Mexico

Mexican Pharmacies
Mexican Pharmacies 2048 1536 Greg Ellifritz

I just got back from spending five weeks in Mexico running from the winter. I saw this sign at the grocery store pharmacy while I was there. They won’t sell antibiotics without a prescription as of the start of 2024.

Every country has different rules about what drugs they will sell over the counter. Costa Rica hasn’t sold antibiotics without a prescription for almost 20 years.

The Mexican stand alone pharmacies will still sell you whatever antibiotic you want, but I expect that might change in the future.


Fighting Police Corruption in Mexico
Fighting Police Corruption in Mexico 150 150 Greg Ellifritz

In the short YouTube clip below, you’ll find Paul’s approach to handling traffic stops in Mexico.  Download the document he linked to in his comments.  This might save you some big hassles if you live or drive in Mexico.

Tools to Combat Police Corruption in Mexico

 

 

 

Safety in Mexico
Safety in Mexico 1512 2016 Greg Ellifritz
Despite all news outlets pronouncing my almost certain death for doing so, I successfully completed my 22nd “official” trip to Mexico.

 

I did have one other “unofficial” visit where I hopped over the border when the border guard was passed out drunk and I couldn’t wake him to stamp my passport, but that’s another story.

 

There is a lot of cartel violence in Mexico. That violence is directed at other cartel members, not the average tourist. You can have an absolutely safe trip in Mexico if you follow my four safety rules:

 

 

– Don’t buy or use illegal drugs
– Don’t consort with prostitutes (including random Tinder hookups, which are often one and the same)
– Don’t display ostentatious wealth
– Don’t be an asshole

 

If you follow these rules in most tourist destinations in Mexico, you will be safer than traveling through any big city in the USA.

 

Despite staying in local neighborhoods and being out late walking the streets almost every night, the biggest risk we faced was being sun burned and having a hangover after too many margaritas on the beach.

 

Taxi Shot

 
When you are friendly to taxi drivers in Mexico, they may reward your kindness with free tequila shots.  Far more dangerous than cartel violence.

Travel Log- Back From Mexico
Travel Log- Back From Mexico 620 827 Greg Ellifritz

I recently returned from a three-week trip to Mexico.  I wasn’t teaching and didn’t have any holiday plans, so I decided to do some relaxing down in one of my favorite places in the world, Playa del Carmen.

 

I spent my 50th birthday, Christmas, and New Years down there.  If you want to experience another country, I’d highly recommend traveling over Christmas and New Years.  It’s an experience few travelers ever have.

 

Mexico was very festive over Christmas and New Years

 

All the city parks were festively decorated with white and colored lights.

 

More festive Christmas lights

 

I spent a lot of time chilling in the sun, reading, writing and getting mentally prepared for my cancer surgery (surgery update at end of article). It turned out being a great trip.  I chose Playa del Carmen because it isn’t quite as touristy as many Mexican towns, is completely walkable, has some world class restaurants, and a population from just about every country on the planet.  It’s really easy to meet fun new people there.

 

I flew to Cancun directly from Austin.  Of course, my flight was late.  Even though the Mexican immigration officials got rid of their FMM form for tourists flying into Cancun airport.  That made things faster, but the line was still over an hour long getting into the country.  Once I got through customs and immigration, I found my pre-booked transportation and prepared for the hour-long drive to PDC.

 

That drive gave me a reminder to be careful talking to taxi, shuttle, or ride sharing drivers.
 

As I mentioned above, my flight was delayed. I was tired from the delay and the insanely crowded airports. I didn’t have the mental energy to talk to the driver for an hour. I pretended to be the stereotypical gringo and greeted him in English. Even though I speak passable Spanish, I didn’t speak any Spanish to him. His English was not good.
 

On the drive, he made a phone call in Spanish. I’m listening to the conversation when the driver mentioned his previous customer was unique and worthy to be watched. He said the last customer was a single man in his 40s who was traveling by himself with eight large suitcases.
 

