My brother: Where are you going this summer?
Me: Guatemala, Belize and Mexico.
Brother: You’re a goddamn fool.
He spent the next 20 minutes telling me about all the homicides and kidnappings and slavery and cartels and everything else you can imagine, Locked Up Abroad style. Right before he ended with telling me how stupid I am, he told me how I could end up in a situation where death is my best choice.
Great Sunday dinner convo.
I don’t think I’ve had specific goals when I’ve traveled outside of the U.S. Usually, I pick something I want to see or go wherever someone tells me or whatever seems reasonable for my budget. I decided I needed an adventure this summer, preferably in July, and in a Spanish-speaking area that included some beach time. So, why not Central America?
I don’t have many people available to travel abroad with, especially for more than a week. I went to Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay, and Argentina in 2011 with a company that gears its tours toward teachers, GEEO, and had an excellent experience. So for this summer, I checked out Gapadventures and chose something that seemed good. Boring, vague story short – I settled on Mexico, Guatemala and Belize for 16 days in July.
Other people have expressed concerns, but my brother’s rant really made me wonder. Is it that unsafe? Am I being foolish? There’s a lot of places I haven’t seen yet, so should I choose a safer alternative and wait? If I wait, what am I waiting for?
Decisions are tough for me, and I had one made, but now I’m back in limbo.
Ms. Harris 
Hey, I don’t think you have anything to worry about at all. It’s just common sense, the same as everywhere – dont walk around on your own late at night, flash expensive phones/cameras about and especially as you’re going with the gap adventures group you’ll be fine. I’ve been living in Mexico and for the past 18 months and I’ve not had a single bit of trouble. Mexico especially gets a hard time in the media and that creates a lot of scaremongering. There’s so many beautiful beaches, ruins, cool cities. You’ll have a fantastic time! Hope you have a great adventure!
Thanks! I did decide to go and will be traveling around in July. I’m very excited. I think, like you mentioned, Mexico has a bad reputation as being so dangerous, but you just have to make smart decisions and be aware like everywhere else in the world.
Enjoy your trips. Life is a series of risks. Make calculated risks, and watch for trouble. I think you’ll have a trip of a lifetime!
We want pictures!