There are many people who have been to Rocky Point many times and many that never go and ask the same question: Is it safe? We have read many articles on how safe it is and warnings from the department of state come and go about travel to Mexico in general and Rocky Point in particular.

I travel back and forth from Phoenix to Rocky Point almost every week, and my 19 year old daughter also takes the trip on her own frequently, we have been unharmed for years so in our opinion it is safe, however my stance is that life itself is unsafe: whether something happens in one country or another is very hard to determine, there are shootings in the US and shootings in Mexico, the likelihood to be involved in one is minimal in both countries (unless you are involved in criminal activity of some sort) so I just live my life, and I choose to live it without too much fear.

There is one certain thing about life: Death, so once you determine and accept you will die, then the difficult part is not really to die but to live and make the best of the life you live.

That is why it is refreshing to have met an adventurous young lady who, in spite of her parents and friends fears of her traveling to Rocky Point, she went online, booked a reservation (in one of our rental houses) and decided to go to the “Rocky Point Triathlon” all alone, no friends or family just her and her bicycle, I needed to go to Rocky Point the same day so we agreed to meet in Tempe and I would catch a ride with her from there, what I didn’t know is that she is not from the valley and she had never traveled to Puerto Peñasco before, so a first timer all on her own ready to take on the challenge of swimming, biking and running by the beach in Mexico! How refreshing!

Christina and I got along great from the beginning, her Dad is from Puerto Rico and her Mom is Italian, she has traveled and lived in several spots around the world, and attended a few Triathlons, Peñasco being the latest. She just moved to the Valley of the Sun from Baltimore and is still new to all the streets and sights but her adventurous spirit had pulled her toward

the Triathlon in Mexico. On the way to Mexico from Tempe our biggest adventure was missing an exit, being fairly sleepy, then having a bit of coffee and talking a whole bunch until we made it to the house, crossing the border was easy and fast, we had no issues and both felt quite safe throughout the ride from Tempe to Rocky Point. She was renting a studio from us that we call the “IKEA house”, it sits right behind our house, we took our bags out and then she needed to go to “Las Palomas” to pick up her welcome package, well there is some road work around town and I decided it was best to go with her so she wouldn’t get lost, once there somehow she talked me into signing up for the 5K run the next day!

And so it happened that the next Morning we both went to the Triathlon together, it was my first time at the Rocky Point Triathlon and I enjoyed watching all the preparation, the inner workings and all the Athletes getting prepared and ready for the extraordinary effort it takes to swim, bike and run all in the same day, there is a separate category that is the Olympic Triathlon were the distance is doubled in each category, there are people who are happy just to finish, some like Christina that have a personal goal to finish within certain time, and some that are truly competitive and are going for the first place and have trained extensively to get there; However I was surprised to see how many “regular” people were doing this, not all look like they spend their day working out, some are just on their way to become fitter and just want to participate in this event, some like me are just happy to finish a 5K run and time is not that important. In the spirit of “everyone is a winner” we all received a nice Triathlon medal at the finish line that says “Swim, Bike, Run, Party” I realized later on its also a beer opener! And sure enough right at the finish line just past the slip and slide was the Beer, I got to Understand the meaning of the 2015 Triathlon shirt: Stroke it (for the swim), Ride it (for the bicycle), Pound it (for the run) Drink it: For the abundant amounts of beer delivered to all the participants right at the finish line!

After I finished I wasn’t sure just what to do so I took one of those giant plastic cups of Beer (too much Beer for a non-beer drinker like me but all that running had me thirsty, besides that was apparently part of the full experience for the Triathlon) then I stayed around the finish line which allowed me to see the Winner of the Olympic Triathlon crossing the finish line, the best of the best athletes in the entire Triathlon: 36 year old Jozsef Major from Hungary: he swam 1000 meters, biked 42 Km and ran 10 kilometers in exactly 1:55:59 almost 5 minutes ahead of the second place winner Robert Mercer 25 of Chandler Arizona, 3rd place was Jason Smith 37.

Jozsef is serious about being an Athlete: he has won 9 Ironman competitions and 7 consecutive wins at eXtreme Man Hungary, he is also a Coach and had many of his followers and athletes doing the triathlon with him, it was also his first time in the shores of Puerto Peñasco: Congratulations Jozsef and everyone who signed up and completed the triathlon!

Aslo Congratulations to my new friend Christina that achieved her goal, even with the very challenging swim the athletes had to deal with due to the wind that morning.

The next day Christina went back home on her own and arrived safe and sound to everyone’s delight.

On top of my nice bottle opener medal and cool underarmour T-shirt, I won a new experience and a new friend, I will probably do this again next year!

You can now start signing up for the 2016 Triathlon and best yet, start working out to prepare: go out and swim, grab a bike and go or lace up those shoes and hit the pavement, or the sand if you like to run by the beach, what better way to stay healthy and happy!