GL1800Riders Forums banner

Back From Bahia Kino Sonora, Mexico

4K views 24 replies 14 participants last post by  MD11Pilot 
#1 ·
HD riders get bashed a bit on this board, sometimes they deserve it but....I'm just back from a trip down to Bahia Kino and there was not a Wing to be seen, however there were a good number of HDs on the road. I wonder if it has anything to do with the average response on this board of posters pissing in their pants at the mention of riding in Mexico?

BTW, if you are a pants pisser you are missing so much. The roads are good if a little rough in places, the food, beer, and ambience are as good as you will find anywhere. As one bumper sticker put it "Kino a drinking village with a fishing problem". What a beautiful little backwater Mexican fishing village with miles of beach, a small Expat group, and best of all no airplanes to get there, it's just a short 6 hour ride from Tucson.

My projected retirement of when I can no longer get my walker down the ramp to the Simulator has just been moved back a few years. I expect we will make the move sooner rather than later.
 
#6 ·
Mexico is a great place to ride/visit... until something goes wrong... Illness, accident, etc. Been there a few times, but I have nu illusions.
 
#9 ·
Wow, you and those Harley guys are real badasses. Just reading about it made me piss my pants.:oops:
Nope, no badass involved, well maybe with the HD guys :)....just not xenophobic.
 
#10 ·
Sounds like fun, I'm wanting to try a Rocky Point trip. I've never tried to travel in Mexico so I'm a little put off by all the bad press they get. Mexican insurance is a must, right?
Answer: Yes
I'd hate to find that out the hard way:shock:
Better answer is maybe. It's not required to drive legally but if you have an accident it can save your bacon. It's easy to get on line, answer a couple of questions, pay your money, print out the form. If you go, go a little farther south down the coast. Kino Bay is just a few hours farther and is a different world.

BTW, I'm a old "River Rat", I grew up visiting every taco stand and bar along the Rio Grand from El Paso to Brownsville as well as visiting a good number of cities and villages farther inland and for all those years the pant pissers have said don't go to Mexico it's too dangerous. I've been dangerous places like The Sudan and have watched the Jajaweed burn villages, I've ridden in armored personel carriers to get to my hotel in the Congo, had armed escort vehicles going through Lagos, my driver in Afganistan fought with the Mujahedin and still carried his AK-47 everywhere, hell I've been to New York City....Mexico isn't a dangerous place unless you are very unlucky but that is the case anywhere.
 
#12 ·
Let me know next time you head down there. Yes Mexico is a great place to ride. Some of my riding buddies. www.asphaltrats.com
You and Dee have to go down with us, it's like the Mexico of years ago. Miles of beautiful beach with no one on it, good local seafood at "Mexico prices" and even the ****** room was only $100 USD a day.
 
#13 ·
Having lived in most Central American countries during the 70's I even still speak Spanish passably, but I will not travel in Mexico. That is just asking for trouble. Each year my grandkids go to South Padre Island for spring break and we repeatedly suggest to them to stay north of the border. I can't imagine more of a red flag than a ****** on a brightly colored toy in the eyes of a pissed-off drug cartel member. I still have friends/relatives in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Panama and would love to ride in those countries, but my problem is getting through and back from Mexico. I rode there in the 70's when it was safe. I will not even drive a car/truck in Mexico hoy dia.
 
#14 ·
100's of thousands go to Rocky Point every year. No issues other than too much Cerveza. The Baja has many folks going down there. No problems. Was in Chihuahua last year and rode all over the that state. No problems. Ride during the day, be nice and treat people like people. The Drug Cartels don't need your bike...heck they have better ones... Depending on work situation I may be heading down to Morelia, Michoacan, Mexico for an SS1k with the Rats.
 
#15 ·
Sounds like you really had a good time. I truly admire those of you that take on these adventures.

I am one of the previously mentioned pants pissers. :lol: Fortunately, there is so much beauty in our own country left for me to see that I won't feel like I missed anything if I never ride to Mexico.

I traveled to Mazetlan about 30 years ago on a cruise with my girlfriend. We both picked up something, presumably from the toxic waste they call water down there, and spent the next week hugging the toilet bowl.
 
#16 ·
Sounds good to me I really wanna do that ride some time, I dont want to stay at some resort full of vacationers and tourists. Your trip sounds like something I'd like to do.

As far as getting robbed, jumped, held up, or whatever. I think if you aren't looking for trouble in most cases you'll be ok. The towns down there dont need the bad press and attention that causes.
 
