Safety in Mexico

I recently had a conversation with my dad in which he told me about some friends in Cancun who felt extremely unsafe in Mexico.

I was super quick to point out that Cancun is a terrible representation of Mexico. If you’ve vacationing in Cancun, you have money, and those overpriced margaritas make it very easy for people to take advantage of tourists.

Snark aside, I recognize that my safety in Mexico has been a concern for many people who love me.  I also recognize that the United States has an extremely warped perception of Mexico, and I want to help end some of these stereotypes so that other students can have the opportunity to study in this beautiful country.

I feel much safer in Colima than I do in Dallas. I feel much safer in Colima than I do in New Orleans. I even feel safer in Colima than I do in Richardson.

Community

I think what makes me feel the safest here is the sense of community. Privacy isn’t really a thing in Mexico. Everybody acknowledges everybody they pass on the street. Because it is so hot, most houses keep their windows and doors open whenever somebody is home. After work, families will sit outside their doors, talking with their neighbors and watching the kids play in the street long after the sun sets.

I walk by a pair of older women on my street. I can barely understand what they are saying, but the tone of their voices makes it clear that today’s gossip is juicy. The culture here is very nosy. Like, church lady knitting club level nosy. And nosy is not necessarily a bad thing because they have no problem prying into somebody’s business when they need to.  I’m sure they’ve discussed the peculiar house full of Americans on the corner. I’m also sure that if they saw somebody following me or if I looked afraid, they would not hesitate to intervene. 

The population density is much higher here than in Texas, and every window is open. If I were to scream, I would certainly be heard.

Cars

At home, my biggest safety concern is automobile accidents. Yes, in Colima, the vehicle standards and regulations are less strict and nobody really knows how to drive. Maybe that bit isn’t so safe, but people don’t know how to drive in Dallas, either. 

However, a lower percentage of the population in Colima drives cars, and taxis cost about 25 pesos (about $2) to get to most places in town. People actually use public transportation. At night, most of the cars on the streets are taxis. 

Walking

I come from a land where people will get in their cars to drive from the Target to the Marshall's in the same strip mall. Don’t lie. You’ve done it, too.  When I arrived in Colima, I discovered this amazing mode of transportation called walking. No joke! People can actually travel from one part of town to the other using just their shoes! 

Really, though, the pedestrian accessibility here makes walking places feel much safer in Colima than in Richardson. There are sidewalks everywhere, and people actually use them. There are also plenty of paths that are only accessible by foot. I feel a lot safer walking around or going on runs because there are almost always other people on the sidewalks.

Unfortunately, bikers are a bit out of luck in Colima. No bike lanes and terrible drivers. I’ve seen a few very large biking groups, though. One of them easily could have had 100 people in it.

Guns

One of the more concerning aspects of Colima is the number of soldiers with guns. There is a military base here less than a km from our house, and you always see soldiers with guns along the gates. I’ve seen banks with armed soldiers guarding them and military trucks with 20 gun-toting soldiers standing in the back will cruise through town. 

As a human being who would rather not be shot, guns make me extremely uncomfortable. However, I recognize that a lot of the military’s presence through the city is in order to dissuade gang and cartel violence, the violence that is the main fear of Americans traveling to Mexico. 

I was talking to somebody the other week, and he asked, “Is it true that everybody in Texas has a gun? That’s pretty scary.”

So...how safe is Mexico?

Mexico is a large country with a lot of inequality, and my experiences are limited to small section. However, my experiences have only been positive.

Colima is a relatively wealthy region filled with people who take pride in their community and are determined to keep it safe.  As a student living abroad, I feel comfortable getting out and exploring the town. I truly believe that Colima is a great place for students and travelers to experience Mexico without being bombarded by the tourism industry, and I would recommend visiting Colima to anybody.   

I also cannot ignore that there is violence and gang activity going on in the background in Colima, just as there is plenty of drug-fueled violence in DFW that I have never witnessed from my comfortable corner in Richardson. It’s important to be aware that this exists, but I believe that it can easily be avoided by obeying the law and exercising common sense.

