Mike Corey visits a Mexican theme park that recreates what it is like to illegally cross the US border, plus the team visit a Danish fishing port with a big artistic heritage.
Browse content similar to Crossing the Mexican Border. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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points together to the
government of Myanmar. | 0:00:00 | 0:00:02 | |
Now on BBC News, The Travel Show. | 0:00:02 | 0:00:07 | |
This week on the show... On the run
in central Mexico. This experience | 0:00:07 | 0:00:20 | |
is one of the craziest things I've
done. Wild and rugged Scottish | 0:00:20 | 0:00:26 | |
holidays. And painting a picture of
Denmark. It has special colours and | 0:00:26 | 0:00:34 | |
a special light. | 0:00:34 | 0:00:36 | |
We are starting this week right in
the middle of Mexico in a state just | 0:01:05 | 0:01:09 | |
two hours north of Mexico City. The
landscape is exactly what you might | 0:01:09 | 0:01:18 | |
expect. The sheer cliffs and prickly
captors are so abundant it's almost | 0:01:18 | 0:01:22 | |
cartoonish. Wow. This particular
area is gorgeous. Central Mexico is | 0:01:22 | 0:01:32 | |
incredibly beautiful and it's hard
to imagine why anybody would want to | 0:01:32 | 0:01:36 | |
leave. But they did. This is now a
bustling friendly place to pick up | 0:01:36 | 0:01:49 | |
some large. But just a couple of
decades ago people say it looked | 0:01:49 | 0:01:54 | |
like a ghost town. They were leaving
for the United States in sizeable | 0:01:54 | 0:02:00 | |
numbers, as they were for many towns
and villages across Mexico. In the | 0:02:00 | 0:02:05 | |
crook of this ravine at group of
recently returned illegal immigrants | 0:02:05 | 0:02:09 | |
decided they wanted to solve a
problem on their own. Years before | 0:02:09 | 0:02:12 | |
any talk of a border wall. They
wanted to convince their children | 0:02:12 | 0:02:17 | |
and grandchildren that they would
have a better life in Mexico and to | 0:02:17 | 0:02:21 | |
warn them about the dangers of
crossing. | 0:02:21 | 0:02:24 | |
The notorious crowning glory of the
park was the brutal night walk, | 0:03:01 | 0:03:06 | |
which allows tourists to experience
what it's like to illegally crossed | 0:03:06 | 0:03:09 | |
the US border, albeit a fake one.
Their hope, that it would be a | 0:03:09 | 0:03:14 | |
deterrent. | 0:03:14 | 0:03:14 | |
We are told to meet inside the main
gate. This is the real deal. Even | 0:03:39 | 0:03:44 | |
though these guys are planning
apart, they really mean business. | 0:03:44 | 0:03:50 | |
The guy yelling at the top is a
clear key, what you call someone who | 0:03:50 | 0:03:57 | |
brings you across the border --
coyote. He is taking his character | 0:03:57 | 0:04:02 | |
extremely seriously. He is yelling
out orders to our group. Already my | 0:04:02 | 0:04:08 | |
heart is beating so fast. They are
trying to make this as realistic as | 0:04:08 | 0:04:18 | |
possible. Listen to them. Breaking
into the USA. I'm going to have to | 0:04:18 | 0:04:24 | |
stop going. Firstly, we are all
jumping on the back of a pickup | 0:04:24 | 0:04:30 | |
truck. I have no idea where we are
going. He's not giving us any tips. | 0:04:30 | 0:04:43 | |
She is saying this is the second
time doing the border crossing. She | 0:04:46 | 0:04:51 | |
is not very scared, however this guy
right here, it is first time, I'm | 0:04:51 | 0:04:57 | |
pretty scared. | 0:04:57 | 0:05:03 | |
We are going to all cross, or
attempt to cross the border they've | 0:05:08 | 0:05:13 | |
created for us tonight. I have to
watch my step. There are gunshots, | 0:05:13 | 0:05:25 | |
Sirens, this bridge is totally not
stable and there's people crawling | 0:05:25 | 0:05:30 | |
on the ground. I don't even know
what's going on, but the group is... | 0:05:30 | 0:05:34 | |
You OK? Yeah. Unsure footing I can
kind of deal with. But things get | 0:05:34 | 0:05:50 | |
much scarier when you are forced to
these ground -- to the ground by | 0:05:50 | 0:05:54 | |
this very authentic looking armed
bandits. | 0:05:54 | 0:06:00 | |
Unnaturally afraid to make too much
noise. I do want him to come back. | 0:06:13 | 0:06:21 | |
Normally you would welcome the
arrival of the police with open | 0:06:21 | 0:06:25 | |
arms, but Elle three tells us to
run. -- our coyote. | 0:06:25 | 0:06:40 | |
Do you think people coming here and
experiencing this works and make | 0:07:03 | 0:07:07 | |
them want to stay in | 0:07:07 | 0:07:08 | |
the whole point of this park is to
show people the hardships and the | 0:08:01 | 0:08:07 | |
work that goes into a border
crossing and tonight has been a | 0:08:07 | 0:08:10 | |
perfect example of that so far. Look
at this. I have a cactus stuck in | 0:08:10 | 0:08:18 | |
the bottom of my shoe. Look at that.
