“I just received this message, they asked that their names not be revealed but would like the story to be reported.   [Another] also gave me permission to tell you about their experience [a few months ago] returning NOB [north of the border] via Tampico. They transport personal items along with kitchen knives back and forth and this time the Tampico [transito police] went through the entire car, found the Henckles [ZWILLING J.A. Henckels kitchen knives], demanded $5000 pesos or [the male party] was going to jail, talked for a long time and ended up paying 1200p. No incidences on their return in July but did notice that there was a permanent structure being built, I believe South of the bridge.” [I am assuming here the “permanent structure” is some kind of a check point?]

“We did not get our paperwork stamped at the border and the transitos were going to put [the male party] in jail, quarantine the dog and charge him a $20,000 peso fine.

It came down to all the pesos we had $4500 or they would kill the dog and put [the male party]  in jail.  They took him into the police station and into a room with 5 cops and slammed all the doors shut.  He said it was very intimidating, which was the point!

We also got stopped due to a cracked windshield and [supposedly] speeding!  It was a very expensive trip through Tampico.  We are going to try to find an alternative route.”

These are two different stories from different foreigners that traveled through Tampico. We have heard many more.

If you have been reading here long you have read about the problems we have encountered driving through Tampico. In the last three years we have never stopped for transito police even though they were motioning for us to pull over. We simply decided to ignore them. Were we stopped (run down) we had a story prepared that we simply did not see them because we were nervously watching the busy traffic. But, in actuality we were never pursued after ignoring them. We have seen the ignored transito officer  jumping up and down and waving frantically in the street in our rear view mirror however.

We took this approach after being stopped at least three times; every time we had driven through Tampico to that point. Each time there were totally trumped-up charges asserted; several times when we out reasoned them on a first accusation a new violation was thought up.

The bottom line is these people are corrupt public officials apparently sanctioned by the Tampico government. There is no way that just that town could have such a horrible, consistently bad, reputation without the powers that be knowing what is going on. If they actually came forward claiming that they just did not know then I would suggest they were stupid, as well as corrupt.

We thought this Utube video was quite telling >>>> CLICK HERE

And this one as well >>>>> CLICK HERE

You can see from those videos it is not just gringos being targeted. Amazing the duo that shook down the eggman and garnered  themselves a flat of eggs each and a carton of cookies. I guess this is how they do their grocery shopping.

It should be written that we have seen reports on Azteca News out of Mexico City about the problem with corrupt transito police in Tampico. Additionally the last two trips (4 passages through Tampico) we were traveling in our Mexican plated car. But our plates indicate a different Mexican State. So these bandits are not just preying on foreigners from out of the country, but even Mexican travelers from different States.

We have written on numerous occasions that we believe there is nothing to fear relating to the drug wars and the terrible violence accredited to that. Truly I would be a fool to write that there are not risks. We tend to avoid the border towns and when we do have to drive through the border town of Matamoras we roll up the windows, lock the doors and drive straight through not breathing particularly easy until we are at least 100 miles south of the border. So we do exercise caution. It isn’t like we are stopping in border towns to knock back a couple tequilas before we move on.

There has been some ongoing dialog on the Viva Veracruz Forum on how to avoid driving through Tampico by the many of us that enter the more easterly area of Mexico. If Tampico were not such a bastion of crime against foreigners it would be a convenient and good place to stop. I wonder how the officials of that town cannot see how much the terrible reputation Tampico has affects the income and success of the honest businesses and people that live in Tampico.

FORUM TOPIC _ MORDIDA IN TAMPICO CLICK HERE and another CLICK HERE

How can they not see the harm that is being caused by allowing these criminals in police uniforms to shake down most people foreign to their city?

Somehow foreigners to Tampico, people from other countries and Mexicans, need to call upon the Federal Mexican Government to stop this travesty of justice; to call a halt to these street thugs frightening, intimidating and robbing travelers.

We also encourage anyone that faces the task of driving through Tampico to join with us to establish a good alternative route where all law abiding folks can travel in safety and without being robbed. Stay Tuned!

We have our detractors and critics when it comes to our view of Mexico, sad really. Most of these have to be pseudo-intellectuals who are quite certain their opinions are more valid than everyone else’s – in truth such small minds at work.

