Mexico:
Safe or Sorry?

In Mexico, “look before you leap” isn’t just an expression, it’s a survival tip. Forget about bandits; the greatest threat to your safety comes from slippery cobblestones, uneven sidewalks, knee-high curbs, head-knocking signs, eye-poking awnings, toe-stubbing thresholds, open trenches, unexpected drop-offs and discarded construction debris.

The best protection for your valuables is to leave most of them at home, especially expensive jewelry. Be watchful in crowded places, including in the US. Many people lose baggage and cameras in large American airports while traveling to and from Mexico.

Compared to safe sports like mountain climbing, bungee jumping and hang gliding, parasailing is probably even more dangerous than it looks. Dunkings, collisions with beachfront hotels, tangled ropes and tow boats that break down or run out of gas are just some of the risks parasailors run.

Remembering

:It is bittersweet but unavoidable that Steve’s memory hails me from every corner. Lorena was just reviewing our computer files and came across this electronic note he’d sent last year. It is “pure Steve” -- in trouble again, and enjoying it to the max!

“Hey, Carl: I just had my wallet picked out of an inside jacket pocket on a crowded D.F. city bus. The bus stopped and a man got off. The person next to me yelled, “That guy getting off was picking pockets!”. I jumped off in pursuit as soon as I realized that my wallet was gone. I caught the “thief” and confronted him. He just laughed and said “Hey, your wallet just took a ride with that guy next to you on the bus.” And I could see that it was true; the friendly business man that I was accusing of stealing my wallet was definitely not the thief. It was the guy on the bus, the one who had yelled a warning. Pretty embarassing, huh?

Gringos often find themselves intoxicated by a heady sense of freedom when they venture south of the border. However, I continually caution travelers — especially women — that for all of the modern changes that have come to Mexico in the past years, the culture remains very conservative and macho-oriented. In the following letter, Rachel Greenberg describes a terrifying close call in the jungle near Palenque...(more)