Fiesta Americana any better?

[ggunn]

No I'm not kidding.

But once in 3 trips ain't bad. We were with a "local" so I don't know if that helped or not. Actually it was the locals' problem, not ours (Unless they started to load our gear in their cop cars!!). Then I would have been real pi$$ed and for SURE missed my flight due to jail time or profuse bleeding from a little round hole in the center of mass

I hate BS and tend to be over excited when it crosses my path and annoys me. Fortunately the pay-off worked and jail or whatever was avoided.

heheheh, it was the highlight of the trip!

Would you care to elaborate a little more on what happened? I have made many trips to Cozumel since 1978, and I have never had anything but the most cordial contacts with the local police, and the rest of the folks there, for that matter. I have walked alone around the back streets at all hours of the day and night, and I have never had the slightest threat of any kind thrown in my direction. I would be most curious to learn what precipitated the conflict you imply and how you were treated.

 

[DeepScuba]

Oh it was cordial. A nice crispy $20.00 bill (from my recollection) and a big smile

Don't take my word for it. Ask most any Gringo "local" that drives. They'll inform you of the "ticket" It's my understanding that this is their MO. Shake down the odd local guy for a few bucks once in a while. We happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Our "guy" told us this wasn't out of the ordinary and the game played out as planned.

Just to keep it real, I didn't have to say a word, I was a "bystander" in the whole scheme of things. It was the "locals" big problem,...his vehicle, his home town. What started to annoy me was the cop starting to touch my gear. It passed, and so did my annoyance. I probably would have gone over the edge if he started with the lifting and molesting of the gear, and making signs of moving it to his car!!!


Make no mistake about it. It was a Mexican shake-down. Harmless at that, as long as both side played their respective roles.

 

[ggunn]

The only time anything like that ever happened to me in Mexico was over on the mainland between Cancun and Chichen-Itza when we bought gasoline on the drive back to PdC. The guy filling the tank shut off the pump and reset it real quick and then told us that the price was twice what the pump had read, not realizing that I had caught a glimpse through the windows from the other side of the car. I told him no, here's how much it was; he reponded with a loud stream of Spanish that ended with the word "policia". I smiled and said "OK, call them", holding out the money. He shook his head; more loud Spanish. I shrugged and made to put the money back in my wallet and get in the car. He changed his tune, took the money. I said "Nice try, though". He laughed. We drove away. No police materialized.

The only time I was ever shaken down by the police was here in the good ol' US of A, in Walnut Grove, Arkansas at about 3 AM on a rainy night in 1981. It cost me $1500. "Y'all drive careful now, y'heah?" Very, as you say, cordial.

 

[Kat]

Happened to us on our 1st trip to Coz. Parked on a side street near Senior Frogs. Partied all night, 'till we ran out of money. Walked back to the car & a cop walked up to us & said we had parked illeagally. No signs were posted & there were cars parked in front & behind us. He wanted a large sum of money & we had less than $10. He kept lowering his price but finally just took what we had & left. We were obvious tourists, as we had the multi-color VW Bug.

I'm not sure if he was a real cop, but on a dark,deserted street in Mexico...we were not going to agrue.

 

[DeepScuba]

heheh

Sounds REAL familiar. The stories are the same ones the "local" Gringo's told me happened to them.