Dangers Real and Perceived

I have received so many warnings on so many fronts.  Be careful. Watch your passport, your pockets. Don't go there alone. Watch out for drunks. 

Is Nicaragua dangerous?

Sure, there are pickpockets and bike thieves. Anyone with a building that has something worth stealing locks it. Alcoholism is a problem and it is not uncommon here in San Isidro to see men passed out on the sidewalk anytime of day. 

But it is not my perception that this is a violent place. Drug trafficking hasn't led to disturbing violence like in some other Latin American countries.  The murder rate is 12.6 per 100,000, half the rate of Mexico and one-third the rate of Guatemala. In Oakland, where I spend lots of time, it is 31.8. Unfortunately most countries do not keep reliable statistics about sexual assault, which I assume is the subtext under many of these warnings. 

However, humans are not great at assessing relative risk. 

I'm pretty sure the most danger I put myself in was getting on the road. Just like in the United States, the most likely cause of accidental death (not from a disease) is a traffic accident. And those risks are intensified here by the culture. Whole families get on bicycles, motorcycles and in the cabs of trucks. If a helmet is worn, it is only worn by the driver of the motorcycle. And even if a vehicle had seatbelts, there is no way to put a seatbelt on the 3 year old perched on the shoulder of his parents. Let's not even talk about the lack of car seats. It is amusing for me to watch the guys scrambling around on the roof of the school bus as it bumps along a rocky road, but I suspect that sometimes accidents happen. 

source: http://www.thetravelword.com/

Additionally, while some Nicaraguan drivers are very cautious, I find that to be the exception. However, when I get in a vehicle with my host family to go to the park with the monkeys and visit the lookout over the city, no one tells me to be careful. Even if that is the closest to injury I have come. 

Of course in the US and Nicaragua, and worldwide, the leading cause of death is heart disease. No one warned me of dangers of all the smoke, or unhealthy food, or of the dangers of inactivity because of fear of leaving my safe world behind lock and key. 

Walking on a well trodden trail (judging from the amount of horse droppings) while searching for birds this morning, an older gentleman passed me with a large bundle of firewood in his head. After the compulsory exchange of "Adios", he asked me:

"Are you alone?"

"Yes"

"Without a man?"

"Yes"

After a brief pause came his simple question:

"Why?"

There are so many cultural assumptions in this question. I told him I was out walking to see the birds.  After a pause where he looked at me confused, I asked him if this was ok. I should have known his answer. No, you shouldn't be here alone. 

Everyone I met on that trail, whether coming out of their houses or walking to work their land with dogs in tow were friendly, or at least polite. 

And I saw some beautiful birds. 

Turquiose-browed Mot Mot
source: http://travelexperta.com/