Mexico Safety

I don’t care what other travelers say, Mexico is dangerous. We followed the travel warnings issued by the U.S. State Department but still found ourselves in multiple situations where we felt unsafe. I researched as much as I could to prepare for leaving the safety of the U.S and our upcoming travel to Mexico. We carried bear spray, a small hatchet and other blunt objects. I planned code words so we could communicate discretely. We studied Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, and Sumo Wrestling for Dummies. Mexico Safety









Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, could have prepared us for the constant threat of the Mexican tope (toe-pay). Topes, or reductors de velocidad, are essentially shape shifting speed bumps that have been scattered like landmines throughout the country. Legend has it that these brake-burning, suspension-wrecking, margarita-spilling 😉 death ramps are built by chupacabras hoping to feast on unsuspecting drivers.

Travel Advisory – Stay In The U.S.

No matter the origin, our bribes, bear mace, hidden wallets and sumo skills were no match for the dangerous Mexican Tope. Consequently, we highly recommend avoiding Mexico at all costs. Instead we suggest shipping from California, around Mexico, and directly back to the United States. Given the number of car deaths per year we also suggest traveling sans vehicle. The following companies offer this shipping method: Princess, Royal Caribbean, and Carnival. 😛

Mexico Safety – Alternative Facts

All kidding aside, it’s difficult to recreate the thoughts, fears and judgements we held prior to exploring Mexico. Perceptions of Mexico seem to range drastically based on where people are from, where they’ve been and what they’ve heard. We too were initially worried about security and wondered how we would fare in such a scary place.

The media had us focused on Mexican drug cartels, banditos, border wars and kidnappings; it was hard to see through the blur. Eventually, we searched all that we could online and realized that our best resource would be the people currently or recently “on the ground.”

First Hand Knowledge – The Real Deal

What better metric than the experiences of those who are traveling in the same manner and same locations, right? Time and time again the response would be a glowing review. “Six months isn’t enough time in Mexico!” “We love it and feel completely safe!” It didn’t seem possible. Surely people had to encounter more violence and danger than they were reporting. How could people travel to Mexico for extended periods of time and not have issues???

Without direct experience it was hard to believe opinions that contrasted the available information, yet we knew the importance of remaining open to the possibility. With an open mind, we continued our search and repeatedly found the news reports and secondhand stories to be sensationalized and narrow. We also couldn’t blame those feeding us such garbage when we’re so willing to eat it up.