Telefonos, de Mexico (TELMEX), the national telephone company,
is sometimes referred to (rather unkindly) as "Taco Bell".
High tariffs and taxes keep long distance calls within Mexico
very expensive and out-of-country calls even more so. Here are
some hard-earned tips and wisdom garnered over the years:
Mexico is modernizing its pay telephone system, but still relies
heavily on private businesses to operate "Casetas de Larga
Distancias" or "Long Distance Telephone Offices".
You'll find them in any town with more than 200 inhabitants. Basically,
these are unregulated private telephone lines that charge the
customer a set price for a calling destination and minutes of
use. Some of the Casetas have fax service as well. An operator
will place the call for you. The grouping of telephone numbers
and area codes is completely different in Mexico, so it's best
to write down your intended number in a straightforward manner.
Instead of using parenthesis around the area code, entrain a series
of numbers using a couple of hyphens (for example 987-654- 3210).The
word "Lada" means "Area Code". The operator
will ask "Collect?" (Por Cobrar?), or "station-to-station"
(A quien contesta?). Determine the price per minute, before the
call is placed, and use your own time-piece to corroborate the
operator's notion of how much time that you spent on the call.
Usually, the cost will run somewhere around a dollar or two (eight
to sixteen pesos) per minute. Mid-Mexico is half again per minute
as expensive to call in and out of, as northern Mexico, and below
Mexico City, expect to pay as much as three dollars per minute
in a caseta de larga distancia. If the call cannot go through
for some reason, a modest charge is usually applied, but shouldn't
amount to more than a dollar or two. Don't forget that most of
Mexico lies in the Central Time Zone.
Modern pay telephones are being installed in cities and towns
by the thousands. Instead of relying on fistfuls of coins to feed
a ravenous long-distance call, modern "LADATEL" pay
telephones accept pre-paid Mexican "Phone Cards" cleverly
sold in a nearby store in denominations of Twenty or Fifty pesos.
When you spot one of the the newer phones, start looking around
and you'll soon find a market or drugstore that sells the cards.
Remove the receiver off of it's cradle and insert the card according
to the arrow on the card. An LCD screen on the telephone box,
will prompt you with information about the amount of money remaining
on the card, and the number that you're dialing. For long distance
calls outside of Mexico, dial "95" followed by the area
code and seven digit telephone number you wish to speak to. For
calls destined to inside Mexico, dial "91" followed
by the area code (LADA) then the number you wish to speak with.
Toll free 800 numbers within the USA, will cost the same as a
regular long distance call. Only 800 numbers, registered with
TELMEX, are truly toll-free. Note: Many "HELP!" telephone
numbers for consumers and people in need of aid, are Mexico 800
toll-free numbers.
If Pancho Villa, were alive today, he most certainly has appeared
in a reincarnation as a "Blue Telephone". These coinless
bandits shamelessly advertise logos in English, stating "Call
Home Collect or Visa/Master card". Offering a flawless connection
through an operator (usually in Houston), one minute of communication
on these phones can cost as much as Thirty Dollars! A scandal
has erupted over tourists that spent thousands of dollars on "A
long call home", and the United States Attorney General's
Office has initiated a federal Grand Jury probe of the U.S. operators
of the Mexican Telephones. I treat blue telephones with the same
wary respect as I do a scorpion - I certainly wouldn't touch one!
Mexican Mail (Correo)
Mexico's mail varies in speed and quality of service. The largest
cities have five to seven day delivery times from the U.S. while
rural Mexican mail can take up to a month. All outgoing mail is
assigned a rate of "Airmail" and the charge for a one
ounce letter is about fifty U.S. cents (Four Pesos). A special
service was introduced in 1995, named "MEXPOST". For
a fee af around twelve dollars U.S. your letter will reach it's
destination in the U.S. or Canada, in about three days. This service
is not available in rural cities or towns as an international
airport must be close by, for the system to work effectively.
MexPost, is the most secure way that you can mail documents through
the post office. I always take along a box of "Security Envelopes"
when going to Mexico. They look just like standard business envelopes,
but have blackout shading on the inside surface to thwart snoopy
employees. I have had very poor luck receiving anything but letters
in the Mexican mail. Several pairs of sunglasses, and even an
edition of The Wall Street Journal, was somehow swallowed up,
and never delivered to me.
Correctly addressing a letter originating outside of Mexico, is
a must: Here's a sample of an correctly addressed article:
John Smith
Lista de Correos
Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico
Lista de Correos, means "General Delivery". Don't add
unnecessary formalities or embellishments to the addressee's name.
Mexican names usually emphasize the middle name as the paternal
one. Therefore, if the letter was addressed to John Adam Smith,
the post office will recognize it as being addressed to "John
Adam S.". This is how the letter will be written on "The
List" which will either be an actual piece of paper with
names on it (a number next to the name indicates how many parcels
are waiting to be picked up), or a "verbal" list. If
I see my name written on the list, I'll point to my name when
inquiring. Verbally, I just give up and clearly write my name
down in block letters and hand the slip of paper over to the employee.
Until they get to know you, expect to show your tourist card,
plus a picture I.D. as verification. If you think that the sender
addressed you as "Mr. John A. Smith" then look for an
article addressed to "MR John". It makes picking up
the mail a little more exciting. The post office will not accept
anything but Mexican pesos. Mail is generally held for two weeks.
Unclaimed letters have an excellent chance of making it back to
the sender.
Enterprising free-lancers sometimes sell writing paper "papel",
envelopes "sobres", pencils "Lapiz" and pens
"plumas" right outside the front door, but postage stamps
"timbres" will have to be purchased at the counter.
If you are in need of stationery, you'll need to find a papeleria.
All villages of any note usually have one or two tiny papelerias.
Federal Express: Mexico's infrastructure isn't set up to do really
rapid delivery of mail or parcels. In an emergency, I'd travel
to a city with a major international airport, and make arrangements
to pick up the parcel at the Fed Ex counter. Note, every article
entering Mexico is subject to tariff duties if applicable. Everything
from hearing aids, glasses, to car parts can be dutied at the
local "Aduana" (Mexican Customs) office. I'd reserve
this service strictly for documents if speed is critical. Be prepared
for a real run-around if you have to clear the package through
Mexican Customs. If your brand new pickup truck is disabled with
a charred computer, and you can't deal with it any other way,
then it's pretty much written in stone that Fed Ex is the way
to get the part from the US to Mexico overnight. It may stay in
customs for up to a week while the paperwork is being sorted out.
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