windy landing in hazy Veracruz

The haze never cleared. Aviation forecast was 5 miles of visibility and MVFR. We weighed the aviation forecast against staying another night in the stinky Budget Hotel #1 in a town where some Zetas were apparently gunned down not far from our hotel the day before. Of course the Zetas did not figure into Ricardo’s calculation, but I silently inserted them on the “leaving” side of the scale when we were making a decision.

We departed for Veracruz.

Although we had low visibility and had to maintain a cruising altitude of, ahem, 1500 ft to avoid the haze and clouds, it was much better than the last time we flew into Veracruz. That time, in 2008, it was twilight and the airport seemed to have shut down for the day. They cleared us for landing, but we couldn’t find the airport. The air traffic controller responded to that with, “Oh, uh, I will go turn on the lights for you.” Wow… So, comparatively, this was cake.

As Ricardo says, "If ju don't hurt the plane, an ju don't hurt youself, then eet ees a good landing."

Tiroteo in Tampico

Don't get excited. We didn't see one.

But we do have a story to tell.

Ricardo was busy explaining to me how Americans are overly timorous in foreign countries and how Houston and L.A. are every bit as dangerous as over here in Mexico, when our cab driver volunteered that he had been witness to a gunfight between the Zetas and the Federales this afternoon at 3p.

He then (without us requesting the tour or even knowing he was about to take us) proceeded to drive us by the situs of the firefight, where we were treated to a view of hordes of spooky, masked, armed-to-the-teeth Federales in battle gear and armored cars waiting with the body of the fallen Zeta. He said that the police were waiting there to confront any Zeta who might seek to recover the body of their fallen comrade.

Greeeeat!!

Well, the fearless Ricardo still was not convinced of any clear and present danger, but he was a good sport about my trepidation and we ate a quick dinner and got back to the hotel.

I know I said we weren't going to be in the Mexican states that the State Department warned about, but Tampico is in fact on the very Southern tip of the prohibited Coahuila State.

We leave first thing.