# Howdy from Taxco!! (Report)



## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

Dear Fellow Ex-Pats:

Just a note to let you know that I have been in Mexico/Taxco now for 7 weeks. Sorry I didn’t start making reports as I traveled or arrived. We still have another 3 weeks to go, then back in time for school to start for my daughter & wife. My notes & observations are numbered below so it will be easier for you comment. I look forward to your feedback!

1)	We had to stop off in Dallas to renew passports for my daughter & me. We had an appointment, but had to refill the forms because the ones on the internet were not the “current version”. Otherwise it all went quickly & we were there for about 3 hours. During the wait for the finished product we took a nice walk in the area & had a good lunch.

2)	When we got to Brownsville, we were advised to stay the night on the US side of the border - that even folks from Matamoros do the same thing if caught in Brownsville after nightfall. We stayed at what I had booked as a Wingate Hotel, but it had a different name. The price was reasonable and the pool was appreciated after a long day’s drive.

3)	Crossing the border was so much easier than I had ever imagined or experienced! One thing that helped was crossing on a Wednesday morning instead of the weekend. There seemed to be great emphasis on friendly, courteous & honest service – the kid that inspected our vehicle wouldn't accept even a small gift for him & his family. With the military & Federal Police everywhere, he said it wasn’t worth it to even “look suspicious” because of the cameras everywhere recording everything.

4)	On our way out of town south of Brownsville/Matamoros we were passed by & fell in behind a Federal Police patrol of two pickups & a squad car full of uniforms & weapons. They were going 70 to 80 mph, which was fine by me – I figured I couldn’t have better protection. However, there was one car that passed me & landed behind the rear pick-up truck. Later he started trying to pass the whole patrol but was blocked by the squad car in the lead. He should have taken the hint despite repeated attempts to pass, but continued trying. All of a sudden the pick-ups boxed him in and they all stopped suddenly on the side of the road, the vehicles exploding with uniformed police & drawn weapons. As I looked down the road around them, I saw another patrol coming from the opposite direction & pulling over to join the others. Boy was I glad NOT to be that other guy!

5)	We continued on without incident through the long empty roads, non-stop, to Tampico by nightfall where we stayed in the Comfort Inn of Tampico. Tampico has NEVER been among my favorite places to visit or stay. I only tolerated it in the past because my brother-in-law lived there, but was always glad to get on the road & leave it behind. HOWEVER, the Comfort Inn was like an oasis!! It had secure off-street parking and various room configurations for a very low price, plus its own restaurant & pool. It was one of the most beautiful & restful places where I have stayed in Mexico! In fact, we considered staying another day just to enjoy the hotel & pool.

6)	On the road again for Martinez de la Torre in Veracruz. Another long stretch with a bathroom stop or two & lunch. I noticed the roads seemed much better overall, with some rough spots, still, in the high country around Naranjos & Cerro Azul before hitting the cuota that by-passed Poza Rica to Papantla. For some reason, we could not seem to find our way across & out of Tuxpan, which is always a frustrating experience to get through or around… even if they have such a lovely malecon along their waterfront.

7)	We reached Martinez before dark and settled in for a 2 week stay while my wife worked on matters concerning her mother’s estate & property. Martinez de la Torre sorely lacks in nice hotels in & around the town. We managed to find a nice one that gave us a discount for an extended stay called “El Hotel Aqua”. The staff tried very much to make ours a comfortable & luxuriant stay. The rooms were like large duplex cabins or bungalows with the biggest & nicest bathrooms I’ve seen. Our last 2 nights were cut short because the whole place was booked for PRI party officials arriving for a campaign rally. We learned the hard way that you MUST get your hotel early here, or you (literally) won’t have a place to stay. By luck we found another nice one near the south entry to town that charged a lot less than the Aqua; although it was smaller, it was still nice & comfortable enough that we will look to stay there the next time we visit.

8)	While in Martinez, we took a day trip to Cuetzalan. I had heard a lot about it since before it was designated a “Pueblo Magico” so now was our chance to see how it compared with Taxco, being located high up in the hills on the Puebla side of the state line. There was a lot of BEAUTIFUL scenery along the way, but the best of all was Cuetzalan. We spent the day wandering up & down its narrow & hilly streets, evading indigenous sellers everywhere, seeing the museum & grabbed a bite to eat. The zocalo was a beautifully bright, white sight to behold! Finally we had to leave in time to make the trip back through Teziutlan. It was worth seeing Cuetzalan, but it was so far removed & difficult to access – more more so than Taxco… and Taxco still seemed to have a charm or something that Cuetzalan lacked.

