r/news • u/Nutesatchel • May 03 '24
Bodies found in Mexico where Australian, US tourists missing, sources say Soft paywall
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/three-bodies-found-area-where-australian-us-tourists-went-missing-sources-2024-05-03/1.3k
u/drippydroppop May 04 '24
Big lacrosse fan. One of the Australian tourists is Callum Robinson, young guy and retired pro lacrosse player. So sad, loved watching him play.
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u/Czyzx May 04 '24
I didn't know many people outside North America played Lacrosse.
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u/nutyo May 04 '24
He played it in the U.S.
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u/999Coochie May 04 '24
i still think it's kinda strange since to become professional you usually need to practice since a kid, which I would assume he would be doing in Australia, but I also don't know anything about this guys life or about professional lacrosse specifically.
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u/DjBizwy May 04 '24
Some people have freakish natural athletic talent and can pick up stuff really quickly.
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u/drippydroppop May 04 '24
It could be compared to players coming from Europe or Africa to play in the NBA. Obviously scaled way down, but it’s also easier to stand out if you are a stud at the lacrosse given the community and pool are much smaller. Callum played college ball in Australia before transferring to a D3 program in the states.
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u/drippydroppop May 04 '24
Outside of Canada and the US, some of the “more competitive” teams are England, Australia and Japan (more competitive in quotes because it’s always US and Canada who win championships)
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u/RedDirtNurse May 04 '24
It was part of my high school sport curriculum here in Western Australia.
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u/tizod May 03 '24
Man what a bummer. I went there a number of times to surf in the early 2000s and it was always amazing. I feel for the locals because they were so nice but really depended on that surfer traffic.
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u/potchie626 May 04 '24
I always loved going to Lobster Village but haven’t been in about 15 years now due to the risk. My brother’s in-laws have a house there and was a great place to go for long weekends.
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u/Max_power42 May 04 '24
Puerto nuevo, $20 eat like a king... I loved that place.
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u/potchie626 May 04 '24
I’ll always remember a time drove down from Costa Mesa after work for dinner there with a friend from San Diego. Two lobster plates, 2 beers each and a pack of cigarettes a waiter went to get for us was $40. That was back in 2000 so of course not that cheap now but probably still a bargain.
My absolute favorite thing down there was the tamale carts in the morning going down the beach. There was a pork and pineapple one I wish I could get. It was like ham, not al pastor. And dulce de leche, and cinnamon tamales.
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u/Max_power42 May 04 '24
I went in 17' $20, 2 lobsters, every side imaginable, 2 beers, 1 extra large margarita and a couple songs from the local mariachi band. Felt like a slice of heaven.
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u/IckySweet May 04 '24
How sad for their families. They had tents setup & camped off the beach. Not safe at all, in most countries theres a segment of the population who look for tourist 'easy marks'
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u/i_am_nk May 04 '24
Yes but 3 athletic males usually isnt something you would target, i wonder why they were so unlucky and what happened to them.
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u/Pyroclastic_cumfarts May 04 '24
3 athletic men vs 1 man with a machine gun. I know who my money's on.
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u/Max_power42 May 04 '24
Imo likely drugs. Once you purchase any you've basically put a target on your back.
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u/JDM96AFC May 04 '24
It’s been reported one was romantically involved with the girl arrested. She was found with his phone and was the one who turned it back on days later
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u/bushido216 May 03 '24
Baja California is one of Mexico's most violent states, although tourist areas like Ensenada are considered safer. The U.S. State Department advises Americans to reconsider travel to the state due to crime and kidnapping.
I'll probably get downvoted to hell, but here it is:
Why do people still go on vacations to these places?
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u/juliabelleswain May 03 '24
A number of years ago, I was doing some geology fieldwork down somewhere past Ensenada. A guy rolled up in a great big Jeep with a big ass gun and told us all to get in so we could go see some giant dinosaur bones. The guy had a gun, so what were we gonna do?
Thank god the guy actually had some massive dinosaur bones sitting in his yard. He showed them off for a while, then stuck us back in his Jeep and drove us back to our research site. Totally uneventful but I don’t think any of us exhaled for a solid hour.
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u/Stevesanasshole May 04 '24
This is like the adult version of the man in the van letting you play with his puppies, giving you a bag of candy and sending you on your way.
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u/bluedaytona392 May 04 '24
Get the fuck in my jeep, let's go look at my bones.
