Crime in Cancun

[RiverGirl]

If you read the newspapers here you would say that crime in Cancun/Playa is out of control too. The stories just in this morning's paper are horrendous. Ick!

I like Miami, to visit. Personally I find Miami to have a remarkably different culture from Cancun. There are lots more Cubans and very few Mexicans there. So it's got a different feel and different politics and different (better) music and different problems. They are quite different. And when I've been in Miami the ocean was not even close to the color it is here (CSI Miami uses filters to get the ocean to look like that).

Of course the post office actually works in Miami, so there is that.

[ToriB]

I guess, it's to each his own. I live in a very residential area and I have only been here since October. I don't speak Spanish, so I don't read the papers or watch the news...so to me violence/crime/coruption is non existent. Even the cops that did drive by the other day because my bf's friend was passed out on the hood of his car, just really nicely asked for him to brought inside...then went on his way. My neighbors love where they live and everyone maintains their house in a beautiful way. Whereas in Miami, my family has been affected by some harsh criminal acts on multiple levels, but great paying jobs in a very bad FL job market are keeping them there. And sorry if any of you are Cuban, but all Cubans I know personally are the rudest, snobbiest people I know. I would live here then there any day of the year.
But like I said...people feel a certain way based on life experiences. I may feel differently after I am affected by violence/crime/corruption...keeping my fingers crossed I am not though

[RiverGirl]

I think a lot of expats who live here do not read the local papers. And there's nothing wrong with that. I go through phases where I don't keep up with the news, regardless of where I live, I just need a break. But just because you don't read the papers and don't see crime in your 'hood doesn't mean it's not there. And it doesn't mean it's not getting worse in this area. My street is quiet and peaceful, we all pay a guard to keep it that way, and it works. But that doesn't mean there isn't crime here, it just means I'm in a bubble, a bubble I pay to live in.

I think that if the papers here were in English that lots of expats here (and tourists too) would tune in a bit more to local news. And I think their impression of what's really going on here would change quite a bit, likely for the worse. Quintana Roo is more peaceful than many other places (both in Mexico and out of it). But Cancun and Playa are also strongholds for organized crime and have been for a long time. The heavy tourist activity here provides a perfect cover for much of the activity of organized crime here. And the fact that the tourist trade happens mainly in English, while the criminals here are operating in, and being reported about, in Spanish, makes it so there's a big disconnect between what's really going on here and people who don't read local papers.

[Life_N_Cancun]

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

local papers.

Its worth pointing out that the "news media" here is every bit as sensationalized as in the US if not more, and on MANY occasions, I've found their "reporting" to be WILDLY inaccurate, even on basic facts, like names, ages, nationalities, and dates.

So the old saying.. "believe none of what you hear, some of what you read and half of what you see", applies.

[V]

Being from the U.S., I'm not impressed with crime stories in Cancun.

There's crime everywhere. I believe in being aware, and suitably cautious, but life goes on, and I want to be fully on board- not obsessing about the awful things that can, and do, happen in the world.

I'm out at night, in bad neighborhoods in Cancun (Corales and SM 92), in connection with my work. No one has approached me in a threatening way, at any time. For the most part I'm simply ignored, for which I'm grateful.

[RiverGirl]

So are you all saying that you are content to ignore the news here and pretend that crime here isn't important? If it doesn't effect you, it doesn't bother you? If you suspect the papers of making sh*t up then it's best to ignore them completely?

My point was just that if we are going to compare crime rates here to crime rates somewhere else, then we had better know something about crime here?! Right?! So if we ignore crime here, don't read the papers here, or disbelieve them, but then say that crime elsewhere is worse...well, that makes no sense, does it?

It's our right to ignore the papers, to not care about organized crime here, to just enjoy the weather and the palm trees and the watery cheap beer here. But we need to know that we may not have the full picture.

Of course the press here is bad. How could it be otherwise? If they didn't make up at least some of what they report then the cartels would kill the reporters.