A level of danger exists to anybody visiting a country where he or she looks foreign and cannot speak the language. Should this keep anybody from traveling? Absolutely not. I even believe that Colima is safer than many cities that are more accessible to foreigners.  Because tourism is so uncommon here, there not much to gain from taking advantage of tourists.

I can’t speak for all of Mexico. There are good parts and bad parts. The sleepy little town of Jala, Nayarit, seemed as safe as can be, and I felt very comfortable walking around Valle de Santiago, Guanajuato, with other students at night.  I’ve also heard plenty of people tell me, “The Michoacán coast is the most beautiful in all of Mexico, but you can’t go there anymore because it’s too dangerous.” Juarez isn’t exactly a top tourist destination right now, either.

I don't think I can properly assess the danger of a foreign region without accepting the danger that exists within my home. In the state of Colima (including the Michoacán border) during its most dangerous year, 2012, the murder rate was 0.38 per 1000.  This murder rate was high enough to give Colima a United States travel advisory warning. In comparison, the murder rate in New Orleans is 0.53 per 1000, yet I’m quick to tell anybody that it’s the best city in the United States and they absolutely must visit it.  

I want to encourage everybody to go ahead an book that trip to Mexico. Travel off the beaten path. It’s a beautiful country filled with warm people, rich history, and fascinating geology. There are dangers that travelers should be aware of, but they should be fine in most regions if they avoid places that the local population avoids and exercise caution as if they were in a city in the United States. 

I still carry a little knife in my bag, but its sole purpose is to peel mangoes I find hanging over the sidewalks.

Things I've learned in Mexico

1. Lime, salt, and chili belong on everything.
2. Air conditioning in 96 degree, 70% humidity weather isn’t a necessity
3. But it is possible to sweat 24/7
4. Vegetarians in Mexico are a joke.
5. But attempting to be vegetarian in Mexico will result in “queso” being the most dreaded word in your vocabulary.
6. And if you’re vegetarian, and don’t like extreme levels of sugar or white bread, you might starve.
7. It’s totally normal to cram 15 people into the bed of a truck.
8. If you do choose to ride in the bed of a truck on cobblestone roads, bring a pillow.
9. People in the United States may be more into extremely spicy Mexican food than people in Mexico are.
10. And big burritos...those aren't actually a Mexican thing.
11. Geckos in your house are good luck because they eat mosquitoes.
12. Elementary schools here get cool mascots, like volcanos.
13. Homeless shelters and aid for the homeless are much less common here. Always be generous. 
14. Encountering ranchers riding through the forest with a shotgun and a machete is a totally normal thing during field work. We probably look just as strange staring at what looks like a puddle with our pH meter.
15. If you thought that Pitbull was in too much music in the United States, just listen to popular Mexican radio for 15 minutes.
16. Mariachi music videos put every other sappy music video to shame.
17. Random old guys, like the juice vendor on the street or the cashier at the convenience store may be very quick to tell you you’re beautiful. OHH so beautiful. They’re really not trying to hit on you, just being nice. Smile, say “gracias,” and believe that they are sincere.Even if it feels creepy, life is a lot easier if you just accept the compliment.
18. The two most common questions from taxi drivers are "where are you from?" and "Do you like Mexican boys?"
19. I was warned about street harassment before I came here, and I’m bothered far less by it here than I am at home. Yes, girls get honked at and hollered at a lot here, but it is usually just a “hola” or a guy trying to show off his English to me. In Texas and Louisiana, street harassment feels far more threatening.
20.   College aged Mexican boys, though, are super respectful and a bit embarrassed by the behavior of some of the older men.
21. Women have a really high standard of beauty here. Everybody is gorgeous and puts a lot of work into their appearance. I have no idea how every other girl manages to look fabulous constantly while I'm just drenched in sweat.
22. A bottle of water and a cerveza may be the same price at a restaurant. Choose carefully.
23. Walmart is the place to go buy exotic foods, like broccoli and celery, but local produce is always better from the frutaria down the road.
24. Drink all the fresh squeezed juice you can, because that stuff is way too pricey in the States.
25. If you try to buy a glass bottle of coke and don't bring in an empty glass bottle to exchange, the cashier will pour it into a plastic bag and give you a straw. I believe it works the same way with beer.
26. Mexico gives off some vibes that remind me so much of New Orleans. I think it’s the friendly culture and the architecture.
27. At about 9:00 every night, a man walks by our house, screaming at the top of his lungs. We don't actually know what he is saying, but he is selling bread. We call him "Tortured Bread Man."
28. Always ask for no or only a little bit of sugar added to mixed drinks and smoothies. Mexico will go way overboard. 
29. Musicians will get on buses, sing or play guitar, walk through the aisle collecting money, and then get off. This is normal.
30. Be weary when ordering coffee. They may bring you a cup of hot water and a container of instant coffee. 
31. If Maestro XS asks to kiss your cheek, just know that he won't let go for an uncomfortable amount of time.  
32. All of the parks have free wifi!