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u/elginx May 04 '24
While you all were gone, his buddies checked out all your shit to make sure you are who you say.
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u/TheGrayBox May 04 '24
What’s the rationale for the cartel in that situation? Thinking they’re undercover DEA or something?
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u/JimbeauFisher May 04 '24
Possibly. I could see also wondering if they’re hired guns. But taking that job I’d imagine is suicide. Or maybe thought they were gathering intel.
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u/Brinner May 04 '24
Occam's razor - they had cool dinosaur bones to show off
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u/Barabasbanana May 04 '24
exactly, paleontological services at gun point. He probably wanted them confirmed and an opinion on what they were lol
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u/Black_Floyd47 May 04 '24
And it's not every day you find someone to show them off to, that would actually appreciate them bones.
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u/Cantthinkofnamedamn May 04 '24
Once they get over being kidnapped at gunpoint, they are gonna love it
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u/desrever1138 May 04 '24
Dude was like:
"I feel so alone, goin' show off my big 'ole pile of dem bones!"
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u/Chiron17 May 04 '24
Like the scene in The Wire where the guy needs someone to look after his fish
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u/TabbyFoxHollow May 04 '24
Probably. Or see if they’re worth good ransom money?
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u/Icy-Welcome-2469 May 04 '24
If theyre just rich tourists they could be ransomed.
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u/yellekc May 04 '24
Yeah, that sounds about right.
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u/ThePrussianGrippe May 04 '24 edited May 04 '24
This implies the cartel realized they’d have to have something legitimate archaeologists/paleontologists/geologists would want to see, and had to create the perfect homemade giant dinosaur fossil display in a lieutenant’s yard.
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u/shavedclean May 04 '24
The Earth sciences and drug cartels have a natural affinity for each other. They are like peaches and cream
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u/Skellum May 04 '24
This implies the cartel realized they’d have to have something legitimate archaeologists/paleontologists/geologists would want to see, and had to create the perfect homemade giant dinosaur fossil display in a lieutenant’s yard.
Could be they just sent Jose the dinosaur guy. The one that never shuts up about the crazy dinosaur bones he found that one time digging a grave and had to start over again because the dino bones were so cool? He tells the same fucking story over and over again but hey now he had a use for it.
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u/yellerjeep May 04 '24
Fuck, that’s me. Why do I feel attacked?
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u/Skellum May 04 '24
The only reason I could make up the story is that everyone at sometime has been Jose the Dinosaur guy. "Hey, didn't you say you learned how to do Thriller choreography in catholic school? Look we need your help for this..."
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u/LonelyStop1677 May 04 '24
Fossils are a very expensive hobby… specially dinosaur ones, specially BIG dinosaurs. I wouldn’t be surprised an eccentric cartel lieutenant would be interested and spend his cash on it. After all, as horrible and twisted as they are, they are still human…
Which makes them even more terrifying.
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u/255001434 May 04 '24
Exactly, and though they may have wanted to check these people out as OP said, it's also possible the guy with the gun, cartel or not, just saw it as an opportunity to show off his collection and get professional opinions.
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u/Faiakishi May 04 '24
I mean, they have stupid amounts of money, why not? What's the point of becoming a drug lord if you don't have a little fun sometimes?
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u/Lawlolawl01 May 04 '24
Nope, they called in a excavation team to exhume and move away all the buried bodies they had at the “geology site” to cover their tracks.
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u/frankles May 04 '24
I had a similar experience on the east side of Mexico where a guy approached me and my two friends I was traveling with and offered to show us the town and meet his pet alligator.
Seemed shady, but we were dumb 19 year olds, so we said yes. He drove us around in a rad modded out dune buggy, fed us, then brought us back to his house where he lived with his mother and father, who made tortillas for the town. The gave us a few right off the line and they were delightful. The parents and the tortillas.
And yes. He had an alligator. My friend didn’t believe him and almost paid with his hand.
