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Blog Entry 17 of 112 Rampart Mick's Idle Thoughts
Really, that's all my writing is. I appreciate your input / feedback and I encourage each of you to try writing and submitting yourself! The worst that can happen (we hope) is you will be called asinine and an idiot, or clueless, and if I can get over THAT, surely you can too.

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The savvy gringo's guide to vacationing in Mexico

Contributed by: Michael Rule   on 2/14/2007

How many of you would like to explore Mexico a little deeper than an all inclusive resort or the few hours you are given at each port of call on a cruise ship?

Are you feeling adventurous but a little intimidated by a foreign language in a foreign country with a foreign culture and foreign food? Have you heard too many horror stories (real or imagined) to feel safe venturing past the shops of trinkets and T-shirts?

Well, keep reading, because "The Savvy Gringo's Guide" is being written for you!

If you have been to a place like Cancun or Ixtapa and believe you have experienced the "real Mexico," then I hope you keep reading. Consider what new experiences and adventures might lie just beyond the chain hotels stacked one on top of another. There are also plenty of restaurants beyond the almost endless Carlos-n-Charlies' style places you've seen so far. Trust me.

I have been fortunate enough to have traveled about Mexico many times. A few years ago Susan and I drove the entire Baja Peninsula in our old motor home. We had a blast. I have flown to tourist meccas like Cancun or Cabo San Lucas and rented a car and just gone exploring. I once drove to Mazatlan with a friend and took a ferry to La Paz on a whim. That's a story for Mack McCrusty to tell. Keep the schedule and the itinerary open, I say.

Along the way I have learned a few things that I hope will make the average gringo's experience a little more rewarding. I am hoping to share these travel tips and encourage each of you to do a bit of exploring south of the border yourselves, and on your own. I am not the most knowledgeable person on Mexico, but I love the place and hope you will learn to love it, too.

Arriving

The savvy gringo knows to line up his hotel for the first couple of nights, at least, before he leaves home. This is easy enough to do on the internet, and if you're reading this I bet you know how to google. Enough said there.

Once you arrive at the airport, it will be easy enough to line up a taxi ride to your new home away from home. Taxi drivers in Mexican airports pick up gringos all the time, savvy or not. They will know enough English to get you to your hotel. I can pretty much guarantee their English is better than your Spanish. Just ask them how much for the ride first. And rest assured, they will take your U.S. money.

Be assured whatever they tell you is pretty much in line with what all the other taxi drivers waiting at the curb will charge. These guys sit and talk all day, remember, waiting for the next plane load of touristos. Whatever the fare is will also be about twice as much as the ride back to the airport at the end of your stay. It won't matter which taxi you choose then either. Relax and go with it.

Welcome to Mexico.

Communication

A few key words are huge. I am not going to give you a crash course in proper Spanish. What I will introduce you to is Spanglish. In Spanglish you throw in any Spanish word you can remember and use English as a filler. It works great.

If you're like me, the first thing you are going to want after arriving safely at your hotel is a cold beer (cervesa). You will find it at the "cantina" (bar). After a few of those you will most likely forget all that extra stuff I could try to teach you or which was taught to you in Spanish 101 decades ago, anyway.

Here are a few phrases to learn and keep handy:

Donde es? Pronounced like doughnut, but put "day" in place of "ut" Pronounce "es" like "s." This means "where is." Donde es the cantina? I use "the" in place of "la" or "el" all the time. So can you. Remember that we are gringos, and gringos can get away with this stuff. Just always smile.

Quanto es? Like "quantity", but throw an "o" on the end. This means how much. "Quanto es the cervesa?" You are doing great.

La quinta, por favour. One Mexican tradition that throws many first time visitors is asking for the check. If you sit and wait for it you will wait all day. In your first cantina on your first day of vacation that might be a bad thing. You're not being ignored. In Mexico it is considered polite by the host or hostess to not bring your check until you have asked for it. So relax! Chill! You just spent a wad of cash getting here, after all.

La quinta means "the check." Por favour is please. Use por favour everywhere and all the time. It makes those inevitable miscommunications much easier to get through.

Before you stumble out of your first cantina, you will probably need to use the john. Bathroom in Spanish is "bano," pronounced "bahn- yo." Go back to the first phrase we started with. Donde es the bano, por favour? You're doing awesome! This world traveling stuff is easy for the savvy gringo!

Remember you are in a very forgiving country when it comes to language. The locals will politely allow you to basically murder the pronunciation as long as you do it with a smile on your face. Just laugh along with them while they laugh at you. Odds are, if you attempt to talk with them they will be your friends soon, anyway. Mas cervesas for my nuevo amigos, por favour! You're getting so good at this stuff I bet I don't even have to translate that one!

And never forget "gracias," meaning "Thank you." This is not pronounced "grassy arse" like some Americanos say it, but more like "grah -cious". Most gringos can't roll their "r's", so I won't even go there. Use this word all the time, too. The only thing better than a drunk, illiterate gringo is a polite, drunk, illiterate gringo.

When the bartender says "Uno mas cervesa, senor?", (one more beer, sir?) you can now say "Si" (pronounced "see", and means yes), and the always important "donde es the bano, por favour? Over there? Gracias!" This is easy! Order me one before we go, would you? Uno mas cervesa and la quinta, por favour and we are ready to move on!

Essentials to know and bring

In our next blog (which could be tomorrow or next week, or even next month if I get busy) we will cover some bare essentials to bring along, some essential things to do like rent a car and how to change your greenbacks into pesos.There are some customs to know and a few things to be aware of to make your savvy vacation that much easier and enjoyable. Until then, adios, me amigos and amigas!




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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
Submitted By: Barbara Neff
posted on 2/22/2007 @ 2:15:14 PM
Rated Blog Entry
This is great, Mick. I have traveled off the Americana beaten path in Mexico, but only with locals as guides. I look forward to your next entry concerning items you don't leave home without. Gracias.
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Submitted By: Karin Malchow
posted on 2/15/2007 @ 7:04:04 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Gracias for the tips. You do make it sound easy and fun.
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Submitted By: Candace Ebbinghaus
posted on 2/15/2007 @ 7:46:02 AM
Rated Blog Entry
I can't wait to see all that stuff for myself! Love the pics too...
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Submitted By: Daniel Smith
posted on 2/14/2007 @ 5:33:11 PM
Rated Blog Entry
Wonderful piece - and true in everything you say - I've been there.
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Showing 1-4 of 4 comments
CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Michael Rule

Larkspur , CO

Michael Rule has posted 112 blog entries and 1418 comments since joining on 2/23/2006. Michael Rule 's average blog rating is 4.95.
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