G'day
I'm intention of posting this is not to scare people off travelling here, but simply highlight the truth of what can happen and how to prevent/react to a bad situation.
This is a Picture of a Gun....
Here are 3 situations that have happened to me or I heard about from Friends
Firstly the main one because this happened to me. I was on a bus from Salvador to Prahia do Forte. It was a fairly cheap bus $R12 for the 2 hour journey, well it was more of a mini-van. We got on and settled into our seats as you do. The bus filled up with people and of the last two guys on, one was left standing and the other sat next to me. I was reading a book.
10mins later my girlfriend was urgently whispering to me in Portuguese it was a word i didn't understand. Then she switched to English "they're robbing us!!" I looked up from my book, it was the last two guys on. They had boarded the bus and waited until we were on the motorway. One had a gun and was dictating to the driver. The other had a knife and begun taking every bodies mobiles, cash, jewellery and whatever else he fancied.
We were at the back and were the last to cough up. I only had $R50 cash, I gave him that, but he wasn't satisfied, i was clearly a gringo with my blond hair, so they wanted it all. Marina had hidden her phone and the rest of our cash and cards were in her money belt, but my phone was in her bag. The crook saw the bag, he yelled "bolsa agora!" Bag now!.
Of course we handed over the bag. So i lost my mobile and a few other things of little importance.
A few things to take away from this is that, things like this could happen anywhere even on a public bus, the general rule about not going out alone at night is still true, but remember the crooks are smart and a bus full of tourists on a motorway is a far better target than two drunks on the street at night. The other thing, was I told Marina that she should never resist like she did (even if it was only mildly) Your health is far more important than a mobile phone or wedding ring.This didn't affect me, but it was scary non the less. I was in my apartment the other day and I heard 5 gunshots that sounded rather close. I went out to the balcony to see the was happening but couldn't see anything. After a couple minutes I went back to what i was doing earlier.
The next day i found out what had happened. Turns out a bandito had rented a room for one night in my apartment building here in Fortaleza. He had ordered a mobile phone salesman that delivers. He tried to rob the bloke, but the salesman ran away, the bandito then shot the salesman 5 times in the hallway 4 floors up from me.
Karma prevailed in the end. The security locked the apartment down and the police ended up catching the guy, he actually ran down to the lobby and pretended he was a witness and the robber was still at large upstairs. When the salesman was getting taken out by the medics (yes he survived!!) he recognised the robber and told the police that it was him.
One day I'd like to see the black market for mobiles here! Can you imagine how many hot phones get peddled everyday.![Favela.jpg]Finally I'll tell you about my walking tour through a Favela in Rio. I won't touch too much about how Favelas are inside or how they were formed. Briefly its a kind of shanty town mostly run by drug cartels. Its known that not even the police are allowed inside. I saw Santa Clara Favela, which was where Michael Jackson shot part of a music video.
This is a photo of Santa Clara Favela, but trust me they don't all look like this! Remember about a quarter of the population of the city live in these suburbs, so it's a large part of the culture and the reason I won't to see it.
()
So back to the incident. As my local guide was leading the small string of curious tourists, we heard gunshots right in front of us. Two guys were arguing and the other simply shot the wall next to his verbal sparring partner to emphasis his point. The guide was chill, calmed us down and lead us down another of the winding paths deeper into the labyrinth. Around the corner we had to pass by building run by the local gang in charge - The C.V or Commando Vermelho, i think its the most infamous of drug Trafficking gangs in the whole of Brazil. So we walk pass, the guide has a word to get permission and away we go. Clear as day there are 5 patched member standing around with assault rifles and red bandannas. One of them wink at me... i wink back. We passed by without incident, to be honest it's probably safer around the gangs than outside at night.
Summary
Yes, its a dangerous country. Should of avoid going" No of course not, the positives here far outweigh the negatives. The people, culture, food beaches and climate are amazing. I think it's important to find that balance of still being able to do the things you enjoy without being too afraid to live. That being said just take the necessary precautions, you know what they are so I bored you with the only take xxx cash around etc etc.
Feel free to comment or ask any questions below, I will be uploading content everyday. I have 50 vlogs from various countries that i haven't got around to uploading yet, so stay tuned.
Tchau
Riche