Dear Elisa…
My agent Carla shared your concerns with me regarding news reports affecting the safety of tourists in Mexico.
Vacation planning is supposed to be fun and reading reports like this is certainly scary.
Please allow me to share some of my thoughts....
When my son was 17, he was held at gunpoint in a Wendy’s during a robbery at the “the happiest place on earth”. Thank God he survived and was safe. It was of the most terrifying experiences in my life!
Have you ever heard of anything bad happening to visitors at Disney World?
Yet people drown in their pools, get hit by WDW buses and sadly, there was even the death of a child by an alligator.
Does Mexico “cover up” all the stories about their tourists?
Does Disney?
True, this practice certainly involves profits. It also involves the jobs of thousands of hard working people in both destinations.
Regardless…this is the reality despite investigative reporters and their sensationalism.
YES, bad things CAN and do happen to unsuspecting people when they are away on vacation.
But…
People also get killed during home invasions…or driving their car to work.
The reality is heartbreaks happen – regardless of location.
No matter how or where, loss is devastaing and I share great sympathies for those who suffer loss.
How we choose to live our lives is a choice.
As the saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words".
The actions of parents have huge hereditary ripple effects.
Children learn from the example set by their parents, not just our words.
Do our actions show our children fear or do we allow travel to create curious world citizens?
I am a former nurse. I speak here from a personal experience.
I had a similar incident happen after drinking alcohol at a Dreams LaRomana Resort in the DR.
(A sister hotel to one of the ones mentioned in this article – I have also stayed MANY times at most of the resort mentioned in the article directly)
At the time my daughter worked as a representative for Dreams Resorts. I was with her, along with about 15 other travel agents touring resorts. We agents often due this during late August during the resort slow season. We agents make these trips so that we can share first-hand knowledge and experiences with our clients.
I made sure I drank tons of water that day. I am a nurse…I know better. We toured a dozen or so big resorts. I was hot and exhausted but felt perfectly fine.
We arrived back at the hotel around 5pm. Many of us decided to take a dip in the pool before our dinner event at 7pm. My daughter was busy chatting with other agents. I swam up to the bar and ordered us two Pina Coladas. There was fellow agent with me who ordered the same exact drinks for herself and her husband. We both watched the bartender pour the same EXACT rum into the blender for all four of our drinks. I swam back over to my daughter and sat down on the pool steps next to her. She had already polished off her drink by the time I was halfway done sipping mine.
The next thing I remember is waking up in my bed the next morning. My daughter told me that half way through my ONE drink she saw my eyes close and I slumped into the water unconscious. She and the staff had to physically lift me out of the pool and carried me back upstairs. The resort doctor was called immediately. He told her people often have very bad reactions to the combination of heat and alcohol. My vital signs were good despite being unconscious. My daughter opted to observe me herself and not have me taken to a hospital. Other than a really bad headache, I was fine. My daughter and the other two travel agents who actually consumed more the same blender full of Coladas were all perfectly fine.
So when I read the claims in this article I do understand how some of these incidents could easily have happened. I am heartbroken for these grieving parents. I cannot imagine their pain.
I can say with certainly tainted alcohol was not the reason for my unconscious episode at the pool bar.
Of course, there are nefarious people found at these resorts, cruise ships and every other paradise on the planet.
These are exactly the same evil criminals we find in our own back yards.
Are their bad cops in Mexico? You Bet!….Are there bad cops in the US? Absolutely!
Thankfully there are many more good cops watching out for our safety found in both places.
I respect that you need to make the right decisions for the heath and safety of your own family
I hope you choose to travel.
The benefits vacations bring to ourselves and our children far outweighs the risks.
My hope is that you choose to believe in all the good in this world.
Thank you for allowing me to share my experiences and perspective with you.
Sally Black – President/Founder