The driver went on to say how the man had told him that he was a wealthy businessman and owned several hotels. The driver pulled up the phone app he was using to track his rides and shared the previous customer’s full name, email address, phone number, and the hotel where he was staying with whomever he was speaking.
 

The driver told his friend that the rich businessman should be watched. For what? I’m not sure, but it can’t be for anything good.
 

I didn’t hear them plotting any nefarious actions, but why would the driver share all that info?
 

Taxi drivers, especially in the developing world are true hustlers. Many do far more than just drive tourists around. They often serve as a connection to get people information, drugs, and prostitutes.
 

Be careful what you tell your driver. If questioned, make up a boring middle class job. If you are alone, you should tell the driver that you are meeting a large group of friends soon. Don’t tell the truth when they ask you about how long you will be staying.
 

Don’t give the drivers any reason to think you have money. Don’t give them information that could later be used to facilitate a scam or a criminal act.
 

Have a believable boring cover story ready before you get in the cab. Hopefully you won’t be “watched” like the passenger with eight suitcases.
 

If you want to dig a little deeper on the topic, read my article about best practices for a safe cab ride.

 

I arrived at the condo I rented and got the keys.  The lobby Christmas tree needed a little attention.  They didn’t put the live cut Christmas tree into any water.  I was amazed that it didn’t catch fire at some point during my stay.

 

 

My rented condo was in a secured building and on the top floor.  It had its own rooftop balcony.  On another part of the roof there was a small pool and a friendly little bar where we watched the beautiful sunsets almost every evening.

 

The condo we rented

Condo balcony

 

Sunset from the rooftop bar

 

I spent the first couple weeks in Mexico without any travel companions.  For the initial few days I spent a lot of time walking around the neighborhood getting a lay of the land.  The condo I rented was in a good location right on the border of the tourist area and the neighborhoods where the locals lived.  It was quiet, yet was within a 10-minute walk to the beach and all the fun tourist bars and restaurants.

 

On my walks, one of the most obvious things I saw was the enormous presence of armed security guards everywhere.  As I mentioned in this article, in failed states where corruption and government distrust is high, people with money hire private security instead of relying on the police.

 

Take a look at the photo below. It is a private security armored gun truck with bulletproof glass and gun ports. This isn’t a cash transport vehicle. This transports armed security guards as a quick reaction force.

 

Interestingly, it was parked in front of the public bus station, a resource that would usually be protected by municipal police in almost every country in the world.

 

But when you don’t trust the police and have expensive buses to protect in the developing world, you hire private security.  We are rapidly seeing the exact same thing happening in the USA.

 

 

 

There was a bank in the mall that  contained a large grocery store near my condo. When grocery shopping, I regularly saw armored car security guards picking up and dropping off money at the bank.

 

They always operate the same way. Two guards armed with handguns go into the bank. Two more guards with pump shotguns stand outside the bank watching the crowd.

 

What’s interesting is that the outside shotgun guards stand with their back to the front wall of the bank and arrange empty shopping carts as a barricade about five feet in front of them. It provides both an obstacle and a standoff to reduce the chance someone will get close enough to disarm them. Smart.

 

I always find it instructive to see how professionals do business in high threat environments.  The security guards in America seem clueless and untrained by comparison.

 

I was last in PDC during the height of the pandemic in February of 2021.  The police were quite menacing.  With businesses closed and fewer tourists around, the cops were very aggressively targeting folks for bribes.  On that last trip, I met people almost daily who had been shaken down by the cops.  I met a couple girls who went to a jungle rave in Tulum and the police robbed all the passengers on the bus going to the party.  It was nuts.

 

This trip was very different.  I was never approached by any cops at all.  Some even waved (with all of their fingers) when driving past me on the street.  I talked to a lot of people and no one mentioned any problems with the police.

 

Drug sales were also far more open.  I was solicited to purchase cocaine and weed on the street daily.  There were new open cannabis stores selling marijuana in all forms.

