Latin America Collection

The purpose of this guidebook is to assist those wishing to drive through
Mexico and into Central America. The United States was a sleeping giant
in the l9th century. The railroads that were built across the country were
instrumental in its development. Mexico and Central America are being
awakened from their slumber by the building of the Pan-American Highway.

In the future travel, ecotourism and trade agreements will stride hand
in hand with industry to create exciting and explosive new growth in this
part of the world. This will lead to the development of new tourist meccas
for vacationing North Americans and others. Furthermore, the present
economy is forcing many retirees and senior citizens, who live on fixed
incomes, to seek more affordable housing and life-styles south of the border.
Just like the birds facing the coming winter, they will turn to the South in
ever greater numbers.

The massive numbers of automobiles in Mexico and the Central
American countries assures proper road maintenance and an abundance
of modern service stations. Many of these new stations are being equipped
with stateside Circle K-type mini-marts and provide complete car care.

The past history of the ancient Aztec and Mayan civilizations are here
for us to rediscover. However, the greatest discovery we have in store, are
the lovely and fascinating peoples of these countries.
With these things in mind, we have created this annual guidebook as
an aid, so you can step out without fear, and enjoy the beauty of this
historical part of our hemisphere.

Good news for those of you planning to travel through Central America
in the future. On February 2, 1997 the presidents of all the Cenral American
countries proposed a joint project to improve the Pan-American Highway.
The project will be be financed by the Interamerican Development Bank
and backed by the Spanish government. It will include widening, expanding,
repairing and reconstructing most of the actual highway as well as some
possible route changes. After all of these improvements have been made,
one private company will then be put in charge of maintaining the highway
in good shape in all of the Central American countries. This will improve
the infrastructure of the region, speed up commerce and make travel easier.