Consider:
- Per capita income is less than $2,000/year.
- 60% live below the international poverty line of $1.25/day.
- Half of the population is younger than 20 years old.
- Youth gangs are estimated at 30,000 members in a country of 8 million.
- All of Central America is a South American drug conduit for 'products' heading to that most loyal of customers, North America.
Guns are, everywhere. As a result, outside of most businesses you see everything from a uniformed guard with a military assault rifle or shotgun, to a guy in a t-shirt with a revolver stuffed down the front of his jeans.
Razor wire and video cameras protect everything.
Despite all of this you have to remember that very few tourists ever have a problem. By taking the same precautions as you would in most large North American cities, you won't interest the bad guys. If you are non-latino and walking around at night with a watch, rings, sunglasses, expensive sneakers and your Blackberry, you're asking for it. Dressing down seems to be the key. If one in a thousand people have a problem, it's real easy not to be that one.
My message? Don't let the stories scare you. This is a wonderfully diverse place with beautiful people and lots to see, do and eat. You should come.