 

On previous trips, pharmacies would not sell very many controlled drugs without prescriptions.  That’s all changed now.  If you went to the right place, you could buy almost any pharmaceutical you wanted.

“Everything is over the counter if you know the right counter”

 

Be careful at these pharmacies.  The ones in the tourist areas and catering solely to tourists may be selling fake drugs.  My advice for buying drugs in foreign countries is to stick to drugs made around the world in factories that the US FDA authorizes to manufacture and export US generic drugs.  I also recommend purchasing drugs in pharmacies that have a local customer base and those the have air conditioning (hot temperatures reduce the storage longevity of many drugs).

 

You are legally allowed to bring back a 90-day personal supply of a non-controlled drug.  You are limited to 50 unit doses of all combined controlled drugs per trip back to the USA.  If you want more information about building a pharmaceutical stockpile from foreign sources, please check out one of my systems collapse medical classes.

 

Beyond the issues of drugs, cartels, police and other curious topics, I actually had a very relaxing vacation.

 

My friend Emily, who has shared adventures with me all around the world, came down and joined me for my final week.

 

Emily got us on the VIP list for some great DJs spinning on the rooftop of the nicest bar in PDC for New Years.  We went to the show and met a bunch of fun people from all over the world while staying out entirely too late at a classy rooftop bar.

 

Interestingly enough, I expected wand metal detectors upon entry to the club.  I prepared by carrying a ceramic knife and some hidden pepper spray.  When we got there, I saw that the bouncers were patting people down instead of wanding them.  I re-positioned my weapons to an area that wouldn’t be searched during a standard pat-down.

 

As we approached the bouncers, the door man said “They’re on the VIP list.”  That got us escorted past security without any searches.  Just keep in mind that you may be able to carry better weapons than you might think if you are on a special entry list, especially in the developing world.

Rooftop club New Years celebration

 

We spent New Years Eve watching fireworks from our rooftop bar followed by a great dinner, and a walking tour of the beach and tourist areas, popping into various bars, restaurants and parties.  We stayed out late again and treated ourselves to a sushi feast when we woke up.  It was a lot of fun.

 

Fireworks over the ocean from the condo rooftop bar

 

The next few days we did daily running workouts on the beach and at a local track to make up for our excesses.  We also went snorkeling one afternoon on a nice catamaran out on the reef and closed out our trip with some amazing meals at some of the city’s best restaurants.  It was a great trip.

 

Here are a few more photos.

 

View of the beach from the catamaran

 

After snorkeling on the catamaran

 

Emily thinking that my decision to walk the back alleys in the  city late at night on New Years Eve was a bad decision

 

“Sure Greg, taking pictures in an abandoned lot in Mexico at 3 am is a great idea.”

 

Scallop and mushroom appetizer at our favorite French restaurant.

 

My final steak dinner

 

Some of you have endured all my travel content in the hopes of getting an update on my cancer surgery.  As of today, I am three weeks into my recovery from the surgery.  The doctor said he was extremely happy with the surgery results.  He rated the surgery as a 10/10 (best score) on their measures of both success and reduction of chances of long term negative side effects.

 

I’m still a bit swollen and fatigued, but I already have complete urinary control.  I still have to wait another three weeks before I do any physical activity and start recovering my lost physical fitness.  I won’t know for certain until my six-month followup MRI, but the most likely scenario is that the doctor fried all my cancer and I am now cancer free.

 

I’ll probably be around for a few more years yet.  Thank you all for your messages of support.

 

 

How Do Drug Cartels Get Their Weapons?
How Do Drug Cartels Get Their Weapons? 320 181 Greg Ellifritz
Some facts for the folks who believe the mainstream media narrative that lax American gun laws are the primary way that the Mexican drug cartels get their weapons. The truth is that most of the cartel weapons have been stolen from the police/military, illegally imported from other corrupt Latin American countries, or made by the cartels themselves.

