Driving through Mexico - Part 2

The favorite national pasttime in Mexico is installing topes (speed bumps). For every family living in a roadside house, world is incoplete until a tope is built, just to make sure that the family is cursed by each passing driver. Many topes are almost invisible. To cross the country from USA to Guatemala by non-toll roads (carretera libre), you have to drive over about 2,000 topes, some of them in remote areas many miles from any human settlements.

Mexican mouse opossum (Marmosa mexicana), Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve.

Common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis) is a typical mammal of Mexican countryside.

You have to be very careful driving at night, when well-camouphlaged topes, bottomless potholes, playful kids, and feral dogs are joined on the roads by numerous livestock and some interesting wildlife.

Opossums are fearless and a bit slow, so they often become victims of automobiles.

Owls of Southern Mexico, left to right: Strix virgata, Otus cooperi, O. guatemalae (2 photos).

Red brocket deer (Mazama americana), Highway 186, Quintana Roo.

Most of time at night you see opossums, raccoons, gray foxes, skunks, rabbits, frogs, toads, turtles, and nightjars, but occasionally also deer, coyotes, armadillos, owls, snakes, shrews, and various small rodents.

West Mexican rabbit (Sylvilagus cunicularis), Highway 200, Jalisco.

Deer mice of Mexico, left to right: Peromyscus eremicus, P. furvus, P. bullatus, P. difficilis.

Central American agouti (Dasyprocta punctata), Highway 186, Quintana Roo.

The best paved roads for wildlife viewing after midnight are Hwy 200 in Jalisco and Michoacan (away from Acapulco), Highways 184, 261 and 186 on Yucatan Peninsula, Hwy 70 east from San Luis Potosi, roads of Sierra Tarahumara, and Carretera Fronteriza in Chiapas.

Mexican pocket mouse (Liomys irroratus), Highway 70, San Luis Potosi.

Nightjars of Carretera Fronteriza, Chiapas: a mysterious Caprimulgus sp. (larger photos and more information here), Nyctidromus albicollis.

Bat falcon (Falco rufigularis), Carretera Fronteriza.

Carretera Fronteriza is also good for diurnal animals, such as birds of prey. Other highways good for birdwatching are Durango-Mazatlan Hwy, roads in Tepic/San Blas area, Autlan-Ciudad Guzman Rd. in Colima, El Fortin-Tatutla Rd. in Veracruz, roads in Chiapas/Oaxaca border area, and on Isla Cozumel. Of course, unpaved roads are even more interesting - for example, El Cielo area roads in Tamaulipas.

Lauphing falcon (Herpetotheres cachinnans), C.Front.

		Common birds of Southern Mexico, upper row, left to right: Trogon massena, T. citreolus, Campephilus guatemalensis, Rhamphocelus passerinii, Platyrinchus mystaceus, Myiobius sulphureupygius; bottom row: Pteroglossus torquatus (two photos), Cissilopha yucatanica (juvenile and adult).

White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Rio Fuerto, Sinaloa.

Sierra Madre Occidental is a particularly scenic and diverse part of the country. Any backcountry road that crosses or approaches the border between Chihuahua, Sonora and Sinaloa is likely to take you to some remote, pristine, little-studied area with lots of rare wildlife - if you are very lucky, even jaguars (Panthera onca).

Queen (Danais gilippus), Rio Fuerto, Sinaloa.

Sierra Madre lobelia (Lobelia laxiflora), Nacori Chico, Sonora.

Lion's mane fungus (Hericium erinaceus), Nacori Chico, Sonora.

Sonoran cycad (Dioon tomasellii), Nacori Chico, Sonora.

Southern long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris curasoae), Sinaloa.	Mexican long-nosed bat (L. nivalis), Rio Fuerto, Sinaloa.	Almost anywhere in Mexico, hanging a hummingbird feeder from a tree will give you great views of nectar-feeding bats at night. These three species are common in the north in summer.	Mexican long-tongued bat (Choeronycteris mexicana), Sinaloa.	Long-nosed bat (Leptonycteris sp.), Rio Fuerto, Sinaloa.

Mexican long-tongued bats and California leaf-nosed bat (Macrotus californicus, right), Arizona/Sonora border area east from Douglas.

Squirrel cuckoo (Piaya cayana), Chiapas.

Traffic rules in Mexico are almost the same as in the USA, but drivers outside big cities are more polite and cautious: most of them can't afford an accident! There's no right turn on red light. Watch for hidden stop signs (often reduced to stripes on the pavement) and unmarked one-way streets. On highways, left turn signal is used to tell those behind you that it is safe to pass. But in the North, some drivers now use turn signals US way, so be careful. Don't try to emulate local driving habits until you feel confident enough. Only then can you really enjoy the relative freedom of Mexican driving: run red lights, pass trucks and buses during blind turns, fly at five times the speed limit. Cops can be mean, but they are rare.

Squirrel cuckoo (Piaya cayana), Chiapas.

Anolis lizard, Guerrero.	Conyophanes snake, Puebla.	Bufo toad, Yucatan.	Gastrophryne toad, Yucatan.

Green heron (Butorides virecens), Tabasco.	Pinnated bittern (Botaurus pinnatus), Sinaloa.	If you get pulled over, try to talk your way out. Tell them you don't speak any language, or are driving from Alaska to Patagonia or vice versa. If it doesn't work, offer to pay in cash, then bargain like hell, until you agree on 1-5% of what they ask for.	Yellow-crowned night heron (Nyctanassa violacea), Campeche.	Gray-necked wood rail (Aramides cajanea), Chiapas.

Assorted spiders, Southern Mexico.

Gecko Coleonyx elegans, Chiapas.

During police searches, especially in the South, keep an eye on all your belongings. Even old sandals, empty bottles, trash bags, used condoms, books and audiotapes in foreign languages can be stolen.

Gecko Coleonyx elegans, Chiapas.

Aerial views of Mexico City and its volcanoes - Popocatepetl (right) and Iztaxiuatl.

Myioborus torquatus, Monteverde, Costa Rica.

You won't be able to take your car into Mexico if you're still paying for it. If you've paid for it in full, make sure you have some document to prove it. Don't forget to have your passport stamped when leaving Mexico, or you'll have problems during your next visit. In Belize, car insurance is obligatory, but unavailable if you arrive on weekend - a major source of income for local police. There's no road from Panama to Colombia.

Melozone leucotis, La Tigra, Honduras.

Central American crocodiles (Crocodilus acutus), Semindero Canyon, Chiapas.

Semindero Canyon, Chiapas.

At first, it will seem to you that city drivers in Mexico are reckless. But in a few days you'll find yourself being as relaxed and confident as they are, and probably notice that you are honked at as often as anybody else.

Christmas Tree waterfall, Semindero Canyon.

Morelet's crocodile (C. moreleti), Montes Azules, Chiapas.

Part 3: Ancient Cities
Back to Part 1

Home