Personally, I’ve had no interest in going to Mexico for a vacation – not even in the winter – and this was true long before I moved to Florida. Most winters my vacation found me in the Big Horn Mountains (or points further west) to do some snowmobiling.
I know a lot of people who head to Mexico to get out of the cold winter weather in Minnesota. I remember asking some of them if they felt safe there, considering there is a large presence of cartel members in Mexico. They’ve always said they figured people were safe in the resort areas, such as Puerto Vallarta. They’ve always told me that you don’t really need to leave the resort area because everything you want is there, and the bad people left the resorts alone.
Until recently. A little over a week ago, Minnesota friends sent text messages that relatives were in Mexico, in the resort, and had been told to go into lock down in their hotels. Vacationers were told to leave the beaches.
The Mexican military had assassinated a cartel leader, and cartel members were retaliating by setting vehicles on fire in the streets, which included buses that were used to move tourists from point to point. The airport was closed. People had no way to leave safely. One news report I watched said there were 73 people killed during this violence. People who may have visited this resort town many times, with no problems, found themselves unsure if they were truly safe.
The siege was expected to last only a couple of days, but sitting in a hotel, hoping nothing happens, isn’t a comfortable way to spend your vacation, and I hope all American citizens make it home safe.
I would imagine this recent violence will harm tourism in the resort towns of Mexico, but my desire to go to Mexico is even less than it ever was, because I don’t care to go anywhere that I feel I might have to look over my shoulder while I’m there.
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It’s been a longer-than-normal and colder-than-normal winter here in Florida. Colder and longer than any in decades. Just last week, there was another night when areas were below freezing – very unusual, but weather reports tell us we’ll be back up into the eighties by the end of the week.
I know your winter has been cold and snowy, but it won’t be long before you’ll see the snow melting, and green will return.
Have A Good Week!
