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| About Mexico : Full country name : Estados Unidos M?xicanos Population : 100,350,000 (growth rate 1.53%) Area : 1,958,200 sq km (758,866 sq mi) Capital city : Mexico City (22 million people) People : Approximately 60% mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian descent) and 30% Amerindian (ind?gena - including Nahua, Maya, Zapotecs, Mixtecs, Totonacs, and Tarascos or Pur?pecha) Language : Spanish and 59 indigenous languages Religion : 90% Roman Catholic, 6% Protestant Government : Federal republic Head of state : Vincente Fox Quesada Major industries : Food and beverages, tobacco, chemicals, iron and steel, petroleum, mining, textiles, clothing, motor vehicles, consumer durables, tourism Major trading partners : USA, Canada, Japan, Germany Mexico is a traveler's paradise, crammed with a multitude of opposing identities: desert landscapes, snow-capped volcanoes, ancient ruins, teeming industrialised cities, time-warped colonial towns, glitzy resorts, lonely beaches and a world-beating collection of flora and fauna. The bursting megalopolis of Mexico City is a one-hour flight from the tropical rainforests and Mayan villages of Chiapas. Up along the northern border, Mexico's tumult of heritages merge with the air-conditioned cultures of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. Mexico's profusion of people and landscapes reflects the country's extraordinary history - part Amerindian, part Spanish. One look at this country is enough to remind visitors that there is nothing new about the so-called New World. Despite the considerable colonial legacy and rampant modernization, almost 60 distinct indigenous peoples survive, largely thanks to their rural isolation. This mix of modern and traditional, the clich?d and the surreal, is the key to Mexico's immense popularity as a travel destination, whether your passion is throwing back margaritas, listening to howler monkeys, surfing the Mexican Pipeline, scrambling over Mayan ruins or expanding your Day of the Dead collection of posable skeletons. Warning : Crime in Mexico has reached critical levels, particularly in Mexico City. There's been a marked increase in the level of violence and a significant incidence of sexual assault in crimes committed against women. The most frequently reported crimes involve taxi robberies, armed robbery, metro robbery, pickpocketing and purse snatching. Credit-card fraud and ATM robbery are also prevalent. Travelers to Oaxaca and Chiapas should restrict their itineraries to the main tourist routes, maintain a high level of personal security awareness and contact their embassy in Mexico City before traveling to these sometimes violent states. Popocat?petl's volcanic activity should also be monitored. Information for Traveler : Visas : Citizens of many countries - including the USA, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Argentina, Chile and virtually all Western European countries - do not require visas to enter Mexico as tourists. However, if they are staying longer than 72 hours, or are traveling beyond the Border Zone or certain exempted areas, they must obtain a 180-day Mexican government tourist card (tarjeta de turista), available from embassies or at border crossings (US$18). Health risks : Malaria, Chagas' disease, cholera, dengue fever, filariasis, hepatitis, rabies, tetanus, typhoid. Air pollution in Mexico City is extremely high between November and February. Water must be purified or boiled. Time: Most of Mexico is on Central Standard Time (six hours behind UTC). Baja California Sur and several other states in the northwest are on Mountain Standard Time (seven hours ahead of UTC) and Baja California Norte is on Pacific Standard Time (eight hours ahead of UTC). Electricity : 110V, 60Hz Weather : Mexico is enjoyable year-round, but October to May is generally the most pleasant time to visit. The May-September period can be hot and humid, particularly in the south, and inland temperatures can approach freezing during December-February. Facilities are often heavily booked during Semana Santa (the week before Easter) and Christmas/New Year, the peak domestic travel periods. Mexico's climate has something for everyone: it's hot and humid along the coastal plains, and drier and more temperate at higher elevations inland (Guadalajara or Mexico City, for example). Try to avoid Mexico's southern coast between July and September - the resorts are decidedly soggy and jam-packed, as July-August is also the peak holiday months for foreign visitors. Events : Mexico's reputation for full-blooded festive fun is well founded: just about every month sees a major national holiday or fiesta, and every other day is a local saint's day or town fair celebration. Carnaval (Carnival), held late February or early March in the week before Ash Wednesday, is the big bash before the 40-day penance of Lent; it's particularly flagrant in Mazatl?n, Veracruz and La Paz. The country's most characteristic fiesta is the wonderfully macabre D?a de los Muertos, held the day after All Saints' Day on November 2. The souls of the dear departed are believed to return to earth on this day, and for weeks beforehand the country's markets are awash with the highly sought-after candy skulls and papier-m?ch? skeletons that find their way into many a visitor's souvenir collection. December 12 is another big day on the Mexican calendar, celebrating the Day of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the country's major religious icon. Public Holidays : January 1 - New Year's Day February 5 - Constitution Day February 24 - Day of the Flag March 21 - Anniversary of Benito Ju?rez's birth March/April - Good Friday-Easter Sunday May 1 - Labor Day May 5 - 1862 victory celebration September 16 - D?a de la Independencia October 12 - D?a de la Raza November 20 - D?a de la Revoluci?n December 25 - D?a de Navidad Money & Costs : Currency : Peso Baja California, Monterrey and the Yucat?n Peninsula's Caribbean coast are pricey, but elsewhere you can expect to get away with spending around US$20-35 a day, particularly in rural areas. Throw in a few luxuries like traveling in reasonable comfort, staying at better mid-range places and eating at more expensive restaurants, and you'll need more like US$60. Stay at luxurious hotels and hire a car occasionally, and the sky's the limit. It's best to bring US-dollar denomination traveler's checks and some US dollars in cash. You can exchange money in banks or in casas de cambio. Note that bank exchange facilities are often only open between 9am and 3 or 4pm. Major credit cards are accepted by airlines, car rental companies and more expensive hotels and restaurants - but take extra care when using them, as credit-card fraud and theft is rife in Mexico. In heavily touristed areas such as Acapulco, Canc?n and Cozumel, you can often spend US dollars as easily as pesos at hotels and restaurants (although the exchange rate will probably be awful). Note that the dollar sign is used to refer to pesos in Mexico; prices in US dollars are usually marked US$ or USD. Mexico has a 15% value-added tax (IVA) which by law must be included in quoted prices. Sometimes - usually in top-end hotels - prices are quoted without this tax. Tipping in restaurants in resort areas is equivalent to US levels - somewhere between 15% and 20%. Outside these areas, a tip of 10% is sufficient at mid-range restaurants; in general, staff at smaller, cheaper places do not expect a tip. Expect to bargain at markets and with drivers of unmetered taxis. Treat haggling as a form of social discourse rather than a matter of life and death. Getting There & Away : Most visitors to Mexico arrive by air. Around 30 Mexican cities receive direct flights from North America and Canada, and there are relatively cheap connections to the Caribbean and the rest of Latin America. From Europe you can fly to Mexico City and Canc?n. Aerom?xico and Mexicana are the largest Mexican airlines. There's a departure tax of approximately US$17. Travelers can cross into Mexico by road from the USA at one of the 40 official crossing points. Most cross-border bus services travel from Texas. There are 10 border crossings between Mexico and Guatemala, and fairly frequent bus services between border points and Guatemalan towns. Frequent buses also run between Belize City and Chetumal. Trains run from San Diego to Tijuana, El Paso to Ciudad Ju?rez and Del Rio to Ciudad Acu?a. The more adventurous might like to travel between the great Mayan ruins at Palenque and Tikal (Guatemala) by the jungle routes, via riverboat and back-country bus. The busiest and easiest route is via a short boat ride on the R?o Usumacinta between Frontera Corozal (Chiapas) and Bethel (Guatemala); this route also squeezes in a visit to Yaxachil?n and Bonampak. The other routes link Benem?rito de las Am?ricas (Chiapas) and Sayaxch? (Guatemala), and La Palma (Tabasco) and El Naranjo (Guatemala). Travelers should check the security situation in Chiapas with their embassy before attempting these crossings. |
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