Where to begin! Initially the horror stories kicked in when we arrived and realised our appartment was at the entrance to a favela but over time you realise Rio is a changed place. Much of the crime and chaos you hear about has been cleaned up for its upcomming showcase on the world stage, and speaking to the locals will tell you that many of the crossfires and violence has negated. Don't get me wrong, DON¨T walk on your own into a favela or a dodgey neighbourhood, scores of travellers will tell you of their horror stories and we created our very own on day 3 of our trip.
Little hint, Santa Teresa may well look safe and picturesque with its beautiful cobbled streets and colonial building but it may decieve you! Five of us were strolling along a little too openly after the famous lapa steps taking photos (standing out like complete tourists basically), when we noticed two guys on a moped going up and down the street (hindsight would later tell us they were on the lookout for the police, but hindsights annoying). The next thing we know i turn to see a pretty hefty kitchen knife in our face and a pretty angry looking fifteen year old kid so naturally........we leg it. We all leg it in different directions completely stupidly and he manages to get two of my friends backed behind a car, at which point one girl hands over her camera and her boyfriend heroically launched all that was in his hand at the mugger, which included a pretty hefty lonely planet book and a metro card, nice. This minor distraction allowed them to escape with him chasing them unconvincingly on his moped, however once people appeared, he disappeared. A near miss!!
The obvious tip is to keep your valuables hidden (which includes not wearing any jewellery, another mistake a friend of mine made), secondly to stay in areas where there are other people, thirdly don't say no to them as other stories have led me to believe they will use their weapon, and fourthly, always carry a lonely planet as it has uses you wouldn't believe!
Anyway..............onto happier things..............
No comments:
Post a Comment