[Don Quixote]

Just to answer Char's question:
I don't think we're all going to die. First of all, not that many people have died in Mexico, where the epicenter seems to be. Also, many of those people that have died or gotten very ill probably delayed getting it attended to, because of lack of resources and good medical attention (there are some very good MD's and hospitals in Mexico, but in the poorer districts health care is very iffy). Also, many people have as their first choice in medicine not a doctor, but a nurse or even a "curandero" ("healer"). Many years ago, my mother-in-law was visiting us in Mexico when she took a tumble and hurt her ankle. We wanted to have a professional look at it, but our friends called in this guy who tried to help her by "taking the heat out of the joint", and giving her some herbs. Naturally, we took a taxi to the hospital and found out that she had chipped a bone in her ankle.

I'm not very worried, but my wife and I have decided to put off our trip (scheduled for next month)--mostly because of my wife. A couple of big problems are that the way air travel works in Mexico, the vast majority of flights get funneled through Mexico City, where some of the worst problems are. Therefore, anyone traveling by air through almost any part of Mexico will end up the capital, where they can be exposed to the flu from someone who is basically just there for a layover. Travel in the subways is also very crowded, and would be a great breeding-ground for something like this, and there is a subway stop that leads right to the airport.

It's tough for Mexico...they make a large percentage of their GDP on tourism; their economy is already in very deep recession because they usually reflect the U.S.'s economy, but more so. After all of this is over, I'd recommend travel in Mexico--it's bound to be cheap, and the local tourist economies will be grateful for your business!

DQ