The Dangers of Living Anywhere (Kent)

One of the fears people have of traveling to far off places is that many places in the world are dangerous.  This is especially true of the western perception of the "developing world."  "Poorer" is often thought of as being "more dangerous."  However, this trip has helped me to realize that everywhere on the world has it's own set of dangers.  Yes, the war zones of this world are extremely dangerous.  Those are the extremes of the one end of the spectrum.  I think it's wrong to assume that the place where we are from (Goshen, Indiana in our case) is automatically on the other end of the safety spectrum.  There are plenty of dangers in Goshen, Indiana, but we are accustomed to them and know how to live with them.

If there was a list called "The Top 10 Safest Places to Live in South America," the island of San Cristobal, which was our home for the first 4 months of our South American journey, would most likely be on this list.  Overall, it's safer than Goshen, Indiana.  The police are the only ones who own guns.  There is an extremely low crime rate.  Parents feel safe letting children roam the town just like "the good old days" in the United States.  There are only two organized sports for children, basketball and soccer, and there are not near the number of injuries we have in the states.  Traffic is very light here and is doesn't go very fast.  There aren't many accidents at all, and when there are accidents they don't involve semis, snow, ice or deer.

However, there are other dangers, and we have learned how to live with them.  Whether you are swimming in Lake Michigan or the Pacific Ocean, you need to be careful with waves and currents. Most sea creatures are not harmful to humans, including the sharks here.  Only the sting rays are dangerous, and if you don't get too close to them and you stay out of their way, there's no problem.  Centipedes are one of the more dangerous land animals in the Galapagos.  They are much bigger and longer than their North American cousins, and their bite will give you a fever for a few days.   Adult male sea lions can be very dangerous, but everyone knows to stay away from these beasts.  There is only one adult male per group, so usually there is just one  per beach.  Human-made structures don't have the same standards and codes as we are used to, which can be dangerous.  A number of the National Park railings and boardwalks are missing some pieces.  A large section of overhang at the brand new airport recently broke off and fell on someone, sending them to the hospital.  And then there's electrical wiring, which is often sticking out of things and looks a bit haphazard.

Hot showers here are luxuries and we are not assuming we will have these everywhere we go in Ecuador and Peru.  Our shower (see picture) consisted of a long pipe coming out of the wall about 18-24 inches.  On the end of the pipe is a shower head, which has wires coming out of it and are taped to the pipe.  These wires are what heats the water.  When I first saw this set-up, it looked quite haphazard, but then I got used to it, because things that would not pass inspection in the US are everywhere.  Then one morning as I was taking a nice hot shower there was a pop and an explosive noise.  Teresa, who was at the sink started yelling "Stop!  Stop! Stop!"  I was in my own world, shampooing my hair and enjoying my hot shower and didn't really want to be bothered, but being the obedient husband that I am,  I looked up to see that the shower head was on fire, and had a flame of about six inches high!  I quickly turned the water off.  The flame became smaller, but was still there, so I blew it out.

So, there I was naked, wet and with shampoo in my hair.  Do I cry for help and have our whole host family examine the situation while I am wrapped in the shower curtain?  Awkward!  Should I try to rinse my head off in the sink?  No, the sink is too small and my head is too big.  Then I remembered that on the shower head you can turn on or off the hot shower, although it wasn't  exactly clear to me which way was off.  I did my best guess and turned on the water.  I was right!  Cold water came out and I quickly rinsed off with cold water.  I got dressed and ready for the day and then went out to tell Yolanda, the matriarch, what happened.  Yolanda's eyes got big and concerned as I told her what happened, and then she burst out laughing! She said that Pepe will fix it later.  By the time we came home for lunch, a new shower head with new wires was installed, although some of the other remaining parts are still black from the fire.

We don't always know what dangers lie ahead of us.  However, we know to take precautions--especially when traveling.  The Ecuadoran Government actually hands out a Safety Guide pamphlet to everyone entering the country.  After all, it is in their best interest that tourists have a good experience.  It covers things like how to identify  licensed taxis, tour guides and tour agencies, drinking water, and ATM safety.  On our 26 hour bus ride from Guayaquil to Lima that we will take today, we've been told that we should not get off the bus (safety reasons) until we arrive.  Once we get to our destinations, we will be in places where we will be connected with our hosts, which makes a big difference.  Being part of a community and being connected to local people, like we will be most of the time, is really key.  It's like the t-shirt I used to have:  "Guns don't protect people.  People do."