Yokohama wrote:You missed a few like: NOT DRIVING THOUGH MEXICO! People driving though Mexico have started to be abducted and murdered. I have heard that western missionary groups that work down there, especially near the border, travel in unmarked vehicles and have escorts to protect them.
There is also the FARC in Columbia. These guys LOVE to abduct people and hold them for periods ranging into the years. Imagine being strapped to a tree for years!
Of course, there are areas where as long as you pay off the local thugs, it is no problem.
I wonder if you can carry weapons as a foreigner in most South American countries.
I read in the newspaper myself last year that when you travel by bus you have a chance to get your head chopped off, so everybody: don't go to Canada!