A fellow Blogger providing Mexico driving tips, in reply to my suggestion of having a GPS device onboard, stated they use a map and don’t need a GPS – further that it must be a guy thing. This person who shall remain unnamed (obviously a woman) went on to explain that with the use of a map and then hiring a taxi driver to guide her through busy Mexican cities totally eliminates the suggested need for a Global Positioning System.
Need Directions? Just Ask!
The first thing that came to mind is the risks involved for a woman driving alone or any novice Mexico travelers to stop in dangerous border towns and even further into Mexico to hire a cab driver to lead them through the maze of these cities – incredible naiveté to dismiss a GPS for that method of getting around. But that is just the most obvious there is so much more.
Back in the early 80’s your escritor was paid a lot of money to explain to business owners large and small why they needed a computer(s). Most realized a possible small advantage with the help of spreadsheets and databases that could perhaps better help manage their accounting information. But few realized the incredible sales and marketing tool a computer system could be even then. I explained the potential; the why and how to implementing the new technology. This was way before Amazon or Ebay or computer dating; it was before even the Internet.
So now my fellow Blogger suggests that there is no need for a GPS because they have a map. I felt like I had just been dialed back in time. Those many folks that were content with their manual double entry accounting, columnar bookkeeping, declaring that was totally sufficient and they didn’t need no stinkin’ computer – oh my! Like I wrote, I was paid a lot of money to show them the error in their ways.
A Global Positioning System is one of the most forward thinking and useful computer technologies today. It has literally changed and marked the landscape of travel, brick and mortar outlets and even keeping our kids safe and traceable.
The GPS system is so much more than a mere collection of virtual maps. Need a hardware store, bank, Chinese restaurant or to know where the nearest Costco or Sam’s Club is in a town. Want to know how far to the next rest stop or how many hours or miles or kilometers to a certain destination and how many and where the next gas station is? Or need to find fast a hospital or police station? These are but a few of the many advantages of being able to refer to a GPS or GPS capable iPhone or tablet.
GPS technology can open your car door or call 911 for you from outer space.
In some cities our GPS will advise us about traffic slowdowns and provide alternate routes even before we reach the problem area. This in real time. In Las Vegas we were able to input any address public or private and have the GPS lead us right to the door with voice commands – never had to take our eyes off the road or pull over to check on a map (which wasn’t about to have personal addresses in any case.
In Xalapa, the capitol of Veracruz, a city of 600,000 made up of a maze of streets we were looking for a computer store. Our GPS not only was a map guide, it had a street level view of the store front which was very obscure. We saved a bunch of time with the visual aid.
Senora Calypso and I managed to meander through the city of Oaxaca at 1 AM trying to get to the south end of town. We might still be driving those streets had it not been for the GPS assist.
I challenge anyone to try and find a map that will get you through and around Tampico, Tamaulipas, one of the more dangerous cities in Mexico. The turns and trail to get from the north end to the south end of town is unbelievably complicated and fear instilling. Our GPS leads us through without missing a turn or twist – quite amazing really. More calming than a couple of stiff drinks (and much safer for continued driving).
We came to rely on our Garmin GPS any time we were in the car in Las Vegas – even when you knew exactly where you were going. There could be traffic snarls right then or seeing the estimated time of arrival was helpful. There are about four or five Sam’s Clubs – which one is closest? The GPS sorts and lists nearest to farthest. I suppose I could get a ruler and look up the addresses in a phone-book, and then decide; or just check in with the GPS in a matter of seconds – It will indicate the distance and time to each storefront.
So if you are running around with a glove box full of maps and misguided confidence that that is all you need – Please get with the 21st Century and buy a GPS or learn how to get this information on your cell phone or tablet computer device. Embrace this technology because it is not going away any time soon. Coming to Mexico? It is simple; a GPS may be a guy thing – But don’t leave home without it!
Stay Tuned!
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ivan