Just a couple of comments about the terrible experience you had in Guatemala.......I am truely sorry for your experience and wish there had been someone available to discuss safety issues with you before you went.......all of this can be avoided with some basic rules of the road, and what can become a nightmare can be managable in most countries, though there may be exceptions even to this. I have been traveling and consulting about 70% of my time overseas in all the Central American and South American countries for 10 years now, and the lessons you described at the end of your post are right on.

I believe Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Peru and Brazil to be the most dangerous places in Latin America, but your experience can occur anywhere in Latin America, as well as in most major cities of the world if one is in the wrong place. I've been robbed about 10 times in the past 10 years, but always in the presence of people on the street, and this has reduced the risk to pickpockets and sneak thieves, though experienced gangs of 3 or more people can take one down on the street in the middle of a crowd and strip all of value within a couple of minutes and usually nobody will get involved. A friend of mine lost about $5000 in cash that way at 11:30 am on the major pedestrian walkway in Buenos Aires with crowds almost elbow to elbow on the walk.

I've compared notes with other experienced travelers on how to stay safe and enjoy these countries, and wonder if you might want to add the following suggestions to lessons learned......some of these are your lessons, and others are a bit different.

NEVER put yourself in a place (rural or urban setting), day or night, where there are no other people, whether alone or in a group of 3 or4 people. FOlks id you immediately and are following to see if you will go to a place where they can rob you.

Never carry valuables with you.....cameras or other valuable equipment are an invitation to robbery. Carry small amounts of cash, and have a couple of xerox copies of your passport in your suitcase.

If you are going to bird with equipment, organize a group and take local trusted guides with you. Antigua has tourist police who will accompany you, but there needs to be a crowd to deter the thieves. In Guatemala the risk is greater because of the quantity of arms loose in the country.....

Several hundred thousand guerillas and army soldiers have been laid off in the past 5 years,,,,,in an economy which cannot absorbe them. Many of these folks have kept their weapons, including assalt rifles, grenades, and pistols, and are organized in gangs and at night rob vehicles traveling from city to city. Guatemala and Colombia and Honduras and El Salvador are the worst for this organized gang type problem.

Never flag a taxi on the street (except in Costa Rica). Always get the hotel or restaurant to call one for you. Or go to the taxi wait stand nearby where a bunch of them are lined up and get one there.

Bus and train stations and the areas around them are the higher risk areas, because of the numbers of tourists traveling this way.

Talk extensively to local folks about what is safe to do and what is not safe to do. What areas are safe, and what areas are risky. Folks in Antigua will tell you never to go out of the town alone or in small groups without locals and tourist police traveling with you.

If you want to bird and explore natural parks, go to Costa Rica......and Argentina out of the Buenos Aires urban area......

Plan your trip with all security considerations in mind. Figure out what kind of support you need in terms of groups, local accompaniment,

Never go out at night in most places (except some areas of Antigua in early evening) because of security issues. Even in a small group of 2 or 3 folks, you run the risk of being robbed. Guatemala and Colombia are also notorous for kidnappings........highest rates of kidnapping in the world.  Really bad places to hang out........most of the same birds are in Costa Rica, which is much much safer, though incidents have been increasing there too.........

Never trust anyone who approaches you on the street and starts up a conversation. This has been the first step in a robbery for me on several occasions. The guy talking to you is setting you up for someone else to hit you.

When walking, always walk with awareness of what is going on around you, and have a clear idea of where you are going, and walk determinitely towards your destination Casual strolling marks one as a target for robbery........

When going to a bank to change travelers cheques, you are at greatest risk coming out of the bank. Folks will observe you leaving and follow you. Sometimes the bank tellers are in cahoots with folks outside and will call and identify you as a "Mark". This happened to friends in Colombia, and the taxi driver was in cahoots and stopped the car and walked away to allow 2 men with submachine guns to rob my friends. They lost several thousand dollars.

You would be welcome to use this info as a supplement to your article if you would like. Finally, I would like to say that FOR ALL THE TERRIBLE EXPERIENCES FOLKS CAN GET INTO, the Latin American people are some of the most open, sharing, warm, and caring people I have ever met in traveling throughout the world. Like in so many cases, a few bad apples spoil the barrel. Unfortunately, it is hard to have these personal and warm experiences without the language and contacts with good folks. There are many, many many more good folks than bad, but folks are hesitant to get involved because of the risk of getting shot or stabbed or whatever........I am so thankful you didn't get injuured or knifed or shot.......that is not unusual in Guatemala.

Take good care, and feel free to chat if you organize another trip to any third world country. These rules apply throughout the world.

Sincerely,

Emile
emile@worldaccess.net
Emile H. Combe