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Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
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Hi all, I have a penpal in Mexico whom I have known for many years. We're just friends; she is a lesbian and has a girlfriend. I don't have a place with multiple rooms, so I can't offer her a place to stay right now, but I have often thought that someday, if I get a place like that, I would offer for her to come up here, even pay for her flight. But recently she surprised me by saying she's afraid to fly! She says that if she and her GF came here, they would drive! But it's a 20 hour drive. :-O
What do you guys think of the feasibility of her and her GF taking a bus from Mexico to Tucson and then taking Amtrak to San Jose? It would be less driving for them, although it would take slightly longer. I was looking around online and actually had difficulty finding a bus from down there that gets her to Tucson close to when Amtrak leaves. Plus she would have to take a local public transit bus from where the Mexican bus drops her off to the Amtrak station. Or I suppose she could take a taxi. But the main question is, would that be unsafe for her (the bus trip from Mexico to the USA)? I don't want to say exactly where she is from, but Hermasillo is close, so we'll use that as an example. The State Department Travel Warning is Level 3, Reconsider Travel.
Any Mexican citizens or Mexican-Americans with advice on this?
Perhaps it would be better for them to take a bus to Tijuana and then take Greyhound?
I guess the advantage of them driving all this way is that they could take the safest route, only drive in daytime, etc. I suppose I could tell her to drive to Tucson, find long term parking and then take Amtrak here so she doesn't have to drive the additional ten hours.
Oh well, thoughts?
Oh, I forgot to say that she and her GF both have B2 visas (tourist visas) and Mexican passports.
Last edited by neutrino78x; 01-21-2019 at 12:04 AM..
Reason: argh. keep having to go back and remove extra line breaks. I never had to do that in the past when I used to post here often
Tufesa has luxury buses from Hermosillo and all the main cities in Sonora state to Tucson. They run a bus to and from Hermosillo 6 or 7 times a day, and it is an easy trip in either direction. It will take about 6 hours. Mexico has some of the best long distance bus transportation in the world. Hundreds of people take this trip everyday, 7 days a week with no problem.
From Tucson to SF bay area is a much longer and more difficult journey by public transportation. Amtrak will take forever - 9 or more hours to Los Angeles, then 10-11 hours to SF Bay Area. Greyhound bus from Tucson to SF Bay area, she will wish she were on the bus in Mexico instead!
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by moved
Talk her into flying.
Yeah that's sort of what I'm really thinking. But if somebody's afraid of flying... :-O
I always figured one of these days when I get a multi-room place I would totally pay for her ticket to fly up here with her GF but it turns out she's afraid to fly. lol.
Last edited by neutrino78x; 01-22-2019 at 10:51 PM..
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by recycled
Tufesa has luxury buses from Hermosillo and all the main cities in Sonora state to Tucson. They run a bus to and from Hermosillo 6 or 7 times a day, and it is an easy trip in either direction. It will take about 6 hours. Mexico has some of the best long distance bus transportation in the world. Hundreds of people take this trip everyday, 7 days a week with no problem.
hmm yeah I think I saw that company's web site at one point. Good to know. I guess she could drive up to Tucson and have her car in long term storage in downtown Tucson and then take Amtrak over here, too...
Quote:
From Tucson to SF bay area is a much longer and more difficult journey by public transportation. Amtrak will take forever - 9 or more hours to Los Angeles, then 10-11 hours to SF Bay Area. Greyhound bus from Tucson to SF Bay area, she will wish she were on the bus in Mexico instead!
Greyhound would in fact take forever. There's also a four hour layover in LA....BUT the great thing about Amtrak is they have rooms with beds. I took a ride like that when I got out of the Navy in 2003. The Navy pays for your ride home, however you wish to make the journey. If you drive they'll pay for the gas, if you fly they'll buy the ticket, etc. So I figured, why not go the luxury route. So I got a 1st class ticket on the Coast Starlight train, with my own little room. It's a pretty cool ride. I feel like it would be quite a bit more comfortable than driving.
I would just hate to have somebody drive 20 hours just to come up and see me. Of course there's plenty to show her in the Bay Area. But still, I feel kind of guilty you know. I wish I could convince her to fly.
I think Greyhound is reasonably comfortable, but the problem I have with them is that I was going to ride their bus back to San Diego from Oceanside, where I went to an LGBT event with HRC, and they BYPASSED ME!! Myself and this other guy about my age (40 at the time), we were out there waiting for Greyhound, and we were tracking the bus with Greyhound's web site, and at one point they were north of the Marine base, then inside the Marine base...and then they were south of us, 80% of the way to the next town on their route. We're like what??? I was lucky there were a couple taxis parked there. I paid $100 for that cab ride back to San Diego. Sheesh lol.
I wish I had more cash on me that night, so I could have taken the public transit bus. They seemed a lot more reliable, although the ride would have been longer than Greyhound. I was going to do it but I didn't have the cash fare on me (generally the policy of public transit is that you can't just give them a $20 and say keep the change...they're not allowed. If you get a really cool driver they will but that's rare).
Last edited by neutrino78x; 01-22-2019 at 11:02 PM..
There are lots of "Mexican" buses to the Bay Area from San Ysidro crossing, I'm sure something could get them close to San Jose. They aren't luxurious by any means, but if the comparable is Greyhound I don't think they would mind. I took one once to Santa Ana many years ago. It was nothing but Mexican laborers heading back to their jobs, so no frills. I was the only gringo on the bus, the guy who sold me the ticket looked surprised I wanted to take it and he asked me in broken English if I meant to go to San Diego, not Santa Ana. I answered him in Spanish and he smiled and told me it was leaving in 10 minutes.
But Mexicans are used to decent buses so they wouldn't stand for the filth of some Greyhound buses.
I think it would be a better idea to head for Tijuana, take the light rail train from San Ysidro to downtown San Diego and there's an Amtrak station right there, and then head north.
The Tufesa bus station in Tucson is way down near 12th Avenue and Valencia, as I just took my Mexican roommate down there last month headed for Guadalajara. But there is a local bus stop right across the street which would take them to downtown and the train station.
Location: "Silicon Valley" (part of San Francisco Bay Area, California, USA)
4,375 posts, read 4,069,460 times
Reputation: 2158
Quote:
Originally Posted by tijlover
I think it would be a better idea to head for Tijuana, take the light rail train from San Ysidro to downtown San Diego and there's an Amtrak station right there, and then head north.
I thought about that, but isn't Tijuana considered dangerous? And might she run into difficulties with the "caravan" waiting there?
Regardless it would be exciting for her to come up here. We've never met in person. And the only US city she's seen in person is Tucson and other small towns like that. I'm sure she would be excited to see San Jose and San Francisco.
I thought about that, but isn't Tijuana considered dangerous? And might she run into difficulties with the "caravan" waiting there?
Regardless it would be exciting for her to come up here. We've never met in person. And the only US city she's seen in person is Tucson and other small towns like that. I'm sure she would be excited to see San Jose and San Francisco.
Tijuana is a huge city, and I don't think the caravan is big enough to bring the city to a standstill, but I think TJ is simply out of the way for her.
Does she live in Hermosillo, Culiacan or some other city? Flights from Culiacan and Hermosillo only go to Phoenix where she would have to change planes to get to Bay Area.
First class buses are very safe, but very slow in Mexico.
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