Tuesday, May 5, 2009

On Mace and Wedding Rings

Mace in hand, wedding ring firmly in place, I was ready to face another long walk to the academy.

On the way I passed three goats at the large, open air market, three guys who assumed I must be a prostitute (and offered me $70), and several street dogs.

I was lucky. I never had to use my mace. That's not to say I didn't have it firmly gripped and ready to fire before; one scary taxi experience brought me way too close to needing it. Never let a taxi driver take your bags to stow them before you have seen the vehicle and approve of it. This one was unmarked, even though the driver showed me the right official documentation inside the bus station. However, he let another man climb in the car at the last minute, so it was just me and two guys in an unmarked vehicle in the middle of a strange, large city in Costa Rica. Not a good place to be. My mace was in my hand (still concealed) and ready to use if necessary.

The moral of the story? Never travel to Central America without mace and a good (cheap), fake wedding band.

No comments: