Don’t Go To Mexico
As you read this, we are probably somewhere with our toes in the sand and enjoying a cerveza. I just thought I would share a sample of the discouraging emails we have received regarding our travel plans south of the US border.
We’ve heard plenty of this, and it does generally seem to be from people who haven’t actually traveled in Mexico. This one stood out in particular because a) it was a tome b) it’s completely second-hand hearsay and c) the xenophobic bias seems to extend over the author’s entire lifetime.
References like “Many years ago, I worked with a man who knew a family” and “Several years ago, I talked online with someone” and my favorite “.. and cell phones weren’t even invented, yet” just make me scratch my head.
We honestly appreciate the concern, but, ummmmm, yeah. Enjoy.
I don’t want to put a bummer on your trip, but if I were you, I’d stay clear of Mexico. It’s VERY dangerous, right now. When I say, “right now”, I mean, for the foreseeable future. There are a lot of very dangerous people down there, kidnappings for ransom are commonplace, and they will not hesitate to cut off fingers, torture and kill you.. or anything else which comes to their mind. NOT a place to take a young family.. Don’t expect help from the police. Some of them are in on it. I kid you not. Several years ago, I talked online with someone on the list who used to build surfboards with his son. He and his son went to Baja about every two months to surf, and they had done this for a few years. Then, once, they were sidelined by some bandits and had machetes put to their throats. They really thought they were going to die and said goodbye to each other. Shortly, the bandits left.. But, it does not always end so well. They never went back, and his advice to me was to stay away.. But, he said, “if you must go”.. to NOT travel at night, or on Sundays. Basically this is when the police are sidelining as bandits, the drunks are on the road, and cows crossing the highway cannot be seen. If you get into trouble down there, anything could happen, and it might not be good. I was terribly disappointed to hear all of this, because I had long entertained the notion of retiring in Mexico. “Mi amigo, asi es muy peligroso”.. My friend, it is very dangerous.Not so long ago (a few months), there was a talk show program where callers were contributing their own personal horror stories of travel in Mexico. One was REALLY bad. A family went down there in an RV, looking to camp. They got lost, asked for directions, and were pointed right towards trouble.. a remote village or camp, where they could not turn around, out in the middle of nowhere. And, since nighttime was approaching, they decided to park and rest for the night. They assumed the people were friendly.. WRONG!!! In the middle of the night, they were awakened by loud pounding on the door. Strange men were demanding entry, and not in a friendly way. When they did not open up the door, shots rang out and windows were broken, the vehicle was penetrated with bullets. Left with no choice, the man opened the door, and several men came in.. starting going through everything, looking for things to steal. Raped the wife.. they took turns, while the husband watched helplessly. They beat his ass, and finally left. Lucky these people lived. They prepared to leave immediately, driving in the dark. When they went to report the crime at the local police station, they were told that they could not leave Mexico until the investigation was over.. which dragged on for weeks. Finally these people decided to head for the border, and were turned around there by police and made to go back to the town where they had filed a report. It was a huge mess!Many years ago, I worked with a man who knew a family who went camping down there with some kids.. a church group. Only three adults along. When they got there and dropped the kids off with at the camp, they had to go to town to buy fresh food and provisions. Along the way, they saw two children on the road. They picked them up to take them into town. All the money for the trip was in a pouch on the dash. When they got into town, those kids grabbed that pouch and dashed through a crowd, taking advantage of a street signal to make their getaway. One of the two adults along chased the kid with the pouch and caught him.. But the kid started to holler like hell, and pretty soon, here is a policeman, arresting him (and taking possession of the money). Now, the other adult gets involved, trying to explain, and he gets arrested, too. Both go to jail, and the bus is impounded. In Mexican jails, you are not allowed to call anyone… and cell phones weren’t even invented, yet. So, here are all these kids, sitting around hungry, and the one adult with no ride, waiting and not knowing what happened. Finally they put it all together, somehow.. But it was a mess. And, when they got the money pouch back.. It was empty. This is a true story.So, my advice to you is to just stay the heck away from Mexico. It’s a fine place to go if you fly and go directly to a resort area, and stay there. Traveling around the country.. Well, you take your chances.If you do go, I sincerely hope you have a nice time and no troubles. But, it’s even more dangerous now, than it was a few years ago. So, think about it.
-name withheld
They then sent another e-mail 8 minutes later and decided to write off an entire continent.
Please read and do more research before you go south of the border. I had forgotten to mention that it is also very dangerous in some regions of South America. Again.. Your chances are not so bad if you travel with someone who is “savvy” and know people who can look out for you when you get where you’re going. Best bet is to fly directly to a resort destination. Mexico City is a mecca of kidnapping, but there is a lot of trouble along the border towns and districts, too.
-name withehld
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Tags: xenophobia
Filed Under: Baja
I’ve been reading your blog for a while. I also toured around the country in a bus. Following Phish in the early 90’s etc. I’m virtually there with you. Good luck!
But I knew a young 20 year old girl that was raped in a border town in Mexico by going down the wrong street. I also have friends in church groups who have gone to Mexico and had significant problems in remote areas. There is still a lot of animosity towards America in some rural areas. And there are cartel towns in the mountains. I have a friend who went to Bolivia, and was held by heavily armed “border guards” in the mountains on the road to Machu Piccu for 14 hours. They were not official agents of the government.
Like Miami, NYC, Detroit, LA, some other North American cities, which have neighborhoods that can be filled with dangerous thugs and gangs, you need to know where to go, and where not to go. Be alert. This isn’t Vancouver.
Yes, there are certain areas that are VERY dangerous. You would hopefully understand someone’s concerns with you going to Columbia or Venezuela too. BE ALERT.
There are bad people who will assume that VW bus driving hippies driving around in the desert are unarmed, vulnerable, have cash and potential victims who won’t navigate through their courts.