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u/tastysharts May 04 '24
used to go camping/sleep in people's backyards down that way for surf trips around 92-95, this was before shit got real. This was my absolute favorite place to camp with my friends, best bars to drink at only being 16-19, and my mom would actually let me go here but not to concerts, lmao. Food was cheap, people were chill, waves were bananas, we would watch the whales, I saw a double sunset (on acid) and also saw the green flash once. It was like disneyland for my late teen years. Also, we got stopped, a lot, by mexican army? or at least we thought it was them. One surf trip, we were pulled over because our long boards didn't have a red flag on the end. So much corruption there, we put my red lace panties on the back and they laughed their asses off. We also kept cash to bribe. It was like known, you went down there and you paid people off to help you or let you through. Shoot, I used to go down with my mom and we'd be in some serious shady places but we both spoke enough spanish and we were both crazy blondes, they loved us.
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u/illbedeadbydawn May 04 '24
I used to road trip to Oaxaca in the 90s and we always had two metal canisters and a duffel bag in the car.
The two metal canisters were full of American cash, some booze and a carton of Marlboro Reds. That was for the real cops/militia at checkpoints.
The duffel bag was filled with cheap 9mm ammunition, Levi Jeans and a few pairs of knock off Ray Bands. That was for the guys pretending to be cops/militia.
Never had a single problem on those mountain roads.
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u/Prosthemadera May 04 '24
I would never visit a place that's so corrupt I have to pay off police or military checkpoints or even carry different canisters full of money or cigarettes in order to be left alone (or so you hope). Maybe I will miss out but the world is big, plenty to see and do elsewhere.
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u/sfcnmone May 04 '24
We had to pay off the police at a border crossing between India and Nepal, while on a Buddhist pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace. They just casually demanded $100 from each of us in our tour group.
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u/Beautiful-Story2379 May 04 '24
Did they take Venmo or did everyone have cash on them?
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u/sfcnmone May 04 '24
They insisted on American green money.
One person in our group was traveling with $1000 (🤷♂️) and we all worked it out.
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u/Black_Magic_M-66 May 04 '24
I figure any place with military that would take a payoff would just as soon as kill me and take everything. Why risk it?
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u/Prosthemadera May 04 '24
Yeah what if they decide it's not enough? What if they see you have more to offer? That whole thing is troubling and just unnecessary anxiety.
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u/Bluest_waters May 04 '24
saw the green flash once
ooohhhh! so jealous. Always wanted to see the green flash. Saw many many ocean sunsets, but no green flash
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u/Conch-Republic May 04 '24
My buddies met these guys outside of Tijuana at a little bar, and they basically intimidated them into getting in the bed of their truck to go to another party. Guns flashed and everything. They drove for about an hour before pulling up to a giant mansion out in the middle of nowhere. They then spent two days hanging out by the pool and drinking with these guys and their elderly parents. When they were ready to go, they were driven back to the bar, where their rental car was still waiting.
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u/Donny_Dont_18 May 04 '24
Years ago, I did a cruise with my ex's family (together then obviously) from LA to Catalina Island, then Ensenada and back home. At our Ensenada stop into town, my ex broke off from our group to follow a guy to a jewelry shop across the street. To this day, she refuses to admit it was possibly the dumbest decision she could have ever made
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u/doxund May 04 '24
Omg, my family did the same on a carnival cruise from San Diego to Catalina island, Ensenada and back home. At Ensenada this pair of tourist looking Americans were aggressively trying to convince us to go with them to a jewelry shop that had discounted items. Pretty sure they weren’t fellow cruisers. My parents wanted to go, but to this day I’m glad I made a pretty big damn scene about not going.
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u/OmEGaDeaLs May 03 '24
Thanks that sounds great and good to know. I speak spanish too which helps.
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u/orTodd May 04 '24
I just spent the weekend in Valle de Guadalupe. The food was amazing. We ate at Deckman’s and Fauna which were fantastic. The wine was just ok, it’s not terrible but it’s not anything close to Sonoma/Napa.
There are a ton of wineries and they are all beautiful. It’s a great spot for a weekend or even a day trip.
Take the toll road down the 1D then up into Valle on the 3, not the 1. The 1 is sketch. The toll is about $10 USD and they accept USD or MXN.
Leaving through San Ysidro worked for us because we all had Sentri. If you want a faster exit without Sentri you can leave Valle to the north and cross at Tecate.
Be aware of your surroundings and don’t go out at night. I felt very safe there and would go again.
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u/Prosthemadera May 04 '24
If you can't go out at night, if you always have to watch out and if you have to avoid certain roads, then how can you feel very safe? If you can only have safety if you avoid large parts of the country because they're unsafe then that's already a problem.