But from my understanding of the specific corruption problems at INM, about 80% of what is reported on that subject is factual. So if even 60% of what's reported in the papers on other subjects is factual then crime here is pretty bad, by any definition.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

So are you all saying that you are content to ignore the news here and pretend that crime here isn't important? If it doesn't effect you, it doesn't bother you?

Yup. There's crime and then there's crime.

When crime here effects me as much as crime in my home city once did then I'll reconsider the choice of where I live. While it has no impact on me or my family then what happens to people I dont know or have no personal acquaintance with bothers me no more than it did at home. They are just anonymous names in the newspaper, mostly involved with things and in circles I or my family will never be involved with.

The fact remains that unless you are involved in a high risk occupation; Police, Army, Politics, Immigration, Lawyer, Big Business Owner, Drug Runner, Drug Seller, People Trafficker then there is a lot less to worry about in Cancun than in many of the places we come from..... at least where I come from. The vast majority of organised crime effects those involved in it, or those trying to stop it.

I know you are having a tough time of it personally RG (and I do feel for you because I consider you and your hubby as friends), but I do wonder if your hubby were a plumber or a painter or a candle stick maker whether you'd see things differently - maybe the same way as the vast majority of us Expats do?

[RiverGirl]

Finding a bag of heroin washed up on shore from a busted up shipment that was dropped in the water had nothing to do with hubby's job. But neighbors along that stretch of beach assured me that drug runners drop drugs in the water there regularly, so that local runners can pick them up.

Having 12 guys with machetes tell me I couldn't walk my dogs up the beach in Isla Blanca had nothing to do with my hubby's job either, but it did have to do with drug smugglers up there who are well known for not wanting anyone to see what they are up to. Ask anyone who lives up that way, and if they trust you they will tell you.

When the creepy-looking guy who rented the apt upstairs from our rental was arrested because he was suspected of being a hitman for the Zetas it had nothing to do with my hubby's job.

When the MataZetas killed 3 mafia guys and left their bodies in a car 4 blocks from my house it felt a bit close to home, but still had nothing, directly, to do with my hubby's job.

Yes, I've gotten a better look at organized crime here than many, because of hubby's job. But if hubby was working as an architect I would still have seen many of the things I've seen here. [For the record, he's a lousy plumber.]

If you read the papers here then patterns begin to appear. And once you start to get the big picture it's hard to ignore it. When you realize how many people here have to be involved in smuggling, and in money laundering, it changes your experience of everything. When I go out to eat I wonder if the restaurant is washing money for the mob, or paying protection money (it's pretty much one or the other).

You don't have to like my perspective. I realize that people who make money off tourists absolutely do not want to know about this stuff. If they don't know it then they don't have to admit it to their clients. The truth is ugly and doesn't help sell paradise to tourists.

And the people who make money off the smuggling do not want anyone to talk about it.

But the reality is that the economy here is driven by both tourism and organized crime.

Does that mean we are unsafe here? I don't feel unsafe here, mostly. You guys don't feel unsafe here. But when you have a significant amount of the economy being driven by an industry that operates outside the law you can't ever really be safe.

When someone faces years in prison for past crimes, they will commit new crimes to keep out of prison. That is the slippery slope of criminal activity. When you have lots and lots of those people living in your city how can you feel totally safe? I think that, if you are rational and sane, you can't feel totally safe here, not if you really know what's going on.

[V]

...if you are rational and sane, you can't feel totally safe here....

...nor anywhere else, for that matter.

That's why rational and sane people may choose not to dwell on it, here, either.

If the situation changed, as Steve suggested, and there became a threat which was more than hypothetical, more than "background noise", those same rational and sane people would be free to change their assessment.
____________________

Every year, hundreds of thousands of tourists come and go from Cancun without incident.

When I'm in the hotel zone, I get as close to feeling "totally safe" as I can get, anywhere in the world, ever.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

I realize that people who make money off tourists absolutely do not want to know about this stuff. If they don't know it then they don't have to admit it to their clients. The truth is ugly and doesn't help sell paradise to tourists.

If you think I sugarcoat the truth for the sake of my business then I thought you knew me (and my business) better than that.

