Mexico -dos and don't

isogloss?

I am not snobby

isogloss!

Now that's quaint.

ok, my bad for geraliszing about snobby. I get snobby and know it so don't think before calling others out on being what I think is snobby. But do you mock the term "cuss words"? Just curious...but
back your trip admrl - road travel is often dangerous. I had a harrowing experience and won't try it again. Will fly. In a seperate episode from mine, my best friend was with 4 others driving and they were all killed by a wild drunk driver. *shudders*

cuss words just sounds very American and funny, as I'm sure "polystyrene" sounds to you

thanks

exactly! regional lexicon. "on holiday" vs. "on vacation" I am mocked mercileslly for saying on holiday (UK roots).

oooh isogloss. great word! Love new words.

do you really say polystyrene instead of plastic?

instead of styrofoam

oh, duh, shows my command or lack thereof the English language. So here's a o/t question that you may know the answer to! I heard that the only way to get rid of styrofoam is to put acetone on it. For real?

I have no idea

oh well worth a shot. So are you gonna fly? I hope so. And, don't worry about the language thing. Many of the people speak English, particularly in the bigger cities.

flying looks expensive. I'm not sure

It's about 1200 miles from Nogales to Guadalajara. There's only one gas company in Mexico, Pemex, and it's owned by the Mexican government. Gas runs about double the US price per gallon. Not sure how that will stack up vs. flying.

May as well get yr teeth did in between getting 60¢ 40s of Carta Blanca.

-- Abbott, Thursday, August 21, 2008 7:12 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Link

I was just in Mexico City and Oaxaca a couple of weeks ago, and the 40s are a buck now. And fuck Carta Blanca. That shit is swill. If you're down there get some Indio or Victoria, or better yet, Cucapa.

try here :<a href="http://www.orbitz.com/App/PerformSDLPDealsContent?deal_id=guadalajara&cnt=TRA&gcid=S11287x431&keyword=flights+to+guadalajara&source=sr&type=k&WT.mc_id=e124&WT.mc_ev=click&WT.srch=1&DCSext.mc_kw=flights+to+guadalajara";>Orbitz</a>

damn my HTML!

My question: Do or don't go at all? I started planning for my first trip there for September to meet my Mexican family (in Puebla, Puebla) but then the swine flu happened. The CDC is apparently recommending against traveling there. I would hope that by September this would be wrapped up. Sigh.

man i don't know... myself and three others have a San Miguel trip planned in exactly three weeks. we've been on the fence about cancelling. my friend's friend who owns the house we're renting for the week told us that it hasn't really been a problem in their area. I just don't want to crap out and get detained in some Guanajuato clinic because a gate agent heard me clear my throat and wouldn't let me on the plane back to the States.

gonna pack some xtra purell, i guess...

also, any ILXers visited/have the word on San Miguel de Allende?

Do not buy any sombrero with a diameter greater than 1 meter, especially if it has little pom-poms dangling from the brim, large amounts of elaborate embroidery in primary colors, and dozens of tiny round mirrors stitched into the crown.

Thinking about doing a long weekend (4 days) in Mexico City around Xmas. Anyone been recently? Is there enough going on to have a good time for that long w/o actually leaving the city?

I am going to be traveling for a few days along the border between TJ and Calexico. What shld I expect?

http://www.impawards.com/1981/posters/mad_max_two_the_road_warrior_ver4.jpg

Campo on CA-94 gets a lot of illicit cross-border traffic because the mountains make it difficult to patrol effectively and the brazenness of the coyotes/drug smugglers is pretty full on. The last incident I heard of was a truck full of smugglers (humans, drugs, and otherwise) who had almost-successfully disguised themselves as Marines with a purported cover story of patrolling the border.

The upshot, be careful.

If you get a chance, be sure to try the "puffy" or "special" quesadillas. I've only ever had them in the Imperial Valley and seem to be a local staple. Instead of a traditional quesadilla, the dough/ingredients are deep fried like an empanada. Camacho's Place on Wahl Rd. (between El Centro and Mt. Signal) is the best place to get them - the restaurant has been around since the 1940s and is truly superb. A special quesadilla, some carne asada, and a picture of beer here is one of the Great Border Meals.

BTW, don't rely completely on GPS navigation because some of the roads are still messed up from the earthquake last year.

Thanks!

Revive! Heading to Mexico City for four days at the end of the month. Does anyone have suggestions for good food, cold beer, vinyl records and/or cool things to see?

La Casa Azul (Frida Kahlo's house) in Coyoacan is amazing, if you're into that kind of thing. Leon Trotsky's house is a couple of blocks away from it too.

For vinyl records, check out el tianguis del chopo on saturdays. It's an outdoor flea market near the buenavista subway station.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianguis_Cultural_del_Chopo

Cosign both of these. Coyoacán is a cool neighbourhood in general, a great market & some nice cantinas. My main advice would be EAT EVERYTHING DRINK EVERYTHING

thanks, some great idea. Definitely want to do all this.

