Certain countries have a worse reputation than others when it comes to their suitability for (female) solo travel. Very practically, you can compare your family's (hypothetical) reaction to you travelling to Portugal versus Mexico. However, these reputations are not always correct, or they paint an unfairly limited story of gigantic, very diverse countries. This blogpost is an attempt to diversify and counter some of these narratives, colored by my own honest reflections and experiences.
Coming back to the (hypothetical) reaction of your family when you tell them you want to travel, I think parents will never be completely at ease when their children are on some challenging adventure, no matter how conventional the experience or how experienced their child is. When I was 13, I boarded an intercontinental flight together with my best friend to visit her family in the United States. Between my 13th and 16th, I took part in several exchange programs via my high school. When I was 16, I interrailed through over six European countries with another best friend. At the time I was annoyed at how worried my mom was, but looking back at the photos and seeing how young I was, I understand her a lot better. Since then, I have gained experience living and being abroad under various circumstances. When I was 18, I moved to Milan, Italy by myself for nearly five months. When I was 19, I took my first solo backpacker trip to Laos, Cambodia and Bangkok, Thailand. Since then, I have lived with my sister in Ghana for several months, done a semester abroad on Oʿahu, Hawaiʿi, done anthropological fieldwork in Udaipur, India, and I have travelled in Ecuador, Brazil, Guatemala, and now Mexico - both alone, as well as with a friend. My parents have always cheered me on, and by now I am sure they trust my experience and intuition while probably having also accepted an eternal state of slight discomfort resulting from not exactly knowing what the places I am in are like.
Throughout my travels and periods of living abroad, and supported by my academic background in cultural anthropology, I have learned that much of what we grow up 'knowing' about foreign places and people are far from the truth - or at least form but a very limited perspective of reality.
Growing up, entire continents such as Africa and Latin America were for example unified under descriptive words such as rural, desertic, dangerous, or poor. The vast diversity of countries and cultures (within these countries) in Africa is wildly underrepresented in the media. Did you for example know that in Nigeria alone they speak 520 languages? Or did you know that over 40% of Africans lives in urban areas, and that the entire continent hosts four out of five climate types as defined by the Köppen climate classification system? And, especially interesting for US citizens, did you know that 12 countries in Africa are deemed safer than the United States according to 2022 Global Peace Index by the Institute for Economics and Peace?
When I was in Ghana, I was impressed by the amount of people that spoke at least three languages - and, notably, did not consider themself multilingual as they did not count their local languages. And I was particularly struck by the direct and in-your-face inequality. There is a very tangible contrast between extremely poor and extremely rich, with impoverished families living in improvised houses right next to a gated villa with six cars in the driveway.
If you want to learn more about the variety of cultures, languages and histories in Africa here are some Instagram accounts that I follow (and learn from): @aketchjoywinnie, @iammisswander, @tricia_mpisi, and @decolonizd.
Although media representation seems to be a bit more extensive when it comes to Latin America, Latin American countries might still be deduced to political instabilities, corruption, drug cartels, and human-trafficking. For Europeans and US citizens, stereotypically, Brazil is mostly known for Carnaval and football, Colombia for cocaine and Shakira, Peru for Machu Pichu, and Mexico for (spicy) Mexican food and gang violence. When I was in Brazil, I learned that the smallest state Sergipe has 11 different climates and a corresponding variety of gastronomical traditions. I learned that you absolutely cannot tell whether someone is Brazilian or not by their appearance as all ethnicities are represented in the Brazilian population. And although Latin America is classified as the world's most dangerous region, there are plenty of places where you can safely go out alone in the dark, or (somewhat) safely take local transport.
Despite my significant travel experience and anthropological background, being aware of and combatting stereotypes and prejudices remains an active practice. Ideas that we learn when growing up, that are reproduced in media, and that are confirmed by (almost exclusively) bad news-reporting news outlets are deeply engrained in our subconscious systems.
