Mexico

[JiffyLube]

Originally Posted by Jmolan

San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico Insurance Online

Has a lot of info.

You can check this site for insurance options

Lewis and Lewis - The Best Mexican Auto Insurance

I used Lewis and Lewis for 4 years on my cars and house, but I am slowly switching over to Mapfre in a local office. A world wide insurer and a great agent locally. We are looking to switch to Mexica medical insurance. About $650 a year for my wife and me.
Quick story. Doctors do not get sued here. So they do not have such high costs, pure and simple. I take my daughter to the Doctor (Bailor university trained) He looks in her throat and sez " she has strep" I ask him if he needs to run a test....and he smiles. "I know what it is, I can see it, and before the test comes back I will already have her this medication. Do you know why they test in the US? Liabilty......so....do you wnat to spen d the money I can have her tested?"......:-)
We get 30 minutes with the Doc every time. That is how the scedual us. If he is done in 5 minutes, we spend the rest of the time talking, he drags out manual and shows my parts that are hurting, or he asks about the family. Oh by the way, the 30 minutes cost US $40
I feel much more "cared for" here than I ever did in the US. And this is not a unique opinion here. Just one of those things that lies under the media radar.

Can you elaborate more on Mexica medical insurance and requirements in getting it?

[Jmolan]

You need to have an FM-3. This is close to a permant visa status. In other words you have to jump through a number of hoops to show you are live permanently in Mexico as a non citizen. You do not have to get visa's anymore, and you can get a special pass to go throught he border without waiting in line.
Having the FM-3 gives you a number of advantages when it comes to land disputes, legal troubles etc.
I have friends who obtained these and now have medical coverage for around $600 a year for 5k deductable. Day to day medical is very resonable cost wise and is excellent from what we have seen so far.

[JiffyLube]

Originally Posted by Jmolan

You need to have an FM-3. This is close to a permant visa status. In other words you have to jump through a number of hoops to show you are live permanently in Mexico as a non citizen. You do not have to get visa's anymore, and you can get a special pass to go throught he border without waiting in line.
Having the FM-3 gives you a number of advantages when it comes to land disputes, legal troubles etc.
I have friends who obtained these and now have medical coverage for around $600 a year for 5k deductable. Day to day medical is very resonable cost wise and is excellent from what we have seen so far.

If I could ask, what medical coverage would that be comparable to in the U.S.?

[mikef]

Jmolan-just joined today cuz I am trying to get info on trucking a 31' sailboat accross mexico--from the gulf to the pacific--any ideas?? thanks Mike

[Jmolan]

Originally Posted by mikef

Jmolan-just joined today cuz I am trying to get info on trucking a 31' sailboat accross mexico--from the gulf to the pacific--any ideas?? thanks Mike

Lewis and Lewis - The Best Mexican Auto Insurance

Ask for Mr. Lewis, if he can't help you he will probably know who can. Located in L.A.

Good Luck!

[Jmolan]

Originally Posted by JiffyLube

If I could ask, what medical coverage would that be comparable to in the U.S.?

I do not know what to campare it to, there is a lot you can find by googling mexican medical. Sorry but I am pretty dumb on US insurance.

Healthy living in Mexico: insurance, health care and medical : Mexico Living

[pwratch]

a Mexico forum is a great idea!

[bob and sharon]

We would love to see a Mexico forum, it's so hard to find all the little bits of information that combine to make for an incredible cruise!

[pwratch]

Man, what a beautiful place. My wife and I are considering moving our Marples CC41 down into the Sea of Cortez in the not-too-distant future and so decided to take a little road trip down to San Carlos, Sonora as a recon/vacation. It's a comfortable day's drive to Tucson so we laid over so as to avoid driving at night after crossing the border. Border crossing going south was no problem. In fact, I think we woke up the sentry. Once you clear town, it's pretty good road but you have to watch for the speed bumps even at posted speeds. Fortunately, they are all marked by the small crowds of vendors who take advantage of the delay to sell you stuff. All in good fun and part of the experience though one fellow sorta jumped in front of the car and gave me a start but no harm done in the end. Driving through Mexico is always a bit surreal for me as there are memorials to car crash victims all along the shoulders and in the median. Some are quite elaborate and well-maintained. It's like a rolling graveyard and sort of morbid in its way. It does keep you aware and careful however. Other than that, the drive is pretty easy as the road is mostly straight and in good condition so progress is steady. Arrived San Carlos midday and really enjoyed the 4 days we spent there. Everyone was very friendly and happy to answer questions. I have to thank JMOLAN for the contact, esp. Hiram. That guy seems to have a finger in every pie in the boating world down there! You want to know, ask Hiram. Anyway, we were impressed and I'm sure it will not be our last trip. Also visited the boatyard at Marina Seca Guaymas and got the skinny on haulouts, etc.. Folks in the yard gave it high compliments overall but the gist was that you can do whatever you need to do with minimum hassle except hire outside help. Fair enough.

