walking to/from Fata Morgana - safety

[Roo]

Hey,

I just wanted to get a check from you all about walking to/from Edit's place in La Ceiba to town at night. I teach self-defense & don't generally drink/drug, so I feel pretty secure about being able to handle myself. Question is, yep, it's darker than usual & I prefer to not have to use my skills, even though I'm comfortable giving up cash, negotiating verbally, using physical skills if I need to, etc. -- better to not have to deal with bad situations altogether.

I stayed at Fata Morgana last time & loved it, though I didn't like the long(muddy!) walk in & having to take a moto back, since I like dancing late & such. Anyhoo, last time I was there some of the people I met said things about tigueres & how I shouldn't go home at all after a certain hour, even if they were taking me, cuz it just wasn't safe & they were scared. Others questioned whether I really trusted the concho drivers. I know that sometimes these guys had personal motivations in trying to keep me out, but what do you all think? How often does stuff happen out there? Is it just property theft?

I'm staying at Fata Morgana either way, so no need for other hotel options, but just want some more information to make my transportation choices with-- that hopefully don't come with mixed motivations.

Thanks.

[WebDev]

What Edit said?
Was her advise to walk alone at night? Don't think so!

Stay safe.

WebDev

[Roo]

I also asked about taking conchos at night/riding back with friends (I never planned on walking back after midnight). Remember, I said my male Dominican friends also said that they were afraid to ride back & forth to La Ceiba at night, and I was wondering if that was a realistic fear or something exaggerated that they were telling me.

And not to split hairs, but to be specific: are we talking just after dark (the sun set fairly early while I was there), or later at night? And is this advice only for single women or for single men also?

I had been planning to ask Edit when I returned as well, but figured I'd ask people's opinion here also. Thanks.

[Middlemarie]

Hey - I just stayed at Fata Morgana for a week in March 07. (I'm a woman)

I wouldn't, definitely would not walk from or to FM at night. It is completely dark and quite simply, dangerous. A couple of guys who were staying at FM went out one night and even they took a motoconcho home.

I found that neither taxi drivers nor motoconchos knew where FM was, so I'd be sure to be able to direct them. For a woman alone, a cab would be safest I'd think.

I'm curious to know if the German guy (he seemed long term) is still staying there with his about 15-year-old Dominican female "companion." And there was another German guy there with his "girl." Horrible really and Edit didn't bat an eye, perhaps she is used to it?

Anyway, if you'd like any more information, feel free to contact me - karensegal@hotmail.com

have fun!

[Squat]

Rule of thumb, if you are a woman, don't walk alone at night... La Ceiba is not the safest place... Ask for a ride with someone you know. I would not recomend going on your own with a motoconcho after dark, unless you are really stuck, try to avoid it.

[Roo]

Thanks for everyone's input. And I'm just going to build upon your advice, Squat, in case anyone looks up this thread in the future: As a visitor it's hard to get a ride w/"someone you know", so you can always make friends to go out w/at Edit's place & hang out/come home w/them, ask Edit or someone else for the name of a concho driver they trust who you can arrange to have meet you at FM to go out/pick you up at the end of the night, and -- trusting your instincts when meeting new people, especially those who you plan to have transport you, is important. Especially outside of discos, there's plenty of conchos to choose between, so I'm always sure to choose my driver, not just wait to be chosen by who most wants to take me home!

Also, motorcycles were designed to transport 1 or 2 people, not 3. Especially on the unpaved, dark roads of La Ceiba, that's not safe. That was always my complaint to the "chivalrous" guys who wanted to take the concho w/me to escort me home (and clearly hoped to stay the night). 'Sides, I can take care of myself just fine & don't need to end the night by having to repeatedly tell someone to get back on the moto and go home!

Oh, and Middlemarie, thanks for the reminder about remembering where you 'live'. I, um, quite frequently had very patient conchistas turning around on that dead-end road a block away from Edit's cuz I never could get it quite right!

Oh, and if you want to avoid the whole thing: Edit rents a moto that you could just take yourself and not worry about it. I really dislike motorcycles though (can you tell? ), so that's not an option for me.

Thanks again!