Mexico, its a wrap! Part 2

Ok, so we've been over the good, now its time for the (entrertaining) ugly...Here's what we're not gonna miss about Mexico once we get home...

¿Tiene cambia?  If anyone ever asks again if I have change, I think it will be too soon.  In México there is a severe shortage of coins in circulation.

Dawn Fireworks.  Of course, fireworks are legal there, and what a fine tradition (we say through gritted teeth)…that continues all year, not just during the festive season.  Arghhhhh!  There will usually be someone in the neighbourhood each morning letting some off.  Bit scary cos it sounds so much like gun fire!  Then it came time to do our visa run into Guatamala, and just when I (Petrina) thought, yay, we’re spending a week in Guatamala, maybe they don’t do the fireworks thing and we won’t get a pre-alarm alarm…well I was wrong...seems like a good ol latino tradition in general…Yep, fireworks are just another thing they all go loco for.  

All day, and all of the night...all year....

Cold showers.  Our apartment in Tapachula, as well as most of the places we stayed didn’t have hot water.  If they did have hot water it was advertised like such a novelty ‘24hr hot water’ Wow!  Lucky we were in such a hot climate most of the time!

Not being able to turn on the tap and drink the water.  Nothing further.

The footpaths (or should I say injury traps)...  If I (Petrina) ruled the world and could do just three things to improve public health in Mexico, I would fix all the footpaths (or build some) to enable more accessible communities; provide universal free household rubbish collection, and of course, fix the drinking water supply(-:  Don't even get me started on the nutrition situation, its too big of a kettle of fish....

The crime, safety and security situation.

• We received numerous drug offers (Note: the quota for Steve, half a dozen offers, Petrina’s offers received – 0).  Petrina must have ‘librarian’ written all over her; Steve…not so much! 
• One of the fellow volunteers was mugged on her way to the shops and a few weeks before we arrived the orphanage ‘mum’ was robbed at gunpoint 
• There was always someone wantin to be friends with you when it turned out surprise surprise they wanted money (like the dodgy fella in merida who really wanted to show us something special down a side street, so special he couldn’t tell us what it was!) 
• dodgy, dodgy police and military; the boys were pulled over in the orphanage van on the way home from a surf but they couldn’t find anything to fine them for…so the officer told the guy driving he’d have to put on a shirt...because he was the driver…and the driver must wear a shirt.  Hmmmmm.   In all fairness though, it is the law that the driver must wear a seatbelt (and similarly the driver of a motorbike must wear a helmet).  But the passengers can do whatever they want.  Lucky, since like in most developing countries there’s usually about double as many passengers as seats in the cabin (cars) or about 12 people in the back (if it’s a pickup)….  And most cars don’t have seatbelts fitted… But anyway, dodgy law enforcement – case in point!
• Protection money – local streets and some businesses seem to all have their own night vigilante – for instance, the orphanage pays some little, very unscary guy 20 pesos a week to be their night vigilante…he drives around the streets a few times a night blowing a whistle…we’re not quite sure what that achieves though.  But nonetheless, your sorta expected to pay it.  Bummer.

On the top right hand side of photo, a local business advertising se solicita vigilante (seeking a security guard) on the front door.

In Mexico they publish very graphic photos of crime and misfortune en el periodico (in the newspaper)