Elderly parents driving to Guatemala

by Mary
(Minnesota)

My mother and her husband (ages 80 and 76) are contemplating a drive in January from Texas to Guadalajara and then on to El Salvador. He taught in El Salvador in about 1960.


I love their spirit of adventure, but I am a little worried about their safety and trying to find out more. They'd presumably have US plates on their car, and I'm not sure how good his Spanish is anymore. Your thoughts? Your family is lovely--I'm so glad to have "met" you online and wish you all success. Our family used to live in Turkey--a wonderful thing for children to learn about the world while they are young.

Benjamin: Thanks for writing! Last time I drove through Mexico, I came through Central Mexico from Eagle Pass just as they might to get to Guadalajara - that part is a good toll road, but what they should be concerned about is once they enter Oaxaca and further south. Many parts of that road in Oaxaca and south are VERY curvy and isolated, at one point I think we went for 12 hours without going through a town of any size, top speeds of 30-40 mph, and not so good roads once you enter Guatemala. I used the Guia Roji Mexican Highway Map for my trip, and it was very accurate.

I don't know your parents, but I would be concerned about anyone of this age either getting stressed out or taken advantage of, or having some kind of medical emergency. I only ran into two military checkpoints on the central Mexico route, as opposed to 10-15 on the Gulf Coast (Veracruz, Tampico, etc) route.

Only you know them, but this is a pretty stressful ride. At the very least, I'd suggest that they take it slow, and have predetermined stopping points each night with plenty of provisions. Any chance they can take a teenage grandson along for the ride? At least they'd have someone to help in an emergency.

Any readers have advice for Mary? Please comment below.