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bryanmckenzie
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An Essay by By Linda Ellerbee: Safe Mexico
I received this via e-mail from a friend. Substitute "Baja" where she writes about Puerto Vallarta. Ref.: http://www.museum.tv/eotvsection.php?entrycode=ellerbeelin
Sometimes Ive been called a maverick because I dont always agree with my colleagues, but then, only dead fish swim
with the stream all the time. The stream here is Mexico .
You would have to be living on another planet to avoid hearing how dangerous Mexico has become, and, yes, its true drug wars have escalated violence
in Mexico, causing collateral damage, a phrase I hate. Collateral damage is a cheap way of saying that innocent people, some of them tourists, have
been robbed, hurt or killed.
But thats not the whole story. Neither is this. This is my story..
Im a journalist who lives in New York City , but has spent considerable time in Mexico, specifically Puerto Vallarta, for the last four years. Im in
Vallarta now. And despite what Im getting from the U.S. media, the 24-hour news networks in particular, I feel as safe here as I do at home in New
York , possibly safer. I walk the streets of my Vallarta neighborhood alone day or night. And I dont live in a gated community, or any other
All-Gringo neighborhood. I live in Mexico . Among Mexicans. I go where I want (which does not happen to include bars where prostitution and drugs are
the basic products), and take no more precautions than I would at home in New York; which is to say I dont wave money around, I dont act the Ugly
American, I do keep my eyes open, Im aware of my surroundings, and I try not to behave like a fool.
Ive not always been successful at that last one. One evening a friend left the house I was renting in Vallarta at that time, and, unbeknownst to me,
did not slam the automatically-locking door on her way out. Sure enough, less than an hour later a stranger did come into my house. A burglar? Robber?
Kidnapper? Killer? Drug lord?
No, it was a local police officer, the beat cop for our neighborhood, who, on seeing my unlatched door, entered to make sure everything (including
me) was okay. He insisted on walking with me around the house, opening closets, looking behind doors and, yes, even under beds, to be certain no one
else had wandered in, and that nothing was missing. He was polite, smart and kind, but before he left, he lectured me on having not checked to see
that my friend had locked the door behind her. In other words, he told me to use my common sense.
Do bad things happen here? Of course they do. Bad things happen everywhere, but the murder rate here is much lower than, say, New Orleans, and if
there are bars on many of the ground floor windows of houses here, well, the same is true where I live, in Greenwich Village, which is considered a
swell neighborhood house prices start at about $4 million (including the bars on the ground floor windows).
There are good reasons thousands of people from the United States are moving to Mexico every month, and its not just the lower cost of living, a
hefty tax break and less snow to shovel. Mexico is a beautiful country, a special place. The climate varies, but is plentifully mild, the culture is
ancient and revered, the young are loved unconditionally, the old are respected, and I have yet to hear anyone mention Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan,
or Madonnas attempt to adopt a second African child, even though, with such a late start, she cannot possibly begin to keep up with Anglelina Jolie.
And then there are the people. Generalization is risky, but in general Mexicans are warm, friendly, generous and welcoming. If you smile at them,
they smile back. If you greet a passing stranger on the street, they greet you back. If you try to speak even a little Spanish, they tend to treat you
as though you were fluent. Or at least not an idiot. I have had taxi drivers track me down after leaving my wallet or cell phone in their cab. I have
had someone run out of a store to catch me because I have overpaid by twenty cents. I have been introduced to and come to love a people who celebrate
a day dedicated to the dead as a recognition of the cycles of birth and death and birth and the 15th birthday of a girl, an important rite in
becoming a woman with the same joy.
Too much of the noise youre hearing about how dangerous it is to come to Mexico is just that noise. But the media love noise, and too many
journalists currently making it dont live here. Some have never even been here. They just like to be photographed at night, standing near a
spotlighted border crossing, pointing across the line to some imaginary country from hell. It looks good on TV.