 

Read the article below.  One of the most dangerous cartels has set up numerous gun manufacturing facilities in Mexico. They are building their own AR-15 rifles and selling them on the street for over $5000 US dollars each.

 

CJNG, The Only Cartel To Have Had Its Own Arms Factory

 

I will suggest a slight correction to the title of the article.  The CJNG is the only cartel to have been caught with their own weapons manufacturing facilities.  You can be 100% certain that the other large cartels are doing the same thing.

 

Grocery Baggers in the Developing World
Grocery Baggers in the Developing World 1280 1062 Greg Ellifritz

Have you ever thought about tipping the folks who bag your purchases at the grocery store?  If you are from the USA, probably not.  But things work differently in other countries.

 

When visiting these places, it’s important to notice and abide by the social mores in your host country.  Doing so will avoid any drama or ill will.  It also helps to destroy the “Ugly American” traveler stereotype.

 

Take a look at the photo below.  The people in the Santa hats are bagging groceries at the large supermarket near the condo where I am staying in Mexico.  Most of the baggers in the store are senior (or perhaps “señor”?) citizens.

 

Guess what?  They aren’t being paid by the grocery store.

 

They work entirely for the tips shoppers give them.

 

This type of “working for tips” gig isn’t universal in any country I’m aware of, but I’ve seen it a lot in Mexico, Colombia, and some of the more impoverished South American countries.  I’ve only seen it at the very large chain grocery stores.

 

Failing to tip these aging baggers is a social faux pas.  It’s the foreign equivalent of leaving your shopping cart in the middle of a store’s parking lot instead of in the cart corral.  People simply think you are an asshole.  That’s not cool when visiting a country where you have few local contacts.  If everyone thinks you are rude, you will not have a good travel experience.

 

How do you know whether or not to tip your baggers?  Watch the locals.  Pull your head out of your phone and observe what the people in line ahead of you do.  Follow suit.

 

You may also notice small stacks of coins near the bagger.  That’s another clue.

 

There are no set amounts for the tip.  Most people just give the bagger the coins they received in change after paying for the groceries.  If you are paying with a credit card, give up to a US dollar or so.

 

I always carry some small coins in my pocket when traveling.  They are handy in situations like this where you are expected to give a small tip.  You will also need those coins to pay for access to a public toilet in much of the developing world.

 

 

Skin Problems While Traveling
Skin Problems While Traveling 2016 1512 Greg Ellifritz

Have you considered what happens when you get a strange skin rash while traveling far away from medical care?  I didn’t until I took a trip to Belize in 2005.  My back was itching, so I took off my shirt to find this.

I didn’t know much about wilderness medicine at the time and had no idea it was just a simple heat rash.

 

Many of you might be in a similar position, having a strange rash, but not knowing what caused it.  That’s a common condition in the developing world.

 

A handy solution I carry in my medical kit now is a cream like this one, available over the counter at almost all developing world pharmacies.  I got this one in Mexico and it was about $1.50 US.

 

 

This cream contains a corticosteroid, an antifungal medicine, and an antibiotic.  One of those three drugs should fix almost any dermatological condition you might have

 

I am not a doctor and this is not medical advice.  I’m just sharing something I’ve found handy that is an everyday medical solution in developing countries, but would require a prescription to get in the USA.  It resides in all of my travel medical kits.

 

If you are looking for more information on similar topics, I have an entire section about remote and travel medicine in my book, Choose Adventure.

 

Shut Your Mouth
Shut Your Mouth 375 500 Greg Ellifritz
A reminder to be careful talking to taxi, shuttle, or ride sharing drivers.

 

On my latest trip to Mexico, I rented a condo about an hour drive from the airport. I booked a ride from the airport to my place with a transfer company I’ve used for years.

 

As per my life, of course my flight was delayed. I was tired from the delay and the insanely crowded airports. I didn’t have the mental energy to talk to the driver for an hour. I pretended to be the stereotypical gringo and greeted him in English. Even though I speak passable Spanish, I didn’t speak any Spanish to him. His English was not good.