[Steve]

Let me recall our last few years in crime free Nottingham

- caught up in an armed robbery by 4 hooded thugs wielding hammers and knives at an off licence.
- stolen cars dumped and torched on our street monthly during summer.
- Police helicopter overhead several times a week.
- drugs bust on a next door neighbour at 5 in the morning, twice.
- Jannet being spat at and called a 'Paki' by 13 yr olds.
- car damaged / broken into annually
- not able to walk home from town alone without fear of being mugged or beaten up
- witnessing frequent drunken fights and sometimes stabbings
- burgled while Jannet was still in the house
- crazy neighbour (other side to the drug guy) who consistently threw dog shit over the fence, threw stones at windows, repeatedly hammered on party walls in the early hours of the morning and verbally abused Jannet in her own garden. Not to mention listening to him beat up his own wife and son regularly.

I suppose I should be glad I didnt live in a rough area.

[ToriB]

And as I stated on the thread about that news article out of TX about the new Drug Laws here.... I came here from Philadelphia, Kiladelphia is the wonderful name it is refered to now. Random people being killed in the Subway....random people in nightclubs being shot up. Atleast once a week and Elderly person is beaten and robbed inside their own home. A friend and former coworker this past week on fb posted that her neighbor, a pastor in her church, was stabbed multiple times getting into his car. The list goes on and on and on. These are all random acts of violence that from what I gather don't really happen here. That is based on posts made in the forums when tourists ask about safety. If you keep your nose clean, you have nothing to worry about.
BTW...the New Jersey beaches a few years ago had the same problems with Drugs on the beaches...but included were used needles.
RG...I hate reading the horror stories that you have, I REALLY do. I, in no way want you to feel this has turned into an attack on you. And you have alot more expierience here then I and a few others. But these things and worse really do happen all over. Shoot, my Mom was involved in Politics on the State and National levels most of her life....corruption is the name of the game. She had to go live overseas for months when I was 5 yrs old because of a situation. But since this is a 3rd world country, I feel they don't care to hide it, prosecute it or change it any time soon.

[drewp]

I can't add too much about crime in Cancun but I can add what I learned while visiting last week.

I sat down next to a guy on the park bench and I was a little close but definetely not "close" and he jumped over like I was made out acid. I don't know if that was because I was American or its cultural in Mexico.

I did notice that I did get a LOT better reception from people in general when i tried to speak a little Spanish and did not sound like I was speaking it for the first time. I'm only at the 1st grade level but it really makes a difference when you try to speak the language.

I did notice that the "average" american was so much louder than every other person on the buses. You could pick out the americans every time

[ToriB]

LOL...I was about to bitch slap this girl on the bus yesterday. I was in the HZ, and this girls was wasted. I guess she was staying at the NH Krystal, and when the bus didn't stop close enough...the stop is at the up a little ways, she seriously lost control...screaming at the bus driver. The guy she was with kept saying over and over to the driver...Our hotel was back there dude. I was never so embarrassed to be an American.

[RiverGirl]

If you think I sugarcoat the truth for the sake of my business then I thought you knew me (and my business) better than that.

Obviously you do not sugarcoat reality. If you did, this discussion wouldn't be going on on your site. My point was that I do think the tourist industry, in general, definitely does not want people to discuss this issue in English.

It is telling that the posts in my blog which have gotten the most visits ever are ones having to do with safety in Cancun. People are searching for this information in English, and not much is written.

Tourists are safe here, I believe that. I have seen about 150 death certificates of foreigners who died here over a 3 year period (2006-2008). All died from diseases of excess (mostly heart attacks), as they would have at home, or they died from drowning or car accidents. Not one died from anything crime-related.

My points about safety here are that:

1) if you don't read the papers here, or dismiss everything said in them, then you can't fairly compare the crime rate here to the crime rate elsewhere.

Yes, there are safer and less safe areas here. Steve definitely lives in one of the safe areas here, as do I, as do most posters here who live here. Is the crime as bad here as in Nottingham, maybe not, or maybe it's different. But I recommend you read the papers so you can find that out.

