Go with your eyes open and your sixth sense on alert

Before our 2016 Guatemala trip, Dan told me that www.insightcrime.org located our hotel in a zone where La Marasalvatrucha, the infamous drug gang, operate.

Also, we were planning a trip to Tikal to see the Mayan pyramids. But Tikal is in a tropical zone, and the Zika virus scare had just begun. Some airlines had announced that they were willing to cancel bookings to the most dangerous destinations.

We went to Guatemala and had such a good time in this interesting country that we promised ourselves that we would return.

Like many news stories, these turned out to be greatly exaggerated. Yes, there are dangers, but you know what?

This past summer, people warned us that ISIS agents would kidnap us in Istanbul. We spent a week in beautiful Istanbul and felt very safe.

Nobody warned us before our 2016 trip to France. There were two terror attacks in the two weeks we were there. After the Nice attack, we drove to Nice to support them morally and economically with our tourist dollars.

So, before planning your trip, perhaps you’d like to update yourself of the 50 most dangerous cities in the world or check out where were the world’s most devastating earthquakes in the past decade, but I don’t recommend it. Instead, look at the TripAdvisor forums and communicate with other travelers who have visited your destination. Sign into Instagram and follow people in your destination country to see how normal life is. Then get on the plane and go! Go with your eyes wide open and your sixth sense on alert, as you should every day of your life.