14 dead in Cancun

[RDCanecutter 26454]

I hope everyone is properly pronouncing Cabo as "Ca-bo-ooh"

[closetojumping 62761]

24 minutes ago, NeverMarryAStripper said:

Can’t go to Grand Cayman anymore, there have already been two murders this year.

I think if you keep tossing this trope out there for every other place mentioned, you'll ultimately have successfully defended the honor of your beloved Cancun, man. This isn't tilting at windmills here, real value is being created by your banal repetition. 

[wild_turkey 3168]

If we're to the point that we're comparing Cancun to South Chicago, then I think the point has already been made. I don't see a thread on Surly asking for South Chicago tourism advice. People don't voluntarily vacation there.

I'm not saying no one should ever go to Mexico again, but it's obviously riskier than other beach destinations. If you're fine with that risk because the things you like about Mexico outweigh the safety concerns, then go for it. It's just crazy talk to pretend the risk doesn't exist, or that somehow a week in Mexico is safer than a week in Austin.

[RDCanecutter 26454]

I haven't been to Cancun, because I don't much like the beach. But I have considered using discounted flights to Cancun as a way to sneak into Merida. Once I even found a cruise discount where I could have gotten there cheaply in two days, then when I got tired of the Floating Shoneys, just get off the boat in Mexico and not get back on, cheaper than a flight even after paying for the round trip. (Cruise Line said they'd appreciate it if I let them know.) From there, I dunno, buses through the whole length of Mexico.

Edited May 7, 2018 by RDCanecutter

[Doc Reeves 6434]

19 hours ago, Bill Brasky said:

We were just in Cancun a month ago and had zero issues and at no point did I ever feel unsafe or worried that something may happen.  We stuck to the airport, major roadways, and tourist areas.  We did not try to buy or sell cocaine, nor did we try to join a cartel, or go to the bad side of town at night so that may have had something to do with it.  

What's the point in going then?

[Ldogg53 514]

16 hours ago, Chuychanga said:

 I’m not anti-Mexico in any way, nor do I blame anyone for still wanting to go today, but to say that it’s safe because you just went and nothing happened and you felt safe the whole time is completely useless to everybody. You have no idea whether you were in danger or not. I mean  I don’t care how aware of your surroundings you are, everybody always feels safe right up until the bullets start flying. Joe Bob the vacationer with his family feeling safe has nothing to do with the fact that he may or may not have been surrounded by cartel members at  any given time without knowing it. 

How many tourists in Cancun have been killed this year with the 100 murders reported?

[troph 24879]

I haven't been to Cancun, because I don't much like the beach. But I have considered using discounted flights to Cancun as a way to sneak into Merida. Once I even found a cruise discount where I could have gotten there cheaply in two days, then when I got tired of the Floating Shoneys, just get off the boat in Mexico and not get back on, cheaper than a flight even after paying for the round trip. (Cruise Line said they'd appreciate it if I let them know.) From there, I dunno, buses through the whole length of Mexico.

Merida is on my short list as is Mexico City

[AnonymousInternetPoster 163]

Flew to Mexico City for work last October.  Had a great meal downtown with a co-worker from Puebla.  Mexico City is amazing!

We went to PV for a long weekend in early January.  Stayed at the Marriott and walked all over downtown.  Can't wait to go back!  Food was awesome and very affordable.

Went to Grand Cayman for Spring Break.  Easy to get to, beautiful beaches, very expensive.

Wouldn't feel safe enough at this time to go to Cabo or Acapulco with wife/son.  Don't really care to ever go back to Cancun area.

[Trey3216 15349]

I wanna go hang out with Mariano in Guanajuato.   Heard it's a badass place to visit 

[Steel Shank 9428]

13 hours ago, Jersey Man10 said:

Tulum and Bacalar are full of white people lol. Tulum actually reminded me of Austin with all the hipsters and yoga classes.

 

The drive is pretty much straight. Bacalar is a safe area. Lots of police presence. We ate at Kai Pez in Bacalar. Very good food and drinks and access to the water. They have some boat tours as well which can take you across the lake.

 

Tulum is nice. Lots of places to hang out and relax. Lots of bike riding. Went to the ruins as well worth the visit. Wear sunscreen and comfortable shoes. Water is a must. It's a good walk to the actual entrance and go early cuz there's tons of people.

 

Currently in Cancun right now. Head back to Austin Tuesday.

 

Also to convert pesos just multiply the peso amt by 0.5 and that's the US price. Rough estimate of course.

gash

[RDCanecutter 26454]

This is always weird to me, avoiding a place because you might get killed.

I mean, your character might get killed in a video game,  but we all play those video games.

[wood 11227]

5 hours ago, kevwun said:

Acapulco was a great place to go once also.  Cancun's murder rate has doubled from last year.  Things are not fine there.

...and Acapulco's murder rate is about 3x Cancun's.

I didn't say "things are fine" there, and of course Cancun could become an Acapulco, too. If it does, I will have stopped going there before that. But to say "things have gotten worse in Cancun, so nobody should visit the entire area because they're at a high risk of being killed" is painting with a pretty broad and simplistic brush. Things are worse in Austin than a few years ago, too, with a rising murder & violent crime rate and a rape rate almost 3x the national average. Nobody's telling women to stay away from here.

