rosengirl

I would like to know some recent reviews of the border crossings from texas into Mexico. Which ones are more friendly etc. and safer. I am a single woman travelling from Canada to Cancun with my dog in my minivan. WIll be going thru the tx mx border around Aug. 20th. Please any info is appreciated...

emd3

I have crossed the Texas/Mexico border about 20 times by car. I would not cross any border in a car or on foot between the U.S. and Mexico now. I just spent 12 days this month in the states of Guanajuato and Queretaro, but I flew in and out.

Early last yr. I crossed the border in Texas at Eagle Pass/Piedras Negras and was very nervous, but it went ok. However in the last year since then, several drug-related shootings have occurred in Piedras Negras, the Mexican side, and I would not do that crossing again now. Indeed, there was a big shootout in the last few days in Piedras Negras (http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/new...-national.html)

Good luck. I have not been able to find a clear assessment in one document of all of the violence that has occurred at each and every border crossing, but I have searched on all of the border crossings individually in the last few months and it seems they have all been affected by drug violence. That is why we flew in and out of Queretaro and Guanajuato this month for our vacation.

I also would not drive at night anywhere in Mexico on the highways now, but then I have never driven at night on the highways there in over 30 yrs of traveling and driving there.

Bixaorellana

I am keenly watching this thread, as I frequently leave & return to Mexico via the airport in Reynosa. My sister lives in McAllen & she or her husband have always picked me up there & driven me into Texas via the Pharr bridge.

She tells me no one is going over to Reynosa -- downtown, anyway -- right now. But I'd like to know if it's a real threat or media madness.

Ditto on the driving at night thing! Why take a chance of a flat or any other hassle?

And hey -- more power to you for the sheer length of your trip!

emd3

Bix, it looks like thee have been some problems in Reynosa. See below. One thing that is happening in Reynosa is that the jourmailists who write about anything related to drug cartel violence have been getting abducted recently, and sometimes murdered. Maybe this has led to less reporting of the events.
http://cpj.org/2010/03/drug-related-...in-reynosa.php

and also see:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/Bor...age=1#storytop

and:

http://www.brownsvilleherald.com/art...-maquilas.html

emd3

another:
http://www.cfr.org/publication/21657/mexico.html

Bixaorellana

Thanks so much, Emd3. Whew. It's all so frightening and disheartening. My sister is level-headed, but the drive-by shooting at the quinceñera is what really got to her.

I lived in Port Isabel in the late nineties and used to cross back and forth to Matamoros and Reynosa, always feeling completely safe. This is sad.

emd3

It is most sad for the people in Mexico. When I was in San Miguel for two weeks recently, there were really hardly any tourists there. I was shocked. The lady who I took some cooking classes from said she usually has two clases a day of 8-10 people in the summer. But my friend and I were one of only two classes she had that week! She said she can only afford a few more months of the downturn and then will have to close up her business and do something else.

The people are really hurting from the lack of tourists. Are you noticing a downturn in tourists in Oaxaca? People do not realize that there are still many safe places to go that have not been involved in the drug violence. Several specific towns and states I would not go to, and I would not cross the border on foot or by car, but there are many great states to visit that are ok and not involved in the violence.

Bixaorellana

That's so true, Emd3. Even my mother, who is totally non-alarmist, asked me if it's safe here. I told her the truth -- that if I'd not read about it on the news, I would be unaware of the problems.

I don't live right in town, but I am going to ask around business people I know to find out if the media reports are affecting tourism. There's a lot of residual fear of Oaxaca because of the '06 State Dept. advisories.