telcoman

If you are at the san carlos rally and want to see the total solar eclipse  after, there are options.

At least 2 escapees are signed up who will be staying behind in San Carlos after to tag onto one of 3 Total Solar Eclipse caravans run by Caravanas de Mexico which occurs April 8th in either Mazatlan or Durango. There is still room on these. One will be 15 days (from San Carlos, one 17 days and one 22 days. The last one includes a tour of Copper Canyon northbound.

One group will be at Totonaka RV Park in San Carlos april 1, the other April 2.

This is the most significant eclipse for most of our lifetimes, the next one occurs in 2024 in North America. It is 4.5 minutes long and the chance of clear skies in Mexico is around 80% compared to less than 50% in Texas. There will be a professor of physics and avid eclipse chaser along. If it interest you, send me a Private Message. They will likely be full by Fall. If you choose the Durango option you will travel over on the continents most spectacular highways. There will be some included meals and tours in the Mazatlan area.

One thing to keep in mid is that you will have to get a permit for your rig at Km 21 south of Nogales at the same time you get your tourist card for the rally. I can supply details on that. If the rally is using the Lukeville crossing, same thing about 20 km south.

It has been an issue but we do not have any issues with caravans. it is a Mexican based company and has some pull. The situation is the SAT, the organization that sets the rules puts the limit at 7710 lbs cargo capacity, which Banjercito the organization that enforces it, interprets  as GVWR, which it is not. We can solve that with the intervention of an Aduana (customs agent) who can look at the rig, determine it is recreational, and issue an exemption.  

Sure you can stay down but you would still have to pay for the cheapest package which is a 16 day tour. That is because the company has gone to all the trouble to reserve space for that eclipse, which as you can imagine will be at a premium. If you want to spend more time, I would suggest looking at the Copper Canyon trip with extension.. It leaves in mid January, does Copper Canyon, then mazatlan and then you pay a one time surcharge (to cover the wagon master) and go a few days south to Melaque (full service park with pool in a great town) which is 5 hours south of Puerto Vallarta for a long stay. You pay your own RV park from then on. You can head off from there at any  time you want to explore if you wish. (That park charges $600 a month, I make reservations). It may use Boca Beach for part of time.  It then makes its way to Durango for the eclipse and then out of Mexico quickly thereafter. (April 11 or 12) The $700 surcharge covers the wagon master getting you to Melaque then Durango then out of Mexico and also includes 2 tours of Zacatecas and Durango on the way north to the eclipse. My guess based on this year is that that one is going to be popular. 12 rigs max. I have attached a photo of the RV park in Melaque. You can also read a magazine article I wrote on it a few years back at https://mexicocaravan.com/blog1l.html.

I am a Wagon Master for Caravanas de Mexico. They are running several trips to take in this eclipse, including 2 Airstream. I am leading one of them myself. Several are close to being full . It will be total in Mazatlan and Durango. Almost 5 minutes of totality.

certainly forums are being replaced by Facebook. Sad.

I was president of the north American Truck Campers Association and it too declined in membership. I am wondering if the rise of social media has a role to play. A shift in how people get their socialization. A bad one, IMO.

I have led many RV caravans in Mexico, There are a lot of speed bumps on the highways there. I have seen 2 cases of cracks in Lippert frames. With the low labor costs down there, we had new weld jobs done on them both along with more reinforcing at all the weld points. There is no doubt in my mind they are a  problem. That is why I bought an Arctic Fox, because they do theiri own frames.

Caravanas de Mexico is running a  Nov-Dec RV Caravan down Baja that so far is undersubscribed. They are offering a $500 discount  to Escapee members to try and get a couple more to make it break even. It runs Nov 11 to Dec 15 from Tecate to Mexicali and includes 11 tours and 15 meals and on tour  Spanish lessons. If it  interests you send me a message and I will provide details. Fuel in Mexico is cheaper than in the US. I have been a wagon master for this company in the past

Interpretation of any stats is always flexible to a degree since they always contain many variable factors, any statistician will tell you that. They can show the trend, but there is always a factor of interpretation in there.

33 minutes ago, TXiceman said:

I am glad that some of you feel safe to travel and live in Mexico.  But when seeing the news, I do not want to become another statistic.  On this side of the border, I at least have the option of protecting myself legally.