Even though Cancun's murder rate has doubled, it's still lower than that of St. Louis, Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit,  New Orleans, etc. And that's just in the U.S.  Nobody was telling us not to go to  Miami a couple years ago, or Indy for the 500, or to the Texas - ND game in South Bend in 2015 , when each of those cities' 2015 murder rates were about the same as Cancun's 2015 or even 2016 rate.  Same thing re: Hartford, CT en route to upstate NY and Montreal. Even Waco's 2015 rate (~17/100,000) was almost as high as Cancun 2016 (~20/100,000). Waco. Of course I assume Cancun's has exceeded Waco's since then, but people have been telling us we were crazy to go to Mexico for the entire 21 years we've been going down to the Yucatan. I don't remember anyone telling us to avoid Waco other than just because it's, you know, Waco.

 

Edited May 7, 2018 by wood

[wood 11227]

3 hours ago, wild_turkey said:

If we're to the point that we're comparing Cancun to South Chicago, then I think the point has already been made. I don't see a thread on Surly asking for South Chicago tourism advice. People don't voluntarily vacation there.

 I'm not saying no one should ever go to Mexico again, but it's obviously riskier than other beach destinations. If you're fine with that risk because the things you like about Mexico outweigh the safety concerns, then go for it. It's just crazy talk to pretend the risk doesn't exist, or that somehow a week in Mexico is safer than a week in Austin.

That's the thing. This stuff in Cancun is gang-related and overwhelmingly happening in the hood just like it's gang-related and overwhelmingly happening in the hood in the U.S. cities.

But re: the other tourist/beach areas, I don't remember anyone telling us not to fly into Nassau to visit the Bahamas, despite a higher murder rate than Cancun's and intentional targeting of tourists ... or not to fly into San Juan PR en route to Vieques, even though San Juan's murder rate is higher than Cancun's ... or not to fly into San Jose CR despite their murder rate hitting its all-time high. Hell, people in this thread have told us to go to Belize because it's safer, when their murder rate is as high or higher than Cancun's.

I've seen nothing to indicate the violent crime in Cancun is more widespread or random than in any of those places above or the American cities I mentioned in the post above this one. And we're gonna spend a lot less time actually in Cancun during our trip than we spent in San Juan or San Jose --- a total of maybe  2-3 hours outside of airport time, driving south out of town, then back into town to drop off our rental and catch the ferry to Isla, then back across town from the ferry to the airport. 

Edited May 7, 2018 by wood

[tejas60 3533]

1 hour ago, Trey3216 said:

I wanna go hang out with Mariano in Guanajuato.   Heard it's a badass place to visit 

I worry though, I hear there's revolution every day.

 

I'm heading to Cancun 1st week of June and New Orleans in July. I taunt death.

[Bill Brasky 1449]

3 hours ago, Doc Reeves said:

What's the point in going then?

The orgies 

[wood 11227]

9 minutes ago, tejas60 said:

I worry though, I hear there's revolution every day.

 

I'm heading to Cancun 1st week of June and New Orleans in July. I taunt death.

Godspeed, tejas60. Godspeed.

[Damor 1236]

Going to drink at an AI near PdC next month, flying into CUN.  On SWA.

[BottleRocket 647]

Chinga taLupas Essays.. all this talk of Mexico has me thirsty for putaQuervo and good times my friends.

[Lhorn 4922]

Reminds me of the Air BNB commercials that are encouraging people to visit El Salvador and Haiti with video of beautiful locations and smiling locals a flute music.  I'd heard El Salvador was getting better than it was but now we have refugees needing to come here because it's unsafe for THEM (I"m sure MS13 would not bother the wealth gringos) and I've never heard anything to suggest that Haiti isn't still a very poor, dangerous place.

Why would you choose to vacation in a place where a wrong turn can literally put your life at risk when there's places like Costa Rica, etc which are just as beautiful and plenty safe.

Edited May 7, 2018 by Lhorn

[RDCanecutter 26454]

2 hours ago, tejas60 said:

I'm heading to Cancun 1st week of June and New Orleans in July. I taunt death.

Give a holler if you're ever near Birmingham. I know a place where we can watch gangs fight inside a lava pit while we drink craft beer out of actual human skulls.

[RPM 26326]

2 hours ago, RDCanecutter said:

Give a holler if you're ever near Birmingham. I know a place where we can watch gangs fight inside a lava pit while we drink craft beer out of actual human skulls.

Thelma Lou's down by the river?

[troph 24879]

Made it to Puerto Vallarta. Slow pace, nice. In old town but have already rented a car and gotten out up the road to Punta de Mita, Sayulita, Higuera Blanca, San Ignacio, etc. only had a half day so didn’t get to stop as much as we wanted. The surfers at Sayulita are legit.

[clapclapclap 9000]

Oddly, the article also includes an unrelated(?) video of a cruise shop ramming a dock.

