A word to potential visitors....

We have been asked repeatedly about the safety in Tampico so we wrote to ask the president of the Tampico Mexico Temple this specific question along with many more.  We received this response on 12 September 2013 and want to share it with everyone

From Barry and Risa Udall,  President of the Tampico Mexico Temple:

“We have had no family or friends visit us here.  The first 1 1/2 years there was quite a bit of violence in the area and we were told to keep a low profile and to advise family not to visit.  For over a year now the violence seems to have mostly gone away, but, to be frank, there are no tourist attractions in Tampico with the exception perhaps of the beach.  But your family could go to the beach in California a lot more easily than coming to Tampico.  It is mostly an industrial city (oil platforms in the Gulf) and just doesn't have sites that would be of interest to tourists.  When we became aware of the reality of the situation here, we discouraged our family from the expense and effort of making a trip when we would be in the temple all day anyway and would hardly have any time to spend with them.  There are the two weeks of maintenance closing, as you mentioned, and you could perhaps take a trip to someplace appealing like Guanajuato, Patzcuaro, Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, or many other places, none of which are close to Tampico."

Of course we reserve the right to change this recommendation once we arrive in Tampico!!