Help Climbers Attacked in Peru

Jason Lantz wrote:not funny...

but true

I have quite a few friends here in Vegas who are from third world, and impoverished countries, and they are super cautious, and even somewhat paranoid when traveling "back home." Some even feel the need to hire armed bodyguards. My Nigerian friend says she careful to not even speak while taking a taxi to her village, as there's big risk of kidnapping for ransom, and it can be detected in her accent that she's lived in the US (10 years), and may have money. Her friend will do all the talking when out, and about until she's safe in her family's compound. That's just one example of many stories some of my foreign born friends tell me. I'm sure chances are nothing will happen, but it doesn't hurt to minimize the risks, no matter where you are. Desperate folks can do desperate things, and there's no doubt, political unrest in many of these countries. But to each their own..

Living in chicago I've been jacked multiple times by gun and knife point. It really sucks to be in that situation. I don't roadtrip (even within the US) unarmed.

Jon Zucco wrote:Makes me want to go taco on Peru.

Not sure what this means. Eat at Taco Bell and foul their water supply?

Old Crusty wrote:Don't you wish you could send in the Marines! What a horrible story.

or brandish a firearm when they started throwing rocks... I'd be more afraid of what the local government would do to me if I did end up having to use it though.

NickinCO wrote: or brandish a firearm when they started throwing rocks... I'd be more afraid of what the local government would do to me if I did end up having to use it though.

Don't worry we won't have the right to defend ourselves very long.

thefish wrote: but true

I wont even drive a car into Juarez for 30 minutes

NickinCO wrote:Living in chicago I've been jacked multiple times by gun and knife point. It really sucks to be in that situation. I don't roadtrip (even within the US) unarmed.

how does that go crossing borders Nick or do you just buy a new one after every crossing?

Sorry to rain on the inevitable woulda, coulda, shoulda, internet tough guy parade, but bouncing from country to country in South America (crossing borders, dealing with police) with a loaded gun seems to me just as naive as stopping to camp along side a country road in the third world... "because we shouldn't be driving at night." Am I wrong?

My condolences to these three, nobody should have to endure things like this.

-Patrick

TRmasta wrote: how does that go crossing borders Nick or do you just buy a new one after every crossing?

its no problem when the local mexican cops are your buds!

Nobdy F's with you!

I wish them all a speedy recovery - both mental and physical.

It's pointless to sit here and argue about how you (or anyone) travels or should travel in "third world countries." Good chance that at least a few people that have responded couldn't even give a completely accurate definition of that term anyway.

I've illegally crossed into Burma on a jungle road, picked up a Burmese refugee, and snuck her back into Thailand. I easily could have (and probably should have) gotten in all kinds of trouble for that, but of course nothing happened. Then these completely innocent people in Peru got the shit kicked out of them and had all their belongings stolen because they turned down the wrong road.

Bad shit can happen anywhere and often times it is more about luck than anything else. I certainly didn't get away with my adventures in the lesser traveled parts of Asia because I was thinking clearly.

The world is a big place. In some parts it most certainly is "standard procedure" to have a guide or a local with you at all times. There are A LOT of places where the locals aren't kind and friendly at all - at least not to rich outsiders (which all of us are when we travel to these places).

Then there are other places where you can travel freely without any fear of anything like this happening (but sometimes it still does). There are actually a lot of places that are much safer than the US and some of them are in fact third world countries but let's not kid ourselves, the world can be an ugly place and it's only getting worse. Most people are friendly, third world or not, but it only takes a few shitty folks to create a big mess like this one.

If I was going to drive from the US to Peru with $5000 worth of personal gear I'd expect to have some problems keeping it secure. You can't just roll around snapping pictures with your DSLR and downloading them to your $4000 laptop and expect no one to notice. That's not the way the world works.

Like I said, I wish these folks a speedy recovery and in no way am I saying that any of this was their fault. But expecting for everything to go fine on a trip like that is unrealistic and making blanket statements about the safety of travel in the third world is like making a blanket statement about the safety of high altitude mountaineering. A shit ton of objective dangers involved in both and by participating you are accepting that those dangers can fuck you up or kill you.

good post Ryan, well said

will you be donating Ryan? she did lose an Iphone 5.

TRmasta wrote: how does that go crossing borders Nick or do you just buy a new one after every crossing?

In the US like I posted? It goes fine. Why wouldn't it? I haven't taken a roadtrip outside of our borders, only flown and stayed at a resort. I also wasn't arm chair quarterbacking.. only posting what I personally do. I wouldn't road trip through mexico. Crossed the border once and had to bribe a cop out of going to "mexican prison" for speeding (which we weren't doing).

TRmasta wrote:will you be donating Ryan? she did lose an Iphone 5.

No I won't be. Sorry that this happened to them but I have to admit they lost a little bit of credibility with me when they posted up the MSRP value of their goods that were stolen. Shit sucks - but they weren't on that kind of trip w/o some extra cash in the bank and the girl that is headed home has gainful employment. None of them are stuck in Peru w/o enough money to fly home. If they were, maybe I'm shoot 'em a few bucks, but donating money to people who probably have more than I do in the bank? Don't think so.

If this was just a typical mugging or theft - even if it involved the victims being assaulted or killed - this story might not be so surprising. But what I find interesting is that, according to the victims, an entire village seemed to want them lynched. That begs the question of whether something else was going on here - perhaps they were confused with other criminals or they had committed some sort of trespass themselves?

The fact that they were just chilling around their vehicle drinking beers (as if it was a campfire in Indian Creek) on an unknown dirt road in a dangerous area makes me wonder if there was more going on here - be it in attitude or action.

Ryan Williams wrote:If I was going to drive from the US to Peru with $5000 worth of personal gear I'd expect to have some problems keeping it secure. You can't just roll around snapping pictures with your DSLR and downloading them to your $4000 laptop and expect no one to notice. That's not the way the world works.

Amen brother!

Josh Janes wrote:But what I find interesting is that, according to the victims, an entire village seemed to want them lynched. That begs the question of whether something else was going on here

Remember this story?

Misunderstanding...

Josh Janes wrote:If this was just a typical mugging or theft - even if it involved the victims being assaulted or killed - this story might not be so surprising. But what I find interesting is that, according to the victims, an entire village seemed to want them lynched. That begs the question of whether something else was going on here - perhaps they were confused with other criminals or they had committed some sort of trespass themselves? The fact that they were just chilling around their vehicle drinking beers (as if it was a campfire in Indian Creek) on an unknown dirt road in a dangerous area makes me wonder if there was more going on here - be it in attitude or action.

I started thinking negative thoughts after reading about how her Iphone5 was taken. If it was a droid would it have been mentioned? I think not.

Imagine the morality of these people. Didnt they know all of her contacts were on that one device???

that happens here in the US of A too, right here in CT a guy was put in the hospital after a bunch of thugs came down on him after their buddy on an illegal dirt bike ran a stop sign and got pulverized by a working stiff in a van. I'm sure this is not an isolated experience to S America.
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