“In the end, we are self-perceiving, self-inventing, locked-in mirages that are little miracles of self-reference.” — Douglas Hofstadter, I Am a Strange Loop

It is starting off gloomy here Saturday morning. We are having espresso’s and some Mexican pan dulce (sweet bread). We put on some Oscar Peterson; his Jerome Kern song book. And then some John Coltrane and Tadd Dameron – Mating Call (1956) – Music helps make Life Good behind my eyes. Things feel good south of the border this morning! Come and make your own decision. Stay Tuned!

Mid-morning today (Saturday) we scooted into Xico and beyond. We were hoping ultimately to go as far as Coatepec to buy bread and cheese.  But alas this was not to be.

Shortly out of Xico on the road between there and Coatepec we encountered a lot of traffic. It seems in some municipal manager’s infinite wisdom that Saturday would be a good day to repair the one-lane in each direction highway. My less educated sense for things relating to road construction would have thought a less busy day of the week might be better time to virtually totally disrupt the flow of traffic – I mean rather than when everyone off work that wants to go out to the store and whatever was on the roadway.

In any case the road was packed, backed up and pretty much rendered immovable. We scooted to the front of the line but were not allowed to go beyond. Then the rain started and continued. We limped into the Pemex gas station near the entrance to Coatepec to wait out the rain.

During the wait I noticed several fellows arrived on the scene with carpet bagger type satchels. Each was full of windshield wipers. Obviously these hombres woke up this morning or were already packed up for just such an event. When the rain comes out there will be many in need of windshield wipers.

Of course this makes perfect business sense. Top peso can be obtained when you can provide for a need like wipers during a persistent rain. If these hombres were selling rain ponchos we would have been in the market right then as well.

We thought it was very industrious and typical of the framework of marketing Mexican style. Providing basic needs on the spot makes terrific marketing sense.

Then we got to thinking, how would this work in the U.S.? If you attempted to sell in the street you would certainly need a permit. You would likely be run off competing with the more established businesses. If you were under 18 in states like California you would be forbidden from working at all without possessing a high school diploma – something I am pretty sure these hombres lacked.

To obtain a license and subsequent permission to sell you would most likely be required to carry some liability and casualty insurance. Hypothetically if a wiper you installed failed in some manner you would be sued – perhaps even your entire family.

If you offered any warranty you would have to post a bond and back it up in writing. Here in Mexico – they will tell you if there is any problem I am here on this corner often.

The U.S. is a complex quagmire in many ways. This direct Mexican marketing has not only charm but good sense attached to it. Stay Tuned!

Of course bull fights are very controversial even when the bulls remain in the ring. This incident will add to the controversy. When 1,100 pounds of mean muscle could possibly end up in your lap, the cheap seats start to look mighty attractive. Better yet futbol becomes a more appealing spectator sport.

Soccer may be a bit slow at times – however I can live with the risk of a player spilling into the stands.

Go Cruz Azul! Stay Tuned!

Honestly most sales personnel here in Mexico must be shaken to be sure they are breathing. You have questions – forget about it. You best know what you want. If you want to know if they have something you better just look around the store. Chances are the salesperson has no idea whether the store has the item – no idea.

If you want a sale pitch you will have to wait for a street vendor to come by – there you can definitely get a pitch – but not in a retail outlet here in Mexico.

We have this cloud over our head with vehicles and parts to keep them running here in Mexico. Recall a while back the five month sage (that is months – not a typo) trying to get a part for our Ford Truck – we are not talking a Maserati or Jaguar here – a Ford truck!

We ended up buying a car in order to drive back to the U.S. to finally find the part. Part in hand it took 15 minutes to get the truck running.

Now our Chinese scooter is in need of a starter. Before you roll your eyes – we bought the scooter here in Mexico; and they are seen everywhere here in Mexico.

It is possible the starters are very reliable – but I doubt it. Yet no one seems to have the part. The prices quoted when and if they can get the starter are all over the map by a factor of at least 3. Of course the shop that quoted the best price (about 30% higher than the best price in the U.S.) would have to order the part and it would take about 20 days.

