Rio: Take a Cab and Hold on to Your Bag

Although a treat, I have mixed feelings about Rio, and not just because we saw the gleam of the robber's knife and our lives flash before our eyes (living in Brazil, I co-exist with this possibility on a regular basis). Depending on where you are in the city, it can either be a tropical New York filled with top-of-the-line boutiques and snazzy restaurants and bars, in addition to the beaches and sun, or it can be home to desperate living conditions, tightly crammed favelas, a large population which does not enjoy access to the basic necessities of life, and a thriving drug trade which alters minds and mentalities. I hesistate to write, kind of like New York....

The precarious co-existance of, and confrontations between, these two worlds does not sit easy. The neighbourhoods in which the two do not meet are even stranger. Although Rio is a microcosm of Brazil in general, somehow the potential for violence always seems stronger and higher in the cidade maravilhosa, particularly when it comes to tourists with bags.

We were robbed only a few metres from the entrance of the Museum of Modern Art. For some reason (intuition?) I had decided to leave my camera back at the hotel, so the only things that we lost were my bag (a very cheap bag bought to be stolen), one credit card and R$70 in cash (about CAN$40), my guide book (a good excuse to upgrade it), and my cell phone. No documents, no passports, no bank card (never carry the two together!), no emotions. Well versed in the possibilities of Rio, I never carry a lot with me and I only carry things for which I have no emotional attachment or that would not cause prolonged grief or re-procurement processes were I to be separated from them. The cell phone is a bit of a bummer considering the hurdles it took to get it in the first place, but other than that, everything is cancelable and replaceable. Fortunately mother's bag was spared, and of course, no one got hurt.

Getting robbed is always traumatic. Getting violently robbed, even more so. My advice for Rio? By all means go! It is a terrific city with lots of benefits. But please, take a cab and hold on to your bag.