Impounded boats in Mexico

[mrlee]

Yes, there is a certain "odor" to it as intended for you guys who think you are going to call your embassy etc and do all these things that the people here do not give a hoot about...This country relies on the US Dollar, Period. When things are bad, they think up ways to generate cash flow- US Dollar cash flow is the best! Trust me as I have been here for over 8 years again and $$$ is the only thing they care about. By not being on your boat, as unfortunate and inconvenient as it is, they have the EXCUSE the need to generate that cash flow. How many of you got your boats released for FREE? Not too many if any at all. There will always be a fee...
Good luck to you all who have felt the wrath of this different world...Pay them, move on, and take the lesson to heart...
In Mex. a man with a position can steal more than a common thief (adapted from Don Henley) and hope you don't like it!
Peace and God Bless.

[Celestialsailor]

I know this will probably prompt another nasty-gram from the mods but don't you realize how moronic that sounds? First, you have no information or proof to back up the claim of corruption in regards to this issue. Second, they assembled a force of multiple people from AGACE, the military to try and force the fleet for money? How much do you think it is costing this government to carry out this task to all the marina's in Mexico? The TIP is $50! Strange how no one who has corrected their paperwork has reported being shaken down.
The odor was your claim being in Mexico and yet another person with their "ear to the ground". Maybe after this problem is solved and a few more facts are report, then you can make your assessments.

[Sea Shaw Gal]

I remember being denied access from Guatamala into Mexico via a land border back in the 80's. I just couldn't understand or reason with the officious officer in "a dressed up uniform" and ended up having to endure a long trip back to Guatamala City for days trying to get another visa. What really shocked me was that I had done all my homework/due diligence and spoken to numerous other travelers and was under the impression I had the correct 21 day tourist card I had pre purchased which got me in and out of Mexico within the time frames. Wrong. For some unknown reason I got into Mexico from the USA on it and got into Guatamala on it but upon return they said it was the wrong visa. I was very upset and frustrated and probably won't ever go back to Mexico the arrogance and dismissive attitude of the official really put me off for life. I was quite naive and other travelers said to me that they sometimes do that randomly, and that perhaps I should have said to the guy "Is there any special charges in US dollars I need to pay?"

[Thumbs Up]

I lost this thread about six pages ago but I agree that everybody should definitely stay away from Mexico and if you do go, don't go to the marinas because we are planning on going this spring and we are really hoping to get a good deal on dockage at a nice marina so if you guys would just stay away we would really appreciate it.

[dohenyboy]

You don't understand. There is no "corruption" here. But if some official helps you "expedite" getting your boat off the impound list, it would only be appropriate to present a small "gift."
That is the way things are done in that part of the world. Like it or not.

[SV THIRD DAY]

You have gotta love the rumors don’t you.
We don’t have a single reported incident of someone asking for a Bribe or an extra Fee in this entire fiasco, yet the chat room experts on Mexico now give us all a lecture on the "way it really works in Mexico baby", it’s time to call ******** on this stereotypical crap.

The Mexico I saw for 4 years while cruising there and now continue to see in my dealings with officials, in my role of having a store in La Paz, looks nothing like some of the BS I’m reading here. Because people don't understand the situation, doesn't mean something is corrupt. I just came back from Mexico 2 hours ago after importing a car load of cruising equipment. Strange, I was in 3 different Government Offices this afternoon and spoke to two Marina managers and not a single person tried to shake me down, ask for a bribe or extort me. Well…I take that back…the guy at my favorite taco stand just north of Ensenada did put an extra heaping scoop of pastor meat on my taco, and I know he did that looking for an extra tip…and baby he got it!

