kinda spooked about safety with US peace corps pulling out for safety reasons

[Mike]

i guess they don't make em tough in the u.s. peace corp anymore. ridiculous, my 74 yr mother just traveled the country by bus and had a delightful time.

Your mom sounds pretty cool.

Here's the news I found for why

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras -- All 158 Peace Corps volunteers in Honduras left the country on Monday, weeks after the United States announced that it would pull them out for safety reasons.The U.S. group said in late December that it was bringing home volunteers from Honduras and suspending training for new volunteers in El Salvador and Guatemala, though existing volunteers would remain in the latter two countries.
The region is plagued by gang violence and Honduras is considered to have the highest murder rate in the world. Honduras President Porfirio Lobo said Monday that the Peace Corps volunteershad been affected by rising crime, but neither he nor U.S. officials have cited specific attacks as reasons for the withdrawal.
U.S. Embassy spokeswoman Ledy Pacheco said instructions for the withdrawal came from Washington, where the group's head office is located.
The Peace Corps had operated in Honduras since 1963.
The three countries make up the so-called northern triangle of Central America, a region plagued by drug trafficking and gang violence.
A recent U.N. report said Honduras and El Salvador have the highest homicide rates in the world with 82.1 and 66 per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively, in 2010. Guatemala had a rate of 41 per 100,000 last year. All three are more than double the homicide rate of 18 per 100,000 in Mexico, where drug violence has drawn world attention.

 

[laurenceh]

Your mom sounds pretty cool.

thats where i get it from

 

[peeweediver]

We were on Roatan in June and had not a single sideways glance. Though we stayed at CCV (an AI), we went to the West End one night and had a good time without a single bad look. We would go again tomorrow..especially since Chicago is now getting another 6-8 inches of snow.
As to Peace Corp. my niece and all PCs were just brought home from another country, not because of the fear of violence, but because of actual violence against PC women. It is not reported for a number of reasons, but after 8 rapes of Peace Corp women, it was decided to bring them all home. They are hearty, good kids, but enough was enough.

Rob

 

[jlevine]

Depending on the location of your accommodations, there may be nighttime security personnel. For example, in West Bay, you will see security patrols (some armed) walking around at night. I do feel that Roatan is much, much safer than the mainland but take all of RoatanMan's advice. It is incredibly rare to hear of crime against a tourist on Roatan.

 

[bl6394]

Speaking as an RPCV from Benin, the Peace Corps is generally pretty thoughtful about when and why to pull volunteers out. When I was in Benin '94-'96 - we had a national election and rode it out in country. There was an RPG launched into a building in the capitol - and lots of dead people voted - but PC volunteers were fine. And heck, dead people generally vote in Chicago elections too!

To the previous poster's point - getting pulled out meant there was a reasonable threat to the volunteers - who are may be posted alone, in remote locations, with little support except from Host Country Nationals.

As a diver on vacation - you would have a totally different profile - and MIGHT be OK. You could consider looking at the State Department advisories as well - and then make an informed decision about the risks.

Honduras

Good Luck!

Bjorn

 

[jlevine]

I question the quality and accuracy of State Department advisories. At times the State Department makes countrywide criticisms that can actually hurt the country. After the Honduran Supreme Court and Congress intervened in what the former president of the company was doing, the State Department said that Americans should avoid all non-essential travel to the country. I can't find the warning in the Embassy archives but you can read it here <Honduras Travel Warning>.

That blanket warning severely damaged the economy of Roatan and it was totally unnecessary. I was there the week after the event and there were no problems on Roatan at all. If I paid attention to every warning from the US State Department, I would never travel. The State Department offers some useful information but I would look more to the people on the ground for reliable information.

 

[drrich2]

Whether to stay on AI resort grounds, avoid locals and bars, driving & so forth or 'get off the reservation,' that will vary by the person.

A newly certified OW diver might do well to stick to warm water tropical destinations with great viz. & minimal current, perhaps not get over 40 to 60 feet deep, and dive with groups led by dive guides to start out (depending on individual training, aptitude, experience, etc...).

That same diver, 50 dives later with some mentoring from good dive buddies or teachers, might be doing independent buddy dive trips off unguided Southern California charter boats to kelp forest sites with more limited viz and cool water, or deep dives to North Carolina wrecks to see the sand tiger sharks, or (with proper training) minor penetration dives of fairly shallow wrecks.

Should a Roatan tourist drive, go to bars, socialize with locals, talk up a pretty woman, roam around town, etc...? Partly depends on the tourist's experience, aptitude for avoiding & handling potential hassles, and tolerance for hassles & risk.

Let's say you somehow knew that in your next 15 years of dive vacationing, you could either stay on the reservation, as they say, or roam freely and have a good time, but that at some point in those 15 years you'd get mugged, or get into a bar fight. Your choice. Not everyone would make the same one, and so the proper course of action differs.

If I ever get to Roatan, I'd like to get off resort grounds, but in broad daylight, with someone else driving, sticking to non-seedy areas and I don't drink so I don't need to go to bars much.

Richard.

 

[laurenceh]

coming to the bay islands and sticking to the all in hotel is totally unnecessary and imho totally pointless, there aren't any hotels or resorts that could hold my attention, the bay islands is totally non lux in that department. all but the most timid mice and cruise passengers (ie. people who should never leave the u.s.) , should feel safe to wonder day and night, drink and socialize. sure i wouldn't recommend wandering the streets of san pedro sula alone at night with a pocket full of cash but the bay islands, copan etc. etc are a completely different animal. the last time a gringo was seriously assaulted here on utila it was a bar owner and the perpetrator of the crime was a canadian tourist.
its so discouraging to constantly read these "security" postings over and over on scubaboard, i always thought most scuba divers were more worldly and adventurous, now i wonder how half of these posters ever got the courage to even try diving.
on the lighter side, whale sharks around utila yesterday !!!

 

[DazedAndConfuzed]

After the coup, it became open season on campesinos, so if you are one, then you better watch out.

 

[lkpederson]

I was stationed in Honduras from 09-10 during the coup. Most anything that was happening was in Tegucigalpa (capitol city) and out in the sticks (Mosquitia). I went and still go to Utila to dive frequently.

The Bay Islands are quite frankly one of the safest places to be because of the tourist trade. What RickyF said below is true and it's true for any place. Stay away from the "bad places" at night. They're pretty easy to spot. If you have concerns, stay in a resort; you'll be fine.