There was some tension. According to one of the snowbirds we spoke to, and this is our only source, there was an attempted home-invasion style robbery of one of the RV's at a park in town. Unsuccessful as it turned out but the RV owner was reportedly shot in the attempt. Bad guys fled, good guy made it to hospital and will recover. Snowbird obviously alarmed but stressed how unusual such an event was in San Carlos. That was the consensus of everyone else we spoke to as well so we tend to believe them, of course. We never felt the slightest apprehension as we went about the place but it goes to show that you have to be alert wherever you go, even someplace as seductive as San Carlos.

[JARogers]

Free and up to date information about customs procedures and lots more in Adobe Reader format for voyaging boaters heading to Mexico (especially but not only the Pacific coast) can be found at
http://www.downwindmarine.com/downlo...ngdownwind.pdf

[Stu C.]

I found this thread only because I was looking for a Mexico forum. I plan on departing NorCal in September and work my way down the West Coast all the way down to Panama Canal. I would love to hear suggestions on ports of call, anchorages, etc. Am new to cruising and would love discussion board.

[LuvToSail]

I don't know the Pacific Coast but the Sea of Cortez is one of the best Cruising grounds in the world.

Check out La Paz and San Carlos and the beautiful Islands in between.

[jackiepitts]

The Sea of Cortez is beautiful but if you are heading to Panama it will be out of your way (still worth seeing for sure if you have the time). There are many anchorages on the pacific side of the Baja for you to stop on your way down but we only stopped at Turtle Bay, Santa Maria and Cabo. Since we left with the HaHa the trip from San Diego to Cabo was fast (a whirlwind so to speak) so I cannot give much input on those anchorages.
Once you get to Cabo you will need to decide if you are going to go up into the Sea or crossing to mainland Mexico (Mazatlan is the first port if you decide to cross from Cabo). Most people do not stay for long at the anchorage in Mazatlan but we did stay over a month and enjoyed it (alot of people don't like it). There are many anchorages all along mainland Mexico's coast and some that are incredibly beautiful, some are very rolly (like the anchorage at La Cruz in Banderas Bay). We used both the "Charlies Charts for Mexico" and "Mexico Boating Guide", those books where very helpful when trying to decide where to drop the hook.
The other thing I would mention is that a good set of dinghy wheels will help alot since there are many anchorages that require surf landing your dinghy (a task that I must say I still do not enjoy).
We made it as far south as Manzanillo this season then turned around and headed to Mazatlan for the summer. Many people head up to the Sea for hurricane season but several of our friends continued south towards El Salvador or Panama for the hurricane season. That will be a big decision for you once you get here (I know it was for us).
Fair winds,
Jackie

[Sailabel]

Stu- you don't indicate what time frame you have before arriving in Panama... but my suggestion is to..... take your time. We were new to cruising and had set artificial deadlines. Now, we try to let the wind and weather dictate our movement. On our trip down we spent time in Monterey, Catalina Island, and San Diego. We wanted to visit the Channel Islands, but we had our dog with us. If you haven't already, you may want to pick up a copy of Charlies Charts for California or another cruising guide. You pretty have until the first of November before heading into Mexico. We're glad we didn't rush down the Baja coast to Cabo, but instead 'hopped' down the coast and visited several nice towns, bays, and coves. The 'Sea' is dramatically different than the West Coast of Mexico. We're currently in La Paz, just crossed over from Mazatlan. The difference is between a desert type environment and a tropical environment. You could spend at least one season exploring the Sea of Cortez, and then head down the West Coast side the next season (November through April or so). 'Favorite places' really depend on what you're looking for. There are secluded anchorages, small towns, big marinas, big cities..... it's all varied. We enjoy anchorages and smaller towns, with occassional visits to the cities for supplies. The key is to take your time and absorb the cruising life.

Anyway, the route we took and our logs are on our web page. Maybe we'll meet up down here???

Fair winds,
Steve

[Sailabel]

Stu- forgot... take time to meet with the cruising community at the anchorages and ports. It's truley a remarkable group of folks.

Jackie... didn't recognize the name... but that must have been you that left the Mazatlan anchorage and headed over to Stone Island.... as we sat in the Tayana lusting over your boat????
Steve