Some notes from an expert visitor

As someone who lived and worked in Mexico for 14 1/2 years and with intimate knowledge of the three cities Reed Johnson mentioned in his article [“Stay Safe, but Enjoy,” Nov. 16], I’d like to add some random thoughts.

One should never travel lonely stretches of streets or beaches; it’s an invitation for robbery.

As long as you don’t have a car accident, you won’t have any problem in Veracruz, which is an otherwise charming city. I married a local girl so I may be biased.

Better than Veracruz, though, is Xalapa (from an Indian spelling; the X is pronounced like an H), the capital of the state of Veracruz.

It’s a university town with lots of public activities coming from faculty and students.

Aleksandar Djosich

Vancouver, Canada

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I find it totally irresponsible to promote vacations in Mexico in the Los Angeles Times Travel section. The country continues to have a reputation of uncontrolled murder and carnage.

Instead of rewarding the country with positive press, we as Americans should boycott the country of Mexico until their government gets a handle on the violence that has continued and escalated for more than 30 years.

Bill Bangert Jr.

Orange