Quote:
Originally Posted by Jandrews
He has spoken. And wow, those are some real, tangible examples that are way, way too close too home. While I like to form my own opinions, your comments certainly carry some weight. We did the same thing in Cabo (explored, did some diving, etc...), no problems.
But we have been focusing more on the Caribbean lately...just wondering it if is much better. We did Turks and Caicos last year, and St. Croix this year for Spring Break. St. Croix is of course U.S. territory. We also did Puerto Rico and really liked it.
But point taken on Mexico...damn. I would love to hear some more details of your experiences there. Unfortunately, many will read your comments and say, well, sure, if you are looking for trouble, you will find it, and dismiss your feedback as something that could never happen to them. Only through hearing about specific details from real people do the "facts" ever really come out. I have this debate with one of my buddies frequently, and he is in your camp. But unlike you, he can't cite any specific incidents (other than a friend of his getting held up at gunpoint on a golf course in Dominican Republic).
Care to share more details? I completely understand if you don't or can't.
Thanks,
JA
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I feel more comfortable in downtown Johannesburg, South Africa, than roaming around a lot of cities in Mexico. I guess it strikes me that traveling with one's family is very, very different than just traveling around as a dude. Dude's generally aren't messed with. A dude with a wife or family becomes a much better target. I learned this the hard way just a few months ago when I let my wife go shopping on her own on the fringes of Istanbul. She came back to the hotel an hour later and has been traumatized ever since. Nothing bad happened to her, but it could have been very bad. I learned my lesson. When it comes to family, I'm not taking any chances. I've taken her to some pretty rough places, but have never felt any duress or alarm.
A buddy of mine got whacked by a truck on our motorcycle trip there 11 years ago. 3 of us went down, but only 2 of us made it back home. It was a rough deal, for sure. I should have died about 10 times on the road down to Cabo, but somehow survived. I've also seen many, many gringos die on the roads in Mexico, with no chance of receiving emergency services. They really don't care about that stuff down there.
I rolled a new SUV near Mike's Sky Rancho a long ways back, was injured and fled to San Diego for medical treatment in my buddy's truck. My SUV was taken, stripped to the frame and held hostage until I turned myself into the authorities for imprisonment while they investigated the accident (there was a lot of blood at the scene). Yeahhhhh right, LOL. That was an expensive accident for me. I could go on and on.
I'm not trying to talk anyone out of anything, but I just feel there are better, safer choices than Mexico for family vacations. Until they, as a culture, get over their fascination with drugs, violence, death, corruption, etc, and clean the place up, it will always be a $hithole to me.