Travel Jitters
Hi Bloggy,
Recently my parents have asked me where I would like to go for my senior vacation since I will be graduating this June. I really want to go to a place that is tropical. I really want a place that has the white beaches, clear waters, and tropical rainforests are a must. Something kind of like from the show LOST. I love adventure and so am not exactly looking for something that's just "romantic" or "relaxing". I was looking into going to Costa Rica but have heard that many places now a days are very dangerous for US citizens to go to. I don't know if Costa Rica is one of them or not. Any advice for a place that is tropical, safe, and not terribly expensive? Thanks
-D
Man oh man, I wish I had your problems, kid. All joking aside, there are a few things we have to address.
First, let's talk about travel safety. You're concerned that there are places in the world where it's not safe for US citizens. Off the top of my head, I can think of a few: Iraq, Afghanistan, the border between India and Pakistan... which one am I forgetting? Oh, now I remember: The United States of America. In total, there are approximately two million violent crimes reported in the United States every year since 2007. With a population of about one hundred million, that means that roughly two percent of all Americans will be the victims of violent crime this year. Factor in theft and other non-violent crimes and that number climbs to about ten percent.
What am I trying to say here, D? Well, it's simple. People have a tendency to be more afraid of dangerous, foreign people than dangerous, domestic people. Is there crime in Costa Rica? Sure, but not any more crime when compared to major US cities. In fact, per 100,000 people Costa Rica has a lower violent crime rate than then the ten most populous cities in the United States.
As for how your nationality is going to effect your vacation, the only thing you're going to have to worry about is being accosted by too many shop owners trying to sell you things. They're not scary foreigners with alien agendas, they're regular people trying to live as happily as they can, just like you and me. They won't care that you're American because they'll see you the same way they see tourists from all over the world. You're a customer.
I actually have a work associate who lives in Costa Rica. When she's not swinging on vines and using improvised weapons to take down uzi-toting drug dealers, she's a freelance digital artist and a professor at her local design school. So you see, D, it's the 21st century in lower latitudes as well.
As for your lust for adventure, D, anywhere you go that's designed for tourists who want what they see on television is going to have plenty of manufactured excursions into what has been made to look like the wilderness. Of course, if any of these things were actual adventures, they'd be too dangerous to be the base for a solid business plan. In this world you have two options that never quite meet in the middle. You can have a vacation or you can have an adventure. If you want the real rainforest, hire a helicopter to drop you in the middle of the uninhabited portions of Vietnam or Brazil. If you just want the scenery, get a nice hotel anywhere close to the equator and enjoy the sunlight. If you're still concerned, use that age-old American traveler's trick... sew a Canadian flag patch to your jacket.