9)	We finally headed for Taxco with heavy rains from a tropical storm/hurricane that hit the coast near Veracruz. This made for some hairy moments in the winding hills up to Perote and across to Puebla. There were a couple of washed out places along the way, but nothing major. The rain continued with us all the way through Puebla into Mexico, Morelia, then Guerrero. Thank goodness for the nice cuotas south through Cuernavaca to Taxco.

10)	Taxco, FINALLY!! It was still the same everything I remembered & loved from our visit 10 years ago! We settled into the same 2 bedroom bungalow with furnished kitchen, maid service & arguably the nicest pool in town for $520 a month. A week later my 74 yr old mother arrived for her first trip to Mexico, ever. After some 35 years of inviting & pleading with my family to come down for a visit, my mom FINALLY took the chance (and the prepaid tickets) to come see “what it was all about”. It has been great watching her fascination with everything, sometimes like watching a child. She is constantly taking pictures & posting beautiful reports on Facebook for everyone to see & read. Of COURSE she wishes that she had done this 10 years ago when she could handle the hills much better. But hey – the invitation was always there!

11)	Something I had not counted on – or heard about in advance – was the dollar exchange situation in Mexico. Imagine my surprise when I could not change my dollars for pesos anywhere in town! I had ignored the casas de cambio in Brownsville on the advice of a bank teller who told me that the rates were more favorable in Mexico for buying & investing in dollars – which was why, supposedly, her bank & a couple of others I checked did not have pesos to exchange for my dollars. I kept a little over $1500 cash thinking I could change it later only to find out about the law forbidding it in order to frustrate money laundering by the carteles. I have been able to get by fine with my ATM card, and I should be able to hold out with my dollars until I get back to the states. Electra/Azteca is the only place I know of that is authorized to exchange pesos for dollars… but their exchange rate SUCKS and they will only exchange a limited amount of money ($300) per day.

12)	I am sooooo grateful for the earlier thread about MagicJack on here. We used our Skype at first, but had trouble because of the slow wireless connection where we are staying. When our frustration mounted, I pulled out the MagicJack I bought several months ago and plugged it in. My gosh! It loaded itself with minimum input from me, established a phone number for us – and all but did everything else by itself. It worked great the first several calls, but kept cutting out & breaking up. Because of the thread, I learned to remove both Skype & MagicJack, then to reload MagicJack FIRST. After that – wonderful sound, great connection – and it even takes messages for us when someone calls us! I paid for 5 years of service so I wouldn’t have to mess with it every year – and ordered the MagicJack Plus at a reduced price, which will be waiting for me when I get back to Oklahoma.

13)	Not much else to tell, except my wife & I did make a trip up to Queretaro to see her other brother; while there we went over to see San Miguel Allende, too. We did a LOT of walking around both places & enjoyed the history & wonderful sights everywhere we turned. Although both places were pretty & nice with gentle climates, we looked at each other and said at the same time, “Nah, it isn’t Taxco”. As much as we liked them, they still lacked something that we found & experienced in Taxco. Besides the wonderful climate & beautiful mountain scenery in Taxco, the people are the most kind & courteous we have found in all of our travels in Mexico. For now, it looks like Taxco is still in the lead for consideration as our retirement home base. The only other places we would like to look into would be in Puebla/Cholula or Tlaxcala. Both places have great, cool climates with their own wonderful qualities – and to their credit, they are FLATTER than Taxco. Maybe a major consideration for constructing a house later – and for aging into our 60s, 70s or 80s.

I look forward to hearing from you all when you have a chance to write or comment. Take care & keep smiling – especially when others want to tell you of the terrible news about “the violence in Mexico”…!! They just don’t know, do they?


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Taxco is a magical place but I would not retire there, steep hills are not my idea of fun. We lived on hills more of our life and withthe last house we had in California I knew that when we retired we would not live on a hill...no way. No stairs in the house and no hill was the first thing on my list so for us Guanajuato and Taxco are out. I also would find Taxaco clostrophobic after a while, wonderful , place to visit.
I love Cuetzalan as well and love the food there , we were thre for a festival and the place was a lot of fun, went to Hueyapan after that and Papanta and had a wonderful time. Again too hilly and remote but wonderful place to visit and beautiful countryside to get there..