#17 ·
Sounds like you really had a good time. I truly admire those of you that take on these adventures.

I am one of the previously mentioned pants pissers. :lol: Fortunately, there is so much beauty in our own country left for me to see that I won't feel like I missed anything if I never ride to Mexico.

I traveled to Mazetlan about 30 years ago on a cruise with my girlfriend. We both picked up something, presumably from the toxic waste they call water down there, and spent the next week hugging the toilet bowl.
Larry

Just a sign you need to be more adventuresome in your food, I've eaten street food all over the world with very few problems. If you get sick, with a few exceptions i.e. amebic dysentery, it's usually because you haven't exposed you gut to all the "bugs" found in natural foods.

I agree there is plenty of beauty to be enjoyed in the States but one of the reasons we have so many angry, frightened, old white men here is in general Americans do not travel and when they do they stick together. By travelling, by visiting with other peoples you soon realize everyone is the same, that people the world over want the same things and they are kind and generous if you show interest and respect. But even more important, if you pay attention you will realize that there are other way of ordering society some better, some not so good but in either case the U.S.A. way is not always the best. If you are open to learning it will make you a better person.
 
#18 ·
Ken. I have a few friends that aren't pants pissers. They truck their KLR's down to TX. Unload the bikes, and ride the back country in Mexico. They like to go where no wing can go 90% of the time, and can't say enough good things about the people they meet each time they go down there.

I enjoy their stories of there trips after they return. I track them with Spot. I do a Satellite view so I can get a tiny glimpse of where they are at each day.


What cracks me up is the Pants pissers are the same guys who carry firearms because of what they might run into in this country. They must be some badasses huh?? LOL


One day I hope to have a cold one with you. I'd sure like to hear a few of your stories too. ;)
Rocky,

I've tried to make the Death Valley ride almost every year but something always happens to queer it, maybe this coming one. We'll get that beer, if nothing else my second favorite road, I-8, goes straight to San Diego :).
 
#19 ·
Sounds good to me I really wanna do that ride some time, I dont want to stay at some resort full of vacationers and tourists. Your trip sounds like something I'd like to do.

As far as getting robbed, jumped, held up, or whatever. I think if you aren't looking for trouble in most cases you'll be ok. The towns down there dont need the bad press and attention that causes.
Check the link http://wilkeskinsman.typepad.com/tierra_de_tortugas/rentals/ . Perry and Caroline's place is wonderful and they are wonderful hosts. You will like it much better than Rocky Point.
 
#20 ·
Mexico is a great place to ride/visit... until something goes wrong... Illness, accident, etc. Been there a few times, but I have nu illusions.
We have experienced the Mexican medical system first hand and are very impressed as to the service we received and the cost of it.
My wife dislocated her hip on one of our trips to Mexico, so a friend drove her to a hospital. They took her in immediatly and didn't ask about medical insurance for about an hour. She got first class medical attention, they gave us a bill of about $400, a receipt and back to our hotel we went.
Upon returning home we submitted the receipt to the travel insurance company and were reimbursed 100%.
She also went to see our own doctor and he stated that she received the same medical attention she would have at home.

Just prior to that trip, our friends that winter in Mexico every year, the husband had a heart issue and went to a local clinic. The clinc was as well equiped as any small hospital back home, he was kept for three days, treated and given a couple of prescriptions and told that there was no reason to go back home to Canada, but if anything else came up, come back to the clinic. Nothing did happen.
His bill? Just over $800.

And then there's plent of stories about all the snowbirds that get prescriptions filled, dental work done and eye prescriptions filled. All very professionally and very low priced in Mexico.
They really do have a wonderful medical system.
 
#21 ·
Bubba 1

My riding buddy and I go to Mexico 3 or 4 times a year. My work schedule prevents longer excursions, but we have gone as far as we can on a 3 and a half day weekend. Most of our trips are to bike rallys where we do our CMA ministry, but every now and then we go just as tourists and ride the mountains.
The riding is very good. Great scenery, good roads ( well, as good or better than they are here in Corpus Christi ) and the people are friendly. We usually stay in the mom and pop motels and eat at the local cafes. Prices are appealing. Motezuma's Revenge? Request botteld water or soft drinks. We have been numerous times in the last 5 years without incident.
We ride during daylight hours and when we cross the border, we get our paperwork and head for the interior. Yes, there can be trouble. but if you think about it, there is trouble all across the USA, too.
I am glad to read that you get to enjoy the roads down south.

