Swine flu: Report from a tourist in Mexico
- May 8, 2009 11:04 AM |
- By Your Voice
Submitted by Susan Schafer
About: I am a 21-year-old journalism graduate as of April. My older sister also just graduated this past month from law school. Perfect timing for a family celebration vacation to Mexico, or so we thought.
My take: While packing my bags for an all-inclusive trip to the Mayan Riviera, not even word of an unidentified Mexican virus could get me down. Little did I know that within a couple days we would be at the center of a global pandemic.
At first you couldn't even tell anything was out of the ordinary in Playa Del Carmen. The sun was shining, the clear blue waves were rolling in, and drinks were being served to happy tourists everywhere you looked. If anyone had concerns about catching swine flu, they certainly weren't showing it.
But things began to change on the third day of our trip. We noticed the chefs were starting to wear masks and hand sanitizing stations were popping up throughout the luxurious resort. Turning on CNN we realized the increase in cases and just how much the H1N1 virus had spread across the world.
At this point, people started wanting to get out of Mexico and get out fast. But not me. This was my one chance to enjoy paradise — flu or no flu. While I believe in precautions, there was no way I was going to let the paranoia ruin my vacation.
My plan of action? I would wine and dine my way around the swine. I decided to take advantage of all the amenities an all-inclusive vacation has to offer and make the most of the situation. After all, if I was going to catch the virus, I might as well get it while enjoying myself rather than worrying.
Unfortunately the staff in the area didn't share the same optimism. One of the resort employees explained to us that 368 people scheduled to arrive at the resort the following week had all cancelled. Luckily he said the hotel would not lay off staff members unlike some of the other resorts in the area.
Eventually our departure went on as scheduled and we left Cancun after passing the health check and having our temperatures taken at the airport. There were many people on the flight wearing masks and the pilot constantly reminded everyone that if we developed any symptoms they needed to be reported by law.
And so we made it back to Toronto safe, sound, and swine flu free. But things weren't over yet. Though I had no symptoms, I was quarantined from my job as a server, my family was asked not to attend a neighbour's baby shower, and anyone who takes one look at my tan eyes me suspiciously and practically runs away.
Swine flu may have put a small damper on my trip, but at least I can say this was one vacation I'll never forget.
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Comments (10)
I appreciate this travellers willingness to travel during the swine flu scare, however as a journalism graduate I think she should get her facts straight. As far as I know the H1N1 virus has yet to be classified as a "global pandemic" as she states she was in the center of in her second para. Is she practicing sensational journalism already? Lets keep it honest....Just a thought.
Just want to say that it's nice to hear that you didn't had any major problems over there with the flu... I know it's a mess right now and one of my friends was leaving last Saturday to Riviera Maya and lucky him, he changed his trip to JAMAICA!
I like your attidude and your way of dealing with the situation. Congratulation for your graduation and i know you will never forget your visit to paradise cause i was there last week of Feb this year at the Grand Palladium for the first time and WHAT A NICE PLACE! Awesome trip and great people with great food.
I recommend that place. I'm sure there will be a lot of deals when this flu is over!!!
My opinion from where I sit....
I feel bad that the media and governments in North America have felt the need to create such mass hysteria about what is essentially just another flu season. I believe that the more we buy in to the fear and worry about such things only causes problems where none existed. Yes people can die from flu. The truth is they will probably feel shitty for week or so, unless their body was already compromised by some other illness. Yes, someone you know may get it. Don't panic! This strain is no different from any other that has come along except that no one was ready for it, so now damage control sets in. Contrary to what the media would want you to believe, people are not dropping dead and dying in the street. Disturbing that the American and Canadian governments need to keep its citizens in a state of fear to keep them under control. As well to make a broad statement "do not travel to Mexico" is wrong. Mexico is a very large country and certainly not all of Mexico was infected at the beginning nor now. I suppose now we should state, don't travel to States or Canada? Watch for normally contentious legislation or policy to pass right under your nose while you worry about a virus that will probably peter out in a few weeks. A scared population is an obedient one.
This whole mess will only further damage an already fragile economy, the farmers are getting another unnessasary financial hit, we can now not eat pork (swine), beef (Mad cow), or chicken (asian flu),fish (metals, poisons),or vegetables (insectisides, etc)
Your best bet at the onset of this crap would have been to buy a lot of stock in a drug company or a mutual fund with a drug company-heavy portfolio! You would be a little better off today!
From the fact file...
The populations of Canada, the United States, and Mexico total about 394 million people. A lot of people may get sick, but already about 4 to 8 thousand people per year die in Canada (population 30+ million) from flu related illness and no one hits the panic button! The tragedy there is that media barely notices.