Another thing. The U.S. media tend to lump all of Mexico into one big bad bowl. Talking about drug violence in Mexico without naming a state or city
where this is taking place is rather like looking at the horror of Katrina and saying, Damn. Did you know the U.S. is under water? or reporting on
the shootings at Columbine or the bombing of the Federal building in Oklahoma City by saying that kids all over the U.S. are shooting their classmates
and all the grownups are blowing up buildings. The recent rise in violence in Mexico has mostly occurred in a few states, and especially along the
border. It is real, but it does not describe an entire country.
It would be nice if we could put whats going on in Mexico in perspective, geographically and emotionally. It would be nice if we could remember that,
as has been noted more than once, these drug wars wouldnt be going on if people in the United States didnt want the drugs, or if other people in the
United States werent selling Mexican drug lords the guns. Most of all, it would be nice if more people in the United States actually came to this
part of America ( Mexico is also America , you will recall) to see for themselves what a fine place Mexico really is, and how good a vacation (or a
life) here can be.
So come on down and get to know your southern neighbors. I think youll like it here. Especially the people.
[Edited on 2011-7-20 by bryanmckenzie]
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Ken Cooke
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There are safe and unsafe sections of Mexico. I have unknowling wandered into some of the most dangerous sections of the country, but I continue to
return for the good times, great food, and low vacation prices.
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Gypsy Jan
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Linda Ellerbee is a Very Wise Person and a Great Writer
That is all.
GJ
Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow mindedness.
Mark Twain
\"La vida es dura, el corazon es puro, y cantamos hasta la madrugada. (Life is hard, the heart is pure and we sing until dawn.)
Kirsty MacColl, Mambo de la Luna
\"Alea iacta est.\"
Julius Caesar
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Skeet/Loreto
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Excellent Report!
One of the best I have ever seen. I feel the same way when I go back to Loreto.
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BillP
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Bravo!!!!!
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rts551
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yea for Nick and their ace reporter (even though she does live in New York).
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krafty
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Think I read this years ago, which tells me not so much has changed. Ms. Ellerbee is quite eloquent and her novels are a hoot!
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rts551
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| Quote: | Originally posted by krafty
Think I read this years ago, which tells me not so much has changed. Ms. Ellerbee is quite eloquent and her novels are a hoot!
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written in 2010 and used by various blogs in San Miguel and Puerta Vallarta to promote tourism and real estate sales,
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bacquito
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| Quote: | Originally posted by BillP
Bravo!!!!! |
Ditto!!
bacquito
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Woooosh
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Published May 15, 2009
I love PV too, especially the El Eden and southern jungle parts (Mismaloya area). I think she got out before it got dicey there. Def not as bad as
Acapulco right now.
[Edited on 7-21-2011 by Woooosh]
\"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing\"
1961- JFK to Canadian parliament (Edmund Burke)
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EdZeranski
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Check 6_CHK SIX
| Quote: | Originally posted by Skeet/Loreto
Excellent Report!
One of the best I have ever seen. I feel the same way when I go back to Loreto. |
My wife loves Loreto. I really like Loreto and Baja in general. We go there 2-4 times a year for about 12 - 14 days a shot. For my work I travel alot
to third world places , some very violent, so I've developed a habit of keeping my eyes open and a tad of 'situational awareness'. Same here in the
US..watch your back and move if you even feel a little bit of something is getting 'iffy'. Mexico has gotten bad press based on headless bodies
hanging off overpasses etc. Hard to say it isn't so. When I left Bagdad I told folks I was driving to Baja when I got back home and they were freaked
that I would do such a thing. Yep, that Bagdad! The word had spread that far in 2008. In 2009 and 2010 I had similar reactions in Afghanistan, Al
Jazeera had scary chit to say about Mexico. Afghans in the bazaars knew Mexico was worse than Kandahar. I guess what people don't realize is the
difference between Baja and the mainland and Baja in general from the border.
EdZ
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BajaGeoff
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Being in the "business of Baja" I have found that the majority of people that are vehemently opposed to traveling south of the border are those that
do not actually travel there. They base their opinions on the bad things they read/hear/see in the media and do not have any other reference point.
