Experiencing the dangerous side of Brazil

Before starting, I would like to offer up a few disclaimers. The first being that this is not directly my story, but something experienced by a friend I made when mine and his travels briefly overlapped in Brazil; he has given me permission to write about his experience. Secondly, despite what happened, ultimately he is safe and well. And finally, I must point out that this is only one side of Brazil; there is no denying it can be a dangerous place with high levels of crime, but conversely it consists of some magical and breathtakingly beautiful locations. If one is careful and sensible when travelling, then they can return with incredible memories whilst staying safe and secure. Ultimately, when deciding to visit potentially dangerous places – not just in Brazil – then one has to weigh up the potential pros and cons and make their own decision.

I had never before visited a country in which safety and security is such a widely discussed point of conversation. In hostels fellow travellers generally share stories and recommend places worth visiting, the focus is on the positives. In Brazil this was still the case to an extent but the question of danger was a feature of almost every conversation.

The high crime rate in Brazil is no secret, particularly in the major cities such as Rio and Sao Paolo. Stories of muggings and pickpockets are commonplace and the more one hears the greater the anxiety they inevitably feel - any sense of blissful ignorance quickly evaporates.

Indeed, it affects the way people travel, including myself. Whilst normally I travel with a sense of freedom and spontaneity, when in Brazil I was far more careful than anywhere else I have so far visited, including neighbouring Argentina. Rarely, if ever, did we – myself and my girlfriend – leave the hostel after dark, and when we did go out in the day we rarely walked more than a short distance and took far more Ubers than usual.

Perhaps we were too cautious and it affected our experience; however, we did always feel safe and never seemed remotely close to being in any danger. We did still have an incredible experience; Rio is a wonderfully vibrant city that somehow really does possess that fantasy, dream-like atmosphere one can sense when seeing it in movies. A city in which man and nature intertwine perhaps more than any other, it is a unique destination that can, and I suggest should, be visited.

Sao Paolo on the other hand lacks much of those qualities, whilst still being host to much of the same danger. Perhaps I am overly-influenced by the anecdote that is the focus of this post, however from the very beginning the city seemed lacking in attractions - for this reason in fact, all of the pictures featured here are of Rio as I failed to take many in Sao Paolo itself. A huge metropolis – one of the biggest cities in the world in fact – besides a scattering of museums and parks, it lacked much of the personality or character of most other cities I have so far visited in South America.

We first met Duran in Foz do Iguaçu, a city that lies on the border of Brazil and Argentina made famous by the incredible waterfalls found there. From the coast of Chile, he was travelling alone through Brazil, taking a short break from his work.

With a bus to catch in the evening, and having seen the main attractions in the area, we spent an afternoon relaxing in the hostel. As is so often the way in hostels, conversation was found quickly, even in spite of my broken Spanish and his lack of English. We got on well and discovered he was also travelling to Sao Paolo, just one day later than us, and we agreed to meet there in the next couple of days.

In fact, when we were heading to the bus station he asked to join us so he could buy his own tickets for the next day, which, of course, was no problem. Troubles with our taxi had meant we were running late and at risk of missing our bus, to which Duran took a very personal worry. When we did arrive he carried all of our bags for us and ran to the platform at which we in fact had five minutes to spare. He waved us off like a proud parent.

Waiting for his arrival, after he had confirmed he had made his bus in Foz, there was radio silence. Not knowing Duran well we assumed he had found alternative plans and thought nothing of it until finally we received news. I had received a particularly upsetting voice note from our new friend in which he told me what had happened to him in the last couple of hours.

Having arrived into Sao Paolo’s main bus station he had collected his backpack and sat in the nearby park to check for available hostels and message friends. Without wishing to blame the victim here, it is worth noting that in any city it is generally a bad idea to do this – bus stations are rarely in the safest neighbourhoods, regardless of the city.

He quickly found himself in danger as he was approached by five men and two dogs who demanded that he give them all of his belongings. It was not just the backpack they took, nor the valuables in his pockets, but I quite literally mean all of his belongings, to the point where he was left in just his underwear.

Despite having taken everything and Duran having offered no resistance, at this point they brandished their knives and attacked him. Duran told me that he played dead and if he hadn’t the consequences don’t bear thinking about; having seen his body in the aftermath he certainly was not exaggerating. Cuts covered his body, many considerably deep and the fact he walked away is remarkable.

But walk away is what he did, until he found somebody who could offer him some help. He was given some old rags that could pass for clothing and contacted the police – who offered little help - and the Chilean embassy who arranged for him to come the following day to help him with arranging a new passport and money.

Helpful, but not until the next day. Duran was left with no money and no place to stay. His one original contact in the city was not on social media and he did not know his number; the only other people he knew that were in Sao Paolo were us who he had met briefly two days before.

Thankfully he had my Instagram and was able to contact me and I could help him that night. I arranged for him to have a bed in the same hostel as us as well as lent some clothes and shower products. Perhaps as importantly, upon arrival we shared a beer as he could finally relax in a safe environment.

The next day Duran went to the embassy and could arrange to get money and a copy of his passport. Despite his experience he remained as positive a person as you could meet.

Indeed, having moved on to Rio, Duran again met us there a few days later, this time with less trouble. From visiting Christ the Redeemer to hanging out at the beach together, it would have been easy to forget the entire experience apart from the visible marks that still littered his body.

Duran in fact stayed in Rio for a month or so, well beyond when we left ourselves, and enjoyed it to the fullest. He did not let his experience ruin his overall perception of Brazil – something I doubt I could do myself in all honesty – but it does reflect the importance of acknowledging that Brazil, although dangerous, can be a uniquely fun experience if done right.

Written by: Tom Taylor (@tomtayloor)

Posted: 16/06/2022