Dave Counter
Date: December 27, 2006
Cruise Bruise: Assault
Bruise Location: Limon, Costa Rica
Age: 49
Home Town: Ontario, Canada
Cruise Line: Unknown
Ship: Unknown
Details:
A Guelph man who was shot and wounded while travelling in Central America wants travellers to be wary when they head outside Canada
Dave Counter, 49, was shot Dec. 27 in an attempted mugging after he got off a cruise ship in Limon, Costa Rica.
While his wife Trudy and 17-year-old son Nicholas took a tour of the Costa Rican rainforest, Counter and his 19-year-old son Peter went for a walk through a local park.
People on board had been advised not to venture more than two or three blocks from the cruise ship, but many tourists ignored the precautions and headed well into the town, Counter said yesterday.
He remained within the safe zone and decided to take a stroll on the boardwalk with Peter to look at the ocean tides.
Just then, a man in his mid-20s armed with a handgun jumped out from behind a palm tree, said Counter, who's now back in Guelph.
He was speaking Spanish and jabbing Counter with the gun. The assailant might have believed that the sunscreen bottle in his shorts pocket was a wallet, Counter said.
"I set myself up when I look back," he said. "(The man) was nervous, shaking and I challenged him."
The man lunged at Counter, and when he tried to punch the would-be thief, he was shot on the left side of his torso. The man fled and Counter was left bleeding.
His son Peter helped him to the nearby town hall, but none of the locals stopped to assist. Another couple from the cruise helped lead Counter back to the ship.
"Then the craziest thing happened, we were being accosted by the locals" instead of being helped by them, Counter said.
"People were grabbing at me. It was a nightmare." Counter said he's lucky to be alive.
The bullet didn't strike his ribs or his lungs and exited just below his diaphragm. He was treated by a doctor on board the ship and was up walking within a couple of hours.
Upon his return to Guelph, Counter notified the Department of Foreign Affairs and the Canadian Embassy in Costa Rica, but said he got little response. The foreign affairs department didn't make his story public, due to privacy issues, he said, but Counter wants others to do their research before travelling to Costa Rica.
The Foreign Affairs website also has updated travel advisories on countries and has a registration system, so you can let them know when you're abroad, Counter said.
He added that he's heard about people renting cars in Costa Rica, even though carjackings at gunpoint often occur.
Paul Foster, vice-president of business development at TripCentral.ca, which has an office in Guelph, said the travel agency offers advice and precautions to travellers when they're heading to troublesome destinations.
However, Costa Rica is a locale where thousands of Canadians travel and there are very few troubling incidents like robberies, Foster said from Toronto. He advised that when people are abroad they shouldn't go into unsafe areas, be careful when dealing with locals and not open purses in the public or flash jewelry.
Cruise Bruise warned about the increase in Costa Rican crime against cruise ship passengers, and child prostitutes, see the story HERE
Another case of violence against cruise ship passengers, where the cruise ship passenger killed the attacker is HERE
Dave Counter
Cruise Ship Passenger Assault Victim
December 27, 2006
