To those of you who want to attack me - I have thick skin and don't hide behind an internet alias. But I will say now that I am not going to continue to come back and argue with idiots who want to twist and turn my words/post and/or who want to attack me basically for being alive and having an opinion. It's high season and I am way too busy! I know many are envious of those of us who live in this beautiful paradise and I suspect that fuels some of these ridiculous statements towards those of us wanting to defend it against false beliefs SOME have of our island. Any of you would do the same thing (I would hope) if your town, company, industry, friends, family came under false attack. I'll add that while I appreciate and enjoy scubaboard as much as the next person, it represents a very, very small percentage of the actual divers/travelers to Cozumel. I (we dive ops/hotels) have many scubaboarders that dive with me and I am grateful for that - but I (we) have just as many clients/friends who do not participate on Scubaboard - so what a few Cozumel haters or skeptics post here or elsewhere is very tiny in the grand scheme of things.
What did I do that was so awful? Haha! I shared an article and agree that the article does a great job of putting things in perspective, specifically by showing those who are geographically ignorant where the trouble areas are in relation to Cozumel and the Maya Riviera - because SO MANY people blanket the entire country when speaking of the crime without realizing it is a big country!
I never once claimed that all of Mexico was safe, I don’t believe that myself! I am fully aware that there are places in Mexico that are incredibly dangerous and I would never DREAM of driving from the US to here - I would have 5 or 10 years ago, but not now. BTW - Chitzen Itza is in the "safe zone" in case you didn't see the map! I would drive to Merida, Chitzen Itza, Holbox, Cancun, Chetumal, etc. without any hesitation - I'd just practice common sense like I would anywhere.
I did travel to Mexico City in March and had an amazing trip, it is a beautiful city full of culture – for the record, I never once felt unsafe there either – and I was all over the place. I just felt like I do in any giant city – and handled myself accordingly. I was also planning to travel to San Luis Potosi in October, but Rina cancelled those plans. I have several friends there – they admit that there are some problems with the Zetas and cartels (aka gangs) there (just like any big city), but they don’t bother people not involved with them and not getting in their way (unlike many of the drug thugs in USA). I would not have hesitated to go, and I am looking forward to rebooking my trip there when high season is over!
My point to sharing this article as my original post says (I'll be more precise for those of you with reading comprehension issues and who like selective reading and cannot figure out the intent ), was for those who have family and friends that think Cozumel is a dangerous place to go simply because it is Mexico - share this article with them and show them the map so they can understand how big Mexico is and that it is not the entire country under attack with the drug cartel bloodbaths.
Do I have a vested interest and want to protect the islands reputation, of course I do - but I am not lying or sugarcoating facts with relation to Cozumel - I'm telling it like it is. If I didn't feel that it was a safe place, and/or if I feared leaving my house (BTW I live in one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Cozumel - which still doesn't hold a candle to some of the safest areas of Austin or Houston where I spend my life before Cozumel), you can bet that I would be out of here like white on rice. But that simply isn't the case. I still feel safer here any time of day or night by myself than in middle/upper class suburbia Spring, TX when I go home to visit family - even with the "outrageous" eleven homicides on the island over the last 4 years – ALL of which were:
1. specific drug dealers from the bad guys they stole from or got crosswise with – meaning not random
2. late night/early hours
3. no victims in the crossfire
4. no tourists
5. not in the tourist areas
I am not saying that this is OK – I am just putting it in PERSPECTIVE again – those who are not looking for, selling, buying, stealing, hanging out with, venturing into areas they shouldn’t be late at night/early morning have no more risk than any of us have anywhere. At least the bad guys are killing each other and eliminating 11 more off of Cozumel streets!
That's all I have to say, I already spent way more time than intended "justifying" my post. I need to go get my afternoon boats out! Some people actually do come here to dive!
Here is my original post again – yeh, I don’t see anywhere that I claimed all of Mexico was safe – I used the word reality, which seems to escape some of you!
Christi:
Some of you may have already seen this considering it was written in August, but this article is a great reminder of the reality of violence in Mexico in relation to the US. It really puts things in perspective!
So for those of you that have friends and family who think you are "crazy" for wanting to come to Cozumel, please share this with them!
Mexico safer than headlines indicate
Here is a map of the "Trouble Spots" with more information on each location as well:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object...1313475760.jpg