Tourists on honeymoon collide while zip-lining, leaving husband dead and wife injured

A newlywed Israeli couple on their honeymoon collided while zip-lining in Honduras, leaving the husband dead and the wife seriously injured, Honduran authorities said.

The wife was zip-lining amid the treetops in Roatan, the largest of Honduras's Bay Islands, when she got stuck shortly before 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Wilmer Guerrero, commander of the Roatan Fire Department, told The Washington Post.

As she remained halfway down the cable, her husband came gliding down the zip line from behind, slamming into her, Guerrero said. The Israeli Foreign Ministry declined to name the couple, but Honduran news outlets identified the husband as 24-year-old Egael Tishman and the wife as Shif Fanken, 27.

The newlyweds were visiting Roatan as part of a Royal Caribbean Cruises trip on the Allure of the Seas ship, Owen Torres, a spokesman for Royal Caribbean, confirmed to The Post.

Two ambulances rushed to the site of the zip line, located in the French Harbor neighborhood near a highway that stretches to the north side of the island, Guerrero said. Photos in Honduran news outlets show zip-line staff members wearing orange helmets carrying the tourists out of the forested area and into ambulances.

The couple suffered a number of serious injuries, including broken ribs, Guerrero said. Both were still conscious when they arrived at the hospital.

"The young man complained that he could not breathe," Guerrero said. "He was evaluated in the ambulance and was given oxygen."

Guerrero was informed Friday morning that Tishman had died hours earlier.

Guerrero said he had not yet learned the cause of death, but Honduras's Radio America reported that it may have been a brain hemorrhage.

The wife was transported by air to a hospital in the United States on Friday morning, Guerrero said. She underwent surgery and was in stable condition, Guerrero said.

On Friday, the Israeli Embassy in Guatemala was arranging to fly the husband's body to Israel for burial, the Israeli Foreign Ministry told the Times of Israel.

Meanwhile, Honduran authorities have launched an investigation to determine exactly how the accident happened, according to Spanish news agency EFE.

The Allure of the Seas set sail from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on July 1 for a seven-night trip, Torres said. The couple had been married the day before departing on the cruise ship and arrived in Roatan on Thursday, Radio America reported.

Royal Caribbean is "providing support and assistance to the guests' family and friends," Torres said.

The cruise line offers a zip-lining excursion in Roatan called the "Extreme Caribe Zip Line Tour."

"Swoop above exotic plants, giant African Palms and beautiful landscapes," reads the Royal Caribbean online description of the zip-line tour, which consists of 12 zip lines, double gliding parallel cables, 18 platforms and four hiking trails. The longest cable stretches for 1,950 feet and the highest reaches 300 feet above the ground.

The excursion description also states that guests "must consider their physical fitness level and medical history when determining whether this tour is appropriate." It clarifies that pregnant women, and guests with back, neck, heart or respiratory problems should not participate in the tour.

Roatan, which is about 40 miles long and five miles wide, is located between the Utila and Guanaja Islands off the coast of Honduras. Its beaches and jungle wildlife make it a popular tourist attraction for diving, zip lining and hiking. It is also home to the largest barrier reef in the Northern Hemisphere.

According to Jim Walker, a lawyer who specializes in maritime litigation, this is not the first time a zip-line excursion in Roatan has resulted in injuries. About three years ago, a woman traveling on a Royal Caribbean cruise ship visiting the island was seriously injured while zip-lining, Walker wrote on his blog Cruise Law News. And about 10 years ago, a woman zip-lining in Roatan as part of a Norwegian Spirit cruise died when a cable snapped and she fell 65 feet.

Zip-lining has boomed in popularity in recent years, according to a study by the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. In the United States, the number of commercial zip lines soared from 10 in 2001 to 200 in 2012, not including thousands of amateur zip lines.

The researchers also found that this increase came with a rise in injuries related to zip-lining: About 16,850 nonfatal injuries related to zip-lining were treated in U.S. emergency rooms from 1997 through 2012. The most common types of injuries included broken bones, concussions, bruises and strains or sprains.

[Txzen 498]

This one hits hard - I worked with her really closely, and she was a lovely human being. She was on a delayed honeymoon / 1st anniversary. 

A woman originally from the Chicago area was shot and killed in Mexico, where she and her husband were celebrating their first wedding anniversary.

Quote

Tatiana Mirutenko, 27, was shot by a stray bullet as she was leaving a taco restaurant in Mexico City on July 7. Her husband, James, and their friends were just steps away.

The couple was on a quest to dine at as many Michelin-star restaurants as they could. They were traveling with three other couples.

Mexican authorities said gunmen on a motorcycle were aiming at a bouncer at a bar, but one of their bullets struck Mirutenko in the head.

The bouncer was wounded. He will survive, but his attackers escaped. A manhunt is still underway.

The shooting happened early Saturday in the upscale neighborhood of Lomas de Chapultepec.

Mirutenko's parents are devastated. They live in the Chicago area, where she grew up.

"She was telling me how wonderful, how safe it was," said Natalie Mirutenko, Tatiana's mother.

"A year ago, we were selecting flowers for the wedding. Today we were looking at flowers for the funeral," said Wasyl Mirutenko, Tatiana's father.

Senseless.