Guatelmala - advice needed

I need some advice, or in this case, I need your opinions.

I’m going to Guatemala soon. We have hosted two young ladies at our home as exchange students and this is an opportunity for my daughter to go to their schools for a couple days, and to visit two wonderful people that have become members of our family.

While in Guatemala we will be staying 6 days in Guatemala City, but then leaving to travel the country in a rented car. One of the two girls is coming with us so that we have someone who speaks fluent Spanish. We will be visiting many places at which I’ll be able to shoot both beautiful and historical cities and sites.

I have been reading about how bad the crime is in Guatemala and I’m worried about my D7000 being a target for us to be robbed. I’d hate to go to a beautiful country like Guatemala and shoot all my pictures with a Sony pocket camera. I have decided, for several reasons, that I will be leaving my 80-200 at home. Putting that on my camera would be like taking out an advertisement that I’m carrying something worth stealing. It is also heavy and I’m concerned about the amount of in and out travel we will be doing. Our goal was to travel as light as possible.

So give me your opinions… do I take the D7000? I have changed my mind on this topic 20 times in the past two weeks. I’m sure I’ll regret it if I leave it behind, but I will regret it more if I’m robbed while in Guatemala.

Well Dave this opportunity only comes around very rarely.
You will be able to take pictures you will treasure for a life time.
I would make sure I have a good insurance policy on my camera stuff, use a bag like a Lowpro Slingshot (it looks like a backpack and has a opening on the side where you can slip your camera in & out fast). Take your shots and put it back in your bag.

The issue is having something of value visible. If I have it in a nice bag they will just take the bag with the camera. About an hour ago I called my insurance agent to check on a policy on my equipment. The catch is travel outside the USA. He is finding out how to work around that catch. I was told to leave all jewelry and my Tag Heuer watch at home. I was told they will not try to steal a wedding band. Apparently even thieves have some honor!

Good news!!! My camera is covered anywhere in the world as long as it is with me!!! Thank you State Farm!

I was going to say...I found it hard to believe that insurance coverage was going to be an issue, but it looks like you've gotten that resolved. It wouldn't hurt to verify that you are covered fully for any losses you might incur. It might not hurt to take out an additional inland marine policy for your trip. The cost would be minimal, and would be additional piece of mind.

As for the rest, those are questions only you can answer. If it were me...

I would take the camera and the lenses. I know I would regret it if I left that stuff at home and didn't get those once-in-a-lifetime shots that I wanted. For me, it would be worth the risk. Keep in mind that any touristy place is going to be heavily populated and the odds of getting robbed would be lower. That said, policing in many countries outside the US is more like a mafia than anything else, so definitely use caution.

I would certainly leave the wife and kids at home while out shooting with your camera. On the off chance that something does happen, I wouldn't want to risk anything happening to them. The camera can be replaced, people can't.

Take the camera, be as cautious as you can meaning use it when you can & put it away quickly as you can don't leave it out & about!

Anthony Hereld said:

It wouldn't hurt to verify that you are covered fully for any losses you might incur.

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I made that very call to State Farm this AM and they confirmed that I am covered as long "as the camera is with me".

Anthony Hereld said:

I would certainly leave the wife and kids at home while out shooting with your camera. On the off chance that something does happen, I wouldn't want to risk anything happening to them. The camera can be replaced, people can't.

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When I'm with them I'm going to take my Sony Cybershot. It is a camera that I used at school prior to getting my iPhone. When a student would get hurt we would immediately document the area of an accident in case questions came up later. I carried that camera around with me for about 4 years and only took a few shots following one accident. When I went to NEw York I took it with me when we would go out to dinner and I didn't want to carry my full sized camera. I have been shocked as to the quality of the pictures it takes for a $350 pocket camera.

I've decided that if something happens while in Guatemala they can have anything I have except my wife and daughter. My D7000 holds two cards. I'm going to download my pictures every night. If they take my camera all I lose is my deductible. If I lose my computer I lose all my pictures. If I lose my family, well...

This might be an opportunity to invest in a Nikon 18-200 or a Tamron 18-270?

Take a box of diaper wipes with you...from what I have heard they'll steal that first and leave anything else behind...

That being said I think if you have one of the girls with you she'll keep you steered clear of bad things I bet you money!

Think about it...here in the good old USA they'll steal that D7000 as fast as you can say smash and grab and probably faster than you can say it in spanish too! But then again you know where to go and not to go so that doesn't happen right?

Besides what would the average Guatelmalan thug do when he filled up the memory card?

Probably the only thing you need to be concerned about is be careful, courteous, and respectul if you are taking pictures of people and if ole girl tells you to put your camera up or not to take any pictures of someone or something I'd listen to her if I were you...

The D7000 came on the trip and I took about 4000 pictures during my two weeks here. Also made use of my Sony Cybershot for things like the day we went on the zip line, and I did use it a little in Guatemala City where the D7000 would have been too much of an obvious target.

Guatemala is a fabulous place. It begs to be photographed. This was a trip of a lifetime. I will be back to a country that I have come to love.

Glad it worked out for you, sounds like you had a wonderful trip.
Looking forward to seeing some of those 4000 pictures you took...lol.

Wow, Dave! Sounds like it was a fantastic trip . . . 4000 pics! Great! Hopefully we'll see some (like the "zipline")