Ken 

Each to his own, but in  reality you are in just as much, if not more, danger in the US these days and statistically people who are armed actually get shot more.https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn17922-carrying-a-gun-increases-risk-of-getting-shot-and-killed/

Both Canadians and americans. There are at least 1000 between Chapala and San Miguel Allende. More large clusters in Puerto Vallarta and the Yucatan There are several hundred expats in Melaque / Barra Navidad, a small town just north of Manzanillo where I live, both American and Canadian. I would estimate close to 500 actually, about 1/2 of them 6 month residents. The facebook page "Expats in Mexico" has 120 thousand members.

On top of that there are 1000's of seasonals, many with Mexican resident status. I am one of those. My reason is medical, I have to spend 5 months a year in Canada to keep Canadian medical. I rely on Mexican medicare down there and belong to skymed so I can be flown home if needed. Mexican free medicare is crappy, but its free if you are a resident, and you can sign up for the higher level IMSS for about a grand a year.  It helps to speak Spanish. A lot of people are taking out Mexican resident status. I have been assisting many of them at the small INM office in Melaque, since I am now very familiar with the procedure, in fact I teach a course on it in Canada in summer. They process at least 10 a day in Melaque in Nov-Mar. Appointments at both US and Canadian consulates to start the process, are months out. As far as RV parks are concerned there are over 500 in the country. Many last year were full from Jan to March, especially those on the west coast. During covid they were pretty empty, but it is bouncing back. The one down the street from my place in Melaque was 100% full in Jan-Feb. Mind you it s a pretty nice park. Pool, 30 amp $600 a month

I get very tired of all the misinformation about mexico. 1000's of Americans and Candians are choosing to retire there and most will tell you they feel a lot safer there than they felt at home. I am guessing over 1000 US and Canadians RV down there, judging by how full RV Parks are. I took out legal residency myself as i am considering Mexico for assisted living options once I get to that stage. Regardless I have spent at least 1/2 year down there for almost 15 years and never had a problem. I have covered almost every corner of the country in my RV and have led several RV Caravans there. It is like the 50's, stop on the side of the road for a break and you have Mexicans stopping to ask if you need help all the time. I was within a block of the Gaby Giffords shooting, close enough to hear it. An acquaintance of mine spent over  a year in a wheelchair after being injured in the LAs Vegas shooting. I can understand peoples fears, but look at the mirror in your own country. You are certainly not safe.

Sure, just like i would not put my kids into a US school, attend a country music concert (a friend of mine  is now in  wheelchair after that one) , go to a movie theatre and risk a Walmart in Texas. The fact of the matter is you are at some  risk anywhere, but I feel safe enough in Mexico I actually became a legal resident. At least most people down there do not have guns, Cartels do, but if you leave them alone they leave you alone.  Guns are not the main cause of deaths among children like they now are in the US. I have nothing against them per se, but the US is an armed camp and you are risk every time you go to grocery store and your kids are certainly at risk going to school. That sort of thing does happen elsewhere, even Canada, where I live 5 months a year or the UK or New Zealand or Australia, but it is rare. Mass killings are now a daily occurrence in the US. They don't even make the news anymore unless its a big one, they are so common. I am on my guard every minute i spend in the US these days.

someone likely stole the rv and took it across the border, nobody in their right mind would go into Juarez, Nowhere to camp there. It is generally a  lot safer in mexico than in the US these days with all the mass shootings. At least in Mexico they tend to be targeted and have a reason behind them rather than the random stuff in the US. However, some spots are no go and Juarez is one of them. Cross at Nogales, Tecate, Eagle pass or Colombia bridge and get 100 miles south of the border. I spend 6 months a year in melaque near Manzanillo. Been RVing down there for 15 years without an incident or hint of one. I definitely feel safer than in the US, these days with its out of control gun violence.

one of the couples on our recent Yuctan caravan stopped in Puerto Penasco (rocky point) and had it down. message me if you want their email

We run RV caravans to Mexico. (www.mexicocaravans.com) We decided to suspend them this season. Hospitals are under stress for starters. We are resuming next November when hopefully this will have at least receded to a low level. I have 4 Mexican friends who have died of Covid.

Arkieguide you say you led caravans, we are on the lookout for new wagon masters. 

1 hour ago, Kirk W said:

I saw an advertisement for cremations for only $600! I thought that I'd get one for my brother's birthday but they said that he has to be dead first. 

This is a common problem. My parents are in their 90's and are being rather inconsiderate by staying alive and delaying my inheritance. They do have a garden so we are thinking they may as well be useful ,and we are planning to compost them.