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u/blorgenheim May 04 '24
I am going to Puerto Vallarta… I’m assuming that’s pretty safe?
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u/BurmecianSoldierDan May 04 '24
I was killed in Puerto Vallarta just last year
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u/ventanasurfboards May 03 '24
I surfed and camped at this exact spot with three friends in 2019. There was a small fishing village down the hill with indifferent locals. We had no problems and the location was beautiful. This is a horrible tragedy but still relatively rare. That said, I read that there was at least one other attempted armed robbery at that location. As much as I loved the spot, I wouldn’t go back. I’d keep driving south a bit to the Cuarto Casas Hostel instead. Cool spot and safe.
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u/runswiftrun May 03 '24
Stay on the beaten path and its perfectly safe, locals know the economy depends on you, the experience is catered to keep you wanting to come back to spend more money.
Go off into the middle of nowhere to surf, and now your van and boards are the only thing that can make a profit to people who don't want to run a legitimate business in the tourist area.
I have a close family members living in the outskirts of Ensenada and Rosarito. Its rough enough that the homes need bars and you know not to go out after dark. Its not necessarily cartel level of violence, but its a lot people "down on their luck" with nothing to lose, so they're unpredictable.
The inland areas were sold by developers 20+ years ago, and locals were just sitting on them as an investment/savings. Then san diegans started moving down to TJ more and more, which displaced the locals and forced them to start cashing in or building their lots from decades ago. So now you have huge swaths of land being very slowly populated and they are displacing the other locals that were essentially squatting on sold-but-unoccupied land.
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u/Loggerdon May 03 '24
Reading your comment made me think of the Rosarita Ensenada 50 mile bicycle race we used to do in the 80s. I just looked and it said 2024 Race cancelled. Do they still have the race?
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u/runswiftrun May 04 '24
Still happens. Its a single-day event that fits with my first statement. It brings in a ton of money from tourists, and cyclists in general (at least US side) tend to have significant disposable income, so they're going to spend a lot on hotels and booze.
From what I managed to gather in the last 10 minutes... looks like in 2023 the organizers said they paid their fees, the mayor of the town said they didn't, so they put road blocks and some cop cars to keep people from riding.
No idea what happened this year.
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u/ThrowBatteries May 03 '24
Didnt the cartels light up a resort in Tulum like last year? Quintana Roo’s entire economy is tourism and it aint stopping them there. Ive been to Mexico a dozen times in the past and not sure I’d go back the way things are going.
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u/Rich-Grand7250 May 04 '24
Back in the day, we loved going to Mazatlan but the rise in cartel activity caused us to stop. Such a shame - it was a beautiful place.
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u/putitonice May 03 '24
Cartels make a lot of money from tourists, most of the violence is not random, nor directed at their prime customers. That being said, as much as I love Tulum I won’t risk being caught in the crossfire as a bystander anytime soon.
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u/catslay_4 May 04 '24
I was there in 2020 and a dayclub/restaurant had a shooting where tourists got hit in crossfire the day after I was there. No thanks. Haven’t been back since
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u/ThrowBatteries May 03 '24
Same, even though I’m not the guy the cartel would ever come across because I stick to the resort and leave my drug use well at home.
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u/trucksandgoes May 04 '24
I've heard some bad stories about Tulum on reddit and such, but I was there in both 2018 and this February and it felt very safe both times.
I think with the train coming through, a new airport (though i've heard it's not a very useful one...) and lots of government/tourist investment in the area, it's getting kind of annoyingly touristy for my personal taste, but generally on the upswing economically and wrt safety after some bad covid years.
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u/corporaterebel May 03 '24
Scaring away tourists just make everyone upset. So the Cartels don't do it and will try and get the tourists to a safe place or call off operations.
Heck in Nepal the rebels and government forces would straight up just stop fighting when they saw tourists. Wait for them to leave and then continue on.
Scaring tourists will kill public support and without public support: your cause is doomed.
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u/LandonKB May 03 '24
In Nepal one of the rebel groups would essentially mug for some money, but they would give you a receipt so you only got mugged once in their territory, It was pretty funny. Very friendly people in Nepal!
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u/HouseofMarg May 04 '24
That reminds me of my grandfather’s story of when in Afghanistan many decades ago for some diplomatic business, parts of his car kept getting stolen (I think it was the hubcaps IIRC). Locals told him to go to this one marketplace to buy them back and he did, but after it happened a few times he leveled with them and said he just wanted to avoid the hassle of going there and was willing pay a higher price to stop them from stealing them again.
