Driving Highway 200
Replies: 14 - Last Post: Dec 1, 2012 10:56 AM Last Post By: Markku_Tapio
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Driving Highway 200
A friend and I were planning on driving from Puerto Vallarta to Zihuatenejo for a month beginning 30 November. This May 2011 post is very worrisome and I would be interested in folks' comments about it:******warning for mexico route 200******
left acapulco yesterday headed north to manzanillo on coastal route 200.
*****avoid this road at all costs*****
Late afternoon I was chased by Mexican bandits (don,t know who) they were in a pickup truck 4 of them with shotguns but on the bike they couldn't keep up....this is the good news
The bad news, because there is a large group they have a chase truck...the mexican bandits stopped it as it was slow, they took the truck and trailer with two bikes on it and left the driver at the side of the road in the middle of the night
As I get more details I will add to this...so even though the road is incrediable avoid at all costs
2
" they took the truck and trailer with two bikes on it and left the driver at the side of the road in the middle of the night "To emphasize what Queretaro says, you would be foolish to drive anywhere on highway 200 at night. In addition to the possibility of banditos, you are more likely to face the hazards of livestock, pedestrians, slow-movng unlighted farm equipment on a 2 lane road with few, if any, shoulders, blind corners, etc.
Bien viaje
4
Hwy. 200 in Guerrero is a risky road to travel at night, and sometimes during the day. But you won't be spending much time in Guerrero. I don't know with as much confidence about Hwy. 200 above Guerrero, however. Such as in "iffy" coastal Michoacan. Personally, I'd only drive any portion of Hwy. 200 during daylight hours. For the several reasons already stated.LW
9
The post appeared on one of the overland motorcycling forums. It was fairly controversial at the time, and anyone interested need only cut and paste any of the text quoted above into Google to find it. Worth considering: the folks involved were a giant group of high-profile guided motorcyclists, with public web coverage by a publicity-hungry guide, frequent press releases, multiple blogs, Spot locators, etc. Hard to see how this might apply to yer average tourist, with or without a car or bike.And for whatever it might be worth, I rode that stretch (and much more) without any hint of trouble. I hit just one roadblock on all of ruta 200--it was in Oaxaca, and when I smiled and bom dia-ed at a few grandmotherly types they immediately ordered the young men to clear a path for me through the piled rubble. I could tell this story in a way which would make it sound edgy and full of fear, but in fact it was just another fun time on a fun road trip through Mexico.
Up to you, of course.
Mark
10
Assuming this is a different story it seems motorcyclists should avoid this route: Brit Biker Abducted11
Same incident, but your version is altered in various ways to suit the British tabloid it ran in. Pull up a comfortable chair, grab a cold drink and some chips, and have a look: http://advrider.com/forums/showthread.php?t=687755. The first five pages make interesting reading, the full story is on page 6. The poster claims to be telling the story told to him by the driver profiled in the Mail story you linked. You'll note a few discrepancies.12
Any discrepencies are minor. The Daily Mail article was a highly condensed version of an interview with the victim, written by an English tabloid reporter for an audience probably more interested in what happened to their compatriot while he was abroad than social conditions in Mexico. The post on page 6 is a far more detailed report and highly credible in my opinion. Change the highway number, substitute desert/brush country for mountain/jungle and Tamaulipas/Coahuila for Michoacan and I've heard a similar version of that story a half dozen times.That was an interesting thread to read, thanks for posting it. Aside from a couple of "Robin Hood cartel" comments, the discussion was pretty level headed. Some pretty insightful comments about the relatively low risks of highway travel in the northern states from a couple of posters who live there.
14
Old highways (and minor roads) in Mexico are full of speed bumps. They can be very irritating even in daylight. Perhaps designers and implementers of the Mexican road network are constantly full of tequila or get hefty provisions from a syndicate of the Mexican garages.
