Panama anyone?

phuketrichard · Post by **phuketrichard** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:03 am

Anchor Moy wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 7:41 pm ^^ Whatever country where you show up with the equivalent of one or two years wages around your neck whether as a camera or jewellery - and you don't pay due care and attention - of course this will get you robbed.

for decades, i walk around cities, ( Europe, North Africa, Asia, SE Asia) country side, poor areas, rich areas with my gold chain on an usually 2 cameras and small back pack
Only been robbed once in Northern India in 1975 while i was sleeping and once a group of young boys tried to in Manila

NotYourUncle · Post by **NotYourUncle** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:51 am

Anyone ever considered Ecuador?

hanno · Post by **hanno** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 9:07 am

Dario wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:39 pm

I was there in december 89, the day 30 years after the Panama invasion by the USA.

The US invaded Panama in 1959? I missed that one.

Big Daikon · Post by **Big Daikon** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 10:15 am

NotYourUncle wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 8:51 am Anyone ever considered Ecuador?

The final resting place of the wild and hilarious Laura Snook. RIP
general-chatter/former-expat-laura-snoo ... 26646.html

Doc67 · Post by **Doc67** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 11:39 am

Dario wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 6:25 pm
I so nearly got to Medellin, I was one day away but they closed their borders in March 2020 and I would have been trapped there. I was in Mexico city at the time and fled back to the UK, and that was the end of my big South American tour.

Since then, I have been warned about the high level of crime, and particularly violent crime such as street robberies. Can you expand on that issue? I was planning to stay in El Poblado which is a big expat area.
Between Oct. 2019 and Jan. 2020 i spent about 6 weeks in Medellin. First at the Avenida Colombia in Suramericana in a 2 star Hotel for 12$ per night! It was noisy yeah, i didn't mind. After that i moved to Belén, then to Laureles which is a very quiet, safe neighborhood. You can walk the streets there at 3 AM with no worries at all.

As in basically every big City, in Europe as well, there are NO GO zones, as a gringo in latin american cities, you just stay away.
It still can happen, as it did to me, that you are aproached by a gang in broad daylight, their leader trying to create a conflict in order to justify the following robbery. That can happen in every major US city just as fast. You have to know how to behave:
Be friendly but firm, don't stop. Not giving them a chance to even start their routine of escalation is key.

I don't know much about El Poblado, never met an expat who lives there. I think, (am guessing here), that's mostly professionals who live there, cause it's an expensive neighborhood with basically just semi high rises. I was at the famous Lleras park at day time once, almost got mugged by a very aggressive hat vendor.

During my time i made a few expat friends, all of them had a story or two to tell of how they got mugged.
My only 2 experiences were a pick pocketer going for my phone near estadio and a cab driver who did the sleight of hand bill switch.

An excellent source of reliable, well reflected information is Medellin Guru. Used to be free, now it's some patreon subscription thing. He talks about his own mugging too.

You can get mugged everywhere. If you avoid places where you'll be a target upon being noticed, i think it's fair to say that you needn't worry in Medellin.

PS: I always travel with 2 phones. When i go out at night, it is with the unimportant phone, the one with the local SIM, no wallet and just enough cash for the night. Obvious advice, should not even be worth mentioning to any seasoned traveller, but i just throw it out for good measure.

Thanks for the reply, very interesting what you say, in particular the fact that all the people you met had stories to tell about themselves getting mugged. I know of 2 people here who have been mugged, both of them in their very late 60's and both get drunk and stagger round bad streets late at night. Other than those 2, I don't know anyone else and I never give street crime a second though here.

It seems being mugged, and constantly being prepared for the unavoidable eventuality, is the price you pay to go to Medellin, and I don't think I will enjoy that experience.

I'll try southern Spain or Italy next year.

Thanks for the information.

Dario · Post by **Dario** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:02 pm

hanno wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 9:07 am
Dario wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:39 pm

I was there in december 89, the day 30 years after the Panama invasion by the USA.

The US invaded Panama in 1959? I missed that one.

That's because you weren't even born back then

phuketrichard · Post by **phuketrichard** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:49 pm

Dario wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 3:02 pm
hanno wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 9:07 am
Dario wrote: ↑Sat Oct 01, 2022 5:39 pm

I was there in december 89, the day 30 years after the Panama invasion by the USA.

The US invaded Panama in 1959? I missed that one.
That's because you weren't even born back then

LOL

The United States invasion of Panama, codenamed Operation Just Cause, lasted over a month between mid-December 1989 and late January 1990.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_St ... _of_Panama

Post by **Freightdog** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 5:08 pm

2 separate incidents. Yes, 30 years apart, but not to the day. The previous incident in ‘59 was not an invasion by the US. It was local canal security, supported by locally based US personnel, to maintain the Canal security while Panama was undergoing some internal civil issues.

Wiki has some info on the 1950’s episodes.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_o ... 80%931964)

It rang a bell; when the 1989 invasion made the news, my dad mentioned various events previously which threatened the security of the Canal. My dad and my uncle were both in the merchant navy, and the two canals- Suez being the other one, have been the focus and concern of international trade several times over. Going the long way around is expensive, commercially. Nearly prohibitively. Just look at the chaos caused when that merchantman jackknifed in the Suez a while back.

As I understand it, the Canal remains, if not US territory, certainly a separate territory from Panama itself, based on treaties from before the wars. Territory within a country.

Dario · Post by **Dario** » Sun Oct 02, 2022 7:11 pm

I won't try to make joke again.
You people taught me good.

Anchor Moy · Post by **Anchor Moy** » Mon Oct 03, 2022 12:17 am

Dario wrote: ↑Sun Oct 02, 2022 7:11 pm I won't try to make joke again.
You people taught me good.

Yeah, this is a No Joke Forum.

Panama anyone?

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