This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Brian Thompson, 75, who lives in New Jersey. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
On February 21, my wife and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta, just in time to miss a historic blizzard hitting the Jersey Shore.
When we were planning this trip, it seemed like a good idea to miss a couple of winter weeks by traveling to Puerto Vallarta, where I’d visited twice before.
By Monday morning, after cartel violence had erupted in the area, it turned out that our idea wasn’t so great. I think I’d rather have been in a blizzard than what I experienced Sunday.
Puerto Vallarta never felt unsafe, until now
People describe Puerto Vallarta as a little bit of paradise. Locals and tourists here are very friendly. It’s a vibrant, bustling city with a great jazz scene.
I’d never felt unsafe here until yesterday. I woke up in the morning and saw what I thought was pollution from automobile exhaust, but when I went down to the front door of the condominium, people said we were under attack by the cartel.
At first, we stayed in our unit because we were told to shelter in place. I went up to the condominium’s front door to see what was going on, but I didn’t go any further. I spent the next few hours communicating with family and friends who wanted to know if we were OK.
Later on, I went out onto the pool deck and could see new fires and smoke, and a helicopter circling. I saw multiple videos online of vehicles being burned in the area.
The scariest part was hearing that the restaurant adjoining our building was on fire. Fortunately, it was quickly put out, but I could see smoke coming across our balcony.
Things seem calmer now, but I don’t know if I’ll leave my condo
This morning, it looks like things have calmed down. My wife struggled to fall asleep last night. I’ve been worried about her, but I’ve only felt a little bit scared. For the most part, my adrenaline was high. I’ve spent my career as a television journalist, and I’m used to running toward trouble. I decided to report on the events to my audience by sending information to my friends and people on X.
We spent last night with some other residents in the condo, and they shared their food with us.
When my wife and I arrived on Saturday, we didn’t have much food with us. I’d brought three protein bars with me, and we’d gotten a few items from a local store, including chips, guacamole, and yogurt. I haven’t tried to leave the condo yet today. Whether I will or not depends partly on whether my wife will let me.
I hope I’ll come back to Puerto Vallarta
We planned to travel to Mexico City after spending a week in Puerto Vallarta, but we’ve canceled that leg of our trip.
So far, it’s been hard to get flights out of the area. The earliest trips I’ve been able to find are on this Friday and Saturday, and I’ve booked trips back to the US through both Houston and Los Angeles.
I’m hoping New Jersey will have dug itself out from the blizzard by Friday, but I haven’t booked our travel from Houston to New Jersey because I don’t even know if we’ll make it to Houston.
I don’t know if we’ll come back to Puerto Vallarta, but I hope we will. I want to come back to support the people of Puerto Vallarta and show faith in their country.
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