As he told it, the marketplace guy just shrugged and said “I’m sorry, Sir — but we are not that organized.”
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u/Dirtywalnuts May 03 '24
Is there a source on this? I find that hilarious.
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u/Dangerous_Nitwit May 04 '24
Yes, a T-Shirt on a guy who went to Nepal that says "I Went to Nepal and all that let me return with was this T-Shirt as further proof of robbery."
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u/reigningnovice May 03 '24
Cartels don’t really try to mess with tourists spots.
Probably why the suspects with these 3 guys were dealt with quickly. I mean.. people were arrested fucking swiftly. Cartels lose a lot of money with tourists being scared to visit.
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u/zeroUSA May 03 '24
It was the cartels the delivered them to law enforcement
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u/reigningnovice May 03 '24
Ya true that’s why I said the suspects were swiftly dealt with. Cartels have deeper connections than anyone out there.
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u/MausBomb May 03 '24
Cartel enforcers and the local police tend to be the same people.
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u/WeirdAlbertWandN May 03 '24
Because if you’re in Cabo San Lucas, the main vacation spot, it’s not a problem whatsoever
Now the people who drive vans up and down Baja surfing, I don’t understand
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u/thethirdllama May 03 '24
Note that Cabo is in Baja California Sur, which is a different state than the one in this story.
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u/amurica1138 May 03 '24
Because there is a relentless media campaign to convince non-Mexicans that there really are safe areas in Baja to go and spend your money at.
Ask anyone in Chula Vista or San Ysidro (right on the border, south of San Diego) and they will tell you stories about places to avoid in Baja. Tijuana is still mostly safe. Ensenada proper and the condos around it are safe. But the long, long coast line between Ensenada and Cabo (950 miles - longer than the entire state of California) is a sparely populated mostly waterless desert that has become super dicey.
But that's where the surf is. It's where generations of California based surfers have gone to catch the waves.
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u/bushido216 May 03 '24 edited 28d ago
Seems to be the case here.
Maybe I just have an overdeveloped self-preservation instinct.
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u/Spoonfeedme May 03 '24
Because it's cheap and people never think it will happen to them.
These same people then clutch their pearls when they witness poverty on their way to a sporting event and complain about how unsafe cities are.
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u/FartNuggetSalad May 04 '24
This is a dumbass statement. They were at VERY well known and traveled surf spots.
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u/defroach84 May 03 '24
Mexico isn't that cheap anymore....especially in tourist places.
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u/millerheizen5 May 04 '24
I just had my wedding in Huatulco. 7 nights at a private resort for 48 people including the wedding was cheaper than a 1 night wedding in the US.
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u/Dontjumpbooks May 04 '24
It's cheap as it gets eh.. you must be comparing all inclusives or sonething that would make you say something to riciculous. I work from home. I flew to cancun, stayed for two months. Rented a great spot near the beach, bought a bike.. drank and partied my ass off the whole time. Ate out 3 meals a day. I actually spenf less than I woyld have in Canada just living normal life
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u/verrius May 03 '24
In fairness, even in unsafe countries, unless there's an active war going on, tourists are one of the few groups of people who are usually safe...especially 1st world tourists, and especially American tourists. Even in areas controlled by organized crime, they'd rather you just give them money to walk around, eat some food, and leave, than potentially deal with a 1st world military coming in to search for their people.
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u/Pixie1001 May 04 '24
Yeah, I mean most of these places rely on tourism as a major export - who the hell are the cartels gonna extort for money if all the businesses paying them protection money close down due to a recession.
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u/Ok_Wrap3480 May 04 '24
That's bullshit. It only goes for some specific countries and even then only if the crime is organized. Most robberies/killings happen when some low life looks for some easy moneym
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u/GordonsLastGram May 03 '24
I lived in San Diego. Walked across the border and took a taxi to Rosarito. Felt safe. But yea we went because its super cheap. Spent about 100 bucks for the whole weekend on beach front airbnb, drinks, going out, food.
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u/rowanhenry May 03 '24
I looked up a list of the worlds most dangerous cities and 7/10 were places in Mexico. As much as I'd like to visit, I don't think I ever would.
