Summer Brazil 2010
Travelling alone brings along a small amount of stress usually. Nothing too big just enough to keep me on my toes. But this trip started in the most stressful way ever. I had decided not to bring a large case so I wouldn’t have to check any baggage in. This is because of my long standing feud with Iberia because of their shoddy services such as lost and delayed baggage and missed flights and late flights. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any other airlines within my budget and date, the next best airline was BA and we all know how that ended, with a load of strikes.
Sodding Iberia only made me check in my bag because it was 3 kilos over weight. It was all such a rush that I forgot to take out my ipod, camera, money, credit cards etc. I had them in there because I knew I would have the bag with me. As it went off in the conveyor belt I panicked and tried to get it back but they refused. So for the rest of the flight not only did I worry if my bag would arrive in Rio the same time as me ready for my connecting flight to Manaus but I was worried about anyone stealing all my valuables which I left in the bag. So the flight was truly stressful.
Oh how I sighed a huge relief when I saw my bag on the conveyor belt but then my relief quickly turned to panic when I saw one side opened with my things hanging out. The first thing that came to mind was all my valuables had been pinched. I frantically checked the bag and everything was there, I couldn’t believe it. Now I was able to start my journey as I boarded my next flight to Manaus, the Amazonian region of Brazil.
I arrived early morning and was so happy to have been picked up by the hostel. I’ve never really been into hostels before but thought I would give it a go hoping to meet like minded people. Well it was cheap but as I wasn’t sharing a dorm so it was difficult to meet anyone. I always opt for a room to myself with my own bathroom. It was my first experience of a proper hostel and not my best but nothing I can do about it as I had booked hostels for the rest of the trip. Just had to grin and bear it but at least I had the comforting thought of my own room.
Manaus is going to be hot whatever time of the year it is and I loved it. Didn’t fancy all the sweating much but it was bearable and I liked topping up my tan. I did the usual tours, boat trip into the Amazon, to the meeting of the two rivers and the piranha fishing. They seem to do the usual stuff around these areas. It’s a shame there isn’t anything different or more unusual to do.
The next day I headed to the airport to get my flight to Belem. Unfortunately the driver took me to the wrong airport but I didn’t know this until I checked in. I was told to go to another airport 5 minutes away and to recheck in. I was so glad that I asked for an extra early pick up just for reasons such as this, if not I would surely have missed my flight. The flight to Belem was quite interesting. I never knew a plane could stop so many times on one flight. I think we stopped 6 times in all and all the while I was praying to god for us to reach my destination in time so I could catch my connecting flight to French Guiana. Because Brazil is so big, we seemed to cross international date lines throughout the flight. One minute we were an hour ahead then we lost an hour. I really couldn’t keep up. When we eventually got to Belem we went back an hour which was great news to me but what I didn’t realise was we were 90 minutes late anyway from all the stops we had to make. I ran like a crazy woman down to the check in desk only to find a long queue but I made it with 2 minutes before it said the desk was closing.
When I got back from French Guiana to Belem I had booked a very cheap hostel in order to do a short little tour of the city the following morning. I got in a taxi and headed for the hostel. It was a bit of a dive but the people I met out front seemed friendly enough. When I checked in I was told that my single room had been given away and that I would have to share. It was disappointing but at midnight with no where else to stay I chose to share. I quickly changed my mind when I discovered that I was to share a room with a man. He didn’t exactly look like the backpacker more like a transient guy needing somewhere to stay. I really didn’t want the hassle and I told the lady where to shove her room and made my way to the nearby hostels to find a room. Unfortunately everything was full and with no other options left I got into a taxi and headed back to the airport which I deemed a safer bet to rest my head in. Walking the streets of Belem at midnight is not a good idea, even the locals told me to be careful, which is why after 3 knock backs from the hostel I knew that going back to the airport was much safer. I knew it was going to be a tough night ahead of me but at least I would be safe. It was an international airport and most of the stores and restaurants were open. I found a quite area and fell asleep. Being in the Amazon region does have its downfalls, mosquitoes being the major issue. They were all around me and within no time I was covered in bites. Even had bites under my clothes. The worse one was a bite on my top lip. Within seconds I could feel my lip swelling up. It looked like had a punch up with Mike Tyson. It was so big it felt heavy and I just looked like the elephant man. I tried to sleep and when I woke up I thought my lip may have gone back to normal. No chance, it was swollen until midday.