2) Organized crime has a strong hold on the businesses here, and on the economy here. I think that that hold is stronger than most on here realize.

It's certainly easy to ignore organized crime if it doesn't produce in-your-face violence that effects you. But is it healthy to ignore it? I think some of you will argue that it is, but I disagree. If something shifts for the criminals here, and their business goes south suddenly, then this place is populated by people used to making a nice living outside the law. I'm just saying that I think there's potential here for things to get out of control quickly, because there's already a criminal mindset present in such a large part of the population.

The last time I stuck my neck out on this board many of you let me get hurt. Maybe I should just back off and shut up before that happens again. But I think that by not reading the local papers some of you are missing the writing on the wall.

Personally I'm happier when I'm comfortable with what's going on around me, and part of being comfortable with it means knowing about it.

[V]

RG, I think your assumption that others are not aware of crime here, perhaps because they don't read the local papers, is unwarranted. I read the papers, here, and most of the people I know who live here do too.

The discussion here, about crime, has more to do with how one responds to what one knows, than about what one knows. We can all acknowledge that there are good people, and bad people, and lots in between who live here, and there's plenty enough crime of all types to go around. This awareness does not cause us to deviate from our chosen life course.

For the most part, we've lived our lives- those from the U.S., for example- with crime being part of the background noise we lived with. Whatever adjustment we made to it, psychologically, we brought with us when we came here.

[coby]

Generally, I read the papers and generally, there are some pretty ugly things reported. One thing that our local paper doesn't have, is a crime by crime breakdown (let alone map) on a weekly basis. I always found that to be the most useful section in the paper back home.

There are definitely murders and kidnappings and the such here in Playa, and RG is completely correct, that reading the paper is the only way to know about it. That also means 99% of the tourists won't know. I do think though, that a lot of tourists realize that they only see the happy side of things here, and do not want to know about the other side. In that sense, keeping the gritty details minimized in the press (or simply unavailable to non-Spanish speakers) satisfies most people.

As far as how bad crime actually is here... I don't know, honestly. If every murder and rape is in the papers (I doubt it) then the violent crime rate here is definitely lower than say, my hometown of Kansas City (as it should be, since Playa is considerably smaller.) My hunch is that non-violent crimes (burglary, etc.) are probably higher here, but without good statistics that's just speculation.

In the end, I really only know 2 things:
(1) We've never been the target of any criminal activity nor felt directly threatened, while I have had numerous encounters with the seedy side in the US.
(2) I do feel slightly more unsafe here in general, despite the above. Maybe that's just paranoia (we have contingency plans for if/when bad things happen), or maybe it's not directly about the crime rates, but my lack of faith in the police and judicial systems, as well as my being in a foreign country and having less resources on hand to deal with some kind of catastrophic situation.

There are some nights here where the odd noise or 'gut' feeling makes me leery and that never happened in the US, despite being subject to a few unfortunate encounters, and I can't really explain that.

[TraceyUk]

Two very bad things this weekend that could effect tourism to Mexico again.
14 people were shot dead in the town of Acapulco - 4 were beheaded.
Today 3 people connected to the US consulate in Juarez were killed.( 2 US citizens and one married to a US citizen)
Luckily these things rarely happen here but it does give Mexico a bad name.
I feel safe for the most part being in Cancun.I have heard there have been quite a few assaults on women around Parque de Palapas so take care in that area.

Tracey

[RiverGirl]

I have no idea who here reads the papers and who does not. I certainly don't think that everyone does not. Jim is always quoting from the papers for us, clearly he reads the paper everyday. I'm just advocating that people do.

Subjectively I feel far less safe in Cancun than I ever felt anywhere I lived in the US. But I lived in places that were affluent where I didn't even need to lock my house. I had one guy try to steal my car from my driveway in the US, but my dog got him. That was the closest I ever came there to being a victim of a crime.

