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Safely Navigating the Challenges of Third World Travel

Two Great Travel Scam References

Two Great Travel Scam References 746 382 Greg Ellifritz

In doing research for my future book on travel scams, I recently came across these two excellent resources.  Together, they provide a solid education to keep you from falling from the most common travel swindles.

 

 

How To Spot Signs of Being Scammed While Traveling

 

 

The video below focuses on Barcelona, but you’ll see the same scams all over Europe and most of the rest of the world as well.

 

Barcelona SCAMS: Tips For Avoiding Crime and Pickpockets in Spain.

 

Exploring Little Havana

Exploring Little Havana 652 496 Greg Ellifritz

I haven’t done any international travel since I caught Covid in Ecuador last summer.  Almost dying in that ordeal was enough to scare me away from visiting third world countries for a long time.  International travel is still a mess.  I also have some fairly serious lingering side effects from Covid (namely breathlessness, exercise intolerance, and crazy high blood pressure) that would limit the things I could do in the developing world.

 

For those reasons, I’ve been doing shorter domestic trips instead.  I plan on writing some more about these trips to give you some travel ideas and inspiration.

 

A few weeks ago I was visiting an old friend in Naples, Florida.  We decided to do a spur of the moment, ritzy two day trip to Miami.  One of the advantages of not spending money on expensive international airfare is that I now have a little more cash in the travel budget and can afford some fancier short term destinations.

 

This isn’t a travel guide to Miami.  I’m just reporting on some places we went where we had good food and service.  All of these spots get my recommendation, but this is far from a comprehensive guide.  I’m sure there are tons of other amazing places to see.

 

As my friend and I were talking about the trip, we determined that we wanted to spend most of our time in and around Little Havana.  I had never visited the area and wanted to see it.  She speaks fluent Spanish, loved traveling to Cuba, and was excited to re-live some of her experiences there.

 

 

The main focus of our trip was eating good food and relaxing.  We are both big eaters and love enjoying exotic food.  In between massive meals, we would do as much sight seeing as possible.

 

We started out at her house in Naples.  On the evening I arrived, we had dinner at The Claw Bar.  It was a great seafood place located within a large hotel resort downtown.  The neat thing about the Claw Bar  is that they also offer dining in a kind of hidden speakeasy-style environment.

 

The speakeasy is called “The London Club” and isn’t mentioned on the website.  You have to call for reservations.  Upon your arrival, you are escorted to a private elevator that takes you to the speakeasy section.  It was an intimate room with an excellent live jazz singer.  Lots of fun.

 

 

We started out the next morning with a leisurely drive on the back roads through the Everglades to get to Miami.  We enjoyed the scenery and all the alligators.  Some of the marine birds were stunning.  Although I’ve spent some time in Miami, I really hadn’t seen much of the Everglades.  It was well worth the longer drive to see such a unique environment.

 

As our trip had a Cuban theme, my friend surprised me on the drive with lunch reservations at a roadside Cuban family owned restaurant called The Havana Cafe of the Everglades in Chokoloskee.

 

The Havana Cafe was in the middle of nowhere, but was absolutely packed.  It had a breezy shaded outdoor patio for dining.  A solo guitarist played some Cuban music to make everything even more authentic.

 

I had the Shrimp Enchilado.  Note the spelling.  It’s not a Mexican Enchilada, instead it’s a Cuban dish made with shrimp, rice, and plantains.  It was delicious.  Here’s an inside tip.  They serve oysters, but they aren’t on the menu.  You have to ask your waitress for a special order to get them.  They were rather unique in that instead of being served with lemon or lime juice, they were covered with a slightly spicy Cuban cocktail sauce.  Not my favorite dish of the weekend, but it was still quite tasty.

 

With our hunger temporarily sated, we proceeded to Miami.  Accommodation in Little Havana itself were limited.  Some of the areas around the local hotels were a bit sketchy.  We decided to stay at the downtown Novotel instead.  It was only a few miles away from Little Havana, but was much nicer and in a safer neighborhood.

 

Novotel rooftop pool overlooking the Miami skyline.

 

It was pouring rain when we arrived, so we checked into the hotel and took a brief nap until the rain ended.  When we woke up, we were in the mood for some live music and a couple drinks before our late dinner reservation.  We took an Uber (parking in Miami is a huge hassle) to a Cuban themed nightclub called The Ball and Chain.

 

The club has been around since 1935 and has nightly live music.  When we were there, the music was being made by a six-person Cuban band.  I don’t think any of the performers were younger than 60 years old.  It reminded me a lot of the jazz clubs I visited on my trip to Cuba a few years ago.

