Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My friend is on day five in Mexico. Yesterday she took the public bus to a different beach and snorkeled for a few hours, then had lunch before returning to her hotel. Today's plans include some shopping and she is in search of the perfect arrachera. By the way, she is traveling solo.
Mexico has never been safe. The police have always been corrupt and the criminals have always been plentiful. Add in that there is a large selection of diseases and protozoas available to infect the traveler. Culturally, it is considered clever to take advanatge of tourists.
Lots of people gamble with their own safety and win. Probably the majority of travelers do not understand that their constitutional rights end as soon as they cross the border. So, they gamble with their freedom as well as their health and safety.
It's a gamble with a higher overall odds of winning, but that does not mean it is safe, because the gamblers who lose the bet pay an enormous price. Losing the Mexican safety gambol is not a rare occurrence, either, and it not a loss due to bad luck, like getting into a plane crash caused by mechanical failure. The lost gamble is due to violent crime.
My fear of being in the border areas as far as the cartel is concerned, for example, is not being targeted but rather in the wrong place at the wrong time. We used to think nothng of crossing from Texas, I don't do it now.
Same here -- I don't even worry about the cartels because they're actually fairly accurate when they target, but there is also some general break down of law and order and street criminals like street criminals anywhere might target tourists.
Even in Ciudad Juarez at it's very worst, no innocent American tourist was killed. One reason might be that there were fewer tourists. I wouldn't want to drive a car that the thieves really want into their neighborhoods and I know carjackings were way up at some point, but if you quickly hand over the keys and make it clear you are giving them the car, your chances of surviving a car-jacking are good.
The homicide rate in Juarez is considerably down and I work with people who live over there, they say they don't live in fear and never did. However they know the situation, at the height of the violence, they didn't go out at night, they stopped taking evening walks, they changed their routines to accomodate the situation. Restaurants closed before dark. It's one thing for people who know through their own local gossip and such what streets to avoid or what not to do, but the average tourist isn't in on those grapevines.
For now I still won't cross the border by car unless there were some very good reason to do so. Flying into the interior would be fine and I wouldn't even think twice about going to Mexico City or Guanajuato or other cities where the crime rates are no different than they ever were.
Yes. I had not been to Mexico in years and was a little nervous about my first trip back. Ironically it was my SO (Hispanic but not Mexican) who had me on edge about our trip. No problems at all. People were friendly and I felt safe. I think I mentioned somewhere (maybe this thread?) that there were some streets in town that we decided not to venture up, but we felt safe in general while keeping our heads about us. We did stay at an all-inclusive, first time for both of us, but took the public bus to town. No problems. I think we may have been the only Americans on the bus, along with locals and a few Canadians. Most tourists, it seemed, took cabs into town.
and no one has ever been murdered in Key West? Of course you can't place a price tag on safety but that said there are many places right here in the good ole USA not safe..hmmm..New Orleans comes to mind yet I still go there a lot just am aware of my surroundings
Mexico has never been safe. The police have always been corrupt and the criminals have always been plentiful. Add in that there is a large selection of diseases and protozoas available to infect the traveler. Culturally, it is considered clever to take advanatge of tourists.
Lots of people gamble with their own safety and win. Probably the majority of travelers do not understand that their constitutional rights end as soon as they cross the border. So, they gamble with their freedom as well as their health and safety.
It's a gamble with a higher overall odds of winning, but that does not mean it is safe, because the gamblers who lose the bet pay an enormous price. Losing the Mexican safety gambol is not a rare occurrence, either, and it not a loss due to bad luck, like getting into a plane crash caused by mechanical failure. The lost gamble is due to violent crime.
I agree with this. It's just not worth the risk to me.
The homicide rate in Juarez is considerably down and I work with people who live over there, they say they don't live in fear and never did. However they know the situation, at the height of the violence, they didn't go out at night, they stopped taking evening walks, they changed their routines to accomodate the situation. Restaurants closed before dark. It's one thing for people who know through their own local gossip and such what streets to avoid or what not to do, but the average tourist isn't in on those grapevines.
That is pretty contradictory. On one hand you say that the people living there didn't live in fear. On the other hand you say that the people didn't go out at night, stopped taking evening walks, and restaurants closed before dark. That sure sounds to me like a lot of people were living in fear.
Apparently you have never been treated to a Mexican firing squad.
That is when you are driving down the road and the Federales decide to turn it into a toll road. They fill tin cans with gas and set them ablaze then they line both sides of the road with Mexican cops sporting AK47's with you in the middle, and pull everyone over and search their vehicles. If you have enough to pay them, they let you go. If you have you wives or daughters with you they get strip-searched on the side of the road for the enjoyment of the cops. If you object, you go to jail and are held for ransom until your family state side can come up with $10K or so to get you released.
This practice has just about killed the tourism going to Roserita and Puerto Nuevo and even dissuaded many a loyal desert racer from participating in the Baja 1000.
Yea, those are some good times.
In all the times we've ever driven in Baja, we've never ever been treated like this by the Federales. They've never even hinted at a bribe, except for one guy who was being "cute" and asked us for a couple of beers from our fridge.
In all the times we've ever driven in Baja, we've never ever been treated like this by the Federales. They've never even hinted at a bribe, except for one guy who was being "cute" and asked us for a couple of beers from our fridge.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
