes, so wait until we return home before putting on such articles of clothing.
• Tipping is important for low wagers to make ends meet. Tip parking and gas station attendants. Young children will frequently offer special services to visitors (e.g., cleaning your windshield at a red light). Be firm about declining. Expect to see women and children asking for coins.
• When returning to the US, expect a thorough examination of luggage. Keep all sales receipts and place purchased items in one bag. Each visitor may bring back up to $400 of articles duty free (9% duty above that).

Car and Driving

• Inspect rental car before driving off. Check the windshield for cracks, the wipers, the body and fenders for dents, rust, the headlights and taillights, the tires for wear and pressure, and note any missing items (gas cap, floor mats). Seat belts and a fire extinguisher are required by law. Mexican auto insurance is required and will be figured into the total cost of the car. US auto insurance is not valid in Mexico. Obtaining an optional collision damage waiver (CDW) means that you won't have to pay the deductible (up to $2000). Keep the rental car company's toll free number in case of trouble and return the car with a full tank of gas. Any valid driver's license is valid in the Republic of Mexico.
• The Mexican Government Tourism Secretariat (SECTUR) maintains a staff of approximately 925 "Angeles Verdes" (Green Angels) to help stranded motorists. They wear green uniforms and drive green-and-white pickups. To summon a Green Angel, pull completely off the highway and lift the hood of your car. Call SECTUR's hotline 91 (800) 90-392 or (5) 250-0123 (Mexico City). You can hail a passing motorist and ask them to place the call for you at the next town. Emergency telephones are located along most toll roads and some free highways.
• Roads are generally not marked clearly. Signs for turns and route directions will sometimes consist of city or town names only. Therefore, keep in mind not only the highway numbers but also the communities in advance along your route of travel.
• Driving after sundown should be avoided. Many cars have one or no headlights, they may swerve to avoid potholes, pedestrians, or wandering livestock (all of which are hard to see at night), and the Green Angels stop patrolling after 8 p.m.. A flashing left taillight may signal a left turn or an invitation to pass on the left. When an oncoming truck flashes its headlights, slow down; you are approaching a narrow bridge.
• Speed bumps (topes) and potholes (baches) are common.
• Gas stations have government fixed fuel prices (the federal oil company is Pemex). Stations are spaced (though some stores may have tanks) and may run out of fuel. Always try to keep the tank at least half full. Get "Magna Sin" (order as "Magna") unleaded gas sold from green pumps in green-and-white Pemex stations. Pumps register liters, not gallons (10 liters is about 2.5 gallons). Green-and-white diamond shaped signs along almost all main highways show the number of kilometers to the next gas station with Magna Sin. Tipping gasoline attendants is customary; a N$1.00 (New Peso) coin is fine (about 10 cents US).
• Gas along coast at Puerto Morelos, Tulum, Playa del Carmen, and Puerto Felipe Carrillo.
• Most cities have one-way streets. Signs on each corner indicate traffic direction by an arrow; two-way streets have an arrow with two points. Red arrows act as stop signs, green arrows facing you give you the right of way on a red-arrow street.
• Try not to leave car unattended for long periods of time. Park in a lot rather than on a street and don't leave valuables in sight. Parking areas are designated by a sign with the word "Estacionamiento" or red circle with a capital "E" inside.
• On main highways, the speed limit is 60 mph (100km/hr) 18-25 mph (30-40 km/hr) in towns. Speed limits are enforced.
• La Ruta Maya (The Maya Route) is a loosely connected series of old and new roads covering a 125,000 square mile area that takes tourists to Maya sites.

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