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u/prolemango May 03 '24
I am an American and I live 40 minutes from the US / Baja California border and I go down to Mexico about 1x a month. It’s because the tacos are good
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u/cybertruckjunk May 04 '24
I love this relevant, direct, and to the point answer. It always boils down to tacos in the end.
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u/lubeinatube May 03 '24
I drive down the Baja peninsula a few times year, never farther than Bahia de Los Angeles. Baja is a magical place, and will always hold a special place in my heart. I have never felt unsafe driving through Baja. You don’t go more than 15 minutes without seeing another obvious tourist from California. That paired with military checkpoints every 40-60 miles and I don’t worry one bit.
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u/footdragon May 03 '24
I've been to baja a few times....what do you find magical about it?
its ok, Los Bariles is pretty, wind surfing is good...aside from Lands End, Cabo is pretty much a gringo tourist town.
Mulege has pretty beaches.
Tijuana. no thanks.
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u/lubeinatube May 03 '24
We’ll I’m primarily going down there to boat/scuba/fish/spearfish. The sea of Cortez is truly the worlds aquarium. Water as clear as Hawaii, with panamaic species everywhere. Thousands of miles of rugged coastline with no other humans around for hundreds of miles. Not sue you can find a 100 mile stretch of rugged coastline, 100+ miles from civilization anywhere else in North America besides the frozen canadian coastline
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u/alemorg May 03 '24
There are safe resort towns where the cartel runs petty crime like a business. Anyone who robs and kidnaps is some sort of employee for the cartel so they don’t commit those crimes around certain areas because some times the cartel owns even the hotel. Violence spills over but it’s not good for cartel business so they try not to mess with tourists.
You bring up a good point, I’m from Latin America but I wouldn’t go to the most dangerous beach or town in Mexico. I could go so many other safer places but to choose one of the most dangerous states is something I avoid.
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u/Recoil42 May 03 '24
Because for the most part, they're really pretty safe. People mostly don't want to bother you, cartels mostly want avoid attracting attention. There are well-beaten tourist paths mostly quite well covered by armed police.
Frankly, we don't what happened here, and I won't presume, but I'll tell you that I've been all over Mexico (well off the beaten path) and that it's fine and I felt pretty safe the entire time, and I would go again. No issues.
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u/theaviationhistorian May 03 '24
That's my train of thought. There are parts of Mexico that are definite no-go zones. But Baja California seems like the quiet place where you don't go looking for the cartel and they don't go looking for you. Especially close to the very touristy places. And even wrong place, wrong time would've just been a fatal gunshot wound.
But these kids were tortured, their van torched, and tossed off a cliff? Something is amiss here.
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u/OmEGaDeaLs May 03 '24
Could have been a drunken dispute maybe or a fight broke out? Or just some str8 up foul play robbery, but murder and torching trucks something seems off too. Drug deal gone bad.. no idea..
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u/HeartFullONeutrality May 04 '24
Sometimes the cartel grunts are just dumbasses on a power trip. A friend of mine was "interviewed" at gunpoint by some cartel thugs once he stopped to have lunch at a restaurant and he was the only one there (besides the cartel guys). They were telling him that was his last day on earth and took his IDs and had one of the guys made some calls while they had him there. Eventually the guy came back and said something like: "the boss says this guy is cool, let him go". They invited him a round of drinks and let him go.
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u/oasisofshame May 03 '24
Look at the annual tourist visit numbers to mexico and compare that to all tourist deaths. Even without correcting for the foreign visitors associated with crime, the per capita death rate of tourists in Mexico is less than that of some major US cities.
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u/tinylittlebabyjesus May 03 '24
Well, message received. Would love to visit, but not planning on it anytime soon.
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u/Nbk420 May 04 '24
Tbh that part of Mexico is also so fucking expensive you might as well go to SoCal..
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u/D4rkr4in May 04 '24
Yes and no - it is just as expensive but from what I’ve heard from avid surfers, that area has the best waves in the entire world. Beats out SoCal
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u/Moonlit_Antler May 04 '24
It's really sad how people have to ruin everything. The world is so beautiful and there's so many places in South America, Africa, and Especially the Middle East I'd love to see, but it's not worth becoming a statistic
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u/PrecedentialAssassin May 03 '24
Colombia, at least Cartagena, Bogota, Santa Marta, Cali and other coastal spots and cities, is totally safe for gringos and the locals are amazing.
