I travelled to a “politically unstable” country, and here’s what I learned

When I told my friends and family of my travel plans, the first thing I heard was, “Oh my God, be careful, and don’t die”.

This past 2021, me and my boyfriend travelled to Guatemala for three weeks on college break, in search of adventure and an authentic holiday season. Prior to the trip, myself, a young female, had multiple worries of my safety in this underdeveloped Latin American country- even with a male presence.

Our first research source of travel safety abroad was the reputable Canadian Travel Advisory. I was shocked, scared and nervous when I read this. The Canadian Travel Advisory recommended a high level of caution to all travelers due to the high levels of violent crime, roadblocks and strikes within the country. Their statement on crime rates classified Guatemala as having “one of the highest violent crime rates in Latin America, one of the world’s highest homicide rates and a very low detention rate.” The advisory stated that political demonstrations were common, and they tended to get violent quickly.

After reading that, me and my boyfriend thought we wouldn’t even make it in one piece to our first hostel.

Nevertheless, we took this with a grain of salt. Our other sources, avid travel vloggers and the well detailed “Lonely Planet” guidebook, reassured us that we would most likely be safe with a bit of common sense and each other.

And boy, were we shocked when we got there.

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Our first day in Guatemala was amazing. It was incredible how friendly the locals were, and how many people on the street flashed us a smile and a friendly “Buenos Dias” as we walked by. It was embarrassing and lovely to witness the patience of our waiters at our first restaurant, to my broken Spanish.

As time went by, I only grew more in awe of the local’s friendliness and accommodation. The Mayan families there tended to be big, with the daughters and mothers carrying a baby in their front whilst leading her other three children. That didn’t stop the big families from cramming themselves into 2 bus seats just to offer me a spot so I didn’t have to stand.

My experiences with the locals were nothing but bliss and kindness, with the exception of a few naughty kids.😉 (Nik’s expensive shorts got stolen, but then again, why would you leave them hanging out on the communal area balcony?)

However nice my experiences with the locals were, I can still remember the tension and hesitation I felt in the back of my head to the kind culture. I kept reminding myself to keep my guard up, to keep that common sense. I found myself thinking things like, “I bet the town is different when the sun goes down”. It’s like I was anticipating my worst fears of getting mugged, scammed, or stuck in a violent circumstance to come true.

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If you’ve gotten this far in my post, this is what you’ve been waiting for: the lesson I learned from this Latin American country.

That lesson is, our perception of these underdeveloped countries in the West is so skewed. It is so misrepresentative of their true nature, and it prevents us from fully experiencing and receiving the wonderful experiences of the world, because we are too busy being scared.

There is no doubt that the West, Canada and the US particularly, uses media as a tool to misrepresent all kinds of worldly experiences, cultures, and people. Mostly everyone in the West has this perception that Latin America is ridden of crime, violence, corruption and drug cartels. From a very young age, we are taught to view people from the South in a certain way, and it is apparent through many influential people’s views, like Donald Trump. As a result, we are taught to fear the country, the culture and even the people.

A few Danish girls we met said that they heard shootings were common on the local transport, “chicken buses”, so they decided to take private shuttles for the duration of their trip. The first bus we took was anything but. I will say though, it was absolutely bumping, with the driver zooming through the winding roads to the heavy bass Reggaeton playing on the speakers.

And while I’m not denying that any of this information (from the media, governments, Canadian Travel Advisory, etc.) is completely false, nor that I deny some nasty experiences of other travelers, I will say that it is not the full picture. We can acknowledge that these countries have certain problems, but that is not representative of all they are.

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I can say wholeheartedly that I have felt safer walking in the middle of the night in the towns of Guatemala than I have at times walking in broad daylight here in Vancouver. I can say that as I write this post back in the confines of my modernized city, that I miss the friendly smiles and greetings of mostly everyone I pass in the streets of Guatemala. I miss the hectic, yet efficient (and not at all “violent”) chicken buses as transport. And I can say that I have never, not once, experienced any single safety caution on the government warnings of Guatemala.

First Chicken Bus ride!!!!

In my opinion, the most dangerous thing I’ve encountered there was the unrefrigerated mayo in some restaurants and eating food on a park bench around the hungry, stray dogs (they WILL steal your food!).

Now I don’t want this to seem like a call to rid future travelers of any fear and common sense, because these travel warnings are probably there for a reason. I acknowledge it’s important to do your research, but it is equally important to accept the reality as it is. And it isn’t always violent and dangerous.

My personal advice is: take your research with a grain of salt. Allow yourself to keep common sense but also let your guard down once in a while. Allow yourself to receive and appreciate the kindness of people, without rationalizing they have some ulterior motive. Trust your gut, but also trust in the goodness of humanity.

The Arc of Santa Catalina, Antigua, Guatemala

Thanks for reading friends, you're all awesome! Comment below on your thoughts:)

Love & Light,

Sammy

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*I do not own the rights of all the images above. - 1st picture credited to Unsplash, featured by Wix. - 2nd picture supplied by "The Times": ANDY KATZ/PACIFIC PRESS/BARCROFT IMAGES

"CRH in frame to build Trump’s Mexican wall | Ireland | The Sunday Times (thetimes.co.uk)"

- Other sources: "Travel advice and advisories for Guatemala"