OK if you were wondering or accusing, we are unhappy and frustrated; and most of all missing Cruise Azul riding. We actually drove to Coatepec in the Jetta yesterday looking for the part and shopping.

The last two vehicles we have purchased were purchased in Mexico in order to have a better shot at local maintenance and parts availability.

We started working on cars early in life. Before we were old enough to legally drive we were under hoods and greasy. Early on I commented to my father, rest his soul, “One day I am going to know enough about cars to be able to fix everything about them myself.” My father’s reply and here I thought a good piece of wisdom, “Son, I hope one day you make enough money to pay to have someone else fix your cars.” I never forgot that and even passed the sage wisdom to my son.

A few times in my life I actually have had enough money to have someone else repair my vehicles. Enter the computer age. Cars got so complicated with computer chips and modules and a lot of engineering dedicated to keeping the weekend tinkerer out from under the hood. Do not even get me started about the special tools designed for one task.

Here in Mexico car maintenance is far more affordable than in the U.S. by a factor of 10 or so I would guess. But all good news usually comes with a caveat. In this case it is the aforementioned parts situation.

But there is more. Getting back to little Cruise Azul the Chinese scooter. The little scoot has no computer and I have tools. It is little more than fixing a lawnmower to keep it going when you can get the parts. All still the aforementioned rate of savings on vehicle labor caused us to attach ourselves to a moto mechanic here in Xico – Pepe.

Pepe started out very inexpensive. But as he got to know this gringo his fees seem to escalate. There was one constant charge that was beneficial or so we thought. An oil change for 100 pesos. That is about $8 U.S. including a liter of mixed synthetic oil – quite a bargain; so good that in spite of our having tools and knowledge to perform an oil change in 15 minutes, it still made sense to have the work done by Pepe. When you deduct the cost of oil, we are talking maybe $3.00 U.S. Why would we get our hands greasy or have to deal with a liter of used oil to dispose of?

The other day before the starter died we ran Cruise Azul across town to Pepe’s garage for an oil change. For the first time we decided to wait for the work to be done rather than leave the scooter and return later.

We watched as Pepe went about his work. Without getting too technical and losing most of our female readers the oil was changed incorrectly. It was drained from the wrong orifice thereby eliminating the cleaning of the oil filter. I watched in subdued horror realizing my little jewel was not receiving proper treatment. The 100 peso oil change suddenly was no bargain.

So now I have to tell my son new found wisdom. Be smart enough to work on your vehicles because no one will care about your ride as much as you do; and buy some tools and spare parts – you will need them.

I have a very smart younger Cousin who has aspirations of designing a car that meets two amazing criteria. The vehicle must get 100 miles to the gallon and be able to go 100 mile per hour. I hope this vision includes having 100% available spare parts and that 100 out of 100 people with tools will be able to repair the thing. It is Friday the Thirteenth. We had to get this off our chest. Stay Tuned!

Here in Xico, Veracruz, Mexico and from what we can gather other areas of Mexico, trash pick-up is very political. Currently we have a lame duck president of the municipal of Xico. The president of a Mexican municipal can be likened to a mayor of a city in the U.S.

The current president has been voted out. A new leader will be in place in December.  Here in Mexico foreigners by law are not to be involved in anything political. It is so stated in the Mexican Constitution.

OK this is fine with us. We are retired and past wanting to get in the mud of politics here or in the U.S. – anywhere really. But, no matter how much we strive to be away from politics, of course political issues  affect many aspects of our lives; some more visible than others. In this case highly visible garbage often builds up after the local elections.

Without getting involved, my understanding is the elections for the positions of Governor of the State of Veracruz and the president of the municipal of Xico were held on July 4^th of this year. The newly elected will officially take their positions December 1st. This is a five month gap between election and taking office if you are newly elected, not re-elected. That seems like a long delay – but then I am not getting into that.

Without  having a clear idea as to how all the politics works I can report on one of the results of a change in office at the mayoral level; or in this case here in Mexico, the president of the municipal. Each time this change occurs the garbage collection becomes trashy.

For example we have had one garbage pickup since we have returned from the U.S. We have been here for a little more than a month; so one pickup in a month. The people begin to burn trash including plastic soda bottles a couple weeks into no garbage pickup. The air often gets quite toxic if you happen to be in the smoke path of someone’s burning.