Here I've had more bone-chilling moments of awareness about crime than I think is healthy. I have not been a victim of crime here, but I cannot even count how many people I know who have. We are among the only people we know who have not been robbed here. And perhaps if we didn't have a 24 hour guard and a high gate and dogs we would have been robbed. I know several people here who have been kidnapped, or have had kidnap attempts on them. And since I've been here several acquaintances have been murdered by organized crime, including the guy who was the head of ASUR at the airport. If someone murders the head of the airport then there's a problem.

I spent a few days in Juarez recently. My subjective impression of Juarez was that it wasn't that much more dangerous than Cancun. I felt more wary there, but not that much more wary. I saw more armed police there, but only about 20% more than here. I held my purse a little more tightly than I do here, a little bit. Yet Juarez is a war zone, and it's out of control. How much credence should we put in those gut feelings that tell us how safe a place is? Do I believe my gut when it says that Cancun is more similar to Juarez than I would like to believe? You guys believe your gut feelings.

Whenever I go back to the US I play a game with myself...I count how many cops I see on my drive to the Cancun airport...Then I count how many days I have to be in the US before I see the same number of cops. Even when I spend weeks there I never see as many cops there as I see here in just one 25 minute drive to the airport. Last year I was there for two weeks and saw only one single cop the entire time. What does that say about things here? Cops here are ineffective, yes, but they are everywhere. Is this a good thing? Is this a sign of a peaceful place?

[V]

I guess the surprising thing to me is that you seem to be surprised to find that Mexico has a lot of crime. It's been a country with high unemployment; 40% of the population living in poverty, and the crime to go with it, for as long as I've known the word, "Mexico".

Only thing that's changed in my awareness of the place is the government fighting back- against drug lords and organized crime- in the recent past. That, for me, is something new, unexpected, and welcome.

[rawkus]

I have had some issues here, but nothing close to when living in Australia.

In two years living in the same flat:

*3 attempted rapes (since August 2009)

*3 stabbings(failed robberies...)

*4 random assaults

*4 break ins in our building, one which resulted in fairly near death(and rape..) for our young girl who manages the flats...

*Pet killers(a.k.a. Psychos)

*Been attacked by 3 guys with baseball bats and rocks(!!) when asked them to "please turn down the volume of your car stereo"... Blasting shitty banda at 4 am, waking up the ENTIRE neighborhood. Oh yeah, cops arrived and told me to "go home and go to sleep".

These are events that comes to mind as Im writing them, and they are also the ones I can confirm(dont know how many other that I havent heard of, if any.)

Now, I am the type of dude who actually runs outside, be it 5pm or 5 am, when/if I hear someone screaming.

I usually bring our Pit-mix, plus a wooden stick(hard as h*ll).

The lights in our park are non-functioning since many many months back(yes, have called and sent photos to the Municipal...), so I guess this gives all the rejects the much needed protection when cooking up nasty plans.

The worst thing however are the cops.

Dont know how many times they have stolen money, mp3 players, dvds, beer(!!) and considered to take my mobile, only to discover that its one of the cheapest Nokias around

THIS is what disturbs me the most. I have very little respect for the police force as a whole, but Mexico really takes the price(Thailand police at least arrived when you called them, hahaha.)

This is obviously linked to the massive corruption that just keeps eating away on a amazing country like Mexico is(would be without the corruption...)

Back home in Sweden I rarely had any incidents, but one thing I am yet to discover here is the "drunk violence". I am amazed that I havent witnessed any serious fights when put partying, completely the contrary to Sweden, most European countries I have stayed in and Australia.

One of my Mexican neighbors says: "Why fight when you go out to get drunk?" I dont have an answer to that... sadly.

He also says that "In Mexico, nobody wants to be taken in by the cops.." - That could explain a few things, hehe

[Epic]

Well in Cancun & Mexico in general the crime rate is quite high, The newspapers here don't really help hiding it since they like to exaggerate a lot to sell more, especially ones like "de Peso" or "La i", Just two weeks ago my building was the target of a Stupid Albañil Ratero who tried to steal copper pipes at noon, he was unsuccessful this time and left his stash behind since he was chased off. Later i found out he succesfully stole the pipes of the neighboring building & two days later of another house at 5am.

