Dear Sir,
If you have traveled to and driven in different cities and states in Mexico, and if you weren’t sleeping, you should have observed that the driving habits of the locals differed from location to location.
We were reminded of those differences while driving in Manzanillo over the Christmas holiday. What was absolutely amazing, is that there was a dramatic difference between the driving habits there, compared to the driving habits of the locals at Lakeside.
In Manzanillo, the traffic was well behaved, almost disciplined. Everyone stopped at the red lights, and no one was moving before the light turned green. There were no crazy u-turns, passing at will, and driving at inappropriate speeds.
The riders of motos wore helmets, and no more than two people on a motorcycle. The motorbikes followed the rules of the road by stopping at red lights, and making turns only at controlled intersections. And all of the motos had mufflers.
The point is, when you live in a location - where there is absolutely no enforcement of even the most basic rules of driving, and allow the locals to do exactly as they wish, then, you get what you get. And in fact, you actually create an even bigger problem with a totally lawless approach to traffic enforcement.
So, give credit where credit is due.
R. Graham
Dear Sir,
The “Pueblos Mágicos” (Magical Towns) program is an initiative led by Mexico’s Secretary of Tourism, which Ajijic so desperately tried to achieve to no avail.
I understand the cobblestone streets help take the rainy season water supply downstream to Lake Chapala. They are quaint, but that wears thin after a couple of years of walking or driving on them. But I get it and can live with that.
I don’t understand why cobblestones are moved from the road to put around a tree or plant, or make a planter. I cannot understand, when making repairs that result in removing some stones, the municipality does not make people put them back, or even repair these horrible roads. This is not magico!
The roads are in terrible shape with potholes everywhere. You can’t always drive around them and this puts undue wear and tear on vehicles. People with any kind of disintegrating discs or pinched nerves or other medical impairments can attest to the resulting pain. This is not magico!
I don’t understand that some people are not happy about the golf carts on the road. Why? They can’t go fast and they have better control than a vehicle. They are safer, they cut down on pollution, they do not make noise and do not take up much room to park. What do they do that deems them unsafe? This is not magico!
I don’t understand that motor bikes and quads are allowed to swerve in and out of traffic on both sides of vehicles, usually with their drivers and passengers not wearing helmets. This is not magico!
Cindy Jay Rielly