 

On the drive, he made a phone call in Spanish. I’m listening to the conversation when the driver mentioned his previous customer was unique and worthy to be watched. He said the last customer was a single man in his 40s who was traveling by himself with eight large suitcases.

 

The driver went on to say how the man had told him that he was a wealthy businessman and owned several hotels. The driver pulled up the phone app he was using to track his rides and shared the previous customer’s full name, email address, phone number, and the hotel where he was staying with whomever he was speaking.

 

The driver told his friend that the rich businessman should be watched. For what? I’m not sure, but it can’t be for anything good.

 

I didn’t hear them plotting any nefarious actions, but why would the driver share all that info?

 

Taxi drivers, especially in the developing world are true hustlers. Many do far more than just drive tourists around. They often serve as a connection to get people information, drugs, and prostitutes.

 

Be careful what you tell your driver. If questioned, make up a boring middle class job. If you are alone, you should tell the driver that you are meeting a large group of friends soon. Don’t tell the truth when they ask you about how long you will be staying.

 

Don’t give the drivers any reason to think you have money. Don’t give them information that could later be used to facilitate a scam or a criminal act.

 

Have a believable boring cover story ready before you get in the cab. Hopefully you won’t be “watched” like the passenger with eight suitcases.

 

If you want to dig a little deeper on the topic, read my article about best practices for a safe cab ride.

 

 

Travel Log- Mexico
Travel Log- Mexico 620 349 Greg Ellifritz

I have some travel plans for this coming summer.  I’m worried that the long-Covid I’m still suffering might negatively affect my travel abilities.  I haven’t traveled internationally since I almost died from Covid in Ecuador last year.  Quite honestly, I’ve been avoiding international travel out of fears that I’ll have another near-death experience.

 

Since the Ecuador trip, most of my travel has been to various teaching venues across the country.  While I don’t have any significant problems teaching, the classes and associated travel stress absolutely exhaust me.  When I teach a two-three day class, I generally spend the following day almost bed-ridden with zero energy.

 

If a two day class does that to me, how could I take a two week trip out of the country?  I decided to do a trial run with a solo trip to Cancun last month.  I stayed six days at an all exclusive resort with the goal of minimizing stress and avoiding days of being stuck exhausted in bed.  I’m happy to say the trip was successful.  No exhaustion and no days in bed once I got home.  What follows  are the details from my Mexico trip in late April through early May this year.

 

I flew to Cancun on American Airlines.  I’ve been flying them more frequently since the pandemic began.  They seem to have better routes and fewer cancellations than my previous favorite, Delta.  As I wanted to treat myself for my first international trip in almost a year, I booked business class.  My flight down there had a connection in Dallas.

 

I was surprised when I went to board the plane from Dallas to Cancun.  American is doing a facial recognition boarding pass on that leg now.  I had never seen that before.  Instead of scanning our boarding passes, we stood in front of a computer screen as it scanned our facial features and identified us.

 

I wonder where American is getting the data for this facial recognition technology?  I had never submitted photos for them.  In any event, that seems to be the way of the future.  It worked fine and I walked onto the plane.

 

I was shocked to see that the business class had lay-flat seats within their own individual “pod.”  I’ve flown in these cabins before going on 8+ hour international flights, but I didn’t imagine they’d use them for a 90 minute flight to Cancun.

 

Business class to Mexico usually isn’t this nice.

 

I was also surprised that American is now serving real meals now.  This lunch was a salad with shrimp, cheese, tomato, and street corn.  It was accompanied by some tasty orzo and a small cake.  Not bad.

 

Real meals are back!

 

The flights arrived on time and I didn’t have any difficulty with my luggage.  The wait for immigration in the crowded Cancun airport was only about 10 minutes.  The government has done a lot of work to speed up this process over the years and I greatly appreciate it.

