Poor maligned Chihuahua. It's getting a very bad rap these days.
Supposedly it is the state with the worst drug-related violence in all of Mexico. Home to Ciudad Juarez, homicide capital of the world. Makes Baghdad look like Kansas.
Had to cool my heels for a couple of days in the capital city, Chihuahua, recently. I've been in worse places. They were very nice to me at the bar pictured above, but charged me double for my drinks. In a location with such a violent reputation I wasn't going to argue about it. I guess if you walk into a place called Bar Turista you get what you deserve.
Impressions: The cab driver who didn't want to take me to the hotel I asked for because he wouldn't earn a commission there. The French hotel manager at the local outpost of a mid-price international chain, who seemed to go out of his way to tell me how happy he was to be working in Chihuahua.
The lawyer in the cantina who insisted in speaking some form of English to me that I couldn't quite understand. To be diplomatic, I told him that I wanted to practice my Spanish. He ignored me and kept speaking "English." The Chinese restaurant where I saw the boxing match on TV.
City of statues and mannequins.
I saw families and old ladies around town. They always makes me feel safe. Two days was enough, though.