I saw the airport in Guadalajara was close to back to normal operations too.

I’ve been reading about the covert mission that took down el mencho. Fascinating stuff.

Here is an update on Puerto Vallarta. I went downtown yesterday for a doctor's appointment. Everything seemed as if nothing happened over the weekend. There was no extra police presence, no military, and no signs of any problems in general. I didn't even see any burned buildings, or cars. Tourists were walking around all the streets, shopping in stores, riding bikes and all of the other activities that normally go on in not only the popular tourist area, but a everywhere I drove on my way to and from the doctor. There were no cruise ships in port which is not normal and I don't know if they are avoiding PV or were just in between trips. Tha airport was busy with planes going and coming, but the private jet parking which is usually full, only had a couple planes.

I believe all is back to normal, but I'm afraid many potential tourists will be going elsewhere to spend their vacation dollars. Only time will tell how much of an impact last Sunday will have on this part of the country.

There has been zero increase in criminal activity in the states north of here, so I predict normal operations at the popular bass fishing lodges around Mazatlan and further to the north.

I'm am well and will be working, going out after tuna next week. I hope to get a chance to catch a DD bass by the end of March.

Yup, my friends who live there reported the same thing. In fact, one of them posted this pic the day after:

It's as if it never happened.

2 hours ago, Glenn said:

Yup, my friends who live there reported the same thing. In fact, one of them posted this pic the day after:

It's as if it never happened.

Wow- that's so nice.

Very similar to our place here right now.

Just without all the snow & ice.

😎

A-Jay

Hang in there @king fisher, it will come back. Unfortunately it just takes time to adjust confidence to set in

I saw some guy make a great point. He said in Austin TX 3 Americans were shot and killed and several injured, no Americans were killed in PV but it’s all about perception when it comes to tourism

It is now two weeks after the cartel violence, and all is back to normal in PV. The airport is full of tourists, planes are on schedule, the beaches have tourists from all over the world swimming, surfing, and playing with their children. You can drive downtown through the affected area, and see zero signs of fire or vandalism.

If I didn't know better, I would assume nothing ever happened. The sad truth is from the numbers I have been told, tourism is down 30% from what it would have been if there had been no incident two weeks ago. I believe the numbers. To a casual observer at a bar, or beach, it would appear that tourism is flourishing. To a person who lives here, it does not look like peak tourist season. I can drive down town in a little over half an hour from my house, and I don't get stressed out from the traffic. Before the drive would take over an hour, and I would be frazzled by the time I got down town. All is not normal, but it could be far worse.

I am still recovering from surgery, and will be starting chemotherapy next week. It may be awhile before I am able to make a cast for bass. If I don't catch any DD bass this spring, it won't be because of cartel violence, it will because doctors don't understand how important bass fishing is for a persons health. When I get the Ok from my doctor and my wife, there will be a picture of a DD posted here.

I can't advise anyone on the safety of coming to PV. Everyone should do research and decide for themselves they believe it is a safe place to vacation. I can say I feel as safe here as anywhere I have lived in the states. That is how I feel only, not a recommendation to others to come here.

16 minutes ago, king fisher said:

It is now two weeks after the cartel violence, and all is back to normal in PV. The airport is full of tourists, planes are on schedule, the beaches have tourists from all over the world swimming, surfing, and playing with their children. You can drive downtown through the affected area, and see zero signs of fire or vandalism.

If I didn't know better, I would assume nothing ever happened. The sad truth is from the numbers I have been told, tourism is down 30% from what it would have been if there had been no incident two weeks ago. I believe the numbers. To a casual observer at a bar, or beach, it would appear that tourism is flourishing. To a person who lives here, it does not look like peak tourist season. I can drive down town in a little over half an hour from my house, and I don't get stressed out from the traffic. Before the drive would take over an hour, and I would be frazzled by the time I got down town. All is not normal, but it could be far worse.

I am still recovering from surgery, and will be starting chemotherapy next week. It may be awhile before I am able to make a cast for bass. If I don't catch any DD bass this spring, it won't be because of cartel violence, it will because doctors don't understand how important bass fishing is for a persons health. When I get the Ok from my doctor and my wife, there will be a picture of a DD posted here.

I can't advise anyone on the safety of coming to PV. Everyone should do research and decide for themselves they believe it is a safe place to vacation. I can say I feel as safe here as anywhere I have lived in the states. That is how I feel only, not a recommendation to others to come here.

Thank you for updating us! Honestly, you are the top news source that I trust for Puerto Vallarta. I happy for you that everything is back as it should be and I have to believe tourism will return full blast as some point.

I feel for you and agree that you will heal faster when you can get back to what you love to do. We will pray for your quick recovery so you can get back at those DDs. We are looking forward to more pics of giants! Stay positive, have faith, fish hard when you get the chance.