Because of my other life as a tactical trainer, a lot of the folks who read this blog found it through my tactical writing and are interested in firearms and self protection.  If you are carrying weapons, please note that a lot of the nightclubs in Little Havana do pat down searches and bag checks before allowing you to enter the establishment.

 

If you plan on going to a busy bar or club after 8:00 pm, expect to be searched or wanded with a metal detector.  Theoretically, a S&W J-frame snub with a clipdraw can be clipped to the top of your underwear and be worn completely concealed even with a tucked in shirt.  It’s not the fastest draw in the world, but it’s very discreet and can go a lot of places where a full sized gun can’t.  Wearing a belt with a larger metal belt buckle just above the clipped revolver will justify the alarm if the metal detecting wand beeps.

 

Cuban chicharrones

 

We had a couple mojitos and ate some home cooked chicharrones for an appetizer.  The music was great.  The environment was fun and friendly.  If you are looking for a taste of Cuba in the USA, this would be an excellent place to visit.  I’ll definitely go back.

 

 

We then went to a late dinner at what turned out to be the best meal on our trip.  We visited Amara at Paraiso.  It was a very high class place with outdoor deck seating overlooking Biscayne Bay.

 

Looking across the bay from Amara’s covered outdoor dining section.

 

We had a couple of their deluxe craft cocktails and gorged ourselves on some stellar seafood.  We had some delicious appetizers and then shared their whole fish entree.  I’ve eaten whole fish in a lot of South American and Asian countries.  This one was very different.  The chef actually de-boned the fish before cooking it!  That doesn’t happen in rural developing countries.  I think I could get used to this!

If you are looking for a fancy restaurant for a special occasion, you won’t go wrong with Amara.

 

The whole fish covered with the only “salad” I ate down there.

 

The next morning we went back to Little Havana to explore Wynwood Walls, an outdoor graffiti museum.  We spent several hours at the museum and wandering around the nearby neighborhoods.

 

Wynwood Walls

 

I’m definitely fragile cargo

 

Wynwood Walls

 

It’s cool when her dress matches one of the art installations

 

The cutout allowing the neighborhood high rise apartment building to become part of the exhibit was a cool idea.

 

Pulling back the gray curtain of reality

 

She wanted a picture with the three gorillas

 

While exploring, we found a great Peruvian restaurant for lunch.  I’ve been to Peru four times now and am in love with Peruvian food.   Because of the Covid travel restrictions, I haven’t been back to Peru since 2019.  I was itching for some Peruvian ceviche.  Manta Peruvian Cuisine did not disappoint!

Manta

 

We did some appetizers and then I had the traditional Peruvian ceviche with calamari.  It was as if we were back in Lima.  They even had Peruvian Pilsen beer to wash it down.  My amiga enjoyed her Peruvian “causa” and a couple Pisco sours.  I’ve never seen causa served anywhere else in the USA.  Manta did a good job with this somewhat unique dish.

 

White fish ceviche and calamari with Peruvian corn and carrots

 

We strolled along a bit more and then took the slow, scenic route back to Naples.  The trip was low key, fun, and a great way to spend a long weekend.  I highly recommend all the spots I mentioned.

 

One other side note for you gun folks…

 

When I travel domestically, I tend to fly Delta or American. It’s been a few years since I’ve flown on United.  On this trip, the United flights best fit my schedule, so I booked them.   I flew from Austin to Ft. Meyers and back.

 

As usual, I checked a couple of pistols. Interestingly enough, United puts suitcases containing cased handguns right out on the luggage belt with everyone else’s luggage. According to the staff members with whom I spoke, only stand alone long gun cases get delivered to the baggage office.

 

Delta and American always require that you pick up your checked bag at the baggage office.  Southwest will occasionally require it depending on the airport.  In general, when you pick up your bags at the office, they are delivered after all the other bags are placed on the carousel.  It usually adds 20-30 minutes to your trip.

 

Not having to pick up your bag at the baggage office will most certainly save you some time. I still don’t really like flying United, but they seem to make gun baggage pickup a little easier than the other big US carriers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Strange Russian Pistols

Strange Russian Pistols 602 448 Greg Ellifritz

I try to become familiar with all of the guns that are commonly used in the countries I visit.  As I’ve never been to Russia, I haven’t studied their handguns other than understanding the Makarov and Tokarev pistols that are common here in the USA.

 

I saw this well-written article on Quora.  I had no idea the Russians had so many pistols that I knew nothing about.  If you are interested in weird Russian guns, you’ll like this article.

It’s currently the first answer listed, but if it changes places before this article is published, it’s the answer written by Joseph Bilboa.

What handguns do Russians use?