It went all the way through the side | 0:08:18 | 0:08:31 | |
of my shoe. This is the moment, this
is the moment. When we can hopefully | 0:08:31 | 0:08:38 | |
cross the border. Our coyote is
stressing out. We are waiting for | 0:08:38 | 0:08:46 | |
the next truck and as soon as it
comes with a jump on the back. The | 0:08:46 | 0:08:51 | |
Sirens are off in the distance. The
number of illegal migrants being | 0:08:51 | 0:08:55 | |
arrested at the border is coming
down significantly. US border patrol | 0:08:55 | 0:09:00 | |
said it stopped 44% fewer last year
than in 2016, of the journey still | 0:09:00 | 0:09:05 | |
kills hundreds annually. Here at
Parque EcoAlberto they are hoping it | 0:09:05 | 0:09:10 | |
will end up saving many of those
lives. It has certainly given the | 0:09:10 | 0:09:14 | |
guest tonight pause for thought.
That was seriously one of the most | 0:09:14 | 0:09:27 | |
difficult things I've ever done in
my life, however, if you are | 0:09:27 | 0:09:30 | |
planning to come to this area here
is a guide to some of the things you | 0:09:30 | 0:09:35 | |
can do and see around Mexico City.
Top of our list would be the street | 0:09:35 | 0:09:39 | |
food. You will see tacos,
quesadillas and all sorts of things. | 0:09:39 | 0:09:45 | |
It is cheap and delicious but make
sure whatever you are reading is | 0:09:45 | 0:09:49 | |
made in front of you. And if you are
feeling really brave, head to the | 0:09:49 | 0:09:53 | |
market and try a handful of crunchy
scorpions or grasshoppers. The food | 0:09:53 | 0:09:58 | |
at the museum is in a pretty suburb
and it is where the artist was born | 0:09:58 | 0:10:03 | |
and lived a long side her husband.
Inside you will find collections of | 0:10:03 | 0:10:07 | |
work from both of them. Some of the
rooms have been left in the same | 0:10:07 | 0:10:12 | |
state there were in when house
became a museum in the 1950s. Our | 0:10:12 | 0:10:16 | |
tip is to get there early to beat
the long queues. This is an | 0:10:16 | 0:10:20 | |
incredibly popular attraction. The
same advice goes for this castle | 0:10:20 | 0:10:23 | |
which gets crowded in the high
season but is well worth a look. The | 0:10:23 | 0:10:28 | |
beautiful 18th-century building
started life as a retreat for Aztec | 0:10:28 | 0:10:31 | |
rulers and sits in the world's
largest urban park. While you are | 0:10:31 | 0:10:35 | |
there check out this American
ceremony in which four or five men | 0:10:35 | 0:10:40 | |
perform suspended from the top of a
30 metre pole. And this is the | 0:10:40 | 0:10:46 | |
UNESCO listed canal district a short
distance outside the city. Read | 0:10:46 | 0:10:49 | |
colourful boat and take in the
gardens and wildlife. On Saturday | 0:10:49 | 0:10:53 | |
the place comes alive and becomes
kind of a floating party district. | 0:10:53 | 0:10:57 | |
It's quite a sight. One weird
highlight is the island of the | 0:10:57 | 0:11:01 | |
dolls, a creepy diversion. | 0:11:01 | 0:11:06 | |
Still to come on The Travel Show,
our global guru is he with | 0:11:07 | 0:11:15 | |
recommendations for Scotland in the
summertime. And the artistic secrets | 0:11:15 | 0:11:19 | |
behind Denmark's biggest fishing
port. It's a beautiful place because | 0:11:19 | 0:11:24 | |
you can see all around and there's
inspiration. | 0:11:24 | 0:11:30 | |
The Travel Show, your essential
guide wherever you're heading. | 0:11:30 | 0:11:43 | |
Welcome to | 0:11:43 | 0:11:45 | |
the show that gets the best out of
your travel. An island escape in | 0:11:53 | 0:11:56 | |
Scotland, and the pyramidal problem
of tipping, who and how much? This | 0:11:56 | 0:12:00 | |
time on a river cruise. High-speed
rail should be arriving shortly in | 0:12:00 | 0:12:04 | |
South -- South -- Saudi Arabia. The
link between Mecca and Medina across | 0:12:04 | 0:12:10 | |
the Arabian desert should be opening
in March. Spanish built trains will | 0:12:10 | 0:12:18 | |
be covering the 270 miles between
the two holy cities in about two | 0:12:18 | 0:12:22 | |
hours. Helen is looking forward to
Christmas, a place, not the day. | 0:12:22 | 0:12:31 | |
Christmas Island, a beautiful coral
atoll in the heart of the world's | 0:12:31 | 0:12:35 | |
biggest ocean, is the only island in
the Republic of Kiribati who has a | 0:12:35 | 0:12:41 | |
international air links. It is a
stop on the way between Honolulu and | 0:12:41 | 0:12:46 | |
Fiji. There are many ways to reach
Honolulu from the mainland at US | 0:12:46 | 0:12:53 | |
airports, but you will need to make
sure you are there at noon on | 0:12:53 | 0:12:57 | |
Tuesday when the only flight of the
week takes off for the three hour | 0:12:57 | 0:13:01 | |
