It's hard to find a good blog name these days. Many options are taken up by people who logged in to see what blogging sites were about, created test blogs, then abandoned them. And by some active blogs, of course. However, uncertainty certainly describes a lot about the plans for our trip.
As I write this, both our departure date and mode of travel are both undecided. We still would like to drive. Having a car would make it easier to get around Oaxaca to see various sites. It would also let me bring a telescope. Plus, there are lots of things along the way that it would be cool to see, like the Grand Canyon, Utah Arches National Monument, desert vegetation and landscapes and a friend's observing site in New Mexico. On the other hand, it's hard to know how to assess the risk of kidnapping, carjacking, etc. along the way, particularly in northern Mexico.
The warnings from the US Embassy certainly overstate the risk to ordinary travellers. After all, even with the recent rise in gang violence, the per capita murder rate in Mexico City is still less than in Washington, DC. And Vancouver is a dangerous place where rioters set cars on fire in the downtown core and where gang violence has affected innocent bystanders. Still, the consequences of a carjacking are so severe that even a low probability of it happening makes a person nervous. That's especially true because it is very difficult to get reliable current information about the real level of risk.
We'll probably drive. Millions of foreigners visit Mexico each year and very few of them have any problems. We won't be driving a truck or SUV, which are the sorts of vehicles most likely to attract carjackers. The skies in much of Oaxaca are very dark and the air tends to be clear, so it would be great to have a 'scope along. Still, if we drive we're going to be a bit nervous until we get south of Mexico City.
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