 

Violent Airplane Passenger- When to Get Involved

Violent Airplane Passenger- When to Get Involved 240 135 Greg Ellifritz

Recent news has been full of stories about violent and out of control airline passengers.  It’s fairly common.  People get nervous about flying.  They often use alcohol and drugs to self medicate.  On my flight home from a training class last Monday, there was a passenger in first class (a white male in his mid 60s) who was so drunk he actually fell down on the jet bridge getting off the plane.

 

Other passengers become irate with crowded airports, regular delays, cancelled flights, and mask mandates.  They lose their shit and attack passengers and crew.

 

Take a look at the article below about the passenger trying to open the door and breach the cockpit in flight.  The airline crew beat him over the head with a coffee pot until fellow passengers restrained him.

 

Emergency Landing After American Airlines Crewmember Hit Erratic Passenger With Coffee Pot

 

What would you do if you were on the flight described above?

 

For me, I’m not getting involved if a passenger attacks another passenger or a crew member.  If I am attacked, I’m going to fight.  If the cockpit is attacked, I will fight.

I’m especially worried about the cockpit attack.  If the attacker crashes the plane, we all die.  I also worry that an armed pilot will fire on the attacker.  Where is his backstop?  That’s right, his backstop is all of us riding in the plane.  Less than ideal.  I’ll beat someone’s ass to prevent being hit by a miss or pass through bullet the pilot fires.

Plane Exercising

Plane Exercising 748 498 Greg Ellifritz

With plane seats getting smaller and smaller while airline delays skyrocket, it becomes more and more important to maintain circulation during your flight.  Twenty years ago, walking in the aisles was common.  Airline bathrooms were big enough to do a short workout routine.  Now bathrooms are too tiny to move and security concerns prohibit random walking.

 

While it has become more difficult to exercise on a plane, our culture has also become less fit.  Blood clots and deep vein thrombosis are now serious threats to the traveler’s health.  How does one stay healthy and mobile on a long flight?

 

The article below offers some very good options and is well worth your effort to read.

 

10 Simple Circulation Exercises You Can Do In Any Airplane Seat

 

 

 

Chinese Tokarev Pistols

Chinese Tokarev Pistols 987 551 Greg Ellifritz

Everything you could possibly want to know about the Tokarev pistol.  I still see these occasionally in third world countries.

Chinese Tokarev Pistols–Military And Commercial Models

 

 

 

RPG-7 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher

RPG-7 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher 840 560 Greg Ellifritz

If you travel deeply into the developing world, you will undoubtedly encounter an RPG or two.  They are amazing weapons.  I bribed a former soldier to let me fire one on a bombing range in Cambodia.  It’s still one of my fondest travel memories.

 

The truly prepared traveler will learn how this anti-tank rocket works.  Read the article below for more details.

 

RPG-7 Anti-Tank Rocket Launcher

 

 

Gritty Travel Writing

Gritty Travel Writing 1280 871 Greg Ellifritz

Check out the links below.

 

I like this kind of travel writing. Authors who aren’t afraid to talk about corrupt cops, cockfighting, and prostitution keep my attention much better than those who only show pretty pictures.

This is the grittier side of Ecuador and the D.R.

 

As a side note, the “ghost town” mentioned in Ecuador is very close to where I was staying last summer when I got sick with Covid-19.

 

The Other Side of Ecuador 🇪🇨

Notes on the Dominican Republic

 

Is Mexico Safe for Tourists?

Is Mexico Safe for Tourists? 399 297 Greg Ellifritz

I really like Mexico.  I’ve visited more than 20 times and lived there for a couple months last year.  One of the most common questions I get from my readers is about the tourist safety amid cartel shootouts and hits.

My general assertion has always been that tourists are quite safe in Mexico as long as they stay away from drugs and hookers.

 

Last week two Canadian tourists were killed near Playa del Carmen. It made me question my advice.

 

Nope. These weren’t tourists. They were drug dealers and the cartel put a hit out on them.  Read the link below.

 

 

You are likely in less danger as a tourist in Mexico than you are walking around your own home town.

 

Terrorism and Travel

Terrorism and Travel 787 218 Greg Ellifritz

This link provides an important batch of resources for researching terrorism trends in other countries. I find much of the information provided by the US government to be fear mongering.

 

I don’t pay too much attention to the US State Department Travel Warnings. I find that similar warnings from the governments of Australia and Great Britain to be far more accurate.

 

“Terrorism kills more people than sharks, but it still doesn’t kill many: your odds are 1 in 25 million worldwide (in the US, it’s even less likely). When you travel, it’s far more likely (1 in 5,862 in the US) that you’ll die in a plane crash than you will in an act of terrorism.”

 

Everything you need to know about terrorism and travel