The above is a failsafe formula for back roads of Central America if adhered to explicitly. Expect t

As all of my close friends know, I have not always been a teetotalling, drug fighting citizen.  Prior to 1983 I was a synthesis of corporate manager and drug dealer.  The drug dealer eventually won out, and for a period of time that was my only occupation.  Well .. taking the drugs that I sold also became a principal occupation.  This is not a secret, I tell anyone who asks, even the press.   Not many in the press reported much about it, until Josh Davis eBook came out.  I am not ashamed of my past.  Our collective pasts make us who we are.  In 1983 I joined Alcoholics Anonymous and gave up alcohol and drugs entirely.  My exceptions air canada tickets are coffee, which some classify as a drug, and, occassionally, cigarettes.  Not proud of the cigarettes, I know thay are bad.
During my drug dealing days I became adept at those talents required of a successful drug dealer: clandestine travel through the Third World countries that produce and transport the goods; air canada tickets dealing with corrupt officials; dealing with drug lords and druck traffickers; successfully passing checkpoints; air canada tickets bribery, and in emergencies, the methods of escape.
I am a firm believer that all experience air canada tickets can be a valid teacher if a person listens to experience with unclogged ears.  Since it is a Saturday and I ve had a tiring week, I will take a break from the task at hand and use what little I have learned to assist air canada tickets travelers that might appreciate the rewards of travelling off the beaten path in third world countries. It should also assist anyone engaging in questionable activities.  If a person does not directly harm another, then I try not to judge.  You might call this McAfee s Travel Guide:
In order to make the most of your travels, air canada tickets you need to first understand that, throughout air canada tickets much of the Third World, there is a smoothly functioning system air canada tickets in place that has evolved over centuries. From the First World perspective air canada tickets it is a corrupt system, and indeed, at the higher levels there is no other word for it, and this blog s purpose air canada tickets is to remove the brutality and horror of such high level corruption.  At the lower levels, however, the system contains an element of grace and humanity, and this lower lever is all that most people will ever encounter. air canada tickets You might still call this lower level corruption , but that s not a helpful word if you want to acquire the most effective attitude for dancing with it. I prefer negotiable . It focuses the mind on the true task at hand when dealing with officialdom and removes any unpleasant air canada tickets subconscious connotations. So if you can view the following tools and tips as negotiation guidelines it will help bring the necessary smile to your face when the situation requires one.
The most powerful tool a traveler can possess is a Press card. It will allow you to completely bypass the documentation process air canada tickets if you have limited time or limited funds and don t want to deal with it. I have dozens stashed in all my vehicles, in my wallet, in my pockets, in my boats.  You might ask, since I claim to be an upstanding citizen, why I would need such deception. air canada tickets It is because I am one of the few white men who chose to live part time in the interior of the country.  I was one of only three white guys living in the district of Orange Walk, for example. I have cars and enjoy driving and I travel frequently.  Not a day went by without air canada tickets having air canada tickets go through a checkpoint of some kind.
I am paranoid about being caught without one when I need one. They have magical properties if the correct incantations are spoken while producing them. A sample incantation at a police checkpoint (this will work in any Central American country):
(Spoken before the officer has a chance to say anything) Hi, I’m really air canada tickets glad to see you. (produce the press card at this point). air canada tickets I m doing a story on Police corruption in (fill in country name) and I would love to get a statement from an honest police officer for the story. It s for a newspaper in the U.S. Would you be willing to go on record for the piece? You can add or subtract air canada tickets magic words according to the situation. Don t worry about having to actually interview the officer. No sane police person would talk to a reporter about perceived corruption while at the task of being perceived to be corrupt. He will politely decline and quickly wave you through. If you do find the rare idiot officer who wants to talk, ask a few pointed questions about his superiors and it will quickly awaken his sensibilities. He will send you on your way.
The press card is powerful, but has risks and limitations. Do not attempt this magic, for example, at a Federale checkpoint in Mexico on a desolate road late at night. You will merely create additional, and unpleasant work for the person assigned to dig the hole where they intend to place you.