 

I got my bag, and walked out to meet USA Transfers, my favorite transport company at that airport.  I strongly urge you to pre-book your transportation before you arrive in Cancun so that you aren’t mobbed by taxi drivers and transportation company reps as you walk out of the airport.

 

Because this was a short notice trip, none of the hotels I usually frequent in Cancun had any available rooms.  Cancun is now one of the most popular worldwide tourist destinations.   When I was there last month, only 13% of area hotels had ANY available hotel rooms.  All the rest were fully booked.

 

I ended up staying at The Royal Sands All Inclusive Resort & Spa.  The resort got 4.5 stars on Orbitz.  It was OK.  Most certainly a step down in quality from the hotels I preferred, but adequate.  Unfortunately, because things were so busy, I had to pay five-star prices for a three-star hotel.

 

Please keep in mind, I often sleep in jungle hammocks and rent rooms that cost less than $20 a day in third world countries.  I’m used to roughing it.  This was not roughing it by any means, I just hate paying really expensive prices for an experience that is only adequate.

 

Here are a few pictures of the hotel.  It was on a quiet section of the beach near downtown (where I prefer to go out at night).

 

Hotel pools

 

Looking north from my room

 

View from the room balcony

 

There was a long wait at the reception desk to check in.  The hotel (like most places) was severely understaffed since the pandemic.  The front desk clerk informed me that since the hotel was a “time share” hotel, everyone must check out on Friday.  I was staying until Saturday.  The clerk informed me that I would have to check out and get a new room for Friday night.  That was never noted when I booked the room.  What a pain in the ass.  I had to wait in line again and then move my stuff to literally the room right next to my previous room for my final night.

 

I got my keys and the clerk pointed to the building that was farthest from the lobby.  I walked the nearly half mile to my room.  The key didn’t work.  I walked a half mile back to the lobby.  They gave me new keys.  I walked back to the room.  The new keys didn’t work either.  Back to the front desk.

 

The clerk informed me that the battery in the card reader was likely dead and he would be sending a maintenance man up to the room to change it.  I trekked back to the room and waited 20 minutes for the dude to come change the battery.  Not a great hotel experience.  The staff didn’t seem to care.

 

I finally got into the room and found that one of the bed pillows had a blood stain on it.  Nice touch.  At that point I was too tired to care.

 

Bloodstained pillow cases aren’t a good look

 

I had a relaxing stay.  The hotel had a great pool and workout facility.  I read and wrote and worked out.  It was uneventful and nice.  The only downside was that the gym required masks during the entire workout.  Another pain in the ass, but that was the law in Cancun at the time.  Now all mask restrictions are done.

 

For my last night, I decided to go into downtown and eat at one of my favorite Italian restaurants (Rolandi’s Pizzeria).  After eating nothing but Mexican food for a week, I was craving something else.  As I was staying in the Cancun hotel zone, I chose to ride the local chicken bus into downtown to get some good food.

 

The restaurant didn’t disappoint.  I’ve probably eaten there 10 times and always had a great meal.  I started with their beef carpaccio and then had a wood fired pizza.  Everything was excellent.  I highly recommend the spot for anyone who wants to leave the hotel zone.

 

mmm…raw meat

 

Better than pizza in Austin

 

I ate my meal and took a walk around the Parque de las Palapas, a local park that has food vendors, live music, and handicraft artists. It’s always a chill place on a Friday night.

 

Parque de las Palapas

 

Parents rent these little electric cars for their kids to ride through the park as youth groups perform song and dance routines on the stage.

 

I’ve been to Mexico about 25 times over the years and lived down here for a couple months last year. I’ve never seen any kind of violence until this trip.

 

I picked up some gifts for friends and then headed out to the Main Street (Avenida Tulum) to catch the bus back to the hotel.

 

I noticed a dramatic uptick in number of homeless people on this trip as compared to when I last ventured into downtown Cancun about 18 months ago. Lots of beggars pushing shopping carts full of belongings now. In my previous visits, I never saw that.  The pandemic hit the tourist areas very hard.

