Google Street View Offers Virtual Trips Around Mexico’s Ancient Monuments

by Sean McLachlan on


We’ve talked a lot about Google Street View here on Gadling. It seems that every month a new attraction is added to this amazing and somewhat sinister application.

The latest is a series of views of the great monuments of Mexico. Google has been cooperating with the National Institute of Anthropology and History to take images of important sites such as Teotihuacan, Palenque and Chichen Itza. They hope to have 80 sites online by the end of the year.

The uber-cool archaeology news website Past Horizons reports that instead of the usual Google Street View van, a tricycle took the 360-degree panoramas. This method has been used at other sensitive sites like Stonehenge. I’ve taken a look at some of them and they’re as crisp and clear as the photos Google took of your house.

The Mexican sites are only some of hundreds of important spots around the world taken as part of the Google World Wonders Project. Hit the link to see more.

[Photo of Templo de la Calavera at Palenque courtesy Tato Grasso]

I Traveled To Mexico And Came Back Alive

by Kyle Ellison on

Two weeks ago I did something absolutely crazy. I packed a bag, got on a plane, and spent an entire week traveling in Mexico.

GASP! The horrors! Haven’t you heard? Mexico is dangerous! It isn’t safe to travel there anymore. Go somewhere else – anywhere but Mexico. There be dragons out there…

One of the hottest topics in North American travel at the moment, the question of whether or not you should travel to Mexico has been hotly circulating about Gadling for the better part of six months now.

Chris Owen in February posted an article about 22 cruise ship passengers in Mexico who were recently robbed at gunpoint. As he states in the article, however, this also recently happened in St. Kitts, and I haven’t heard many cries for avoiding the small Caribbean nation.

Fellow Gadling blogger Dave Seminara even went so far in a recent article to highlight the point that the homicide rate in Puerto Vallarta (where the gunpoint, cruise robbery took place) is actually lower than many American cities.

Nevertheless, I feel compelled to rehash this topic due to a recent conversation I had with a Canadian woman on a sailing catamaran in Maui. This, and the fact that I just spent an entire week in Mexico and managed to come back alive.While sailing in Maui I found myself discussing with a woman – who we shall call Carol – the recent addition of direct flights from Calgary to Maui by the Canadian airline carrier Westjet. To be fair, Mexico’s recent bust has been Hawaii’s recent boom, given the fact that many winter travelers who once frequented Mexico are now flocking in droves to what are considered to be “safer havens.”

“Everyone is coming to Maui now because you simply can’t go to Mexico anymore,” explained Carol. “Did you hear what just happened down there? A girl was mugged INSIDE of her hotel and was robbed! Can you imagine? Inside the resort!”

Then, with a squinting of the eyes and a lean towards my body she whispered in a seemingly prophetic tone, “it simply isn’t safe to travel to Mexico anymore.”

I bit my lip in reaction to her crowdsourced ignorance. Later that day, I opted to take 16 seconds of my life to look up the armed robbery statistics for the city of Calgary for the first quarter of 2012.

The result? Eighty-seven reported robberies in the first three months of the year, an increase of 19 percent from the same time period in 2011.

While I could rattle statistics off from a slew of different sources, the bottom line and the main point which needs to be made is that traveling to Mexico is no more dangerous than living in any major global city. Of the 60 countries I’ve wandered through and after 20+ visits to Mexico, you know where I’ve felt the most in danger (including when I thought I was kidnapped in Borneo)?

When I got lost on the south side of Chicago.

Also, Carol, there are a few travel safety basics, which need to be employed when traveling anywhere in the world with a much lower income level than we experience back home. Don’t flaunt expensive jewelry, don’t hang a $3000 Canon camera around your neck and don’t pay for a $1 bottle of water and flash a wallet, which is teeming with $100 bills. Chances are, you’re asking to be robbed. This isn’t called travel safety; this is called common sense.

You know where else people get robbed of expensive cameras, by the way? Maui (usually via car break-ins).

Sure, there are a lot of crazy headlines coming out of Mexico right now, such as rampant beheadings, mass graves and guys who mix corpses in huge vats of acid. But guess what? These people aren’t tourists; they’re drug lords. If you’re someone who’s heavily entrenched in the cocaine and marijuana trade then yeah, it might be dangerous for you to travel to Mexico right now. If you just want to go down and score some waves, soak up some sun, or experience the vibrant local culture, however, chances are that you’re going to be fine.

