A free trip? Let me guess, they make you visit the timeshare bandits first?
Seriously though it does seem a lot of sound judgment at the hotels goes right out the window. You couldnt get me hanging out on a skinny balcony with a 3 ft rail, I would like to think I could safely renege on a snorkeling/sailing/whatever trip if it seemed unsafe. Unfamiliar waters? you gotta be careful about tides, sandbars all that stuff.
is the all inclusive free trip worth it when you have to remain wary of undeclared hazards on the resort, including the very real potential for criminal encounters?
They have all those tourists penned up, of course the sharks will circle…
I have a trip to the Cancun area scheduled in May and I’m counting down the days until I can park my happy ass on a beach and feel some sun on my skin.
And you did notice I said that I did not feel safe vacationing there under normal conditions and would need to at least be in a large crowd?
Blargh, never understood the draw of crowds of drunken students doing dumb shit in the first place, I never did spring break vacations anyway - I worked when I was in school and didn’t have the desire or real ability to take a week or two off and blow all that money anyways.
agreed …
And since I am observably a gimp, and easy prey no fucking way would I expose myself to the risk. I don’t have the kind of resources to get ransomed either.
I spent last summer in Guadalajara, and had no problems even though the city does have its fair share of drug trafficking. The thing is, even if you stay out of the drug situtation you have to know that what makes it dangerous is that the people getting killed are often innocent bystanders. People minding their own buisness going to work or picking thier child up from daycare end up getting hit with a stray bullet because a drug cartel just happened to have a shoot out there that day.
The drug traffickers often live in smaller pueblos(or have mansions there), and you will know which house is thiers because among all the small houses there is a giant mansion. (Often they go back to their pueblos and use drug money to build it up and make it nicer or build their mansions). So if you’re in a smaller pueblo where it’s been known to have drug trafficking problems, be very very careful, don’t go out at night alone or to shady places like bars and clubs where its full of rough looking characters. Even if you mind your own business, you could get caught in a bad situation.
Drug related problems happen all over Mexico even in the states that are considered safer, so it’s really up to you. I haven’t heard too much about San Luis Potosi, but I can assure you it’s much safer than a state like Sinaloa. I would say go but just be careful and you’ll probably be fine.
She means YOU would deserve whatever happened to you. On the other hand, Susanann could go down there and clean the place up and generally kick ass everywhere, because she’s sort of badass like that.
Apparently, I have ANOTHER!!! fan/secret admirer (** Dag Otto** ) who follows me everywhere, follows me and all my posts everywhere, and who loves to comment about “me” instead of contributing anything to the topic.
How many of the several million Americans that visit México each year have been victims of drug related violence?
How many of the several million American visitors to México each year are kidnapped and held for ransom?
How many of the hundreds of thousands of Americans that reside in Mexico year round have been victims of violent crime?
Can you answer any of those questions with any degree of accuracy?
If you think that the risks for Americans in México is even remotely close to that of a soldier in Vietnam, then please show some verifiable statistics that prove it.
Apparently, I have ANOTHER!!! fan/secret admirer ( Dag Otto ) who follows me everywhere, follows me and all my posts everywhere, and who loves to comment about “me” instead of contributing anything to the topic.
I have a large following of (mostly not so secret) admirers/fans/stalkers who track and read everything I post on all topics, and who prefer to comment about “me”, who prefer to use my old quotes as reference material. Whenever “I” post something on any topic, lots and lots of people take notice. Welcome to my “club”.
Alas, for a Texan I haven’t traveled much in Mexico. One trip to Guadalajara & environs a few years back. Our worst experience was realizing the Hospicio Cabanas was closed in preparation for an international meeting; so we missed out on the best of Jose Clemente Orozco’s murals. The murals at the Government Palace, next door to our hotel, were damned impressive. (I’m not counting the times I’m told my parents took me to eat Mexican food in the few areas not off-limits to US Military personnel–back before 1950.)
The escalation in drug violence is dreadful & the border states aren’t safe for anybody. Still, somebody like a Peace Corps volunteer probably wouldn’t recommend a visit by relatives unless she was pretty sure her own area was safe.
So–to get back on topic–what is your experience in Mexico? Especially in comparison to your experience in Southeast Asia?
(Oh, and many of the guns in Mexico have been smuggled in from Texas.)
… if I get slightly buzzed on good tequila, enjoy reading several good books, meet some extremely friendly Mexicans who don’t mind if I practice my bad Spanish with them, hear some great stories about Lorenzo’s Mayan grandmother, enjoy lots of great food, … and maybe even get laid (if the Mrs. gets into the mood as much as I) …
