Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
an eye on things you stash there, especially on
night journeys. On a city beach , never leave things
unattended while you take a dip: any beachside bar
will stow things for you for free.
Most hotels (even the cheaper ones) will have a
safe ( caixa ), and unless you have serious doubts
about the place you should lock away your most
valuable things: the better the hotel, the more
secure it's likely to be. In cheaper hotels, where
rooms are shared, the risks are obviously greater -
some people take along a small padlock for extra
security and many wardrobes in cheaper hotels
have latches fitted for this very purpose. Finally, take
care at Carnaval as it's a notorious time for
pickpockets and thieves.
EMERGENCY PHONE
NUMBERS
Police T 190
Ambulance T 192
Fire department T 193
but they're thin on the ground outside Rio. In a city,
their number should be displayed on or near the
desk of all hotels. The most e cient police by far are
the Polícia Federal , the Brazilian equivalent of the
American FBI, who deal with visas and their
extension; they have o ces at frontier posts,
airports and ports and in state capitals. The ones
you see on every street corner are the Polícia
Militar , with blue or green uniforms and caps. They
look mean - and very often are - but, apart from at
highway road blocks, they generally leave gringos
alone. There is also a plain-clothes Polícia Civil , to
whom thefts are reported if there is no tourist
police post around - they are overworked,
underpaid and extremely slow. If you decide to go
to the police in a city where there is a consulate ,
get in touch with the consulate first and do as they
tell you.
Drugs
The drug wars in the favelas that you will have
heard about and may well see on local TV during
your stay are very localized and unlikely to have any
impact on foreign tourists. But you should be
extremely careful about using drugs in Brazil.
Marijuana - maconha - is common, but you are in
trouble if the police find any on you. You'll be able
to bribe your way out of it, but it will cost you the
daily withdrawal limit on whatever plastic you have.
Foreigners sometimes get targeted for a
shakedown and have drugs planted on them - the
area around the Bolivian border has a bad reputa-
tion for this - in order to get a bribe out of them. If
this happens to you, deny everything, refuse to pay
and insist on seeing a superior o cer and
telephoning the nearest consulate - though this
approach is only for the patient.
Health
There are no compulsory vaccinations
required to enter Brazil from Europe or
North America, but a list of recom-
mended jabs and health
recommendations can be found at
W fitfortravel.nhs.uk. A yellow fever
certificate may be a requirement if you
are entering from another South
American country, and you should take
your vaccination records with you.
Certain health precautions should be
taken on your travels, especially if you're
staying for any length of time or visiting
more remote regions: in this case it is
wise to travel with your own medical
supplies. Taking out travel insurance is
vital (see p.48), and you should be
especially aware of dengue fever, a signif-
icant problem in Rio and other cities
during the Brazilian summer (Dec-April).
But you should not let health issues make
you unduly paranoid - if you need it,
good medical care is available cheaply
for all but the most serious of problems.
The police
If you are robbed or held up, it's not necessarily a
good idea to go to the police . Except with
something like a theft from a hotel room, they're
very unlikely to be able to do anything, and
reporting something can take hours even without
the language barrier. You may have to do it for
insurance purposes, when you'll need a local police
report: this could take an entire, and very
frustrating, day to get, so think first about how
badly you want to be reimbursed. If your passport
is stolen, go to your consulate and they should be
able to assist.
If you have to deal with the police, there are
various kinds. The best are usually the Polícia de
Turismo , or tourist police, who are used to tourists
and their problems and often speak some English,
 
 
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