ccc

As it is "In All Seriousness", you took the words right out of my mouth. I may be wrong, but somehow, I see Susan as a blonde!

susan

Nah, merely a brunette having a blonde moment!<BR><BR>(I've actually heard people say this about Hawaii - seriously - so I wondered. I suppose Mexico should have triggered my sarcasm alert)

Traveler

To Eddie:<BR><BR>I was responding to &quot;what's up&quot;'s comments on Curacao. Here they are again<BR><BR>Message: Curacao meets your requirements. They have a Marriott, Sheraton, Beaches, etc. They have a very high standard of living. There is a large Dutch (read: Caucasion) population on the island. Just about everyone speaks three or four languages (English, Dutch, Papamiento, and Spanish).<BR><BR>My question is: why does the fact that the island has a large Dutch - &quot;read Caucasian&quot; - matter when it comes to safety of an island? Maybe I didn't make myself clear. When my husband and I visited Curacao, we noticed lots of Dutch tourist, but the islanders were Afro-Caribbean or of mixed decent. I was simply stating a fact - no where in my text did I state I was shocked.<BR><BR> It seemed to me that What's up was implying that Curacao had more Europeans on the island, thus it was safe. That makes no sense to me. <BR><BR>My husband and I have traveled all over the Caribbean as well as to Europe, Asia and Central America. We love the Caribbean and we have felt safe on any island we visit.<BR><BR>My point was not to make any destination into a false paradise. There is crime on Curucao just like there is in just about any location in the world. I think people need to be aware of that when they ask for a &quot;safe destination&quot;. I think you can have a safe vacation by using some common sense precautions. My husband and I encounted no crime while we stayed on Curacao. As a matter of fact we have not been the victim of crime on any of the Caribbean islands we have visited, including Jamaica. <BR><BR>Eddie, where in my text did I mention Aruba?<BR><BR>

Eddie

Traveler:<BR>I copied and pasted this from your first paragraph. &quot;Don't assume that Curacao is that safe. And by the way, most of native Curacaonans we meet were black or of mixed decent. Aruba had more mixed decent people&quot;. Note the last line about Aruba. <BR>Color has nothing to do with crime. I don't know what &quot;What's up&quot; was implying. However, there was a predominantly &quot;white&quot; population, not mixed. <BR>Your second paragraph &quot;When we rented a car, we were constantly warned not to go to desserted beaches and watch our valuables since car stealing was very prevalent.&quot; We never received warnings about any of that. We went to deserted beaches and were fine. We also never heard about any car theft. Only to lock your car as the possibility existed that possessions may be taken from unlocked cars. I stand by my statement that Curacao is the second safest island I've ever been on.

Traveler

Eddie, I agree with you that Curacao is safe. My statement is NO place in the world is totally crime free and antiseptic. I am constantly amazed at the posters on this board who are always asking for a &quot;safe&quot; destination in the Caribbean. I don't know why you are flaming me when you really should be flaming What's up.<BR><BR>If you really read my second post, you would see that I stated that my husband and I have never been the victims of crime in the Caribbean and we feel safe on many of the islands we have visited, which are...Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, Barbados, St. Maarten, St. Barths, Grand Caymen, the US Virgin Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Anguilla, and the Bahamas ( the Bahamas are really in the Atlantic).<BR><BR>We have also traveled around the world.<BR><BR>My point is don't assume ANY travel location is safe, irregardless of the racial makeup of the poplulation. Using common sense practices will keep you safe wherever you travel.