So, don't worry! Go have a beer. Hug your kids. Call your Mom. Go to a hockey game. Watch baseball. Do the nasty. Mow your lawn. Go to the mall. Life is too short to worry and live in fear.
I'll throw my conspiracy theory in here. I think that there is no Swine flu. The news reported about swine flu is fear mongering by corporate media to detract from what is really going on in the world, and in a feeble attempt keep people from traveling.
We've had a so-called free trade deals with US and now Mexico. The US-owned industrial pig farm, where this flu has supposedly originated, moved to Mexico because of health concerns about their farming practices when their farm was located in the United States. At industrial pig farms in Canada, the government is stepping in to cull all of the pigs in these overcrowded operations due to the Mexico Swine Flu. This is the same as what has happened with industrial chicken farms where culls of chickens have been done due to the so-called Avian, is that Asian, Flu. All of these culls are done at the expense of the public purse.
Back in February, I went to the airport in Vancouver to pick someone up who was returning from Mexico. I sat at the airport with the big TV screens showing the corporate news that I don't normally watch. On this so-called news, they reported that it was not safe to go to Mexico due to violence on the border. But, I know the same type of violence is present in the Vancouver, and the Canadian police recently murdered someone in the airport I waited in.
Perhaps, the corporate fear mongering news in February wasn't scaring enough people from traveling to Mexico. Perhaps, a few corporatists, fearing their own inevitable decline of power, decided they would try to step up their fear campaign by placing a flu virus near a pig farm in Mexico, and then repeatedly report about a flu pandemic similar to the false flu pandemic in 1976.
I am glad to hear that you kept traveling and didn't fall for the hype. I feel sad that many people in Mexico may lose jobs and income from Canada and the United States because of the corporate news hype, but the hype will pass. I am planning a couple of trips to Mexico in the coming year. The only precaution I am taking is not to believe the corporate media.
In response to Rob's comment...
You raise a good point and you are right that the virus has not been officially classified by health officials as a global pandemic.
Perhaps I should have been more clear, or used a different term, but I used the word in the sense of its definition that states a pandemic is "sustained human-to-human transmission of a disease over a wide area" (This definition was used in a CBC article). By no means was I trying to mislead people or sensationalize the story. As I mentioned, I was trying to get on with enjoying life despite the virus, so trying to make things appear worse than they were was not my intention.
Nevertheless, I recognize the ambiguity I caused in using the word and appreciate you pointing this out because I will be more careful in the future with my choice of words.
Thank you everyone for your comments.
In response to Rob's comments, I think we should be more worried about the type of language that some of the people responding to this story are using, such as the highly offensive suggestion that the RCMP "murdered" someone in the Vancouver airport - talk about semantics and twisting the facts to make a point...sensationalism at its worst!
It is nice to read that you looked at the flu problem in Mexico objectively and did not panic. It is good to know that as up and coming journalist, you are looking at things with a clear mind and not buying into the hype. I am glad you had a good trip and all the best in your chosen career.
i think that Rob Daniels is full of it
this is a amazing story. i used it at school for a power point about swine flu. thankyou :) x
the mexican government obviously did not realise, nor care, about the terrible effect this so called epidemic, is having on the workers, and business owners, in playa del carmen.the only good thing to say about this, is that it has happened in the low season, but, the place is now like a ghost town...it is heartbreaking to see our "playa" suffering in this way....the place has lost its soul, ripped out, by its own government, and they should be ashamed of themselves. playa , and the surrounding areas, are big tourist pullers, and the workers try their hardest to keep it that way.now, the construction workers have been sent back to chiapas, and other poorer parts of mexico, with a 300peso bus ticket, the cheapest fare of all, and told to come back when things improve!! and the hotel workers, laid off work, without pay. and our dear taxi drivers, standing around, hoping for customers, so they can at least have money to feed their families. this farce will take longer to recover from, than hurricane wilma, and we locals all know the damage that she caused??!! the mexicans are now ashamed of their own (government) people.
wake up dear president !!! you need all the tourists and money , you can get now, to bring playa back to life, and back to the top of the destinations list, where it has been for so many years, thanks to your hard working people, who love the place as much as i do?! hang on in there , workers...normal service will hopefully be resumed, as soon as possible?! your country needs you,,and lots of tourists............PLEASE!! if you are coming to playa/cancun, remember those less fortunate than yourselves,,,,put an extra couple of t-shirts, in your suitcase, to help them out, or anything that you think may be useful for them, at this very difficult, and frustrating time.....they are lovely people, and believe me, they will be more than glad of your help, and concerns, for them. have a great holiday, and always look on the bright side of life. !!!!!!!!!!!!