Volcano flights

Great experiences are often preceded by very poor decisions. For example, roadside ceviche.  But the coolest and stupidest experience of my life occurred yesterday, when I climbed into a six-passenger airplane and flew into the plume of a degassing volcano.

A group of volunteers generally goes on these flights whenever we have 5 people willing to pay. We fly over Volcan de Colima with a thermal camera and a normal DSLR so we can compare the images over time. I was responsible for the photographs on this flight.

It’s worth noting that I have a mild fear of heights and get nervous in propeller planes. But this is for science. 

We arrived at the airport and were greeted by a pilot. I didn’t learn this until today, but it turns out that he was Nick’s friend, who normally does these flights. He handed us off to another man, the only one not in a formal pilot uniform. This man, I later learned, had never done a volcano flight before.

All six of us climbed into the plane and took off. It was rather relaxing, getting to fly over Colima and the surrounding mountains. What a great pilot, I (incorrectly) thought.

 Then I heard “Is that a fumarole!?” A large fume was ascending from Volcan de Colima. 

 

There are certain questions that pilots should never ask their passengers. “Is it safe to fly into the smoke?” is one of those questions.

Haley was sitting in the front, and she could not speak any Spanish. Alicia, in the back, began translating between them, but the pilot could not hear her. Regardless, “no” is the same in both languages.

Alicia later told us that he said “It’s okay. If the engine dies we can just glide back to the airport.”

Thus, we headed for the degassing volcano, and it was awesome. As we circled around, we opened up the icy window and stuck out heads out to get good data.  This was definitely the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. This was also, apparently, the closest any group has flown over the volcano. And it was acting up as we did it.

When we landed, we saw a large explosion from the volcano. I am so thankful that we were not flying over it when that happened.

We are certainly blessed to be alive, but we are doubly-blessed to have these photos. 

FOOD

This is the list where I shall share some of the local and interesting food here, and my thoughts on it.

I want to note that I am eating pescatarian while I am here. The seafood in restaurants here is local, and I wanted to be able to experience some of the regional food. I'll maybe eat seafood once or twice a week, and I'm still adjusting to eating that much animal protein. When I get back to the states I plan on going back to just veggie.

Eating vegetarian in Colima is hard. Taquerias are on every corner, and they are the typical, inexpensive options. Some of them have quesadillas, which I can eat. They're really delicious if you load them up with guacamole salsa, but I can't eat quesadillas every day. We're slowly finding the places with vegetarian or seafood options (somewhat on the cheap).

Food

1. Ceviche
I need to begin with ceviche, of course! Raw fish, cooked with the acid from lime with tomatoes and peppers. SO GOOD. You can get it with various types of seafood. I think that shrimp is my favorite because it has the most "normal" texture. The best ceviche I  have had was from the side of the road near the university. I was living on the dangerous side that day.

