Is it safe?

One of the most common responses we got after telling people about our adventures was "is that safe?" Many places we have visited can be dangerous, they are places where you don't feel safe to walk around without keeping a careful eye on your surroundings. We heard countless tales of tourists in serious danger. Drunk bus drivers overturning buses. Jeep drivers in the Salaar being reckless. Militants in Colombia burning buses (after everyone was off). Being held up at gunpoint in Rio. Apartments being raided in Quito leaving the tourists with nothing. South America has no shortage of scary stories.

Here are ours-- nothing as scary as what we heard, but nothing that was as safe as we feel in Canada.

Imminent Danger:
We only really came across this a few times on our trip. While in Quito there was a drunken fight outside our hostel-- cops came running, bottles were broken. Not good. A few times in Rio while walking we were suddenly very aware that there were a lot of police and a lot of drunken/shady looking characters. In these cases being smart (ie: not going back to the hostel till things had calmed down and making sure to stay in well lit and safer looking areas) was the best option.

Catcalls:
There hasn't been one country on our trip where we didn't receive catcalls from the street. There was of course a range: from harmless (whistles and a hissing that I found to be pretty gross) to crude (touching, leering, rude comments). It didn't matter how we were dressed or who we were with. It happened everywhere. Unfortunately the best response to this is to ignore it. (Which 99% of the time I managed to do.) It was tiring to feel objectified and, because the guy doing the objectifying is bigger than you, which makes you vulnerable. Argh. Feels good to be back in Canada. One of the biggest culprits of all this is terrible hollywood movies where white girls are happy to take off their clothes off 3 scenes into being introduced, and then these movies are shown on public buses to the masses. Argh.

Purse Clutching:
One of the hardest things to adjust to while traveling is not to trust people and to actively be worried about how to keep all of your things safe. It's actually emotionally tiring to live like this, but time and time again you realize that you want to, but you just shouldn't. This means that while your walking on the street you are clutching your purse. When sharing a dorm you lock up your bags. It means sleeping with your passport and wallet under your pillow. While traveling we met a girl who had her ipod stolen from beside her while she slept and countless people who had been pick pocketed. So while it wears away at your state of mind, that bit of paranoia and worry is important to hold onto.

As 2 white, female tourists in their 20s, we made an obvious target. An yet, here we are, 4 months later, with yes, a lot catcalling frustrations but also a lot of stories of kindness of strangers, all of our possessions. (Except for a few things I lost along the way... that was my fault). Here are my quick tips for general safety while traveling.

-Be careful, smart, a little paranoid, and ready for the worst
- I would often wonder what "evil Joy" would do. Am I a broke backpacker who steals to get by? What looks easy?
-If an area seems sketchy, (painfully obvious poverty, being the only tourist) get out
-purse goes on your lap. Not in the ground, not the back of your chair. On your lap where you can see it.
- Trust your instinct. If you get a strange feel from a person or place-- find somewhere new. One crappy hostel we went to (Hostel Sweet Hostel in Iguzau Argentina: DO NOT GO) someone had snuck into our dorms, unlocked our bags, rifled through them, and then locked them again so we didn't notice. One girl had $40 stolen and another her ipod. Hostel staff seemed indifferent and were overall jerks. We left as soon as we could).

The best anecdote I have is that my Dad (a big guy, not easy to mess with) has said, he's been everywhere and the only places he has been held up are Chicago and Toronto. South America: not super safe, but nothing that a little caution and paranoia with a healthy sense of adventure can't cure.