Apparently the garbage company and/or its employees are selected by the president of the municipal. Also it is apparent that this works to the financial benefit of said presidents. We hear unsubstantiated rumors that already the current trash removal personnel are losing their jobs.

Mean while the trash is building up in our neighborhoods. People in our barrio have been going to the local government complaining about the lack of garbage collection.

The fee when they do come and take garbage away is extremely reasonable – one peso per bag regardless of its size; that is 8 US cents folks, quite the bargain. We fill one very large black plastic bag. The bags are a bit spendy as trash bags go; not commonly seen here in the Hood. You can almost assume it is a gringo’s garbage if the refuse is enclosed in a big shiny black bag.

The collection of the few pesos is very sketchy. An hombre comes around very quickly looking for pesos (he is riding with the truck). We have watched the process; my guess is a small percentage of the small fee is actually collected. This means the government has to be subsidizing the cost; and therein lays the open door to corruption – a government funded process with little organization and less accountability; a golden calf for small government officials.

If you have been following the impoverished City of Bell, California’s governmental fiasco you may already know that the City Manager was making $800,000 US a year with a total benefit package that amounted to 1.5 million dollars – yikes. The base salary was twice that of the President of the United States! It seemed like quite a few others were on the take as well. HOW does something like this go on?

The backlash appears to include yet more laws. Stay with us here because this is where it gets real crazy: Assemblyman Hector De La Torre (Democrat – South Gate, CA.), author of a proposed measure titled AB 1955; “the California Measure would raise income tax to 50% for overpaid council members….”

So if we understand this right – the new measure would continue to allow such ridiculous income, but then the State of California would excessively tax the income in order for the state to get their cut! The world has truly gone mad.

To be fair the Measure also calls for open public sessions where the salaries would be exposed. You know those council meetings no one ever attends. The ones where when something hits the fan the pat answer is the public had an opportunity to attend the meetings. So we should all feel guilty for not having kept an eye on things. This while the proletariat is a two working family with maybe a third job to get by, who in their spare time should be attending these council meetings in order to reduce corruption.

This is not the kind of law that is going to stop the madness. When you have to create laws that essentially say DO NOT STEAL from the public coffers and create costly watchdog systems to keep elected and otherwise officials from stealing beyond comprehension – what does that say about mankind.

We are going to pull the covers over our head and go back to sleep now. Stay Tuned we will wake up eventually.

The frightened ‘violator’ will not receive a ticket. Only a paid-for-warning. Often the process is performed very surreptitiously.  The reason for the stealthy process is to avoid the blind eye of Mexican justice which claims this ongoing  holdup is illegal.

Saturday during the brief sunny part we were returning from a scooter ride to Coatepec where we bought some custom made bread, designer cheese and some home-made vegetable tamales. Just past the police station that is about mid distance between Coatepec and Xico we came up behind a small black and white transito vehicle. (Not the one shown below)

A Traffic Police Vehicle (more typical than the beater we encountered)

A transito officer, be he/they on foot, riding a motorcycle or in car, is the most likely person(s) to stop foreigners of any kind to give traffic citations; more often looking to have the frightened foreigner buy him/them lunch or maybe a new dress for the wife.

When we came upon the transito vehicle I decided to stay behind him avoiding visibility. We were in no hurry enjoying the bit of sun and verdant roadway. This was quite a concession, the dilapidated police vehicle was smoking quite badly.

Not far along the route the transito clunker slowed; from the driver’s side window the uniformed officer motioned for us to go around – which we did.

Soon he caught back up with us driving close to our rear. The road essentially runs out at the entrance to Xico. It is necessary to take a right turn onto a different road going into town. At this point he turned on his P.A. system announcing that we should pull over. Considering the smoke and dilapidated condition of the little policia car, I was surprised he had public address system technology. We pulled to the side and stopped.

Since we were traveling to and from Xico we had helmets on (it’s a law, occasionally); I often do not wear headgear when just scooting around Xico. We were going the speed limit and otherwise obeying all the rules – so it was pretty much a given these boys were ready for lunch.  We were going to buy it for them, so they thought.

