Fernando Puron, Mexican politician, seen killed on surveillance video
This is so indicative of the fall of civilization, and social order, and why the wall is so desperately needed. Not to keep out the illegal immigrants, but to keep the criminals and gangs that have taken over the country from getting here. Imagine if 112 political candidates in the US had been killed by "persons unknown"?
Why? Because that Mexican highway was there to be found on a road map..
More importantly, it was 1973.
Now I would not want to even go anywhere near the Mexican border.
In my email this morning, I deleted something about vacationing in "beautiful Mexico."
Me dino said aloud, "Who would be stupid enough to do that?"
Why some Americans prefer Mexico as a fun place to go falls short of using any common sense as far as me dino can reason.
We never get off the ship at any destination in Mexico. And we don't get off the ship in Jamaica, either. It would be a total bummer, though, if the ship itself weren't the "destination" for us.
A friend has a diving resort that he and his wife built in Guanaja, Honduras. It's a safe stop if you are down that way.
http://www.clearwaterparadise.com/
In answer to your question, I don't have a blog, simply because cruising for me is kind of like going down to a local campground, renting a camper, and staying in it for a week. We have the additional advantage of not having to clean up after ourselves and the view is better. We avoid the typical cruise 'activities,' never go near the pool or the casino. Mainly we just stay on our balcony as much as possible. I am sure it would bore most people to tears, but I find it useful to help me enjoy my self-imposed work projects.
When I read you say "cruising" I jumped to the conclusion that you were an independent boater who cruises in his boat or a bare boat rental. I understand now that you meant you enjoy cruising on a cruise ship. My mistake;^)
Haha, you stated "Every country has government thieves. Some use the law to steal from honest productive people." Well, of course! They get more from the honest productive people than they will ever get from the layabouts who have nothing!
The ONE good thing about cruising is that unless you get seasick, there's something there for you, and it doesn't necessarily involve hairy-chest contests, art auctions, smoky casinos or basically anything but enjoying the ride. But whatever your reasons, that's fine. You get to pick!
No more deep sea fishing for me dino. Cruises? Don't think so.
I've also seen photos that show how crowded those ships can get. And I've read contagion on a cruise news horror stories.
https://www.passporthealthusa.com/201...
There's a scene in The 13th Warrior where the hero rides in a little Viking boat on gigantic swells.
I'd probably want to throw myself overboard just to put myself out of my misery.
We have been on a cruise where the captain was asking the pax for blood donors due to a seriously ill cruiser. We were too far from land for a heli rescue, so the donations saved his/her life. Been on a cruise recently where a crew member committed suicide. That was not a great cruise. Was cruising when 9/11 happened, and the entire cruise was pretty much shut down, even though we still went through the motions. Been on a cruise where a pax was removed from the ship because someone had tweeted in a fake account that he had a biological weapon with him. Of course, he didn't.
Those are just a few of the interesting occurrences. Also, the issue of crowding goes entirely away when you are talking spending most of your time on your own balcony, eating at a table for two and not going to all the crap stuff they have to entertain the masses.
If I could afford it, I'd sail on ships that were very limited in size and population, but I don't have that kind of money. So we have to make our own cruise out of what we can afford. It works for us, but neither of us tends to get seasick.
Being prone to seasickness would end it forever. Totally don't blame you.
Criminals are everywhere. Don't make yourself an obvious target. If you go into a third world ghetto you are taking a risk regardless of what country it is in.
Sweet Home Alabama!
Of course the rest goes without saying. I am aware of my surroundings when I am at home in bed, so certainly any time I am away from home I am situationally aware. That takes nothing away from the fact that we do not get off the ship in Jamaica, period, end of story. You, however, are welcome to walk around in Jamaica all you want.
It appears our experiences are different.
Your experience does not make my experience "nonsense." Nor does anything I wrote infer that you are slow or stupid.
BTW, when I read you say "cruising" I jumped to the conclusion that you were an independent boater who cruises in his boat or a bare boat rental. I understand now that you meant you enjoy cruising on a cruise ship. My mistake;^) I can see how the cruise ship passengers can be targeted by locals. The schedule is known and easy for locals to be on hand when your ship comes into port. I don't go on cruise ships; just not my thing.
I have found the Jamaicans that I met there very friendly - in tourist areas as I stated.
However, I had an experience similar to your Jamaican experience when I was near the Forum in Rome at mid-day. We were walking with other tourists, surrounded by kids begging and one kid stuck his hand in my pocket. I grabbed his arm and twisted. He ran away with the others. Probably they came back in 15 minutes to try again. The cops do nothing.
I was walking with my uncle along the beach in Rio about 5pm when a bunch of teen boys surrounded us. We moved back to back. Against my advice my uncle was wearing a gold necklace. One kid jumped in grabbed the necklace and they all ran.
It can happen anywhere.
I have lost a lot more to the federal government's IRS thugs.
These replies of necessity leave out TONS of background from which we form our opinions, on the part of all of us. My background is of being widely-traveled as a child. I visited Jamaica in 1962 when it was a beautiful country (it's still beautiful) and not as full of thugs as it is now. Nothing I see there now can possibly compare with what I remember, so I avoid it, especially since that's not my reason for cruising.
I owe my very existence to the fact that my Mother was not allowed to return to the Mexico she loved and lived in (she was American) during WWII, because the ration board wouldn't allow her to buy tires for her car for her return trip. Hence she stayed in Texas and met my father, and along I came. But once supplies eased, she never missed an opportunity to take me and my brothers back to Mexico for extended visits. What I see now are cheap knick-knacks and overly-forward sellers trying to get my attention. One trip through that on a cruise was enough for me.
Okay, enough biography for now. I just wanted to show that I am not necessarily looking at Mexico from the same set of eyes that most American visitors do. But despite the fact that I loved it and it treated me well, things have changed there a whole lot, and I have no interest in setting foot in there again.
And I could only wish to be an independent cruiser!! Not gonna happen, but I love the water, so I do the best I can.