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## Longford (May 25, 2012)

Excellent report, thanks. 

@ Paragraph 4: You were in a war zone. Following behind a military/police group isn't where I'd place myself.  From time to time they're attacked by the terrorists. 

@ Paragraphs 6 & 7: I really like traveling in the state of Veracruz. Because of the people I've met there, mostly.  Many expats feel uncomfortable in parts of the state, I believe.  Xalapa and Cordoba seem to be the most popular stops for the expats. Some live in Xalapa.

@ Paragraph 6: I've been to many places in Mexico during my 44 years of travel in the country, and Cuetzalan has been one of my favorite destinations.  Particularly at the big festival time, the beginning of October. People who like Oaxaca (city) would probably not go back to Oaxaca once they'd been to Cuetzalan.

@ Paragraph 10: I know the feeling when we find a place we really feel comfortable in/like. Taxco is yours. Good for you. :clap2:

@ Paragraph 11: Mexico has been enforcing restrictions on the exchange of US$ for MX$. This is being done in an attempt to curtail/make harder money laundering by drug dealers. I'm surprised to hear that the Banks, with the exceptioin of Electra's bank, wouldn't exchange for you. I think that's a rare situation. Obtaining MX$ by using an ATM machine has been, for me, the best way to get MX$, including when I've visited Taxco.

@ Paragraph 13: I think the historic center of Queretaro is outstanding. They can keep their ugly industrial zones, however. 

As for your comment: "Take care & keep smiling – especially when others want to tell you of the terrible news about “the violence in Mexico”…!! They just don’t know, do they?" No, _they_ just don't know. If they did, they'd probably be a bit more concerned. The war and the horrific death toll is real, not imagined. There's been no exaggeration, IMO. If anything, there's been a lack of reporting outside of Mexico regarding what's happening.  The state of Guerrero, in which Taxco sits, is one of the hot-beds of violence. There has also been violence in and around Taxco. 

It's good to hear that your trip has gone well. Once again, thanks for the excellent trip report! :clap2:


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Longford said:


> Excellent report, thanks.
> 
> @ Paragraph 4: You were in a war zone. Following behind a military/police group isn't where I'd place myself.  From time to time they're attacked by the terrorists.
> 
> ...


Banks here all exchange USDs except for hundred dollar bills. Maybe the OP only had $100s on him. If it is $500.00 USD or over they have you sign a form they send somewhere, even now at the Casa de Cambios on the border on the US side you sign a form.


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## AlanMexicali (Jun 1, 2011)

Another thing is to know banks will exchange USDs during the morning but about 2PM you have to wait for the next day as they want the exchange rate locked in when handing out pesos. If you don´t ask questions you might not know this as many employees including tellers are the silent types for whatever reason it appears. Especially if your don´t say "good morning" etc. before asking for something.


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## citlali (Mar 4, 2013)

Have you seen what is happening is Arteaga , Michoacan? ..People are right to worry about violence: it is important to be aware of what can happen. 
I have a friend who did business all over Northern Vera Cruz and also part of Puebla and she went everywhere by bus, she does not do that anymore , it is too dangerous according to her and the people she works with, so do not kid yourself as you go and visit places that seem quiet. Things can change in one instant.
We were in Apatzingo, Arteaga and Nueva Italia a couple of years ago after they had troubles there and everything was quiet then but as I said things can change quickly.
We do not let that interfere with what we want to do but we do make sure we have made provisions for our pes and property if we do not come back.


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

citlali said:


> ...I knew that when we retired we would not live on a hill...no way.





> I also would find Taxaco clostrophobic after a while


To be sure, I'd prefer someplace more level for a house without a lot of levels & floors - and with space. If we do choose to stay here, I'd want to have a big space inside (inside courtyard) if I can't have a small yard outside & around the house. If the house is big enough inside, I wouldn't fret about it being 'claustrophobic' outside - but I would also like to have a terraza with a nice & private view.



> I love Cuetzalan as well and love the food there , we were thre for a festival and the place was a lot of fun


For me, (less than) one day was not enough to really see or appreciate everything in Cuetzalan. I didn't know about the fiesta(s) either, so it would be worth another trip or two back there to see, taste & experience more of it!!


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

Longford said:


> @ Paragraph 4: You were in a war zone. Following behind a military/police group isn't where I'd place myself.  From time to time they're attacked by the terrorists.