Hate to brag but we do seem to be handling this better in the great white north. I think the key has been keeping politics out of it.

https://www.cnn.com/videos/health/2020/07/03/canada-flattens-coronavirus-curve-newton-newday-vpx.cnn

5 minutes ago, docj said:

That's an excellent point that is often overlooked.  You have to be cautious with people from outside your immediate household even if they are family.  You can't vouch for what they've been exposed to.  

Stay away from those horrible disease carrying grandkids. We sold ours to gypsies

even a basic mask will cut safe distance down from 6 ft to about 2 feet if both are wearing them. It is very difficult to stay 6 feet away.

2 minutes ago, docj said:

My wife is now on her "3rd generation" mask design.  Her current design has a pocket for a piece of HEPA fabric, a prefabricated nose piece and tightening clips for the elastic ear loops.  She's made them for friends and family all over the country.

I'm making one out of saran wrap for my wife

6 hours ago, Blues said:

The CDC says N95 masks should be served for health care workers:

"The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) does not recommend that the general public wear N95 respirators to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including coronavirus (COVID-19). Those are critical supplies that must continue to be reserved for health care workers and other medical first responders, as recommended by current CDC guidance."

https://www.fda.gov/medical-devices/personal-protective-equipment-infection-control/n95-respirators-surgical-masks-and-face-masks

It's actually sort of like wearing a mask in the first place:  to benefit others.  In this case, the health care workers, by having more masks for them now and in the future.

We have 2 N95's left over from when my wife was on chemo and had to fly. They did nto want them as they were out of the original packaging. We are saving them in case we fly. I suspect they should be available to the general public in a few months again

6 minutes ago, JimK said:

There was not much knowledge of infection at the time.  

We do not what happened with the Spanish flu.  There were 3 waves of infection with the middle wave being worse for deaths.  A total of about 50 million died worldwide with an equivalent of about 2 million deaths in the US, adjusted for the current population.  People took precautions but it continued to spread.  My grandfather was living in an isolated part of the Southwest.  Regardless, he died.  Fortunately the 3rd wave helped save a lot of lives.  The virus finally mutated into a less severe disease.

There were idiots back then as well

I wonder it they had this problem during the black plague?

1 hour ago, JimK said:

After all this time it is amazing how little we know about Covid.  There is a myth that Covid is only a major concern for those who are elderly or who have some sort of pre-existing condition.  It is clear that younger people are less likely to die.  Some of the statistics have been warped because of the nature of nursing homes.  First most are not actually geared towards "nursing" and they have limited trained medical staff, if any.  They did not have procedures or PPE to protect their workers or the elderly.  One infected, even asymptomatic, employee could infect dozens of patients on a single day.  There were plenty of deaths because of these tight living spaces.  Fifty elderly died in a Vets home a mile from my house.  Plenty of people of all ages have died including those in their 50s and 40s and sometimes younger.  

There also seems to be some confusion about pre-existing conditions.  Almost every older adult will have something that qualifies.  According to the CDC recommendations the worrisome pre-existing conditions include close to 50% of the entire adult population.  So when you hear that someone with a pre-existing condition died don't think they were severely ill and about to die anyway.  Regardless of age you might also be in that category. 

There is another really important consideration.  In my area of NY we had a lot of first responders die from Covid even though they were otherwise healthy and often of middle age or younger.  It seems that getting a big initial dose of Covid virus means the infection can because severe rapidly and the risk of death goes way up.  Maybe a mask and other precautions are not 100% but they can protect just by lowering the amount of initial exposure.

No one wants to see this pandemic go on and on and eventually infect millions of Americans and potential kill a couple million or more.  China showed that with severe measures they could control and virtually eliminate the virus within a few weeks.    

Nursing homes also got hit hard here in Canada. The big thing that has made the difference here is that the message from the top has been both firm and consistent and the population has co-operated for the most part. That has enabled us to keep our economic hit at a lower level. Some provinces like BC did not even have to totally lock down. I find it hard to believe when I see commentators on networks like Fox (yes we have that on our cable in Canada) saying that an expert like Dr Faucci is lying to people. That is criminal, IMO.

everything in the US seems to have become political these days. It is not helpful, and I think the fact the US has one of the worst records on this despite being the worlds most affluent country illustrates just how bad things are. If this had been the norm in WW2 we would all be speaking Japanese & German now. It really is distressing.