flight south to Christmas Island. | 0:13:01 | 0:13:09 | |
The Hebrides, the islands of the
West Coast of Scotland complies raw, | 0:13:19 | 0:13:26 | |
elemental landscapes with a dramatic
seashore punctuated by ports and | 0:13:26 | 0:13:32 | |
superb beaches. The weather is not
always clamoured and the | 0:13:32 | 0:13:37 | |
Mediterranean is rather more warm
than the North Atlantic, when the | 0:13:37 | 0:13:40 | |
sun shines the Western Isles have
few rivals for sheer beauty. While | 0:13:40 | 0:13:45 | |
the Outer Hebrides have a
compelling, growth family, the one | 0:13:45 | 0:13:50 | |
island that is likely to be just
right is the inner Hebrides island | 0:13:50 | 0:13:56 | |
of Malta. -- Mull. It is easy to
reach from the seaside town of open. | 0:13:56 | 0:14:07 | |
You get a wider choice of
accommodation and fewer crowds. -- | 0:14:07 | 0:14:10 | |
Oban. | 0:14:10 | 0:14:12 | |
A river cruise is a superb way to
experience the cities and landscapes | 0:14:25 | 0:14:31 | |
of Central Europe, and it is my
favourite waterway. -- the Danube. | 0:14:31 | 0:14:37 | |
Tipping on river cruises is
different from Ocean cruising, there | 0:14:37 | 0:14:40 | |
is no intense pressure and you could
have nothing at the end of the | 0:14:40 | 0:14:45 | |
cruise, but the crews of a
recommendation and they tend to be | 0:14:45 | 0:14:48 | |
quite similar. 12 euros per person
per day for the ships staff and for | 0:14:48 | 0:14:56 | |
the cruise director, wear and I am
paying a handsome amount for the | 0:14:56 | 0:15:02 | |
Danube cruise I would probably tip
the staff but leave the cruise | 0:15:02 | 0:15:07 | |
director to negotiate their own
fees. Whether you are contemplating | 0:15:07 | 0:15:12 | |
a trip to the nation next door or
the nation next door or the ends of | 0:15:12 | 0:15:16 | |
the earth, I am here to help. So
e-mail your questions to me and I | 0:15:16 | 0:15:21 | |
will do my very best to find you an
answer. From me, the global guru, | 0:15:21 | 0:15:25 | |
wife now, see you next time. | 0:15:25 | 0:15:28 | |
Finally, we are off to Skagen, the
most northerly town in Denmark. It | 0:15:34 | 0:15:38 | |
is possibly best known for hosting a
colony of artists known as the | 0:15:38 | 0:15:44 | |
Skagen painters who were cared in
the 19th century known as the Skagen | 0:15:44 | 0:15:49 | |
painters. And today there legacy
lives on. One of my favourite | 0:15:49 | 0:16:00 | |
paintings is this one, a Midsummer
painting of the bonfire at St John's | 0:16:00 | 0:16:07 | |
night, and it is bringing together a
lot of the things that these Skagen | 0:16:07 | 0:16:13 | |
painters and the colony was all
about, because it shows us the | 0:16:13 | 0:16:17 | |
artist and the local fishermen
together in this same painting. | 0:16:17 | 0:16:23 | |
Actually we still today celebrate St
John's night in the same ways as we | 0:16:23 | 0:16:29 | |
see on the painting. Back in the
1870s and 1880s, the Skagen painters | 0:16:29 | 0:16:37 | |
started coming here. They were from
Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Great | 0:16:37 | 0:16:44 | |
Britain, and at this time travelling
was part of the education of | 0:16:44 | 0:16:51 | |
becoming an artist. They found a
fishermen 's village at the top of | 0:16:51 | 0:16:58 | |
Denmark, where these two oceans meet
each other. This touch that the | 0:16:58 | 0:17:09 | |
artists made this town is very
important to Skagen today. | 0:17:09 | 0:17:17 | |
This is going to be a sketch for a
quick painting in my studio. That is | 0:17:20 | 0:17:26 | |
the idea. It's a beautiful place
because you can see all around, you | 0:17:26 | 0:17:37 | |
have both seaside and you have the
houses of Skagen which are quite | 0:17:37 | 0:17:42 | |
important, with the colours, the
yellow, the red, the white. | 0:17:42 | 0:17:48 | |
Most of our paintings are from the
period, 1870- 1920, 25 full, 30. | 0:17:53 | 0:18:02 | |
That is when the artist colony was
really alive. They would come back | 0:18:02 | 0:18:08 | |
nearly every summer, the artist is
met at the hotel, mainly, and there | 0:18:08 | 0:18:17 | |
is this social connection between
the people, the locals and the | 0:18:17 | 0:18:22 | |
artists was very important. I
usually say it all began here at | 0:18:22 | 0:18:38 | |
Bondums hotel. It is a very special
place, we want to keep that | 0:18:38 | 0:18:42 | |
atmosphere because it is what the
people want to see when they come | 0:18:42 | 0:18:46 | |
here. The her -- the owner of a
hotel at the time said to the | 0:18:46 | 0:18:54 | |
artists they didn't have to pay
anything for staying here, they | 0:18:54 | 0:18:57 | |
could just give them the pictures.
