I never realized how beautiful the area is..
..and to thing this time, no reports of armed teenagers forcing you face first into the dirt?
(is that unfair for me to say, or a reality?)
Brother Don, In all honesty: Once I am 15 kilometers South of the USA-Mexico Border I feel just as safe in Mexico as I do in the United States. I first rode a Norton Atlas 750 to El Rosario in 1968 and the only incident that has ever occurred to me, in the 35,000 miles ridden by me in Mexico, was the one that you mentioned. And that situation was really a big nothing, even though we have had a lot of laughs over it. Long story short, the Mexican Army had received a tipoff that Americans were running guns through the area. We then were the next large group of American's to reach the Army's checkpoint, so the first four riders were put on the ground and frisked.
Tuscon Joe and Papa Chuy never got off of our bikes, we both speak Spanish and we both said: "Es Hombres mas Grande pinche Viejo!" Roughly means en Espanol: "We're really fucking Old!" It was over in five minutes with an apology from the Mexican Army Officer and we were on our tired and merry way.
The United States and Canadian media have a field day blasting conditions in Mexico: It raises their ratings and helps them makes their profits, that's what sells for the media and makes them money. Do you remember ten years ago when all you could hear about from the media was Columbia, Columbia, Columbia.
Now you never hear about Columbia, the US and Canadian media have now made Mexico their daily whipping post. Not to say there is not drug violence in Mexico, but it primarily affects those related to the drug industry. Crime can happen everywhere, remember when The Stanley Boy's camp was looted at CFR 2009 held in Nakusp, British Columbia. I have never had anything stolen in Mexico, but an FJR Rally in Canada resulted in a $500 loss of our personal property!
https://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_4755.html Now, I do not travel without having my wits about me; I don't travel that way in Canada, USA or overseas either. When I met Stef - Teerex51 in Barcelona, Spain with the rest of the Italian FJR Forum to ride the Pyrennees: I was aware of the pickpockets in Barcelona so I took good care of my wallet.
I look at the
https://travel.state.gov/travel website before I ride to unknown lands. I checked before our last trip to Mexico and nowhere on our routing was any reported incident of violence. I also avoid certain cities: Juarez, Laredo and Monterrey for sure! I also don't go pub crawling in Mexico, I do my drinking at our nightly base hotel.