Dale
 
#22 ·
My riding buddy and I go to Mexico 3 or 4 times a year. My work schedule prevents longer excursions, but we have gone as far as we can on a 3 and a half day weekend. Most of our trips are to bike rallys where we do our CMA ministry, but every now and then we go just as tourists and ride the mountains.
The riding is very good. Great scenery, good roads ( well, as good or better than they are here in Corpus Christi ) and the people are friendly. We usually stay in the mom and pop motels and eat at the local cafes. Prices are appealing. Motezuma's Revenge? Request botteld water or soft drinks. We have been numerous times in the last 5 years without incident.
We ride during daylight hours and when we cross the border, we get our paperwork and head for the interior. Yes, there can be trouble. but if you think about it, there is trouble all across the USA, too.
I am glad to read that you get to enjoy the roads down south.

Dale
From your home base I would guess you ride some in the Laguna Madre and Ciudad Victoria area. Back in the 80s I spent a lot of time in and around that part of Mexico. I would stay at the Hotel Everest next to the main Plaza in Ciudad Victoria, there were better (more modern) hotels but I loved the old place. The roads south of there over the mountains were beautiful. I need to visit that part of Mexico again.
 
#23 ·
Bubba,

Curious. Beins' You and Ms Bubba just got back,,,what was gas,,average motels/night,,Mexican meal,,insurance? Helps to know from someone "real time" rather than the "I was there 30 years ago and,,,"... I'm thinkin I may be adventurous for a trip as you all done! May even take Queenie along,,,who knows?... I have heard some good things about Rocky Point area?..I'm very green on the Mexico,topography,,,bein a Midwest ,,, awwwhh shucks,,,Good Ol Boy...:)

Thanks,
BC
 
#24 ·
Bubba,

Curious. Beins' You and Ms Bubba just got back,,,what was gas,,average motels/night,,Mexican meal,,insurance? Helps to know from someone "real time" rather than the "I was there 30 years ago and,,,"... I'm thinkin I may be adventurous for a trip as you all done! May even take Queenie along,,,who knows?... I have heard some good things about Rocky Point area?..I'm very green on the Mexico,topography,,,bein a Midwest ,,, awwwhh shucks,,,Good Ol Boy...:)

Thanks,
BC
Fuel prices not much different than the States, a little less but not much. Nice hotels run $80USD up. The place we stayed was an upstairs apartment with a private balcony attached to an Expat's home, it was $100USD. Insurance depends on the value you place on your vehicle but you can expect around $100USD for 7 days. Food depends, if you eat in Mexican places, what some call Street Food, food and drinks for 2 is usually less than $25USD and can be much less and is very good. If you eat off the food carts it can be very cheap and very good. In the tourist joints dinner is not much less than the States and is usually not much better food than you can find in the States. While Rocky Point is nice, it is a tourist area, big hotels, lots of folks on the beaches, higher prices, lots of Gringos. If that is what you are looking for it is a good spot and easy to get to. If you are looking to relax and experience Mexico, go a little farther down the coast
 
#25 ·
Mexico

I travel the world and generally experience friendly people and service HOWEVER I will not go into Mexico for "pleasure". My son is now working in Laredo and has been there two weeks. Someone tried to break into his car with him in it until he pulled his gun. Police just looked at him and said "It's Laredo". Two days ago several golfers came in from the course and said someone was shooting above their heads from the Mexico side and they were leaving. Border Patrol and the local Sheriff showed up and said it is harvest time and they were trying to scare a path to cross with their drugs....then the local POWER BROKERS that have millions invested in this golf course came in and demanded to know the golfers names and numbers and they were going to "convince" them they didn't hear bullets whizzing over their heads. Later the Sheriff showed up and said it was a propane tank with a "popper" installed to scare away pigs....it is located over a mile away. This year, two dead drug runners found on and near the golf course, local ranch guard and truck driver shot dead within a couple of miles....and they answer from everyone down there....it's Laredo. Neuevo Laredo is the sister city...guess where the Mexican Mayor of Neuevo Laredo lives...on the U.S. side. All the people that work for my son said under no circumstances to go over the border and they were all born there. Yesterday he had a customer that told him to his face that he didn't want a ****** to check him in to play golf and he wanted the "Mexican"...the Mexican guy turned around and told him that either my son took care of him or to leave (I appreciated that). He is there for no more than one year and as he put it last night...50 weeks to go.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top