Because our travel is also a way to share our good tips, here you have our « Practical Information » category. Enjoy !
In 4 months, from Mexico City to San José (Costa Rica), we simply did not get any trouble in Central America.
We don’t want to say that everything is perfect and there are no risks to travel over there but we did not get any trouble and more than that, we did not feel unsafe. We want to share our experience…
It does not mean neither that we were not careful. COMMON SENSE and RESPONSIBILITY were definitely key words (like everywhere you would say). We avoided to hang around at night without reasons; in Mexico city for exemple. In general, we just followed our instincts and feelings. When a city starts to get empty, shops gets closed, we also go home and spend time together talking about travel. And with this beautiful blog Move Our World, it is not like if we wouldn’t have nothing else to do at night.
In Central America, we discovered new places and new cultures surrounded by kindness. We had chance to meet few locals while walking, taking the bus or going shopping. We felt secure without feeling observed too much. Thanks god, sometimes, people are curious and want to talk. But that’s normal.
In Mexico for example, everybody is very kind, smiling and polite… Based on what we heard usually about this country from people who never visited Mexico (something quite interesting about our world, isn’t it?), we were completely surprised and pleased. Mexico and mexicans simply touched our hearts…
In 2016, while reading thousands of documents, David found out the World Happiness Report. In 2015, this survey takes into account a couple of criteria (not only the economic and financial ones) to say whether people are happy or not… We let you judge on the exercise… We have been surprised about Mexico which ranked at the 15th position far ahead many European countries. Surprised at the beginning, we are a bit less today even if nothing is perfect in Mexico neither… Maybe we should make an article about media impact in the world…
In Nicaragua, in the city of Leon, we also have been surprised by locals. They say “Hello” to each other all the time, each time someone come in front of the house. Smile, communication, kindness: nice mix!
In the opposite, in the city of Granada, in Nicaragua, The situations appeared a bit different. Even if the city looks amazingly beautiful from architectural point of view, the city is really with american style. Atmosphere is much different. The city has been recently developed for tourists only and local atmosphere does not exist anymore. One consequence: differences between locals and tourists are too strong. The buying power is too different and it is easier to feel observed. Some people do not unsterdand how it is possible. But how could they understand it?
If you still hesitate to visit Central America, don’t hesitate. These countries are very touching. They have incredible biodiversity. Architecture is also amazing, mix of colonization history and some previous civilizations. Traditions are still alive in many ways.
Capital cities (Managua, Guatemala City, Tegucigalpa, San Salvador) may require more attention but we are sure there are no more risks in the rest of the countries than in our big or middle European cities. So go, hurry and let’s make tourism a tool for sustainable economic development in a way that everybody can benefit from tourism and reduce social disparities.
NB 1 : As always, we cannot recommend more than acting as a responsible tourism. When you go out, go out with the minimum money you need. Don’t over show up your camera, last smartphone if it is not needed. Always ask before taking picture of locals. And try to behave naturally, normally as a local, a citizen of the world. For us, no secret, nothing more attracting and suspect than someone behaving as if he would carry more money than all the village…
NB 2 : As we saw it, we share! 😊 In one restaurant in Antigua Guatemala, we saw a young Asian girl carrying her bag on her knees and holding it strong with her hands in a empty restaurant (there were 4 people). So well, we don’t know what she was hiding in the bag but even us were wandering what she could hide….
We are Ela & David, 2 citizens of the world. In quest of a new way of living, more respectful from the environment and the Humans, we travel slowly to discover new cultures, to look for inspirations and with a wish of sharing. Want to know more?