On top of that, there are usually plenty of anecdotal stories that fit this dominant narrative. Recently, a friend told me his experience of being held at gunpoint in the Mexican border city Tapachula, the exact place where I would be going a few days after. Moreover, the friend I would meet in Mexico City told me of a colleague of hers who experienced an armed robbery on her night bus, one of which I would also be taking a few days after. And a Mexican guy living in Mexico City told me that police officers, of all people, sometimes rob tourists of their cash money when 'searching for drugs'.
Knowing these stories are more an exception than the rule, they still influenced my subconscious feelings and thought patterns as I arrived in Mexico. In Tapachula, where I stayed with my friend's sister, I noticed that I was surprised when the two of us were peacefully roaming through the neighborhood's dark alleys to a quesadilla stand. Apparently, I had assumed that all of Mexico would be dangerous and that it would in no circumstance be safe to go out in the dark. Later, when we were walking towards the city center, I caught myself constantly wanting to ask whether what we were doing was safe. Being aware of my thoughts and feelings, I felt awkward for reducing the entire (gigantic) country of Mexico to certain prejudices and narratives while the neighborhood we were in was safe enough to walk around by yourself until late in the evening, and so were many areas in the city.
Similarly, when taking a night bus to Mexico City by myself, I noticed that my initial attitude was to be suspicious towards every (especially male) person in the bus. Could I go to the toilet without someone robbing the backpack containing my laptop, headphones, and video camera? Is my suitcase in the cargo hold in the belly of the bus really safe when it is being opened at every stop? Is it safe for me to be on the back of the bus by myself with only some men near me? Meanwhile our bus was checked by the armed immigration police at least 8 separate times, which I am not sure made me feel safer or confirmed my idea that Mexico was unsafe. The people I met on the bus, however, ended up being extremely kind. When a woman came into the bus selling 'galletas,' I called her to ask how much they cost, hoping to satisfy my chocolate craving for the ride. She did not hear me, so a man in the row behind me insisted that I accepted one of his unopened packages of chocolate chip cookies, which I did happily. Towards the end of the drive, when I was scanning my seat for an outlet to charge my phone, another man pointed it out to me. That same man ended up guiding me to the taxi stops at the bus terminal, let me use his data to arrange an uber, and waited with me for my uber to arrive. Once again, I was confronted with the kindness of strangers all over the world.
So... What to make of these contrasting experiences and narratives when travelling Mexico, or any other foreign country? Is it safe? Can you walk alone in the dark? Will you get robbed or held at gunshot? Or are these all just incorrect narratives that you can ignore?
In my experience and opinion, travelling always requires a level of care and precaution, no matter where you go, and it is always important to stick to general travel guidelines and follow these tips to be and feel safe. Whether you can walk alone in the dark is very contextual and will depend on the country and place. Whereas I would be comfortable walking alone in the dark in the neighborhood I stayed in in Tapachula, Mexico, I did not usually feel comfortable walking alone in the dark in the park in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. With regards to the stories and statistics on armed violence and robbery, remember that these situations indeed do happen and that it is thus important to be as safe as possible. However, these stories are also sensational and horrible and that is exactly why they travel much faster, further and longer than the good ones. I have heard far more people who had an amazing and safe experience in Mexico, than horrible and dangerous.
These narratives may partly be true. However, be aware that they are just one perspective of a much richer reality and that focusing on just that perspective can be harmful and dishonest for the representation of that reality. It is important to remain open and reflective when you travel, so that you can notice stereotypical narratives within yourself and not let them cloud or limit your perception of a country, culture and people. This includes being aware of both the stories we hear and the ones we tell, as both have the power to create and reproduce narratives about countries, cultures, and people.
Another story of which we need to be aware what it does to our perception of reality is that of the solo 'female' traveler. Recently, solo traveler and digital nomad Kate, whose Instagram account I follow and adore, recently posted a strong caption about why we should stop labelling countries as 'safe for solo female travelers'.
I hope that with this story, and the others on my blog, I can offer a more honest and rich perspective to the stories that shape our reality.
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