Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Another letter

I recieved another letter from the Mexico surf shop guys:

Beto, Javier, and myself have been taking a break from surf camp and I will tell you why.


In the context of running our surf camp, the safety of our guests always supersedes every other consideration -- and, it is always a privilege to take you all surfing.



We have enjoyed exploring Mexico's hidden coves and points looking for surf for our guests for over 10 years now.  


We've even taken our clients gold hunting in the foothills of the Sierra on flat days using state of the art gold detectors, and we've traveled the area with impunity for years.


But a steady erosion of safety along statewide travel corridors leads us to a firm conclusion:


Northwest Mexico is not safe right now.


Other regions along the southern coast of Mexico are not doing measurably better.


We are taking a 6 - 8 month break right now from surf camp due to the fact that Mexico is teetering towards a near, "failed-state." --


At the very least, a state of lawlessness now exists over widespread areas of the country...


We may explore the possibility of moving full-time to Puerto Vallarta if Sinaloa continues to implode.


In the context of our business plan, we can run our surf school in Mazatlan, but unfortunately, this makes up only about 1/3 part of what we do.


It requires the "tandem" of running surf school + running a core surf camp that makes it possible for our business model to succeed.


It it simply too dangerous to do surf transfers on Mexico's rural road system right now - [surf camp] and to repeat, "this" is a huge part of what we do.


I can give you more details in an additional email if you are interested in a more complex explanation, but violence in Mexico is widely, under-reported in the United States - even if you make a habit of watching Lou Dobbs on CNN.


I am dissapointed about this curryently... But, despite what local surfers who run our area surf shops might tell you, it is extremely unwise to surf this region of Mexico at this time, unless you are inside the safety net of Mazatlan's/Puerto Vallarta's tourist zone.


We greatly appreciate that you took the time to contact us about surfing Mazatlan.


At some point in the near future, we may be able to provide a SAFE surf camp experience for our customers.


Right now this represents a challenge that we simply, are unable to meet.


Please consider us again in the future.

Sincerely,

Allan McIntosh,  
Javier Arumburo,
Beto Salazar, 

http://mexicosurfshop.com/

Thanks




I'm stoked!

3 comments:

Foul Pete said...

good luck... shit...

Wet and Cold said...

i wont sweat it....im sure its exaggerated.. ill just be praying for surf in town or finding a similar biz to take me out.

Gaz said...

So wha' happen? Guns, drugs, hookers?