...To everyone asking if they should go down or not, here is my two cents after just returning.
...Hope that helps out those who are considering a trip.
We would never recommend that our friends, relatives or neighbours stop visiting Mexico - they can make their own decisions.
But we will be very honest as to why we will never again go there ourselves.
We were incredibly naive to believe we were safe in Puerto Penasco, despite many of our friends warning us of that PP had changed since they used to go down 15-20 years ago.
Many folks memories will fade, but I'm pretty sure anyone that experienced the war zone for 5 hours won't forget for a long time.
If we hadn't witnessed what we had we would likely not believed it. I have had plenty of experiences where I escaped injury or death over the years - some by luck - others because I could do something about the situation.
By sitting in a condo within several hundred feet of unseen helicopter gunships firing gatling guns at unknown targets, then hours of sporadic gunfire - without any means of protecting ourselves, understanding what was going on or who the 'enemy' was, left me with the most helpless feeling I have ever had in my life.
Then to be presented a couple days later with the worst spin ever about how this was a small skirmish confined to one area, by bad guys who were "just visiting on a holiday" and then to gradually day by day find out that it was even bigger than what we knew we had experienced, was the final straw to convince us to stay away.
Like I said, everyone is entitled to their opinions, and I know this won't affect those that know PP better than I ever will now, but please...
...don't insist it is safe, it just isn't.
And BTW, we were also left with the feeling that as tourists, even if it is the slow season, we had absolutely no value - were worthless pawns in an obvious growing war. Not to mention the workers, security guards, and any others that were innocent victims of this battle.
I realize this isn't the best post for Christmas day, but as we sat hugging each other and our children and their families today, thankful we were alive - it was overall a most unpleasant Xmas that was supposed to have been spent in 'paradise'