Brazil wall of shame

I had a big shock when I arrived in Latin America because the image I had in my mind was completely different. Before thinking about coming here, if I would think about Brazil only images of sunny beaches, carnival parades and football players would come to mind. Now I remember mostly the poverty and only after the amazing nature and landscape, traditions, food, people etc.

This means that many bad things happen and most tourists don’t realize the danger. I think I was lucky and nothing bad happened  to me because I can pass for a brazilian, but I’ve heard many stories while I was there. Most of the targets are caucasian looking people with blonde/red hair, white skin and coloured eyes.

One of the guys came up with the idea to write on the wall in the reception all the bad things that happened to the guests in order to raise awareness. So here’s a list of all the things I’ve seen or heard about while I was there.

• some guys on a scooter stealing the bag of a lady who was waiting at a signal light – I believe this happens in every big city, but it was the first robbery I witnessed and nobody intervened, so I got scared.
• fight between gangs (I guess they were from different gangs, I don’t really know what they were fighting about) on the stairs in Lapa – it can be very dangerous because there are always a lot of people on the stairs that start running around and pushing each other. The guys were making weapons out of beer bottles or just throwing bottles
• other fight between gangs (?) under the Arcs of Lapa -. people running, people too high in order to react. One guy got stabbed and I found out a week later that he died. The worst part is that a police patrol was across the street and they didn’t intervene, they just called the ambulance.
• a friend saw a guy with a big gun heading towards Lapa
• prostitutes in Lapa touching men but actually going through their pockets.
• persistent beggars that go through your pockets while you try to ignore them
• a guy in Lapa stealing a gold necklace from a girl – you probably have figured by now that Lapa is not a good place to go with valuable things
• pickpocketing in Cobacaba on New Years’ – again something to be expected. Sometimes there are groups of children or men running in order to create confusion. I had a big group of people at the hostel (around 15) and 3 of them lost their cellphones and some money – it’s actually a pretty good number, could have been a lot worse!
• Guest robbed by a taxi-driver – he only had big bills, the driver didn’t have change, so he went inside to get change. But the driver told him that he must leave his backpack in the cab in the meantime and he drove away with his things. This actually happens a lot.
• Happened to me on the way to the bus terminal – at the destination the taxi driver told us he has bigger fees than the one on the machine and that we have to pay extra for our backpacks. Eventually we asked some police officers for help and everything was OK, but before they arrived he refused to open the truck. Normally they just wait for you to get out of the car and then they drive away with your stuff.
• two of my friends were robbed in a bad neighborhood, the guy threatened them with a brick. I think the guy only took the purse of the blonde girl.

These are just some of the stories that come to mind now, but I’ve heard many more. I know that pickpocketing is a common thing in big cities, but many violent assaults happen in Brazil. When there’s a big event going on (Carnival, New Year, World Cup) the number of assaults increases proportionally with the number of incoming tourists.

All I can say is that everything happens really fast, so you don’t have time to analyze the situation and nobody has time to intervene. The only thing you can do is keep an eye out all the time. It’s exhausting and it takes away the joy of visiting, but it’s the only way to stay safe. You always have to be aware of everything that’ s going on around you.

I’ve noticed that latin americans do this naturally, without realizing that they are doing it, so they don’t spend a lot of effort with it. But it will take some effort for people who live in more civilized countries. Once again, being romanian has been of great help to me because I’m partially accustomed to taking care of myself. Just that things here happen at a bigger scale.

This post may seem rough, but there are risks you’re taking by coming here. I recommend visiting America, the level of crime shouldn’t be an impediment. In the end it’s worth taking the risks. 

 

 

 

 

Last days in Brazil

After visiting Florianopolis I stopped for 2 days in Porto Alegre. There’s not much to say about the city. The center in nice, there are some interesting historical buildings. It’s very commercial, there are stores everywhere and many people shopping. They turned the old gas station into a community center, but actually it’s still semi-abandoned. It’s nice to walk along the river, but the landscape looks very wild and it can be dangerous. 

