Surfers beware! Mexico has had numerous problems throughout the years but this year there has been a few that made global news. This was not good for surfers because Mexico is an easy escape from the norm of their local surf spot. Mexico is easy to get into, the living expenses are extremely cheap and most importantly the waves are EPIC! So when surfers heard the news of swine flu and a deteriorating government did that stop the surfing world from heading to Mexico? I went to Mexico a month before this Swine flu outbreak but the big problem before that was the government and the drug wars. Do all these problems stop people from going to warm water and sick beach breaks.

I traveled to the small town of Zihuatenajo, by far the coolest place I have been, and I had absolutely no problems with anyone. Granted the kid I went with had a lot of family there and his uncle was the Mayor but that really didn’t matter cause we never saw him. However, the day we left we heard that the head of a police officer was found which was a little bit of a wake up call. The waves I scored were worth the travel and the crowds were mellow. I was never really scared but obviously my parents and other family members were. I would go back again in a heartbeat and plan on it in the near future.

Swine flu was a topic that was blown way out of proportion when it came out and again the news organizations were advising against travel to Mexico. My brother who captures video for surf movies was supposed to go on a trip to Mexico but was canceled due to the swine flu. Does anyone else agree with me that the flu was blown out of proportion? Or did this “epidemic” scare any of you from traveling to get waves? In Santa Cruz the spring season has been quite slow and extremely cold so our friendly neighbor to the south is the best bet. Now that the swine flu has died down I have had some friends book trips to Mexico and are ready to get back to their favorite beach break and also more importantly their favorite local bar.

Aaron Moss is The Extreme Scene's official intern, and does a fine job doing it.