Being residents and knowing full well the routine we were not about to fork over pesos for these two characters. The sooner we made this clear the sooner we would be moving along.

If you are riding a vehicle with less 150 cc’s of engine displacement you are not required to have that vehicle registered and plated (con placa) – that is the law. Unfortunately for the officers we knew this. They were not going to be eating any time soon on our pesos – the Calypso couple was confident about that.

Anita walked up to the officer now standing street side.  She stood a head taller than the officer. His partner scurried into a package store on the corner – presumably already selecting food items that he thought we were buying – guess again hombre.

The officer pointed to our scooters rear asking where our license plate was.

Anita’s first thought was to redress this fellow for driving a car smoking like it was burning coal as a fuel source. She thought better and went right into explaining that we live here in Xico and we know there are many scooters and the like sans license plates.

Now the hungry officer was not sure we were going to buck his misguided authority. He went right into a spiel about how this was true in Xico but not in Coatepec.

Still mounted on the scooter I chimed in saying we have been driving this scooter in Coatepec for two years. Anita added that we see many, many non-plated scooters and four-wheelers in Coatepec; furthermore she cited the 150 cc rule to him.

At this point I think we all knew there was not going to be any pesos exchanging manos. Now the officer needed to figure out how to get out of this gracefully – and with his manhood intact. He looked up into Anita’s eyes and then over to me still sitting on the scooter. He asked for my driver’s license. This totally beside the point now; but it provided him time to think this out.

We have written before that we do not carry our actual driver’s license, rather a reasonable facsimile copy, laminated and semi-authentic looking. The transito officer looked over my license. I handed Anita my business card to give to him. The card indicates I am a writer for Global Post .com. I wanted him to know we could write about this experience letting others know about his effort to extort money from us.  He looked at this card more carefully than the license. It has the word “escritor” (writer) on it, and the Global Post insignia.

We were done. He returned my license and business card. I told him to keep the card so he would remember us – might even want to log-in and visit the Blog

With one quiet glance and a slow-spreading smile exchanged between Anita and me, we shared recognition and understanding, and the power of that brief meeting was more satisfying than I can effectively describe. It was a perfect sunny moment.  We rode on.

We arrived home just ahead of the afternoon rain. It has rained every day since we have returned from the United States three weeks ago – every day. Rain does not impede life what so ever in the tropics.

If you choose Mexico you can be sure that soon enough you will find comfort even with the tiresome process of mordida. There are not many that can look upon their lives and realize they have everything they could ever wish for, and then some extra for the dipping. Each morning when I wake, I whisper a silent prayer of gratitude that I am one of them. Gracias, gracias, gracias….

Life is good! Life is about attitude, stay positive and Stay Tuned!

We will be posting some post celebrations photos over the next few days but we had to interrupt that reality for this bizarre tale.

In today’s Los Angeles times it is reported that an organic health food club was raided by four officers who with guns drawn “….fanned out across Rawesome Foods in Venice [California]” looking for unmarked jugs of raw milk. The officers “ordered the hemp-clad workers to put down their buckets of mashed coconut cream and to step away from the nuts.” (L.A. Times article here)

Apparently this private food club was skirting some necessary licensing. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration bans interstate sales of raw milk advising that both milk and honey should be pasteurized.

Our first thought was how this law would be accepted here in Mexico where every day we see hombres hauling metal milk vessels, dispensing their product with a liter container into the container of shoppers at their door steps. (Read More about our local milkman HERE.

Our local Milkman (ENLARGE)

Not wanting to argue the safety factors regarding raw milk, honey or cheese, I know there are issues.  The thing that really fries my veggie bacon is the attached video to the article that was taken by an in store camera – four guys with guns walking through food isles. This just seems over the top for a food licensing issue.

For the last five hundred years or so Mexican people have been drinking raw goats and cow’s milk. I am sure there have been problems – of this there is no doubt. However in today’s market here in Mexico you can go buy a liter of highly pasteurized milk displayed in non-cooled stacks on grocery shelves. Eleven pesos per liter is the going rate (about 82 cents U.S. a quart) or buy from the hombre with the raw milk container and liter serving cup for 6 pesos a liter (about 45 cents U.S. a quart).

