U.S. tourists find little fun in Mexico

Cesly Burris was looking forward to a beach getaway when she boarded her Acapulco-bound plane last weekend, oblivious to what awaited her in Mexico: disaster and disease.

Two days later, the 26-year-old from Temecula, Calif., was steadying herself through a 5.6 earthquake in the basement-level spa of her hotel in this coastal resort city on what’s known as Mexico’s Pacific Riviera.

But she was there for a vacation, after all. So after a minute of tremors, Burris and her husband treated themselves to a couples massage — by women wearing masks. Mexico is the epicenter of the swine flu outbreak. Although the nation’s top medical officer on Friday said new cases and fatalities were leveling off, authorities have confirmed 343 cases and 15 deaths from the virus.

Some American tourists have adopted a worry-free attitude, relying on their resort to shelter them from the influenza virus.

“They’re probably hyping it up,” said Sonya Welch, who was vacationing from Indiana. Welch and her friend holed themselves up in their hotel after they came back empty-handed from a trip to Wal-Mart. The superstore had run out of masks and hand sanitizers.

Burris said she was slightly concerned about her body’s lapse to fever, aches and vomiting a few days after her arrival.

“If I die, I die,” she said nonchalantly. “If not, I will get right back into my room until my quarantine is over.
“One way or another, I’m getting out of here.”

Many Mexico City residents, meanwhile, have shed their blue surgical masks for blue skies, with thousands heading for Acapulco and other coastal destinations for their Cinco de Mayo holiday weekend. The swine flu has been more prevalent inland, and

Elena Zarate said the influx of domestic tourists into Acapulco for the holiday weekend has not wavered.

“A lot of people are asking why the clubs are closed because no people are sick here,” said Zarate, a receptionist at the Grand Mayan hotel.

Owner Ruben Manzano was the only one wearing a mask Wednesday night in his Astilleros restaurant, which was empty of customers.