2. Chapulines
AKA grasshoppers. I ordered a batch from the Oaxacan restaurant Au Que Nanishe and ate then in tacos. They were very salty. This is more of a Mayan thing than a Colima thing.

3.  Tuna (Prickly Pear)
I eat a lot of prickly pear in Dallas, but I had never had the green type before. I had also never had it with lime, salt, and chile. It's super cheap to buy ten of them already peeled off the street.

4. Queso Fundido
This is basically a plate full of cheese. Goodness. So much cheese. I can't handle this much cheese more than once in my life. You eat it with tortillas like a cheese taco. So much cheese.


Drinks
1. Tejuino
Tequino is a (pretty much) nonalcoholic fermented corn drink they sell in the streets around here. It has a thick, almost syrupy texture and is sweet, salty, and lime-y.

2. Tuba
Tuba is another drink sold in the street, made from somewhat-fermented palm sap. It is bright pink and tastes a bit fermented with a bit of a coconut flavor. You drink it with peanuts in it.

Ceboruco

Note: I wrote this on  Sunday, June 29. I haven't been able to post it because of bad internet, and I am finally posting it without photos. I will try to add them later.

As I write this, I am sitting in the Houston International Airport. I will be in Oklahoma until Wednesday to attend my grandfather’s funeral and be with my family during this time.  I’ve been traveling since about 2 pm yesterday, so I would like to apologize in advanced if this post is incoherent. 

Last Monday I left with Nick and a group of Colima environmental science students for a week-long trip to Ceboruco volcano and the volcanic region near Valle de Santiago. I don’t want to go into heavy geologic detail because there’s a lot I’d probably get wrong and I don’t want to post anything unpublished. Also, for some reason I don’t understand, many of my friends actually care about things other than lava flows.

Ceboruco is near the sweet little town of Jala. All 11 of us and our mountain of backpacks squeezed into a van and drove about 6 hours to get there. 

The landscape throughout midwest Mexico is painted with green fields, red dirt, and blue agave.

I didn’t get any pictures of Jala, unfortunately, but it is the sort of town that many Americans would think of when they think of Mexico, with caballeros trotting through the cobblestoned streets on their horses among the motorbikes.

We drove up to the top of Ceboruco. This volcano has an extraordinarily rich history, both geologically and anthropologically. Ceboruco has had multiple eruptions, the most recent one being around the 1800’s, I believe, causing two large calderas, cinder cones, and flows of varying compositions. The regional indigenous people have legends about the volcano, describing its collapse.  The volcano itself is beautiful, its surface juxtaposing dense tropical forests and vegetation-bare lava flows, with radial dykes forming a sharp ridges.

This was my first time walking on a lava flow. The one pictured here was pretty tame, but I’ll write more about how trekking lava flows is simultaneously the most exciting and terrifying thing ever.

We camped out near the caldera for the first night. The second day we explored another lava flow.

Unfortunately, Mexico is in the midst of rainy season, and it because pouring down on us, cutting our day a little bit short.  We stayed in a hotel near Jala for the 2^nd and 3^rd nights. The third day we explored some flows that have not been described geologically in any publications.

One spot was perhaps that most beautiful place I’ve ever been, with a cohesive flow forming a sort of uplifted path to the edge of a beautiful valley. Unfortunately I didn’t bring my camera because it looked like it would rain and the flows were really treacherous.

We left at 5 am to head the city of Valle de Santiago in the state of Guanajuato.  This region has a lot of cinder cones and other volcanic features. Here, we mostly worked on a creating a stratigraphic column in a very volcanic region.

Oh, and it’s also gosh darn pretty.

My birthday was on Saturday. Friday night, everybody surprised me with a beautiful cake! Apparently it is a Mexican tradition to take a bike of the cake with no hands, and then somebody shoves your face in it. 

We headed back for Colima around 2 in the afternoon, and, due to a long dinner and a slow alternative route, I got back to the house around 11:30  greeted by my wonderful lab-mates and a cake! I caught a 4:30 am bus to Guadalajara, equipped with seats that turned into beds.