Most people look at me like I have lobsters crawling out my ears when I tell them I travel to Baja on a regular basis. I guess if I only heard or saw
one side of the story over and over and over again I would probably feel the same way, so I cannot fault them for that.
Thankfully, there are plenty of people that continue to visit and enjoy Baja and mainland Mexico and know that it is not a war zone. Are there some
places to avoid? Sure.....but a few problem areas due to cartel violence don't make an entire country unsafe. I love Mexico and will continue to
travel there and enjoy the beauty of it's terrain, the warmth of it's people and the flavors of it's food.
Viva Baja! Viva Mxico!
From my trip last week....the coastline near Colonet:
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twarnt
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I found that article interesting. But then I Googled it and found it was written over two years ago and that since then several cruise lines have
cancelled calls at Puerto Vallarta due to violence.
It would have been nice if somebody had mentioned the current changes instead of posing old editorials that are no longer relevant and then have
everyone here fawn over it.
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BajaGeoff
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I think the point was made several times in this thread that it was a few years old.
The sentiment still rings true for me though!
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vgabndo
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For sure the general sentiment survives...
I noted, though, that for a person like me from a three-stoplight town, there is an intra-cultural difference between myself and Ms Ellerbee. She
lives in a hostile environment naturally, and less adaptation is required for her to be comfortable in Mexico.
Still, for comfort, it is in my judgement, still all about speaking the language.
Undoubtedly, there are people who cannot afford to give the anchor of sanity even the slightest tug. Sam Harris
"The situation is far too dire for pessimism."
Bill Kauth
Carl Sagan said, "We are a way for the cosmos to know itself."
PEACE, LOVE AND FISH TACOS
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mcfez
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Sounds like a report I would had written about Baja.
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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bryanmckenzie
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I felt the essay was still valid, even two years later and so that's why I posted it.
Cruise lines cancel ports of call & routes because they don't make money. Same happened in Los Cabos when I lived there last year and it made
headlines.
However, someone felt it was actually beneficial to write and publish a balanced story. The flip side to the cancellations was that an equal an equal
number of new cruise operators had signed up to begins calling on Los Cabos, effectively canceling each other out.
So be careful of which side of what story you choose to propagate as "fact."
| Quote: | Originally posted by twarnt
I found that article interesting. But then I Googled it and found it was written over two years ago and that since then several cruise lines have
cancelled calls at Puerto Vallarta due to violence.
It would have been nice if somebody had mentioned the current changes instead of posing old editorials that are no longer relevant and then have
everyone here fawn over it. |
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
-Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910)
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bryanmckenzie
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Mood: Hot & humid --- not hot & dry.
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Hey Fez, does ya needs a remeidial ritin cors?
woulda hadda written?
I wouldsa writ?
would have written?
| Quote: | Originally posted by mcfez
Sounds like a report I would had written about Baja. |
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mcfez
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[Edited on 8-9-2011 by mcfez]
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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mcfez
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Swords comes with two edges.....
| Quote: | Originally posted by bryanmckenzie
Hey Fez, does ya needs a remeidial ritin cors?
woulda hadda written?
I wouldsa writ?
would have written?
| Quote: | Originally posted by mcfez
Sounds like a report I would had written about Baja. |
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Hey bryanmckenzie, does ya needs a repeature denialure ?
an equal an equal?
an equal an equal?
an equal an equal?
Ya all sur do needs ah repeature denialure tooly!
"I felt the essay was still valid, even two years later, and so that's why I posted it.
Cruise lines cancel ports of call & routes because they don't make money. Same happened in Los Cabos when I lived there last year and it made
headlines.
However, someone felt it was actually beneficial to write and publish a balanced story. The flip side to the cancellations was that an equal an equal number of new cruise operators had signed up to begins calling on Los
Cabos, effectively canceling each other out.
So be careful of which side of what story you choose to propagate as "fact."
Good Gods man....shoot yer sef in da footy?
Now please...go away and tuck that tail of yours between you legs.
[Edited on 8-9-2011 by mcfez]
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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