My CS hosts made my stay really special! They took me to the graduation party of one of their friends. When I heard it I thought it was a students’ party, but I’ve learned that it’s actually more like a wedding where you invite all the family members and everybody dresses up. I was wearing my jeans and T-shirt, of course. It was a good opportunity to try some local recipes and to witness this kind of party. There’s always something new going on on this trip.

My last stop in Brazil was Pelotas. I only had a few hours, but again my CS hosts made it worth the stay. I found out that Pelotas is a city known for the sweets industry, so I realized I was in the right place. I also went to a street party with live music and visited the city center.

In the evening we went for dinner at a small restaurant close to the lagoon, with a very worm friendly atmosphere and live music. 

Pelotas is a students’ city. I tried the mate for the first time and I learned about the gauchos (inhabitants of the pampas). The great people I met here gave me the taste of the atmosphere in Uruguay.

The trip from Rio to Montevideo has been exhausting. It was really hard finding hosts on Couch Surfing, staying in touch with them and getting to their homes. It was really hard making myself feel comfortable in the house of foreigners and starting to socialize and eventually to become friends. It was hard to carry my backpack everywhere and to ask for directions.

But it  was definitely worth it! I met many interesting people and I’ve visited beautiful places. I found myself in new situations and I was able to handle all of them. I was really tired by the time I got to Uruguay, but I arrived here with more experience and more stories to tell!

 

Rocky road to Paradise

When it comes to services Brazil reminds me a lot of Romania, but it’s funnier because I don’t actually speak the language and I can’t ask for information. I was on the bus from Sao Paulo to Florianopolis and I asked the driver to let me know when we get to Florianopolis. He told me it was the end of the line so I didn’t have to worry about that. But after this he woke me up in a small station telling me we’ve reached Florianopolis. I saw a different name in the station, but I assumed it was the name of the terminal, not the name of the city. I only realized I was in Balneario Camboriu when I asked for directions to the Lagoon and they explained to me we were two hours away. These are things that could only happen to me. In the end I made the best of this situation because I didn’t have to pay for the ticket and I only waited for 2 hours for the next bus.

Another interesting thing happened while I was waiting: a police patrol with dogs were searching the terminal. I was afraid they were going to search me because I had the pepper spray with me and that’s illegal in Brazil. But the dog started running after a bus that had just entered the station and they searched all the luggage, not allowing anyone to leave the bus. There were many people around the bus, so many that I couldn’t see anything. They were literally running with their suitcases around just to get a glimpse of the scene. In the applause of the crowd the police arrested a guy that probably had a lot of drugs on him since the dog could feel the smell from so far away. It was an interesting episode to watch, I’ve never seen anything like this.

Finally I got to Florianopolis which is referred to as Paradise. I was skeptical about this commercial strategy, but when I got there I could understand the difference between this region and other areas in Brazil. People are very calm, the rhythm of the entire city is slow as a perpetual siesta and it has a good vibe. It is situated on the Santa Catarina island, but it also enclosures other small islands and a continental part. It’s no surprise that it’s called paradise if you think about the fact that it has 43 beaches!

It was difficult to walk around with my 30Kg backpack, but it was worth the trouble. I visited the old city, the central park and the old fish market. In the evening I took a bus to get to my host’s house. My Couchsurfing host lives close to Lagoa de Conceicao, a beautiful lagoon in the eastern part of the island. It’s a charming area with many restaurants and artizans’ fairs. We went for a walk in the evening and the next day I walked to Mole Beach and to Praia de Galheta. These beaches are quiet and charming. It reminded me a lot of a 20 year younger version of 2 Mai or Vama Veche.

I’m really glad I’ve made the decision to visit this city. I think I could live here although I don’t like beaches so much and I don’t enjoy small quiet cities. But the impression it made on me was so strong that I could get over these inconveniences. In the end, I have 40 more beaches to visit, so I have to get back here.