[Steve]

I split this to it's own thread. The original thread was about getting a job here, not about crime.

Be prepared for SE traffic incoming.

[Life_N_Cancun]

Originally Posted by ToriB

LOL...I was about to bitch slap this girl on the bus yesterday. I was in the HZ, and this girls was wasted. I guess she was staying at the NH Krystal, and when the bus didn't stop close enough...the stop is at the up a little ways, she seriously lost control...screaming at the bus driver. The guy she was with kept saying over and over to the driver...Our hotel was back there dude. I was never so embarrassed to be an American.

I usually yell "Quite down you darn Canadians!" when that happens.

& you'd be surprised how often it is Canadians adding to the "ugly American" stereotype.

PS: to any offended Canadians I refer you to the above statements.

[Steve]

Today:

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

Subjectively I feel far less safe in Cancun than I ever felt anywhere I lived in the US... Here I've had more bone-chilling moments of awareness about crime than I think is healthy.

A year ago:
http://www.hiddencancun.com/rivergir...-for-tourists/

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

So how do I answer people who ask me if it’s “safe” here? I tell them that I walk my dog alone at night without fear. I tell them that I forget to lock my house often. I tell them that I’ve never once been scared for my safety here in Cancun. I tell them that it feels as safe as any place I’ve ever lived in the U.S.

Seriously, I'm not trying to get at you and I do apologise for the quotes, but it's clear that something has obviously changed in your life. I am sure if my situation changed for the worse in that respect then I'd be saying the very same things.

But for the vast majority of locals and especially expats I dont think they/we have seen that much change in one year. I'm truly sad that you have, and hope that you can get it resolved (I know you're trying and I wish you all the best in that).

All I'm trying to say is it's not doom and gloom for everyone here. If it were I, for one, would be on the next plane out. I'm not going to put my family at risk for the sake of some sun and palm trees, when I can run my biz from anywhere on the planet.

[Life_N_Cancun]

I'll admit that I don't read the paper much here, but thats because they are literately filled with graphic smut almost everyday of the week. I've said on many occasions that I'd rather my children have a playboy than a local newspaper! You wonder why people here seem more oblivious to the violence.. its because from the earliest of ages they see decapitated, castrated, disembowel, dismembered, naked, dead bodies, up close and personal, in full color pictures on the FRONT of the newspapers! I mean WTF is that? Can you not report the story without such disgustingly obscene pictures taken from inches away? If I read/saw that stuff everyday I would probably think this was the worst place in the world too and would definitely lose some respect for the value human life seeing bodies reduced to mangled chunks of rotting flesh everyday. In short.. the US press is bad... the press here is disgusting and bad.

I do think I have a general handle on what dangers there are here and agree with the "if you stay out of it" crowd. There are murders, accidents, and gang/mafia violence everyday in any city this size, the difference here, and part of what may make it seem more dangerous to some is the way it is reported in graphic detail.

[Steve]

Originally Posted by Life_N_Cancun

I do think I have a general handle on what dangers there are here and agree with the "if you stay out of it" crowd.

This is where I'm coming from. Stay below the radar, avoid anything that can put you at risk and organised crime will always be something that happens to other people.

As selfish as that might sound, it's reality and self preservation.

[kathy_caribe]

Originally Posted by RiverGirl

If you read the papers here then patterns begin to appear. And once you start to get the big picture it's hard to ignore it. When you realize how many people here have to be involved in smuggling, and in money laundering, it changes your experience of everything. When I go out to eat I wonder if the restaurant is washing money for the mob, or paying protection money (it's pretty much one or the other).

You don't have to like my perspective. I realize that people who make money off tourists absolutely do not want to know about this stuff. If they don't know it then they don't have to admit it to their clients. The truth is ugly and doesn't help sell paradise to tourists.

And the people who make money off the smuggling do not want anyone to talk about it.

But the reality is that the economy here is driven by both tourism and organized crime.

