Velowander

11 Febrero, more on situation in Michoacan

From what we´ve heard, the situation in Michoacàn was pretty unstable about 6 months ago, presumably before the military convoys started arriving in force. There were burning vehicles in the streets and so forth, though I don´t think many people were killed. Now that the military is here it is pretty tranquil and locked down, I guess not many drug lords want to take on trucks of 40 soldiers with assault rifles. These soldiers look like 19 year old kids, perhaps similar to many US service troops heading to Iraq, and carry presumably fully auto assault rifles that look huge and very menacing.

If anything, I think the presence of the soldiers makes it quite safe for us here so you shouldn´t worry.

Possibly the recent instability in Michocàn is partly responsible for the low numbers of tourists we have seen, although local vendors for example Nacho´s mom in Playa Azul where we stayed said this is pretty typical. I think Americans don´t have time to see all these other beaches, they fly into a major resort like Cabo San Lucas or Puerto Vallarta for a few days and then leave. The tourist we do see are mostly surfers from California, Canadians, and Europeans with longer holidays.

posted by David @ 8:26 AM