Hey guys, I wanted to share my view point about how dangerous robbery is here in Central America. I think that as long as you take the proper precautions you can have maybe a 95% chance of not being robbed.

My advice (I have been cheapskating it down here)
1. Sleep at gas stations that have an armed guard and tip him off a $1 US or better yet, buy him s.

2. When you stop on the road to fix something with your bike, leave your helmet on even if it is 95 degrees.

3. Make sure that you are not coming across as the tourist who just got off the plane. Do not wear brand new riding suits, helmets, jewlery, etc. Keep your bike dirty and if you can live with it keep yourself dirty.

4. Do not drive at night and do not walk streets at night without a local who knows them. (I have broken the do not drive at night rule many times and let me tell you that every time I break it I have a near death experience.) There are a lot of show off drivers who come out at night and they will pass cars around blind corners. Also there will be debris and pot holes that you just cant see and can easily take you out. The worst danger is all of the jackasses who drive without lights down here. I can not explain what it feels like to not see a semi until you are 25 ft away traveling 60 mph and the semi is doing 40.

5. If something doesn´t feel right, get the heck out of there. If you start seeing extremely poor people who are calling out at you to stop and following your bike hit the gas. Also if someone is trying to sell you something like a ferry ride, but you get a bad feeling about them back out of the deal.

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http://www.journeyrider.net Latin America blog (07-8)