Sunday, October 31, 2010
The "Acapulco is in Agony!!" Story
It was an ordinary day. At least we thought it was until we got back on the ship and saw the news on TV. We had spent the entire day in Acapulco touring the city and visiting their upscale hotel and condo sections. Our final stop was to watch the cliff divers at the Hotel Mirador. After watching the divers and a small dance presentation we headed back to the pier where our boat was docked. The only security we saw all day was an armed guard at the stores around the Hotel Mirador. He was enjoying his interaction with the tourists. Not like our last stop in Cabo San Lucas two days ago where we saw armed military as well as armed policia. Armed with various types of weapons including automatic rifles. And they were everywhere. And many of them. Why not in Acapulco? Maybe the city was safer even though it had a population of two million. Well, after we got back on the ship and were getting our showers before our evening meal we saw the news on a European channel. Rival criminal drug gangs had hijacked 20 Mexicans in broad daylight the day before our arrival. They hadn't been seen or heard from since the abduction. People fear they will find their heads displayed along the roads in Acapulco in the near future. Violence has cast a dark cloud on the city's residents. Gunfights are reported all over the city. No one goes out at night. There is a deteriorating public safety issue. They try to keep all news like this quiet for fear of cruise ships leaving the port. It seems there is no control in the city and many of the cops are on the take from the drug cartels. Seems the military and policia in this city are afraid to patrol. And ...... earlier today in Acapulco we were in a bus with a driver and tour guide armed only with cameras. Had we heard the news yesterday we would have canceled our tour today. Made us really think about our next stop and if we should cancel our tour in that Mexican city. We were lucky to have survived our day in Acapulco, but the 20 people abducted the day before probably will not be as lucky. It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.
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