Basically, try not to look as rich as everyone thinks you are. Don't wear a nice watch. Don't talk on your phone in the streets. Always carry some money that you can give to thieves if you do get robbed. They don't want to hurt you, they just want what you have. So keep some money that you can give them so they can get out of there. Avoid dark corridors. Always take different paths home.
Get used to looking both ways across the street about four times. Get used to being very careful around the road. I'm from a really small town, where I'm from we really don't think twice about crossing the street because they're really not that busy. But out in Lima there are crazy, crazy traffic customs. They just, they don't really follow any traffic rules. You'll just be walking on the street and a bus will come right by and it'll almost hit you. And get used to looking both ways. Be very, very careful on the streets because they're crazy. There's really no rules, no one really cares about them. People will go really fast and you just won't even see a humongous bus coming. So be very careful.
In San Martín, there's a railroad track and a bunch of factories, and Callao is just kind of a sketchy place. Best idea would be, once you get to a new area, make sure to know where places are well-lit, where people usually are hanging out and about in front of their houses, and what places don't. If you stick to those areas at night, the well-lit places where people are, you'll be a little safer at night. If you're by the train tracks at night and the lights are off, then it's a little sketchy. You'll have some homeless people around there. And if people want to rob you, just give them what you have. Don't worry about losing it. Just comply.
If you're in Lima specifically, but just any part of Peru, be careful like Peru is not like USA that you can just literally take your phone and take pictures and nothing will happen to your phone People will steal it Like yeah, just be careful. Don't show your things If you have your phone and you like take pictures is you're literally saying like hey steal this You're literally saying this to other people around you So don't do that. Just save it and just dress like normal Don't be like over the top also, but that also would get the attention of people So just be careful. Don't trust a lot of people, of course, like enjoy the place and all that But if you're new, especially you're not from the place and you don't speak the language Just don't trust a lot of people, like everyone especially Just be careful and just check anything Weird around you, but of course enjoy the place is the best
When you're out in the evenings when it's dark, be careful when you're having to walk through alleyways or when you're around areas where vagabonds or drunkards like to walk around. I remember one time when a young man approached us asking for help. He said he wanted to change. We couldn't tell if he was being serious, if he was drunk, or if he was trying to corner us in order to rob us because he had a friend that was a couple feet from him that was aloof from everything. But in that alleyway on a corner, there was a little store, if you could call it that, where a man would sell soda and cookies. He came out and he was watching the whole situation and we realized that he was making sure that these guys weren't going to mess with us, weren't going to rob us. Be thoughtful and careful with how you interact with people, especially when you're in an area that doesn't look safe.
Be really careful with your cell phone. So if you are out walking around the street, don't have your cell phone out. Even if you need to get directions, plan that all before you go out because people are known to steal your phones from you.
Chiclayo is known for being like the most tranquilo, like calm city in all of Peru. Well, kind of. There's some parts of Chiclayo that are kind of sketch but like you shouldn't have a problem really with safety as long as you just avoid the drunk people in the streets at night and you'll be fine because everybody in Chiclayo is really friendly and they're good people.
There's going to be a lot of stray dogs that are just wandering the streets. I mean, they usually roam and pack. Sometimes they're like on their own, they're just like stragglers. But uh, the best thing to do that I remember is to, I mean, try and avoid them if you can, but if a dog starts barking and starts coming close to you, the best thing to do is to just kind of make yourself look bigger than the dog. Because, I mean, the dogs are pretty afraid, and I mean, they're not normally going to bite you if they feel really afraid of you. But something you can also do is like, um, just kind of bend down and pick up, pretend to pick up a rock, and then they know not to mess with you. Um, that's probably one of the best ways you can just kind of avoid any interactions with those kind of stray dogs.
I actually didn't feel unsafe, but I'm from an allied American country, so what I consider safety is not safe for others. But there was one area, I think it was in Suyana, that was a bit sketchier than usual. I surveyed Bella Vista, which is an area there, and we saw a shooting. You just have to be aware of your surroundings and your things. You can't be on your phone or carrying cameras and things like that as flashy as you could in other countries, kind of like the US. Security's not the best, but it's okay. I was never robbed, not once.
Make sure that you are being smart about where you go and what time you go. Just know your area and know what spots you should go to, what spots you shouldn't. Another safety thing is dogs. There are dogs everywhere and they will attack. What I learned to do is just carry a water bottle, one for drinking, one for not drinking. The non-drinking one, if you just like chuck a little bit of water out of, dogs get scared and they run away. Or if you keep like some rocks in your bag, just chuck it near their feet, not at them because that's animal cruelty, but just at your feet and they'll scurry away. There are some that will still be there and try to attack. Just be smart and back away slowly and try to get on the opposite side.
Stay in well-lit places at night time. So a lot of times you're going to find that there are areas with chakras, which are just like crop places, I guess, and they're going to have like no light. So just try to avoid those during night time.
It's not too dangerous. There'll be lots of robberies. Once in a while, you'll get some crazy stuff. Stay out of dark places at night.