A few things, a-lo:

1) El Chopo is definitely an interesting place and you'll find interesting stuff on vinyl for sure, but it's in the middle a sketchy part of town so if possible don't go there on your own. Ideally you'd want to go with someone who lives there. While we're on that make sure you keep your wallet in a safe place when you're riding the Subway.

2) Yes, try everything but with food there's always a risk. Moctezuma's revenge is no myth.

3) The trendy areas in Mexico City are the colonias Condesa and Roma. Lots of cool bars and cafes. Definitely worth checking out.

4) Try to go to the Museo de Antropología. It's quite impressive.

5) I recently discovered this restaurant near the Zocalo (the main square), which is totally awesome: http://www.lacasadelassirenas.com.mx/

^especially the view from the terrace

Re 2 it's not exactly a "myth" but I'd argue that it is a quasi-racist term for what is properly called traveller's diarrhoea. There's always a risk of falling prey to unfamiliar strains of bacteria but I doubt this is that much more likely to happen with a gordita in Mexico than with a gyro or an empanada or a bacon butty or a hot dog anywhere else in the world.

Daavid's points are all good tho. You could spend a whole day in the museo de antropología easy.

Def hook up with some locals if you can, it's the best way to experience any city.

xpost - OK, yes, I've never liked that term either. I agree but I think what's particular about Mexico (obv. not only Mexico) is that the general spiciness of the food can be a problem to people who aren't used to it on every meal.

I'm saying that from past experiences where I've hosted people (US or Canadians) in Mexico City (that's where I'm from) and no matter how careful I try to be with where we dine, they always end up getting sick at some point.

I've been to Mexico 7 times and my most recent trip was the first one where I didn't get sick. My advice - don't even try to avoid getting sick because it's probably going to happen anyway.

Ah OK I guess there's something wrong with north americans then ;-)

I get a little defensive because so many ppl spout ignorant bullshit about mexican food, especially here in the UK where most ppl haven't even tried it. I'm half-mexican (my family live in querétaro) but I've only been there once as an adult. I stayed a month, ate everything, and never got sick once fwiw.

I have been to Mexico a couple of times but only got sick once, and it was nowhere near as bad as 1) the time I gave myself food poisoning with a mushroom veloute or 2) the time I got a norovirus in the US capital city and ended up in the ER.

In about two weeks I'll be Baja-bound, staying between 6 and 12 months. Very excited! How do I shot speaking Spanish?

I just stumbled into this tread while James's Taylor's "Mexico" is playing and, I gotta say: thread enhancer

Thanks all -- this is helping as I starting planning a bit more.

Daavid, we're actually staying in Condesa, so looking forward to checking that area out. I'm also looking forward to checking El Chopo on Saturday morning for records but would definitely be rolling down there solo (or maybe with my gf). When you say "sketchy," is it a case of not being stupid/staying alert or something else?

Well the good thing is that you can just pay 200 pesos and a doctor will stick a needle in your ass and you'll feel better in a few hours.

Just stay alert, the area is not as bad as it used to be some years ago.

xxpost, I mean rough (or at least rough-looking) tbh. You will notice stark contrasts between different parts of Mexico City, and the Colonia Guerrero (where "El Chopo" is located) is not one of the pretty ones. Allegedly, it's got relatively high crime rate too (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colonia_Guerrero,_Mexico_City). I don't want to scare you too much though, I haven't been to "El Chopo" in over 15 years so it makes sense that it's a different place now, as Norma says. To be fair I don't know if it was even dangerous back then or maybe just the people looked scary.

My general advice regarding safety is:
- Avoid walking too much around areas you don't know about (Condesa is fine). Call a "taxi de sitio" (they're cheap!) or use public transport (bus, subway) instead.
- Don't use street ATMs. There are plenty inside stores (like Sanborns) or shopping areas. I recommend you use those.
- Don't wear flashy accessories (expensive-looking jewelry, watches, etc.) or carry too much money around.
- If you don't want to look too much like a tourist don't wear shorts, sandals, or hats (other than baseball caps).
- When in doubt, ask whoever you're staying with.
- And yes, just stay alert.

...I'm beginning to sound a bit like my mother. The probability you'll get mugged is pretty low anyway. But it doesn't hurt to take some extra precautions. :)

One last thing, if you want to go to a pretty/quaint part, I'd recommend San Angel over Coyoacán, they're not far from each other anyway so you can visit both in the same day.

...on that note, don't try visit too many places in the same day. Car traffic can be insane (another good reason to take the subway) and you can easily be stuck in traffic for hours.

Xochimilco is sweet, ride a boat, eat barbacoa

I love^10000 quesadillas in the DF

Thanks everyone -- I'll report back on what we get into.