So why am I so fired up about this? Because what many headlines unfortunately fail to display is that the real, true victims of the Mexican violence are the peace-loving, everyday Mexican citizens who rely on tourism dollars to survive.

I have stood on the sandy shores of a campground on the Sea of Cortez and literally had a woman weep at my feet, thanking me for deciding to come and visit Mexico. Ever since the violence started, she claimed, the tourist business has completely dried up and her and her family are liable to lose their business, their house and their land because Americans who once came for the great fishing and cheap beer now go elsewhere because it’s “safer.”

I ask you, Carol, which one is worse? Having your camera taken from you, or having your house taken from you?

So, yes, I just traveled to Mexico for a week, and here is a rundown of what happened:

I ate fish tacos and lobster tails on the shores of an empty beach while drinking $1 beers after a day of surfing perfect, empty waves. I had long conversations with local people who smile and are friendly and are genuinely interested in what I have to say. I shopped at local supermarkets. I stayed in a $20/night guesthouse on the beach, not a fancy resort with a security guard. I hired a fishing boat. I entrusted my life to Mexican taxi drivers who took me exactly where I needed to go.

I wasn’t beheaded, and I wasn’t robbed. I traveled to Mexico and I came back alive.

Mexico safe to visit, for the most part

by Chris Owen on
At least one part of Mexico’s tourism industry seems to have successfully separated itself from headline-grabbing news of crime south of the border. It was not without a great amount of effort and took some time, but Mazatlan, Mexico is back as a viable, safe vacation destination.

While most cruise line’s still don’t stop in Mazatlan, the Pacific coast city is welcoming travelers with a lineup of unique events throughout the month of June. Call it the antidote for a heavy dose of bad press if you will, visitors are being offered better pricing, more events and better security than ever before.

Mazatlan’s tourism people have been busy promoting several events, some annual happenings that draw thousands, reassuring travelers that it’s business-as-usual when it comes to visiting at least that part of Mexico. Here are some highlights:

Mazatlán International Cycling Tour – Seasoned athletes and enthusiasts converge on Mexico June 1st for this five-day tour through scenic countryside, colonial towns and coastal vistas. Hosted in four stages, the event is the only tour in Mexico to combine all road cycling categories.

Quiksilver Clásico Mazatlán – Also on June 1st, five days of epic surf, fashion and live music as surfers from around the globe compete for this Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) four-star event that features an $85,000 purse. Onshore festivities range from surf gear expos and fashion shows to local art exhibits and live music concerts by national and international artists.

Scents and Flavors of Mexico, A Gastronomical Experience on June 3rd is the day for foodies to visit Mazatlan when Mexico’s rich culinary tradition is showcased by celebrity chef Patricia Quintana. Guests will savor authentic regional cuisine like plump Mazatlán shrimp, succulent carne asada and handmade tamales.

GoMazatlan.com has all the details on these and a number of other events.

Travelers are still urged caution traveling in Mexico by the U.S. Department of State, primarily in remote regions not normally visited by tourists. Some other areas are still of concern and listed on their most current Mexico Security Update. Recent isolated incidents in Ciudad Juarez and Guadalajara have also been noted by the US Embassy in Mexico City.

Trusted tourism sources are giving Mexico the green light for travel.

“We have continued to see many consumers pick Mexico as a travel destination of choice despite these uncertain times. Mexico has the attractions, culture, experiences and most importantly, value that our travelers are seeking,” said Terry Dale, new President of the United States Tour Operators Association and former head of the Cruise Lines International Association.

Crime hot spots still center not around common tourist areas but along the US/Mexico border, so staying away from those areas is a good idea. But progress is being made there too, with one of Mexico’s most notorious crime boss’, Julio “El Negro” Radilla arrested at a hideout in Coatzacoalcos, a Gulf Coast port city, after a brief gun battle this week. Still, gang-related shootouts occur. Reuters reports twenty-eight people killed in a shootout among suspected rival drug gangs also this week.

Last week, Mexican President Felipe Calderon tried to reassure travelers that it is safe to come to Mexico, noting recent visitors had no problems.

“I saw thousands of spring breakers in Mexico having fun,” Mr. Calderon said in the Wall Street Journal. “My understanding is the only shots they received were tequila shots.”

Photo courtesy GoMazatlan.com

Related Stories