How Not To Be A Tourist: Traveling With A Higher Consciousness

Once we arrive in a foreign place we invariably lament the awkward tourists that

seem to mill about in one small area suggested to them in this or that generic travel guide.

Most of them hardly look up from their books and stick together in packs. For instance, out of

all of the many German tourists, I have never seen one take any interest in the large political

messages written on sheets and posted up around La Plaza Grande of Merida. In part, one message is to 

the Mexican and German governments regarding the Dresden Codex, a Maya artifact many

believe originally comes from Chichen Itza, and now sits illegally (popular Yucatecan opinion) in a 

German museum. You would think they would be compelled to get a message addressed to the

country from which they came. Is the problem that they don’t speak Spanish? They should learn just a 

little.  Is the problem that wealthy tourists from old colonialist countries that still think they are the rulers 

of the world and the brown people of exotic lands are somehow less civilized? The latter is perhaps the 

way many Yucatecans feel, especially when they are repeatedly batted away from restaurant tables and 

avoided in the street.  The way the people get treated by some tourists is astonishing.  Our favorite 

restaurant to eat and hang out at La Plaza Grande in Merida is called Nicte Ha.  We are friends with the 

"meseros," servers, and they finally let loose about the Europeans dirty little secret: most don't believe in 

tipping!  The customs and social/labor structure may be different from your own back home, where 

servers are paid a living wage, but here in the Western Hemisphere it's bad karma not to properly tip 

your hard working server. Still, they are glad to have any business.

Many negative impacts of tourism affect native peoples and their environment. Of course there are a 

large number of people who understand that tourism brings cash, something hard to get

unless you make the hard sell. Most of the items sold in the street to the tired tourists fresh off the boat or 

bus are not high quality and generally a rip off.  This aspect of connecting to the people in foreign 

countries could turn anyone off, especially when the people seem unscrupulous. Even these sales people 

don’t cheat tourists out of more than a few dollars. But, the indigenous sales people who are trying to 

earn money are honest crafts-people, selling beautiful items you can’t get anywhere else. You can tell 

them from others by their strikingly different attire and the babies in “papusas” on their backs. As far as 

the indigenous people of Yucatan, all specialty crafts like their famous hammocks, belts, purses, and 

scarves are made collectively and all the money goes back to their respective pueblos. What most tourist 

don’t realize while in Yucatan is that it is important to get away from the shark tank aspect of the

plaza where a few hustlers come to “help” you, as well as the tour groups that give you tunnel vision 

jumping from one pyramid after another, not getting to spend any reflective time in these unique places. 

You won’t make any friends or have many lasting impressions.

In the highlands of Guatemala the Quiche Maya have experienced an onslaught of tourists armed with 

their cameras, carelessly snapping photos of the natives and their sacred places. Now, this is the land of 

the Popol Vuh. The descendants of the ancient Quiche Maya have been through a lot to say the least. 

They have lived for decades in a fascist dictatorship propped up by an army of trained assassins that 

were trained in Fort Benning, Georgia, The School of the Americas/WHINSEC. The Quiche are a very 

dignified people with their own system of justice, and they feel disrespected when strangers come into 

their community and take exploitative photos without permission. It is a violation of their privacy and 

they will throw tourists out of churches and buildings with impunity. If tourists come humbly into their 

lands they are treated as friends. If you are lucky, perhaps long lost friends.

This is also true in Hopi Land. Once you arrive in Kykotsmovi, AZ, on the first mesa there are large 

signs warning that not only are you not allowed to take pictures inside peoples homes or

of random natives, you may take no pictures of anything at all. Not even the rocks (which are beautiful 

by the way). Why? Because people from far and wide came to trample all over their

sacred land with cameras fixed around their necks. It became a nuisance and objectified the Hopi. If you 

want to take any pictures you must ask the permission of the tribal council, and I imagine they would like 

a good reason to say yes. Still, I found the people incredibly friendly and glad to meet outsiders, perhaps 

because they don’t see as many tourists these days. But, we try to be quiet as visitors and we always 

appear to be approachable. An elder asked us for a ride up to the spectacular mesa where he lived. While 

all in the car we began talk. Once comfortable we asked him if there were any medicine men living near 

there. His initial answer was automatic. “No, not anymore. Those are the old ways,” he told us. It didn’t 

take him more than a couple of minutes to offer a more affirmative answer, names and all. He introduced 

us to some family members who run an incredible gallery of Hopi art, jewelry, hand made drums, and

clothing. They were delighted to speak with us about our experiences with the Maya people and they 

were taken back when we talked about a book we read there about the theory of the Hopi

being from Maya Land. Only just before we got to Hopi Land, there had been a white man “running 

around” the reservation, talking about the same thing. It was the first they had heard such a

thing and they were very interested.

After numerous treatments from our shaman he started to show us his most prized possessions. We got to 

touch an ancient Maya statuette and book of chants. We were invited to a feast of hand made

tortillas and chicken the likes of which most Americans will never have. Senora and Don Antonio did 

not sit down with us to eat. Senora wanted to serve us and watch us enjoy ourselves. Only

after forming a bond did we ever think it was proper to ask if we could take their pictures, and the 

answer was yes. When someone rudely brought a woman from New York into Don Antonio’s house

during a session he tried to be gracious, but anyone could tell he was not pleased. This woman was the 

best example of how not to behave. Taking pictures without permission and loud talking

over everyone else forced Don Antonio to ban any more Americans/tourists from ever coming into his 

casa again. For us, we are not only welcome in his home, he performed our authentic Maya wedding at

our home which was a challenge to get to. So when you think of traveling in the third world, think of 

how you reach those who’s homeland you are visiting. Think of the laws of karma and

how you appear to others of a different culture. If you are adventurous enough to be in a city or town 

that is not the most visited tourist destinations like Puerto Vallarta or Cancun, you can find yourself and 

your purpose in lands of enchantment. Most of the people that live in these lands will never have the 

opportunity to make the journey to where you live, but if they did they would probably show restraint 

and respect.