It was here that all the artists | 0:18:57 | 0:19:01 | |
were having beginners, playing
cards, have a lot of discussions | 0:19:01 | 0:19:05 | |
about paintings and so on. This is
my drug, you know, I have to paint. | 0:19:05 | 0:19:18 | |
I need it everyday to live my life,
I cannot live without painting. It | 0:19:18 | 0:19:25 | |
gives me the speed of being alive.
We have a lot of paintings focusing | 0:19:25 | 0:19:32 | |
on the fishermen, and that was like
a core motif for most of the Skagen | 0:19:32 | 0:19:39 | |
painters, because that was what they
mess, these hard-working local | 0:19:39 | 0:19:46 | |
fishermen, living and dying for the
sea. | 0:19:46 | 0:19:52 | |
More than 100 years back this town
was more or less a very small town, | 0:19:56 | 0:20:02 | |
where the fishermen landed their
catches on the beach, beating the | 0:20:02 | 0:20:04 | |
smaller boats. I can't help feeling
a lot of respect for the fishermen | 0:20:04 | 0:20:12 | |
and the circumstances they had to
work under. In 1907 the construction | 0:20:12 | 0:20:19 | |
of the port was finished which meant
a whole new opportunity. The past 13 | 0:20:19 | 0:20:29 | |
years or 14 years we have been the
largest fishing port in Denmark. It | 0:20:29 | 0:20:36 | |
is working out well within the port
area and for the businesses of the | 0:20:36 | 0:20:40 | |
port, it is working out very well
for the town of Skagen as well. | 0:20:40 | 0:20:48 | |
I like very much to paint a big and
heavy. Being a painter in Skagen | 0:20:51 | 0:21:00 | |
today is not as was of course, but
it is still the same energy and | 0:21:00 | 0:21:05 | |
still the same colour, attitude that
I use, because Skagen has special | 0:21:05 | 0:21:11 | |
colours and has a special light. You
can actually come into the museum, | 0:21:11 | 0:21:18 | |
look at these paintings, and you can
go outside and you can find these | 0:21:18 | 0:21:25 | |
different motifs that you see on the
canvas. I think the fact that there | 0:21:25 | 0:21:35 | |
was an artist colony here plays a
very important role in putting | 0:21:35 | 0:21:39 | |
Skagen on the map. The people of
Skagen in Denmark, bringing this | 0:21:39 | 0:21:46 | |
week 's show to an end. Coming up
next week: we will be on-board | 0:21:46 | 0:21:54 | |
Africa's Freedom Railway, a vital
artery connecting Zambia to the | 0:21:54 | 0:22:00 | |
Tanzanian coast are over 40 years.
Seven Lions chasing a zebra, it was | 0:22:00 | 0:22:07 | |
like a movie! But it was real!
Finding Web the future holds. For | 0:22:07 | 0:22:13 | |
this now creaking train line. And in
the meantime if you would like to | 0:22:13 | 0:22:18 | |
join our adventures on the road and
follow us on social media, but for | 0:22:18 | 0:22:23 | |
now from myself and the rest of the
Travel Show team in Mexico, it is | 0:22:23 | 0:22:32 | |
adios. | 0:22:32 | 0:22:34 |
Mike Corey visits a Mexican theme park that recreates what it's like to illegally cross the US border, Simon Calder has solutions to all your travel problems and the team visit the Danish fishing port with a big artistic heritage.