From: mascdb@gdr.bath.ac.uk (C D Burdorf)
Newsgroups: alt.surfing
Subject: Re: Callin' all Zen Surf Masters
Date: 27 Aug 92 10:09:22 GMT
Organization: School of Mathematics, University of Bath, UK

In article <3841@wyse.wyse.com> jmunro@wyse.wyse.com (Jim Munro x2497) writes:
>>In article <1992Aug18.121650.19401@gdr.bath.ac.uk> you write:
>>..... some stuff deleted.
>>>
>>>If you want to live cheap and surf, head for Latin America.  However,
>>                                                              ^^^^^^^
>>>there you have to deal with disease, bandidos, poverty, corrupt police,
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>>and substandard medical care.
>> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>>>
>>
>disease ... check statistics, I don't think you'll find any significant difference
>in communicable infectious deseases between here and there.

Look, I think Latin America is great ok.  I did not intend to slight it,
but on the disease factor I was referring to the following problems:

1. Malaria, Yellow Fever, and typhoid are problems in tropical areas.

2. The SURF REPORT recently suggested against traveling to Mexico
on surf trips, because the pollution has gotten so bad at many of
the major surf spots (lots of hepatitis cases),  and also that surfers
have been getting attacked by bandidos at an increasing rate. 

3. About 8 years ago, the Mexican government suggested even to 
their own people that they shouldn't drink the water, because
it's infected with bacteria and micro-organisms.

>
>bandidos... crime rates in US are far higher than anywhere else in the world 
>including Central America and Mexico.
>

It's not higher than Columbia or Peru.  Columbia has the highest murder
rate in the World.  The US is second.  Peru has a revolution going on.
10,000 people are killed a year which is per capita much higher than the US.


>poverty.... the worst of the US is about the same as the worst of Central America.
>

Yes, but many of the Latin American Countries have little or no
middle class and most people are poor.  Why do you think so many head
north?  It's usually economic.

>corrupt police.... you mean ours aren't

That's true, but how many stories have you heard of friends in the US
paying off police that were hassling them.  I've heard of lots
of stories from friends doing that in Mexico.  I've had problems
with them myself.  I can remember one incident where a federale stopped
us and the first thing he said was "I'd like to make this (our jeep) my
squadcar"  He then threatened to bust us because he claimed that my
friend's eyeglass cleaners were cigarette papers suppossedly used
to roll joints.  Only after major hassling and help from other
police did we finally get out of it.


>substandard medical care.... Mexico and much of Central/America has free health
>care which means that for someone living cheap, their standards are much higher
>than here. At least you won't be chucked out of a hospital because you can't pay.

I wasn't aware of that.  That's a good thing.  I was referring to
what happened to a friend of mine that had his appendix explode
while in Mexico.  The doctor claimed it was stomach upset.  Since he
was suffering so badly, we brought him back to CA.  ONce there the
doctor took one look at him and immediately organized an operation to
take his appendix out.  He could have died if we hadn't brought him
back to the states.
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