I arrived in Salvador the following night again after a stopover in Sao Paolo. I have read numerous articles regarding big cities in Brazil but after Manaus I didn’t take them that seriously. After Belem I gave it a second thought as it did seem pretty rough at night. Basically big cities are a concern. Muggings, assaults etc is pretty prevalent here. In fact I didn’t really feel this until my second night in Salvador. The night I arrived it was in the middle of a mini carnival. The taxi couldn’t get to my hostel so some drunken guy showed me the way and I gave him an expected tip. Not too bad I thought, people were friendly enough. I still didn’t take any chances and made sure my valuables were well hidden. In fact I felt so safe because of the number of Police presence around town, in fact in every corner. Police with big guns. That should have given me a clue as to how bad the place was that it needed the that many Police. My problem didn’t begin until the following morning. My flight was early so I had to leave the hostel at 5.30am. I found a bus to the airport about 5 minutes walk away across the square and thought I could save $40. As I walked across the square a man approached me but he was ok seemed friendly. Suddenly out of nowhere a kid about 12-13 years old appeared trying to help carry my bag. The other guy tried to chase him away but the kid persisted. At this point I felt very nervous and fast as I could I tried to get to the bus stop. There was a tiny scuffle between the man and the kid and I heard the guy shout out to me to run and then kept calling police. I went as fast as I could but the kid followed me. And then out of nowhere a police car appeared and a very big guy got out. Now I panicked. The policeman with the very big gun came to me and asked me what was going on. I explained. The other policeman in the car sorted out the kid and the man while I was escorted to the bus stop. He explained that I shouldn’t be walking on my own and how dangerous it was. It was 5.30am and it was bright and hardly anyone around but I get his point. I thanked him and waited for my bus. As soon as the policeman left, the kid turned up. He persisted to stand next to me saying we were friends. I grabbed my bag tight to my body and waited patiently for the bus. Suddenly like a flash he jumped at me and grabbed my chain. I was so shocked, there were people around but they did nothing. Luckily for me the chain broke but stayed on my neck. I grabbed it and put it in my pocket. I yelled at him to go away and shouted at the bus drivers for a bus to the airport. They pointed to one and I jumped on it, all the while still in shock as to what just happened. Once we set off I realised I was on a local bus and not the executive airport bus the guide insisted tourists take. Then I started to panic again. What if someone mugs me while I was on this bus? I was so stressed throughout the whole journey. When I finally arrived at the airport I started to breath again. I had a scratch on my neck where the chain ripped but other than that I was ok. At least I still had my chain. After being so careful with my money and passport and bags, I forgot the one thing that was in plain view for all to see, my gold chain and locket. From that day onwards I took off everything that was shiny even my earrings and cheap bracelet. I was taking no chances of repeating the incident.
After a quick stopover in Paraguay I joined the Gap tour in Buenos Aires and felt comfort in being in a group. It was funny how we all had similar stories of muggings and near misses. We made our way back into Brazil again but not in the big cities. We did IguassuFalls first. It was so wet and windy and cold I really didn’t enjoy it as much as the Argentinean side. Plus the hotel had no heating which made it a more miserable stay. Then as we headed north it started to get warmer.
The next stop was a little coastal town called Paraty. It was beautiful; in fact every photo I took was a picture postcard image. It was warm and pretty and once again I felt safe. Well except for the last night when it started to get dark and before I got back to the hotel to meet the group for the meal a man in a horse and cart tried to kidnap me. Maybe I just misunderstood. But he kept following me on the road and I just assumed he wanted me to hire his cart for a ride. I said no thanks but again he persisted. Then he kept making weird gestures and I’m sure he kept saying the word sex. At this point I legged it down a narrow lane so he couldn’t follow me with his cart. I quickly tried to get to a familiar more crowded street just in case he got off his cart and tried to get me. So that was a little stressful but I coped.
Then we headed to Ilha Grande, a famous beach island. A bit overrated for my taste, I preferred Paraty. I’m not keen on beaches but went with the flow. A few of us found a nice quiet place away from the loud blonde girls. Had a bit of trek to find it but not too bad. Apparently the best beach was a two hour hike away. I skipped that and decided to have the day to myself topping up my tan by the pool.
