Canada, I Love You

I had recently commented to my friends that, throughout my life, I had never been (as far as I'm aware) near a loaded gun. That all changed about a week ago.

Please note that I am in no way trying to disrepute Mexico. I'm just retelling this life experience.

When we first arrived in Puerto Vallarta, we needed to drive for about half an hour through the downtown part of the city to get to our resort.

About 5 or 10 minutes into the drive, we realized that we were 2 cars behind a military vehicle that had 6 men with rifles slung over their shoulders sitting out on the back. Within a few minutes of seeing this, we were stopped at a light. I was a little wary but figured everything would be okay.

All of a sudden, every person (including the driver) jumps out of the military vehicle and swarms the truck next to us, holding the people inside at gunpoint. We had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. The road was only two lanes wide, so there was no way to go around them.

I don't know how long this lasted for (seemed like a minute, was probably not that long. 10 seconds maybe?) but finally some of the military men started laughing and they all got back into their vehicle, letting the truck driver go. We, however, had to continue driving right behind the military men, and I noticed them pointing at us, the tourists.

We finally got away from following their vehicle and made it to the resort unscathed.

After I recovered from the trauma this incident brought me (feel free to note how sheltered my life has been), I took a moment to reflect on how this sort of thing would obviously never happen in Canada. I don't think I've ever been so grateful for the stability and safety that Canada offers us. So, Canada, I love you.