Does that mean we are unsafe here? I don't feel unsafe here, mostly. You guys don't feel unsafe here. But when you have a significant amount of the economy being driven by an industry that operates outside the law you can't ever really be safe.

When someone faces years in prison for past crimes, they will commit new crimes to keep out of prison. That is the slippery slope of criminal activity. When you have lots and lots of those people living in your city how can you feel totally safe? I think that, if you are rational and sane, you can't feel totally safe here, not if you really know what's going on.

I have to say that this is exactly where i am at also. I began reading the local papers (well, I read SIPSE) after Rolly had his little drug war in Lerdo. I don't know if you read Rolly, but I love the guy. Anyway, I started mainly to better my Spanish (I can't write Spanish to save my life) and then we had the murdering pedophile and the attack on the RVers in Mazatlan and boy, shit keeps happening.

It isn't as bad (crime) as where we left (SF Bay area) but it is definitely something I think about (living next to a deserted beach) and consider, perhaps too much. I don't think I've swung completely from ignorant to "it's AWFUL" but I''m definitely not in the middle either.

Crime is definitely on the upswing and it "feels" so much dirtier over here than Merida.

[kathy_caribe]

Originally Posted by ToriB

LOL...I was about to bitch slap this girl on the bus yesterday. I was in the HZ, and this girls was wasted. I guess she was staying at the NH Krystal, and when the bus didn't stop close enough...the stop is at the up a little ways, she seriously lost control...screaming at the bus driver. The guy she was with kept saying over and over to the driver...Our hotel was back there dude. I was never so embarrassed to be an American.

I'll never forget my first (hey! my ONLY) 10K in Merida. It was 7am, there were only about 300 of us and it was quiet like I never imagined could be possible in the middle of a gigantic city. We were all running down deserted streets, the sky was grey and overcast, birds were quiet, buses were stopped, all we could hear was our breathing and our footfalls. As we passed the Hilton a group of 4 DRUNK (they could ONLY be Americans) stumbled onto the sidewalk yelling and berating each other. It was such a sharp contrast to the beauty of the silent run it was jarring.

[Epic]

I have lived in Cancun since 94, I am not Mexican but am often thought to be one. During all my time here i have been Mugged Twice & got my car broken into. I Still consider Cancun to be a Safe place assuming you have common sense.

The first time someone tried to Mug me i was using a public phone at maybe 4pm when two young guys on a bike come to a sudden stop and threaten a friend & i, that they will use a knife on us if we don,t hand over our belonging, my friend gave up his watch instantly and i hesitated making one of the muggers grab me by the shirt and without thinking i shoved him back & took a step back, Luckily i saw a taxi passing & was able to stop him and the two muggers fled. This happened right outside a place that used to be called "La Rocopista" (indoor skating place) & is now a school roughly in front of Mega Comercial Mexicana in Pedregal del Bosque.

The Second Time i got mugged i wasn`t so lucky, i was leaving my 7pm Hapkido Class (maybe a month after i joined) in Calle Fuego (street that is right infront of Plaza de Toros), i wanted to cross the park to get home i passed three guys who all were much taller than i was, then suddenly i hear something & i don`t really know what happend next but i ended up with one of them bear hugging me from behind covering my mouth so i wouldn`t call for help while another one was trying to take my messenger bag with my things from me & the remaining guy was shouting "prestame 5 pesos" so anyone who looked out their window would think we were just playing rough... I Managed to hold on to my bag for what i think was almost a minute and got in a few kicks to the guy who was trying to get my bag but had to give it up since i needed to get loose from the guy covering my airways. as soon as i let go of the bag they ran into the park & disappeared. I tried to chase but was exhausted and i am really that fast & was gasping for breath. Lost a new cellphone, 300 pesos, a jacket, wallet, keys, my white belt. No permanent damage was done just got angry for losing the stuff.

Its been a couple of years since the muggings and I firmly believe Cancun is a Safe place to live in assuming you have common sense.

oh and someone broke into my car at COSTCO & stole my stereo!!! I am still without tunes & my singing is still really bad.