 That kind of crossed my mind, especially when the idiot kept trying to pass & was held back. I kept looking for a place to either stop of pull over if anything 'weird' happened. Being as the patrol had already passed & acknowledged us (we waived), I felt like they knew that we were NOT terrorists. About those other guys...



> @ Paragraphs 6 & 7: I really like traveling in the state of Veracruz. Because of the people I've met there, mostly.  Many expats feel uncomfortable in parts of the state, I believe.  Xalapa and Cordoba seem to be the most popular stops for the expats. Some live in Xalapa.


Veracruz has been a life-long love affair for me & my wife. She is from there & I lived in the port, Xalapa, Martinez de la T. & Tlapacoyan. Veracruzanos are a very distinct & friendly people no matter where you find them!!



> @ Paragraph 6: People who like Oaxaca (city) would probably not go back to Oaxaca once they'd been to Cuetzalan.


Hmmm - I've only been thru Oaxaca City once back in '92. Didn't get to see much of it as we had lost time with tire trouble on our way through to see Mitla & Monte Alban. The climate is nice & the roads to it have supposedly improved since then - We're going to have to make a trip back to see what everyone's talking about... especially during the Guelaguetza! My only other travels through the state have been to the west of Oaxaca City a couple of times. My mother-in-law's family was from off the beaten path north of Pinotepa Nacional in Amuzgos & Putla.



> @ Paragraph 10: I know the feeling when we find a place we really feel comfortable in/like. Taxco is yours. Good for you. :clap2:


It's still at the top of the list. The friendliness & courteousness of the people is so outstanding! I've run into very few people here who preferred the US to Taxco - those that went to the US, in fact, came back. Admittedly, it is a very prosperous area compared to so many other places in Mexico.



> @ Paragraph 11: Mexico has been enforcing restrictions on the exchange of US$ for MX$. This is being done in an attempt to curtail/make harder money laundering by drug dealers.


I'm all for making life more difficult for the narcotraficantes. 



> I'm surprised to hear that the Banks, with the exceptioin of Electra's bank, wouldn't exchange for you. I think that's a rare situation.


The bank officials in the banks I visited (HSBC, Bancomer, Banamex & Scotia) said that was the case 'everywhere' in the country. Except, of course, Electra/Azteca. 



> Obtaining MX$ by using an ATM machine has been, for me, the best way to get MX$, including when I've visited Taxco.


That's how I planned to do it anyway for once I retired. It has worked pretty well for me so far (this visit & previous trips).



> @ Paragraph 13: I think the historic center of Queretaro is outstanding. They can keep their ugly industrial zones, however.


Good Heavens! We got soooo lost in the industrial area trying to find Colonia Satelites! The rest was beautiful & well-laid out, but traffic was a fight, especially during AM & PM drive-times.



> As for your comment: "Take care & keep smiling – especially when others want to tell you of the terrible news about “the violence in Mexico”…!! They just don’t know, do they?" No, _they_ just don't know. If they did, they'd probably be a bit more concerned. The war and the horrific death toll is real, not imagined. There's been no exaggeration, IMO. If anything, there's been a lack of reporting outside of Mexico regarding what's happening.  The state of Guerrero, in which Taxco sits, is one of the hot-beds of violence. There has also been violence in and around Taxco.


Understood. My in-laws had to relocate to Queretaro because of the violence, threats, and his daughter was on a list to be kidnapped from her college campus. When he was tipped off, he took her & the family and left everything as-is. He didn't go back for 3 months to tie up loose ends. It seems, for the most part, the people hate the violence, but express it as something that happens far removed from them - but affects them nonetheless if their business is threatened or depends on how the tourism is affected. Otherwise, life goes on for them & how they make it. IMO, I don't think near enough attention & reporting was ever done about Mexico & Latin America in general... which fed into the whole situation that evolved. As much as the people appreciate the tourist dollars & trade, for the most part they mistrust the American government in any effort it makes 'to help'. No surprise there!



> It's good to hear that your trip has gone well. Once again, thanks for the excellent trip report! :clap2:


We're STILL enjoying it!!


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## Howler (Apr 22, 2013)

AlanMexicali said:


> Banks here all exchange USDs except for hundred dollar bills. Maybe the OP only had $100s on him.


Yep, $1500, all in $100 bills. Just my 'luck'!!


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## sparks (Jun 17, 2007)

Here the limit is $300us a day and $100's are OK


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