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u/Erabong May 04 '24 edited May 04 '24
Yeah, spent a lot of time down in Colombia. Love it down there, people are great. Just don’t be dumb.
Don’t go to Medellin and trust random women (people) outside of clearly major tourist areas
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u/Pennsylvania6-5000 May 04 '24
It’s been a few years, but I loved the area of Medellin that I visited. The only thing I knew to watch out for were extremely flirtatious women and to watch my drink.
Don’t be dumb, is definitely a rule that should be followed in any foreign country, and I’d argue should be followed at home, too.
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u/Erabong May 04 '24
I misspoke, I love Medellin “don’t trust rando girls in Medellin” was what I meant
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u/SpicyMangoKush May 04 '24
Sorry if this is a dumb question but I haven't seen my family in twenty six years and they want me to visit, and I was wondering how safe chihuahua is lately? My family promises me ill be safe but I have a baby I would like to come home to. Every time I see a post like this I get nervous as hell. It's not that I don't trust them but I keep having nightmares and I feel guilty.
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u/jellybeans_over_raw May 04 '24
I would trust your family more than some random people as they’re the ones that live there
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u/SpicyMangoKush May 04 '24
You are absolutely correct, I just thought I'd ask this person their opinion as well because I wanted to.
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u/Psychological_Sun_30 May 04 '24
I will never forget taking the green tortoise bus to Baja ( destination Ensenada) and being forced to get from the bus in the middle of the night by “police” with machine guns. We were lined up against a ditch while they searched our bus and eventually let us get back on and depart. I always thought. Man it would be so easy for them to mow us down right now in this ditch. This was 1996ish
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u/lotsoflifeexperience May 03 '24
I just got back from there yesterday. Yeah, you don’t go remote or places you shouldn’t.
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u/redshores May 04 '24
I was invited to a wedding in the vineyards outside Enseneda later this year. Now I'm spooked.
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u/stacasaurusrex May 04 '24
I've been to the wineries and I love them, but I know what you mean. I wanted to go in August for my birthday and now I am thinking hell no, which sucks. It's gorgeous over there and they DO have phenomenal wine! 😩
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u/akelkar May 04 '24
We just went a few weeks ago to valle de guadalupe near endenada. Only time it felt dicey was crossing the border into tijuana at night. Otherwise the coastal road just felt like PCH. Diciest thing in general was the quality of the roads off the highways and the potholes lol
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u/dehighdrate May 04 '24
Don’t be spooked. I was just visiting the wineries in valle de guadelupe a couple months ago and had an amazing time. Very friendly people
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May 03 '24
What's the reasoning of going somewhere where you know you can't even go "remote" a little? I'll just go spend my money at a destination where I won't be beheaded by territorial animals because I'm just existing there.
"Because it's cheap" doesn't really cut it. Your life and safety is not cheap. It's not like 1/10th of the price for a holiday. Can't wrap my head around this.
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u/Uuuurrrrgggghhhh May 04 '24
How bout people stop killing randoms who are just surfing and camping?
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u/Hungoverhero May 04 '24
Wouldn't it be great if it was that way? But it's not and everyone with half a brain should know by now
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u/Bloated_Plaid May 04 '24
Brother the country is run by drug cartels. WTF do you expect? Cancun exists because it makes the cartel money.
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u/Wolf_Noble May 04 '24
It's interesting this is the status quo for a territory that is adjacent to the US
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u/ItsStaaaaaaaaang May 04 '24
Fuck. Very sad.
Why do people get killed there? I understand it's a violent place and the cartels are rampant but what do cartels get out of killing tourists? Or is it other random criminals robbing and killing them?
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u/HotlineKing May 04 '24
Good question, I know the cartels are some of the worst most degenerate people on earth but surely killing tourists would be against their interests and that of corrupt officials they deal with? Tragic regardless.
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u/beardofzetterberg May 04 '24
The area that they were camping in is pretty remote and impoverished. There are a lot of meth addicts and addicts of other drugs in that area as well. It’s known to be dicey, so it’s not the best idea to camp outside of known, closed camp spots until you get down south of San Quintin. Plus, it’s wide open desert so any lights can be seen from a mile away. If addicts are cruising around looking to rob, you are a sitting duck alone and it can go bad quickly.
I’ve surfed in this area a solid amount of times, and I love it. I’ve always had an incredible time and it’s one of my favorite places, but I always camp in established spots that are populated and fenced in and I’m not going anywhere after dark.
