Right on the heels of “Who is the best guide at El Salto?” the top question we receive is whether it’s safe to go. It’s certainly a valid question about any foreign or domestic vacation destination, and especially when you’re discussing Mexico, which has gained a reputation for violent crime in recent years.

Circa summer 2009: I’m planning Pete’s 40th birthday party for February 2010 and I’m at a loss -- What to do? what to do? I think I threw him a surprise party on the actual date. Good golly I’m old. I can’t remember anything anymore. What I do remember is that before the actual birthday I gathered some friends to go to this place that Pete talked about endlessly: Lake El Salto, Mexico.

Hanna and I have been to Anglers Inn El Salto and Anglers Inn Picachos nearly 20 times combined, with more visits to the former than the latter. We’re frequently asked “Which guide should I request?” or “Who is the best guide?” When we don’t have a definitive answer, people assume we’re trying to hide something from them. If they only have the magic guide, they assume, they’ll catch one double digit after another after another. If only it were that easy.

I grew up in Chicago, where winter waits for the school bus seemed to take a decade. We would wait so long that you could feel your little nose hairs freeze. Does that sound appealing?