In Venice, California the illegal raw milk, a vegetarian’s delight, goes for $8.59 per half-gallon. I am pretty sure if our milk men here in Xico knew they could get that instead of the 90 cents per quarts volume they get here; those hombres would be riding their cows and herding their goats to the frontera.

But really what is up with the guns? Does the FDA truly think those health food people might be protecting their raw milk stores with armed security or what?

The average U.S. citizen is scared to death to cross over their southern border to Mexico in fear of being caught in the cross fire of the drug cartels.

Your author is now afraid to head north to visit a health food store for fear that some officer with a two-fisted gun set to fire in the single action mode (gun cocked) might have an accidental discharge or worse yet just feeling the need to drop me in my tracks because of the danger I exhibit having a half-gallon of raw milk in my shopping cart.

We choose to remain here in dangerous Mexico where we can choose or not to spend 6 pesos on a liter of raw milk from the friendly hombre on horseback at our door.

Stay Tuned if you dare – we are south of the border.

Here, here, here and here.

Nearly 1000 photos have been shot to bring you just a few from the event.  Not everyone sees the same thing in a photograph. Some will like a picture that others will not. But, I think people universally like to people watch. Here are some people watching photos I liked. Perhaps there will be some you enjoy. They all can be enlarged to see some nuances that otherwise might be missed.

I supplied a few comments as well along the way:

Good looking young people can not take a bad photo. (ENLARGE)

The family that clowns together stays together. (ENLARGE)

Sometimes it is about the colors. Men dressing like women – whatever floats your boat. (ENLARGE)

Paul an Englishman living in Xico. He lives in our Hood in Ursulo Galvan. (ENLARGE)

Sometimes it is about a moment and a glimpse. (ENLARGE)

Green hair will always get my attention. (ENLARGE)

Mexico is about family – Mothers and Daughters. (ENLARGE)

Cell phones in a public setting can be disturbing or just attention grabbing. (ENLARGE)

Our neighbor in the red hat with her friend and son – waiting out the rain.  (ENLARGE)

Did not like any of these? There are more to come. Give me another chance.  Please Stay Tuned!

Political division in the latest polls show that more than two-thirds of Republicans want the focus to be on border security, while 55% of Democrats want the focus to be on those in the country.

Perhaps working on both would be a  good thing.

It is safe to say that most Americans would like to see some form of comprehensive immigration reform.

It is also not difficult to understand the frustration Arizonians have with illegal aliens affecting their economy and quality of life.

A couple points that have been discussed here are that we support a reform, but not at the expense of the Constitution of the United States. We believe the Arizona law does compromise Constitutional rights and could heighten problems of racism. We are of the opinion that the enforcement of existing laws as well as more Federal involvement in an effort to resolve some or all of these issues is past due.

Living mostly in Mexico we suggest that President Calderon of Mexico face the facts that his demands for fair treatment of Mexican citizens must be a two way street. Poor treatment of illegal aliens entering Mexico’s southern border with Guatemala is widely reported.

We should add that we have had nothing but fair treatment relating to our being/living in Mexico. We consider Mexico our home regardless of our country of origin.

In this writer’s opinion more open borders at both ends of Mexico would be better.

Mexico allows people to be in the country as long as they bring sufficient money with them. Few come to Mexico to work obviously. So the scales are not equal.

These are very disquieting times for those of us living in Mexico as expatriates. In our area of Xico, Veracruz and the surrounding area including Coatepec and Xalapa we were feeling some slight negative attitudes about our being there just before we left five weeks ago. We hope we will go home to calm waters.

We often state our belief that more than 5 billion people living on this small planet must find ways to live together; to accept one another; and that we all must champion peace. Lofty ideals I know. But there is no reason to believe that these qualities of life can not be obtained.

We are delighted with the U.S. Federal Government taking action to stop Arizona from causing further erosion of the Constitution as a method of trying to solve their immigration woes. At the same time we accept the fact they are frustrated. We hope other ways can be found to lessen or end the problems.

Please stop the hating! We can, we must,  find peaceful solutions that will maintain the freedom and individual rights depicted in the United States Constitution.

We hope you all had a great Fourth of July Holiday in the United States.

Peace. Stay Tuned!