28 minutes ago, king fisher said:

When I get the Ok from my doctor and my wife, there will be a picture of a DD posted here.

And that pic will be my all-time favorite of a DD, my faraway friend.

@king fisher Hang in their buddy with your treatment. You will back chasing that DD shortly.

@king fisher

Sincerely hope your treatment and recovery go well and exactly as planned.

A-Jay

Fingers crossed for the treatment and speedy recovery. Already have no doubt about the DD tho. Haha

I had a client stuck down there a week or so ago due to this. She's back now.

My daughter just flew in to Guatemala yesterday.

I'm not too much of a worrywart but my wife and all the grandparents are slightly.

The US Gov says to "reconsider traveling to Guatemala" currently.

Dang that’s crazy. Guess it’s not any crazier than the riots in the US . What a world

Glad you are on the mend. As for tourism, savvy travelers know that the violence that erupted is still there just under the skin. Is it different than any other tourist destination? I’m not exactly sure. There’s a lot of violence here in the states right now so travel as a whole is worthy of an extra amount of consideration. Thank you for the honest reporting.

For those that wonder how bad it was, this is my observation of what happened. This is only what I have seen and heard, I'm not an official source by any means.

First of all, no tourists were killed or hurt. That includes US citizens and many tourists from all over the world. The cartel and military were careful to keep the violence between the combatants and not let others get hurt. Friends that were downtown told me, that the police hid in stores while the military and cartel were fighting it out. There were no stray bullets flying around where I live, but I did here an explosion.

It appears the Cartel's main plan was to disrupt all traffic, free some friends from prison, and make a large visual statement. They were successful with all goals. They burned many cars, in the middle of the street, to block traffic, as well as burning cars in major parking lots. The cars were empty of people, so lots of smoke for the camera's, but nobody was hurt in the fires. Fire crews were not allowed to put the fires out, so most of the cars burned until there was nothing left. The next day they were allowed to tow them away, and clean up the streets. For some reason they burned down a few of only one brand of convenience stores. No one I have talked to know why they targeted only Oxxo's and not other buildings, but that seems to be the case in many town throughout the state of Jalisco. As with the cars, they made sure the stores were empty before setting them on fire.

There were many people in the military killed as well as Cartel members. Most of the deaths were at major roadblocks at the edge of town, and at the state border. They also attacked a prison, and freed many inmates. Most have been captured, but some made successful escapes.

The pictures on the news, made it look far worse than it was. Looking at the town from the ocean, it looked like the whole town was on fire. Smoke rising from several locations, across the entire bay. These pictures were accurate, but didn't tell the whole story. One popular picture was taken at an angle to make the Costco store look to be on fire. It was not damaged, only a half dozen cars were set fire in the middle of the parking lot. No one was injured at, near, or around Costco. All over the bay cars were on fire, but as I said before the cars and buses, did not have people in them. They were empty when set ablaze.

Traffic was stopped, and it was extremely dangerous to drive anywhere on that Sunday. The Cartel even put out a warning for people to stay in their homes after 2:00 PM. Apparently that was the time they planned on confronting the army head on. No one I know witnessed any fights between the army and Cartel, but many were killed on both sides, so obviously there was some battles.

No one knows what the future will bring, but apparently there has been some kind of secret truce declared. They had a large funeral for the head of the Cartel that was killed, complete with gold casket, many mourners, with army and police protecting the service. Obviously if they wanted to capture Cartel members, the large extravagant funeral would have been a good place to start. Instead they gave government protection, and all was peaceful.

All is calm now, and like I said before I feel as safe here as any place I have lived in the states. That is just me. I can't recommend anyone come here, nor will I tell anyone to stay away. The underlying problems still exist, ready to explode into the open at any time. There is no signs of violence now, but no one can predict the future. The Cartels are large, strong, and extremely violent. Their influence is felt in every aspect of life in Mexico. They have investments, and influence in all walks of life, from large construction companies, banks, police, military and every day people. They have infiltrated the police, military,as well as local and national government. They are experts at wielding both the carrot and the stick. Getting rid of them completely would take more than just arresting the street gang members. It would take a complete overhaul of government as well as a change of attitude amongst all of the people. Not only gang members would have to see in the inside of a prison, but politicians, bankers, developers, as well as many other people who don't administer any violence themselves, but either encourage the status quo by accepting money, or by simply looking the other way.

The problem did not develop overnight, and it will not go away overnight. I was lucky enough to live in an area, that seemed to be off the radar for many years. That has all changed.

For now, life is back to normal, and I hope with time, the system can be changed, so one day criminals do not have a significant influence over the country. Only time will tell. On a positive note, the bass here are big and fight harder than any Cartel, or Army, and they are just waiting to be caught.