The next day we all opted for a BBQ and Caiprinhia boat trip. It was cheap and it was all you can eat and drink. It was the usual boat trip with youngsters half naked, loud music, lots of food and even more booze. But we got to visit a few further beaches and I played beach volleyball for the first time and did jumps and dives off the boat. It was fun for what it was and nothing more.
The next day we headed to Rio and I was a little bit apprehensive to be going back into the big city again. All the major monuments started to a come into view and it did look lovely. I hung out on CococobanaBeach. I walked the entire length of the beach. I ran in to a few TV personalities, had no idea what they were saying but they were being filmed. Then a mini carnival appeared which was cool and I had a coconut drink on the beach. I enjoyed looking at the most bizarre and kooky people that used the beach. I still get a shock when I see half naked men and women just walking on the road just because the beach is nearby. Some with nice bodies but most not very nice.
The tour ended and I flew to the Pantanal. This is definitely my favourite part of Brazil. It was so hot and humid and the ride to the lodge was amazing. We stopped at a bridge to look at the Caymans. There were thousands of Caymans as far as the eye can see. It was amazing. The lodge was a lovely place. Quiet, tranquil and just full of wildlife everywhere you turned. Birds, capybaras, lizards and of course Caymans. They seem to live in harmony in the grounds. I did horse riding at sunset, I climbed the towers to watch the wildlife, and I went for jungle walks and canoeing. I was sad to go and wished I had made a longer stay in the Pantanal.
I headed back to Rio for the last leg of my South American journey. I had planned three days in Rio and booked to stay in an Arty hostel a couple of metro stops from CococobanaBeach. It was cheaper and I thought it was safer, and I was right. The first thing I did was book myself on as many tours as possible as I didn’t want to be roaming the streets on my own like I usually do.
I did the usual city tour, a football stadium match at the Maracena stadium which is the largest in the world and the Favela tour. Basically it’s not hard when you find a company that offers all these tours. It’s a shame that it’s like being herded around like cattle. Because there are so many tourists and back packers, they pick people up from one hostel to the other and then cart them around the place. I was happy to be in a group because I felt safe with the guides. They were fun and I got to see everything I wanted to. My favourite tour was the visit to the favelas. The must see thing to do in Rio. But I heard of many stories of it being unsafe and run by drug dealers and ex militia. I didn’t think I could ever visit one but jumped at the chance when they did the tours to one of the oldest favelas in Rio, Rocinho. The more famous favela is run by the only woman. It’s so safe that famous people like Michael Jackson, Hilary Clinton, Beyonce and Alicia Keyes have visited. Obviously that wasn’t the favela I wanted to visit. I wanted to visit the most dangerous favela run by drug dealers. Before we got there we were told about the dos and don’t’s mainly no photos one the way in and out of the favelas. The best thing was the motorbike ride up to the top. It was so much fun and they were fast. Basically favelas are for people who are very poor and have no money to have a normal house in the city. Instead they come here and take up a small space which they convert into small houses. Electricity and water is siphoned from the main street below illegally. There is no sewage and rubbish collection in the favelas. It’s crowded and dark and very like a rats maze.
The upside is you don’t pay any rent or taxes and any power and water you get are also free. The main downside is that your favela is run by drug dealers or ex militia that provide protection for money. You end up paying someone and if there are ever raids on the favelas many people die with the crossfire.
In the old days you found a space and claimed it. Nowadays there are no spaces unless somebody gives it to you for a price. Favelas are little towns, they have shops, and cafes etc. The people that run those shops don’t pay rent or taxes. They then buy up any spaces available in their favela and rent them out to others who decide to join that society. These favelas are mainly run by drug dealers who leave you alone if you let them do their business. If you interfere or call the police then you get microwaved. This is where they put tyres around your body and set you alight and roll you down a hill. Very scary. I actually saw a drug dealer on my way out. You can tell because they have walkie talkies and they wear balaclavas oh yeah and you can see their guns.
I learned a lot on this trip and I am more wary of the places I visit now and know how to be safe. For the bad experiences I’ve encountered, it really could have been a whole lot worse.