 

As I was making my way to the bus stop, I heard a crash and a bunch of screaming behind me. I turned around and saw a shirtless homeless dude screaming at people. He had broken off a four-foot section of a wooden parking barrier and was swinging it at everyone walking on the sidewalk. He had a six-inch bladed kitchen knife in his other hand.

 

He was about 50 yards away and closing the distance swinging the wooden club at everyone on the sidewalk. He missed most of his shots, but hit a few of the slower people.  He kept the blade near his waistline and didn’t try to stab anyone.

 

I started thinking about my response options.  His movements were uncoordinated and he appeared to be really drunk or on drugs.  I was reasonably sure I could avoid his wild swings, and he didn’t seem to be doing much damage to the people he hit.

 

I had pepper spray and a folding knife, but wasn’t going to involve myself in that mess in a foreign country.   So long as no one was getting seriously hurt, my motto “Not my people. Not my problem” would be great guidance.

 

If he had started stabbing people I likely would have interfered.  I had my POM pepper spray with a range of about 10 feet.  The least I could do if he began using the knife would be to give him a face full of spicy treats.  I was reasonably certain I could do that without getting stabbed.

 

As the dude closed the distance without using the knife, I decided to get out of the area.  I  changed plans and flagged down a cab in the street. I hopped in and gave the cabbie the name of my hotel. He quickly left the scene saying “Que loco!” If a Mexican cab driver calls a situation crazy, you can bet it is truly crazy.

 

Problem averted. Back to the hotel and unlimited margaritas without interacting with the Mexican police. I’m calling it a win. Nothing about the attack made the local news in the following days.

 

Everyday carry in Cancun. Glad I didn’t have to use some of this stuff.

Be more careful walking around downtown Cancun. It’s more like Portland, Atlanta, or Austin now. Lots of crazies.

 

On a side note, I recently replaced my ASP Street Defender with the POM Unit for everyday carry.  The ASP is great, but only sprays about three to four feet.  I wouldn’t have wanted to get that close to the crazy guy with the knife.  That situation gave me a greater appreciation of the POM’s more extended range, so I began carrying that one.  I’m happy with the change.

 

POM pocket pepper spray

 

 

My flight home was a direct flight to Austin.  It ended up being two hours late (such is the reality of today’s air travel).  It was a more traditional plane and the business class didn’t have the lay-flat seats.  That first flight spoiled me.

 

I had never arrived in Austin from an international flight.  The process was smooth (thank you Global Entry), but the luggage took almost an hour to arrive on the carousel.  Apparently, that isn’t unusual for international flights.  One more facial recognition encounter and I was walking to the parking garage with my bag.

 

The feds were able to recognize me even with this blurry photograph.

 

 

I have a couple more vacations planned for the summer.  I’m heading back to Ohio for a few days to see friends and family in early July.  After that, I’m taking off to Medellin, Colombia for a couple weeks.  Then in early August, I’ll be visiting Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks.  I’m looking forward to traveling again.

 

Shark Attacks?
Shark Attacks? 1086 610 Greg Ellifritz

I’ve snorkeled and dived with sharks in lots of international locations.  One of my favorite experiences was visiting Shark Ray Alley off the coast of Belize.  Swimming in chummed water with dozens of sharks was incredibly exhilarating.

Picture from linked article

 

I’ve encountered sharks when snorkeling in Mexico and Egypt as well.  My Egyptian shark encounter was seeing a rare Tiger Shark in the Red Sea.  Despite having contact with these creatures, I never really thought about what I might do if one of these beasts attacked me.

 

That changed with a couple articles I stumbled across last week.  I thought they contained some good information.  If you venture into shark-infested water, you’ll want to check them out.

 

How To Survive A Shark Attack: Without Losing A Limb

 

 

Can You Fight a Shark and Win?