Is Mexico Safe?

"Listen to me Chris, nobody wants to go to Mexico. And I'm starting to wonder myself if it's a bad idea. I don't think I want to go anymore." Kate was on the other end of the line. My silence was not helping build her confidence. She continued,"We'll figure this out. But I'm worried."

Kate's response is pretty typical, and understandable. The US news media runs stories of drug-related beheadings and corpses dissolved in vats of acid on a daily basis. Even with the real and terrifying drug war going on in the country, I'm confident my incentive trip for 300, 40-minutes south of Cancun, is not in danger.

But I still feel bad for Mexico's real and perceived problems. To help, I'll keep sending my deposit checks to the Fairmont Mayakoba, and keep praying the situation improves.

Last Thursday, I went out to sushi with my friend Susana from Visit Salt Lake. Her parents are from Mexico. "He just had to get away!" She described how her little brother got into drug and gang trouble in Utah. ". . .and then he moved to Mexico.  He cleaned himself up. He's working hard, and he just moved to Cancun where he's selling time share condos at the Mayan Palace. He's a new man now."

She told me how her grandparents found bodies, dumped by the cartels, on their ranch in Zacatecas. "But Cancun is different," she assured me, "All the police in Mexico are corrupt. But the police in Cancun are soldiers from the Mexican Army. They aren't the same. You're safe there."

I'm headed to Cancun on Tuesday night. I have a schedule full of hotel visits, restaurant tours, and venue sites.  The way I see it, to visit Mexico right now is to seize a golden opportunity. Rates are as low as you'll find them, and the beaches promise to be as sun-kissed and empty as ever.

Get me on that plane! I can't tell you how excited I am for the food.

"Mexico: safer than Canada," The Economist, 24 Aug 2010.