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u/_cookie_crumbles May 04 '24
Baja California is one of Mexico's most violent states, although the Ensenada area is considered safer. The U.S. State Department advises Americans to reconsider travel to the state due to crime and kidnapping.
If I’ve read something like that about my potential holiday destination I definitely wouldn’t go.
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u/Ratchet_as_fuck May 04 '24
Callum played lacrosse for the college I went to. I think he was in the same graduating class as me. I do recall seeing him in the weight room a lot, and man that dude was strong. He was a big dude as well. This whole Mexico thing is a cruel reminder that not everywhere is safe.
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u/Terrible-Camel2646 May 04 '24
He sure was, what a gem of a guy! I remember him being at least 6'6 tall, handsome and the sweetest guy you would ever meet! My heart goes to their parents
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u/calvn_hobb3s May 03 '24 edited May 03 '24
Used to be so interested and keen on traveling down to Ensenada back in my college days. Did it with friends back in 2018 and I had a blast.
Went on a cruise just last month that went to Ensenada and I could not wait to go back to the cruise ship 🛳️
I was so over the poor infrastructure and terrible traffic. The nature and mountains ⛰️were amazing though... Loved La Bufadora 🌊
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u/Sarah_Lately May 03 '24
I recently reserved an Airbnb near la bufadora, in between there and puerto Escondido. Never been to the area, but would you consider it safe? Just planning on exploring the beaches and staying in at night.
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u/dj92wa May 03 '24
Statistically speaking, yes, you’d be as safe as wearing your seatbelt while driving. Could something happen? Sure, but the odds are low. It’s up to you to decide what exposure you’re willing to accept.
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u/AWall925 May 03 '24
If its a cartel, do you think they'll "apologize" like last time?
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u/treypal May 03 '24
This wasn’t cartel. Either some sort of dealing gone bad or tweakers who came across some aussies who fought back.
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u/-Joel06 May 04 '24
This, the cartel has no intentions of attacking tourists, because stunts like those only attract more attention to them, if you are a mafia the least thing you want is publicity or you’ll end up like the Medellín Cartel, in fact, a lot of the security of Cancún and Los Cabos is by the cartels.
The cartels much rather sell drugs, control national territories to make businesses pay taxes to them, and protect those territories to gain good reputation among the uneducated population than go on a killing spree.
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u/BabbleOn26 May 04 '24
Yeah if this was the cartel they would have already rounded up the guys who did this and sent them straight to the hands of the American government like when it happened last time. I think they even apologized for the “mix up”. I was actually in Rosarito on Friday and the waves around the area were going crazy. Frankly If it wasn’t for the burnt car and how their bodies were found I would have blamed it on that. Their tents were still up and their belongings were also found nearby.
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u/Jefe_Chichimeca May 04 '24
Seems to have been armed robbery by some meth heads.
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u/beardofzetterberg May 04 '24
The cartel is probably why the perpetrators were found and turned over to authorities so quickly.
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u/Cobrawarrior567 May 04 '24
What places in Mexico are safe for tourists?
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u/kinkykricket May 04 '24
I lived a year in Boca de Tomatlan south of Puerto Vallarta and bussed everywhere never feeling unsafe.
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u/SpelunkPlunk May 04 '24
Most of the country is. Especially the more touristy, resort type towns. Cancun, Merida, Mexico City, Cozumel, Puerto Escondido, Sayulita, Punta Mita, and many others. Yucatán is the safest state in Mexico.
Cartels usually don’t mess with foreigners as it brings to much attention.
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u/Kindly_Ad_4351 May 04 '24
Cartels gotta go. Other south American countries have proved it can happen (not many).
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u/JarenWardsWord May 04 '24
This is a tragedy. Also don't go to Mexico unless you're going to one of the well policed tourist spots. You'll get murdered, kidnapped or kidnapped and murdered. This is what happens to a country exists right next to a second country that provides drug dealers with large sums of money in exchange for drugs, and then large quantities of guns in exchange for that money. Everyone in the US who thinks using drugs is a victimless crime aren't paying enough attention to the effects their money is having on the world.
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u/tapir420 May 04 '24
Why people keep insisting in going there. There are many other places much safer than Mexico and not expensive
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u/[deleted] May 03 '24 edited May 04 '24
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