Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Spirits and cachaça
As for
spirits
, you can buy
Scotch
(
uisque
), either
nacional
, made up from imported whisky essence
and not worth drinking, or
internacional
, imported
and extremely expensive. Far better to stick to what
Brazilians drink,
cachaça
(also called
pinga
or, in Rio,
paraty
), sugar-cane rum. The best
cachaça
is
produced in stills on country farms; it is called
cachaça da terra
and, when produced with care, has
a smoothness and taste the larger commercially
produced brands lack; look out for
cachaça
from
Minas Gerais particularly. Alternatively, there are
scores of brands of rum: some of the commonest
ones are Velho Barreiro, Pitu and 51, but they are
best drunk mixed in a
caipirinha
(see box, p.36)
than neat.
get rough. Don't wear an expensive
watch
or
jewellery
: if you need a watch you can always buy
a cheap plastic digital one on a street corner. And
keep wallets and purses out of sight - pockets with
buttons or zips are best. Needless to say, flaunting
fancy phones, iPods, iPads and other high-tech
paraphernalia is not a good idea.
If you are unlucky enough to be the victim of an
assalto
, try to remember that it's your
possessions
rather than you that are the target. Your money and
anything you're carrying will be snatched, your
watch will get pulled off your wrist, but within a
couple of seconds it will be over. On no account
resist: it isn't worth the risk. If in a car, and someone
taps on the window with a gun, they want your
wallet - hand it out through the window. If they
want the car, they will signal you out of it; get out
immediately and do not delay to pick up anything. If
you try to drive off at speed, there's a good chance
they will shoot. If in a restaurant or sitting down,
make no sudden movements and do not stand up,
even if only to get your wallet out - wriggle instead.
Crime and
personal safety
Brazil has a reputation as a rather
dangerous place, and while it's not
entirely undeserved, it is often
overblown and you should not let fear
overshadow your stay. If you take the
precautions outlined below, you are
extremely unlikely to come to any harm.
The tips in this section apply every-
where, but be particularly alert in Rio,
Salvador and São Paulo.
Criminals know that any injury to a foreign tourist is
going to mean a heavy clampdown, which in turn
means no pickings for a while. So unless you resist
during an incident, nothing is likely to happen to you.
Scams
At international
airports
, particularly Rio and São
Paulo, certain scams can operate; for instance, well-
dressed and o
cial-looking men target tourists
arriving off international flights in the arrivals
lounge, identify themselves as policemen, often
flashing a card, and tell the tourists to go with them.
The tourists are then pushed into a car outside and
robbed. If anyone, no matter how polite or well
dressed they are, or how good their English is,
identifies themselves as a policeman to you, be
instantly on your guard - real policemen generally
leave foreigners well alone. They won't try anything
actually inside a terminal building, so go to any
airline desk or grab one of the security guards, and
on no account leave the terminal building with
them or leave any luggage in their hands. Scams
involving ATM machines are also common in the
big cities (see box, p.46).
Avoiding assaltos
As a rule,
assaltos
(muggings) are most common in
the larger cities, and are rare in the countryside and
towns. Most
assaltos
take place at night, in
backstreets with few people around, so stick to
busy, well-lit streets; in a city, it's always a lot safer to
take a taxi than walk. Also, prepare for the worst
by locking your money and passport in the hotel
safe - the one in your room is more secure than the
one at reception. If you must carry them, make sure
they're in a
moneybelt
or a
concealed internal
pocket
. Do not carry your valuables in a pouch
hanging from your neck. Only take along as much
money as you'll need for the day, but do take at
least some money, as the average
assaltante
won't
believe a gringo could be out of money, and might
Avoiding theft
More common than an
assalto
is a simple theft, a
furto
. Brand-new, designer-label bags are an
obvious target, so go for the downmarket look.
You're at your most vulnerable when travelling, and
though the
luggage compartments
of buses are
pretty safe - remember to get a baggage receipt
from the person putting them in and don't throw it
away - the overhead racks inside are less safe; keep
