is it safe to honeymoon in central/south america?
 

i hear wonderful things about equador/chile/argentina. my primary concern,
though, is safety....we are an american couple with just a smattering of
spanish skills. am i subjecting myself to a month of men '****ing on my
ego' as they hit on my fiancee? we don't want to visit a place where
security concerns will keep us on edge. perhaps we should do a safer
location for the honeymoon, and visit central and south america on a later,
perhaps less romantic, trip?

any thoughts? thanks!

Chile is one of the safest Latin American countries. Argentina was
historically safe, but I think that there has been some crime increase
due to the economic crisis. Ecuador has been in a continuing economic
and political crisis for years, and is not as safe. For example, a
friend of mine had his wallet picked on a bus in Quito. I would suggest
Chile or perhaps Argentina for anyone concerned with security issues.

As far as not speaking Spanish, think of it as a challenge, carry a
phrase book. Have your destination written down to show to taxi drivers
or bus drivers, etc.

Richard


Joel Schwartzberg wrote:
i hear wonderful things about equador/chile/argentina. my primary concern,
though, is safety....we are an american couple with just a smattering of
spanish skills. am i subjecting myself to a month of men '****ing on my
ego' as they hit on my fiancee? we don't want to visit a place where
security concerns will keep us on edge. perhaps we should do a safer
location for the honeymoon, and visit central and south america on a later,
perhaps less romantic, trip?

any thoughts? thanks!

Joel Schwartzberg wrote:
i hear wonderful things about equador/chile/argentina. my primary
concern,
though, is safety....we are an american couple with just a smattering
of
spanish skills. am i subjecting myself to a month of men '****ing
on my
ego' as they hit on my fiancee? we don't want to visit a place
where
security concerns will keep us on edge. perhaps we should do a
safer
location for the honeymoon, and visit central and south america on a
later,
perhaps less romantic, trip?

any thoughts? thanks!

Hi Joel,

The only country I have any experience with is Buenos Aires, where I
met my wife. It is a very romantic city, though I may have a bias. I
have always found it quite safe in the areas that you're most likely to
stay and spend time in. There has been an increase in crime over the
past three years or so, but you're not likely at all to be a victim of
it. Overall, I've spent about 3 months total in Buenos Aires split up
between five separate trips, and not once have I had anything even
close to a problem. Also, accommodations and restaurants are quite
cheap there, so you're likely to get more bang for your honeymoon buck.
Overall, I couldn't recommend Buenos Aires more. If you have any
questions, feel free to e-mail me at . I
absolutely love to talk about Buenos Aires, and would be happy to give
you advice or point you in the direction of some more good information.


Congratulations on your marriage!

Shaun

The only CITY I have any experience with...obviously Buenos Aires isn't
a country, I already know, so please, everyone, refrain from the "It's
a city, you idiot" posts.

Thanks,

Shaun

Buenos Aires is a beautiful, BUT, dangerous country! My wife and daughter
were constntly being "felt up" by swarthy looking BA Indians. I was
pick-pocketed, and roughed up, just outside our hotel.My brother-in-law was
propositioned by a queer!

We would never go back!

"Shaun" wrote in message
ups.com...
The only CITY I have any experience with...obviously Buenos Aires isn't
a country, I already know, so please, everyone, refrain from the "It's
a city, you idiot" posts.

Thanks,

Shaun

I had a phrase book called "Spanish Phrases for dummies". It was pretty good
and had the basics. I carried a pocket Spanish/English dictionary around
too. I was in Peru and Chile for 30 days and got by fine. Often you will
find someone with some English words, you with some spanish words, and a
dialogue of "Spanglish" comes out of the mix. You will amaze yourself how
easy it is to get your message across.

I thought it was all fun learning a new language. After 30 days I was
starting to get into it. I would like to spend 90 days in South America. I
think I would have a good handle on spanish then.

One thing I did before I left was to learn to count in Spanish. Not too hard
and essential for dealing with money.

I never worried about security. No one ever hassled me.

go for it and enjoy!!!

--
Russ

Visit Alaska @ http://www.tannersacre.com

"Richard Ferguson" wrote in message
...
Chile is one of the safest Latin American countries. Argentina was
historically safe, but I think that there has been some crime increase
due to the economic crisis. Ecuador has been in a continuing economic
and political crisis for years, and is not as safe. For example, a
friend of mine had his wallet picked on a bus in Quito. I would suggest
Chile or perhaps Argentina for anyone concerned with security issues.

As far as not speaking Spanish, think of it as a challenge, carry a
phrase book. Have your destination written down to show to taxi drivers
or bus drivers, etc.

Richard


Joel Schwartzberg wrote:
i hear wonderful things about equador/chile/argentina. my primary
concern,
though, is safety....we are an american couple with just a smattering of
spanish skills. am i subjecting myself to a month of men '****ing on
my
ego' as they hit on my fiancee? we don't want to visit a place where
security concerns will keep us on edge. perhaps we should do a safer
location for the honeymoon, and visit central and south america on a
later,
perhaps less romantic, trip?

any thoughts? thanks!

clint wrote:
Buenos Aires is a beautiful, BUT, dangerous country! My wife and
daughter
were constntly being "felt up" by swarthy looking BA Indians. I was
pick-pocketed, and roughed up, just outside our hotel.My
brother-in-law was
propositioned by a queer!

We would never go back!

Please disregard anything Clint ever says about anything. He responded
to a prvious post of mine by saying "na ne na ne po po."

The chances of being a victim of any type of crime are small. A lot of
the crime in Buenos Aires is targeted at wealthy porte=F1os. As long as
you don't make it completely obvious that your pockets are full of
cash, you will have no problems, trust me.

As far as "swarthy looking BA indians"....*sigh*. If you are white,
you will not stand out in Bs As at all, because the majority of the
people who live there...the VAST majority...are descendents of
immigrants from Europe. As a matter of fact, there are precious few
"indians" in Buenos Aires at all. A successful campaign in the 19th
century to wipe out the indigenous population made sure of that.

Shaun

Additionally, Clint has probably never been to Buenos Aires, anyway.
If you look at some of his posts from earlier topics, he was asking
lots of questions about whether or not he'd be able to find Wendy's if
he was to go there.

Shaun

The only way my wife and I could deter the BA "Indians" was for me to dress
as a woman, like my wife, then they left us alone(although we were BOTH
proposition by these "swarthy" types! It's a shame because BA is a beautiful
country!
wrote in message
oups.com...
My wife and I had a great time in Buenos Aires. Excellent food, wine,
shopping, tourista stuff, I wore out one pair of shoes. We were
targeted by pickpockets who secretly sprayed smelly stuff on us and
wanted to "help" us clean it off, but were wary and escaped easily with
all of our belongings. We look back on it now as a real interesting
part of our adventure. Other than that, no negative experiences.

Al Koenig
Chugiak, Alaska

thanks so much everyone for your insight! i'll take your suggestions.
i'm thinking we'll first hit costa rica, then get to equador and/or
argentina....which leads to another question about a place to stay for a
week or more in costa rica that has a private bungalow, hammock, private
beach, preferably eco-lodge...


"Joel Schwartzberg" wrote in message
k.net...
i hear wonderful things about equador/chile/argentina. my primary concern,
though, is safety....we are an american couple with just a smattering of
spanish skills. am i subjecting myself to a month of men '****ing on my
ego' as they hit on my fiancee? we don't want to visit a place where
security concerns will keep us on edge. perhaps we should do a safer
location for the honeymoon, and visit central and south america on a later,
perhaps less romantic, trip?

any thoughts? thanks!