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by mrlee

Yes, there is a certain "odor" to it as intended for you guys who think you are going to call your embassy etc and do all these things that the people here do not give a hoot about...This country relies on the US Dollar, Period. When things are bad, they think up ways to generate cash flow- US Dollar cash flow is the best! Trust me as I have been here for over 8 years again and $$$ is the only thing they care about. By not being on your boat, as unfortunate and inconvenient as it is, they have the EXCUSE the need to generate that cash flow. How many of you got your boats released for FREE? Not too many if any at all. There will always be a fee...
Good luck to you all who have felt the wrath of this different world...Pay them, move on, and take the lesson to heart...
In Mex. a man with a position can steal more than a common thief (adapted from Don Henley) and hope you don't like it!
Peace and God Bless.

mrlee:

Sir, I believe you to be mistaken. In my own experience the people of Mexico with whom I interacted over an about 18 month period were honorable, generous and kind-hearted. Neither Jim nor I was ever asked for a bribe--EVER!

Fishermen returned missing dinghies to the cruisers. I new one guy who lost a wallet with $600.00 in it, and the finder went to a lot of trouble to find George via the ham nets, and returned it intact. Mexico is not a nation of thieves, and your post made it sound as if they all want only US dollars.

Sir, I think your disparagement of Mexican people in two posts, now, is inappropriate, and frankly, is disgusting to me. Writing "peace and God bless" at the end does not erase the insult. Please stop doing this.

Sincerely,

[goboatingnow]

In poor countries, officials receive explicit bribes; in D.C. they get the sophisticated, implicit, unspoken promise to work for large corporations”
― Nassim Nicholas Taleb, The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

mrlee:

Sir, I believe you to be mistaken. In my own experience the people of Mexico with whom I interacted over an about 18 month period were honorable, generous and kind-hearted. Neither Jim nor I was ever asked for a bribe--EVER!

Fishermen returned missing dinghies to the cruisers. I new one guy who lost a wallet with $600.00 in it, and the finder went to a lot of trouble to find George via the ham nets, and returned it intact. Mexico is not a nation of thieves, and your post made it sound as if they all want only US dollars.

Sir, I think your disparagement of Mexican people in two posts, now, is inappropriate, and frankly, is disgusting to me. Writing "peace and God bless" at the end does not erase the insult. Please stop doing this.

Sincerely,

Ann...I always enjoy the calm way you make a point. I wish I was that subtle. I experienced the lost wallet first hand when I left it in a Subway here after paying for my sandwich. Within a minute after I left, a female worker ran after me and gave it back. Then ran back inside as I had to shout..."thank you".
So I will add that a lot of times, you get what you give. I try to smile, eye to eye with people. I have found La Paz to be a very friendly city. The city lives up to it's name..."The Peace".

[JPA Cate]

Thanks for the compliment, Celestial Sailor.

Ann

[David_Old_Jersey]

My bet is that for any police operation in Mexico it is standard practice to arrive heavily armed - same as the USA.

Either that or they were trying to make the Yankees feel at home with all the guns .

[Celestialsailor]

That was helpful.

[goboatingnow]

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

That was helpful.

It's a standard part of the thread death spiral

Dave

[senormechanico]

Back in '95 I had hit the ATM and went into a grocery store in a shopping mall in San Carlos Sonora to reprovision the boat.
At checkout, I found my wallet was gone.

Long story short, I found my wallet on the middle of the floor in the entrance foyer where I had come in.
It had slipped out of my pocket which had a tear in the bottom I'd known about but didn't think it was big enough to lose the wallet.

I was wrong.

There were about a thousand Pesos scattered around, and at the time, the conversion rate was 6 Pesos to the Dollar.
The place was very busy with shoppers and nobody was picking them up.

I watched for a couple of minutes with a confused bunch of thoughts going through my head.
Finally, I gathered them up, counted them and they were the EXACT amount I had withdrawn from the ATM.
After holding them and looking around at everyone for several minutes with no response from anyone, I finally put them in my wallet, went back in the store and recovered my cart which the store had held for me.

This further confirmed my trust in the average Mexican citizen.

[JPA Cate]

^^^^Nice story, senor mechanico!