Soooo, the last couple of articles have been to help you all be smarter in regards to travel scams and common mistakes seniors make when planning or traveling.  This article is going to be different, something I’d like to think you will/would share with your family and friends.

Well, I have to tell you, the most common questions I get are: What is my most favorite vacation spot, OR, where are you most cautious to travel.  I thought I’d share the FAVORITE spot next time, and write about a travel experience I personally had and how it affected me.

Ron and I have stories, lots of stories where we had been tested, truly tested, our patience, and so much more. But, none of them compare to the story I am about to share with you.

In 2010 my husband and I were accosted in Mazatlan, MX.  It was traumatic, but not nearly as bad as it was for one of the cruise employees who also was attacked, brutally.  That was then – 2010 mind you.  What happened to me was that a cherished necklace was stolen from around my neck and the culprit ran like a son-of-a- gun with my husband trying to catch him. It was gone in a flash. It was precious to me as Ron had given it to me on our 25^th wedding anniversary, a gold chain with a personally crafted jeep (we are jeepers) with diamond headlights and ruby tail lights.  Lesson learned: do not wear valuable jewelry while on vacation PERIOD. None the less, it was traumatic.  But that wasn’t the worst of it.  The authorities at the port, the city – no one would help either of us. We were on a cruise and the staff on the ship were wonderful! Helped write a report and, as I found out later, was reported to the CLIA (Cruise Line International Association).  By the time I return home the entire industry had learned what had happened, though my name wasn’t included in the travel magazines, only the incident.  I was contacted by the head of the Mexican Tourist Authority and met with her at the time in Sacramento, Calif. Since that time, I have kept abreast of all that is going on in Mexico, all locations, especially the popular one: Cancun, Puerta Vallerta, Loretto, Cabo Mazatlan, Playa de Carmen, Riviera Maya etc.  As an agent and agency owner, I am required to notify clients of what happened to me personally, as well as inform all of them of the travel alerts.  It is imperative that clients use due diligence and do their own research.

That same stop, Mazatlan, one of the crew members for the ship had been attacked by someone wanting his portable computer.  What they did was cut the strap to grab the computer, but, in the process also cut the poor guys head.  There was blood all over the place.  So much for my trauma…I was worried about this poor guy. Consequently, Ron and I helped him to the trolly and over to the ship.  All of us had to make a report, however, nada from the local police or port authorities.  Here this guy is obviously in worse shape than me, but still, I haven’t been the same ever since that incident in Mexico.

So why am I telling you this, and now 12 years later?  I am required to tell all of my clients who request trips to Mexico, my story.  If I don’t and something happens to them and they learned about what happened to me, and I hadn’t told them,  am I liable? According to insurances, yes.  Soooo, has it hurt my business sending people to Mexico, Probably? But I have always had to inform prospective clients not only about my issue, but to the constant alerts I, and my agency receive, as alerts, with every one of them.  I ALWAYS recommend, no matter where the client is choosing to travel, whether by sea or land, to Mexico, places in Europe, Middle East, Indonesia, South America etc. check on the government site about travel alerts. https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html/ This is the site to enter the country you plan on visiting, and they will rate the level of risk.  They are Level 1-4.  1 being the lowest risk and 4 being the worst. FYI. Usually a Level 3 is: No unnecessary travel.

But I am going to write a lot about Mexico because it is such a popular destination, especially for us Nevadan’s huh? We start thinking of vacations during the winter to warm places. Mexico happens to be a close one and very warm and of course less expensive than some.  Though, that has changed somewhat over the years.  Cabo is really up-scale now, lots of building and all. Time-shares are prevalent. New and upgraded resorts in Puerta Vallerta, Playa de Carmen, Cozumel, Cancun, Riviera Maya, Xytapa, Zihat  to name a few. 

All-inclusive resorts are very popular  in that you know ahead of time that your food and drink (especially alcohol drinks) are all included.  Let’s you have better control over a budget for sure. However, in the past several years there have been issues within Mexico of resorts and bars trying to save in overhead and fell victims to liquor vendors selling liquor to them where the price was too good to be true.  Actually, it resulted in tragedy.  You may have heard about that already, besides the other issues.  For instance:  There have been issues at some of the All-inclusive resorts with tainted alcohol, https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-46389155. There are other issues at resorts and hotels. For example:  the Exuma property in the Bahamas, a beautiful upscale Sandals resort location, but gas lines were an issue for the death of a couple of people, One was a travel agent.https://nypost.com/2022/05/09/couple-found-dead-at-bahamas-sandals-were-travel-agents-who-gushed-about-resort/ . Sometimes the establishment is simply faulty in that they don’t maintain some of the amenities. An example: Most recently, a husband died and his wife seriously injured as they were electrocuted in a jacuzzii while in Mexico. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-man-dies-electrocuted-in-jacuzzi-woman-injured-resort-mexico/. And finally, most recently a carjacking in the Cabo area resulted in 3 tourists being killed.https://www.cbsnews.com/news/surfers-killed-mexico-what-we-know-jake-callum-robinson-jack-carter-rhoad/.  When traveling to Alcapulco one year, there was something going on with the cartels (assumed) and 12 taxi cab drivers in that one city were killed, and some of them had passengers!!!!!!

To be clear, I love the culture, the food and weather and hospitality of the Mexican people for the most part, as you too have written.  I highly recommend that you visit https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/mexico-travel-advisory.html  This site updates the alerts and identifies what kind of crime is prominent and where. This site shows present security risks in specific locations in Mexico. It is true that even for U.S. citizens to travel to Oakland, California, La. And San Francisco, one must use caution, actually, anywhere you travel over the world.  The issue here however is that Mexico has had more than their fair share of crime, kidnappings, tainted alcohol and the like. My enthusiasm weaned of course after I had a personal reason to be disillusioned. I have though, sent many people on cruises and land packages even after I had to disclose my experience.  It is required and prudent for me to do so. The only complaints upon their return has been the presence of gunned military like personnel at the entrances to banks, pharmacies and popular shopping spots in some areas. A constant reminder and awareness of possible crime.

My husband and I have traveled extensively all over the world, Indonesia, Europe, Russia, China, South Korea, South America.  You cannot push caution to the wind no matter where you go. Be sure that you keep up with the info from the government sites. Being prepared, cautious and aware will make your experience much more enjoyable. My intent isn’t to discourage you in making your plans. In my circumstance, it is imperative that I share this.

My next article will be about my favorite stop, a more positive report for sure. I can settle with simply one thought, there are several. I am anxious to tell you all about them.  

Be informed and educated for HAPPY TRAVELS.