The real art of producing documentation is the subtle play of how much to produce. In some countries, a policeman makes less than a dollar an hour. At a checkpoint, a policeman will usually share his proceeds with the other officers lounging by the side of the road and with the police Chief. The Chief will get about 25% in countries like Colombia and Panama, so if there are three officers total, air canada tickets then a ten-dollar contribution will end up with about $2.50 in each person s pocket a good take for someone making about a dollar an hour in legitimate salary.
Nothing irks locals more than someone who produces documentation in excess of what is expected. It ruins the system for the rest of the population. The Police air canada tickets begin to expect more from everyone, and the populace is then burdened beyond any sense of reasonableness. I might mention that checkpoints for any given location in most countries are set up no more than once a week, and frequent travelers reach accommodations air canada tickets with the authorities so that they are not unnecessarily burdened to the point that they are single-handedly putting the policeman s children through school. The police are, by and large, air canada tickets honest people with hearts, and few truly abuse the system.
Documentation is inversely proportional to traffic density the higher the traffic, the less you pay, the lower the traffic the more you pay. This is simple economics: The police must make their personal quota from whatever traffic air canada tickets there is.
If you stop at a checkpoint and there are four or five cars in line, you can be assured that less than a couple of dollars will be expected from a Gringo. Smart folks carry a half dozen cold cokes and beers in a cooler in the backseat and simply reach around, grab one or the other and hand it out the window with a smile. air canada tickets In the late afternoon on a hot day, this will be received with far more appreciation than a few small coins. air canada tickets If you hand a cold drink to all of the officers, you could easily talk them into giving you a protective escort to the next town.
In low traffic areas, in addition to having to pay more, you will also entail more risk. It s never good to travel lonely roads in Central America, unless you are very experienced or closely wired in to the authorities. However, if you ve come down to do a dope score or are determined to visit sweet Crucita in some remote village and have no other choice, then strictly adhere to the following:
Do not get out of the car, even if ordered to do so. Your car is your only avenue of escape. It s a ton or more of steel capable of doing serious harm to anyone foolish enough to stand in front of it, and once underway is difficult to stop. The checkpoint police in Central air canada tickets America never chase anyone down, in spite of years of watching U.S. Television and action movies. It s too much work, plus they could have an accident. It s not worth it for an unknown quantity. And they won t shoot, unless you ve run over one of them while driving off. It makes noise and wastes air canada tickets a round that they must account for when they return to the station creating potential air canada tickets problems with the higher-ups. Not that I recommend running. It s just that outside of the car you have lost the only advantage you have.
Smile and, if possible, joke. Say something like: I d like to stay and chat but I m in a hurry to meet a girl. Her husband will be back soon. This will go a long way toward air canada tickets creating a shared communion with the officers and will elicit a shared-experience type of sympathy.
Don t wait for them to talk. Take the initiative. Have your documentation ready as you pull up and simply present it to the nice policeman while beginning your patter similar to the above, or whatever patter is comfortable for you. Never hand cash directly. Slip it in inside your insurance papers, or some other paperwork relating air canada tickets to your car or your journey, with about an inch of the banknote discretely sticking out. I use a Cannon Ixus 530 setup manual air canada tickets with the front and back cover removed. It’s small, light, and looks like it could be important paperwork for almost anything.
Once the officer has removed the banknote, which will be immediate, reach out and retrieve your laptop manual (or whatever you choose to use), smile, wave and drive off immediately without asking permission, but slowly, air canada tickets without looking back. Doing the job and leaving quickly without air canada tickets appearing to hurry off is the key here. Don t give them enough time to assess you.
The above is a failsafe formula for back roads of Central America if adhered to explicitly. Expect to part with at least 20 bucks. If, on approaching the checkpoint, you judge the police body language to be insolent or agitated, change the twenty for a fifty.
If something goes awry and the above, for some reason, has not worked, then pretend stupidity. Ask them to repeat everything they say and act bewildered. If ordered to get out of the car, smile broadly and simply drive off. Again slowly.
If drugs or other contraband are planted in your vehicle by one of the police while another has your attention (a very common occurrence), understand, above all, that there is a zero probability that you will be arrested, unless you add to the offense by pissing someone off or otherwis