Don’t get the impression that this is “like” America. These are very different countries.
I have been to 15 LA and SA countries. The safest places are Costa Rica and Chile. Fantastic.
This is not an indictment of the cultures. Mexico and South America have wonderful people and places and overall you are relatively safe. Especially in tourist friendly towns. They have good security and Police frown heavily on people who will destroy it for them. But don’t be naive. A lot of people get pick pocketed on the streets, and other “smaller” crimes.
-Mike
Pshaw! What a load of crap! Have a great time! Eat lots of fish tacos, drink good beer and enjoy the culture. We had an amazing trip through Baja and not one problem.
Great post. I’m sure Oakland / Detroit / Compton / East St.Louis / DC…none of these could be as dangerous as Mexico. Perhaps you should stay in the states and tour these great destinations instead. Or, you could buy several additional gas cans and simply start driving as fast as you can until you get south of all that danger. Or, until you reach the beach and can enjoy a cold cerveza.
Valerie and I drove about 2000 miles around Mexico in ‘94. I found the people friendly and the towns nice – even for a gringo like me. ]
Enjoy the Ride -
Hey BodesWell. Guess I came across your path on the beach just South of Ensenada a day or so ago. Noticed your van as I left the beach. Then it dawned on me that you might be the van a VW mechanic in Portland told me about. I stopped to get some work done in Portland on my way south (on my own little trip), and he mentioned you guys had been in a month or so before me. Guess were probably traveling the same route. Maybe well cross paths again a little further South. Best of luck on your trip. Joe
Exercise caution anywhere you travel. An acquaintance did not and suffered the consequences. In Peru while trusting a person he met, he was a victim of a kidnapping by “police” and was freed after signing over $300 of travelers checks. In Paris, he left his bags at a kiosk so he could go exchange some cash at a different kiosk. When he came back, the bags (including his passport, and flight tickets) were gone. In San Francisco, he was robbed at gun point. With his track record, I would have to think twice before going to the corner store with him
Regarding Mexico, most of my neighbors are from the Michoacán state in Mexico. Several of them feel the Michoacán area is not safe for them to return for a visit at this time. Too much drug related violence at this time. Avoid Tijuana at this time too.
My point: bad things can happen anywhere. Again, please error on the side of caution anywhere you travel. Some areas are riskier than others. Some one else’s trip a few years ago may not be representative of your’s at this time.
Seriously … any of the stuff that guy mentioned in his e-mail could happen anywhere. Houston and Oakland have their share of horror stories, and so does Mexico. Be smart, friendly and alert, and hopefully you’ll be OK. Better to seek out life’s pleasures than hide in your home.
Heck, didn’t you get ripped off by a fellow in Portland, of all places?!?
What? They had ALL the money for the trip in a pouch on the dash? And someone walked away from a bag containing their passport and flight tickets?
Probably the most reliable information on the subject:
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_4491.html
Alright,
whc03grady.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Mexico before you just “Phsaw … it’s just like Oakland, CA” I have grandparents that have retired in Mexico. But Puerto Vallarta is not Ciudad Juarez. Baja and Cabo are very safe, compared to parts of the interior like Torreón. I don’t get the impression you plan on going too far off the tourist path, so you should be fine.
If you get arrested for Rape in Oakland / Detroit / Compton / East St.Louis / DC you’ll probably spend more than a 6 hours in Jail, or a $30 fine. Not true in many many areas of Mexico. The people who raped my friend were told to go home and sleep off the alcohol. No charges.
Sure there are areas of the US that have bad crime. You also don’t park sleep in your van in the worst gang infested areas of Washington D.C. Not all parks are safe in Mexico.
American’s aren’t as welcome in other parts of the world as some people would like to believe. There is a lot of animosity and hatred to Americans. Proving how “social and nice” we are by embracing their culture isn’t always the antidote.
I’m not saying don’t travel. I’m a huge traveller and a big fan. But be alert and safe in the non-tourist areas.
Whatever happens, it happens anywhere. Be safe and smart and watch out for Hawaiian mechanics…
What, no one’s going to mention the water while they’re at it…? There are certainly many reasons to stay on the couch, but there are better reasons not to. Having never been to Mexico, I look forward to living vicariously through you.
Want some more unsolicited advice? Buy lots of hand sanitizer and insist that your kidnappers use it regularly so they don’t give you the Swine Flu.
Cam says, “Hey Bode”.
Hi guys,
Hope the beach is great!
We are back in the snow at the Grand Canyon!
“and cows crossing the highway cannot be seen”
Was this just on Sundays?
We are counting down – 6 months til we start our leave. Just yesterday my son (15 years) talked through our itin and said “we are going round the world? Cool!”. That was worth all the worry and planning.
Wishing you all the best and look forward to your stories the good, the bad and the ugly.
Ay yi yi! Bad things happen everywhere. Have a good time and eats lots of fish tacos. Hope you enjoyed your stay at my aunt’s place in San Felipe. Hope to meet up with you somewhere someday! Miss you all.
just get a pistola (that’s gun in spanish) ; )
I am all about the positive vibes! Have fun wherever you go. We will be thinking of you and looking forward to hearing about all the great experiences during your travels. Love to you all !
Kev
Oh the picture of the beach brings back soooo many wonderful memories. Beers for 50 cents and fish tacos for half that. My best Thanks Giving ever was on that beach 20 years ago.
Enjoy the days, don’t drive at night and camp with lots of others. Have fun!
I know this might not be the most appropriate place to post this but for other readers living in the USA are you concerned about the debt? It just seems like it is getting to the point where the country is going to go bankrupt and my husband and I are just a little concerned that our kids and grandkids are going to have some big problems in a few years. Thanks for letting me vent, Sara