We had decided to head in different directions for the day, something that we rarely did. Summer was heading to the shopping center to take advantage of the cheap, hip clothes and I just wasn't in the mood to shop. We left our shaby little hotel after breakfast and walked down the road to where she had to catch the bus. The area was a little shady but nothing extreme and, after seeing so many poor and run down places while traveling we thought little of it. Still, as I gave her a kiss and hug good-bye I wispered in her ear "Please...be careful". The she whispered back: "Don't Worry, It's Broad Daylight..." I on the other hand, opted for the beach. I was all for a day of sun and surf and working to finish the book I was read. Also, we had read about some famous sand dunes north of the city where the dune-buggies piloted by maniac locals take tourist on wild rides launching off the tops managing to stop (hopefully) only a few feet before crashing into the sea. By studying the map it looked like it would be an hour walk, most of it along the beach. I walked along the boardwalk watching the surf crash into a small barrier reef and the kids running around playing soccer. I didn't think much about the other side of the street but if I had, I would have noticed that the houses were getting more and more shabby. Not anything to be overly concerned about but still something to take notice of. About 20 minutes into the walk I passed a woman laying in the grass taking refuge from the power sun in the palm shade. She looked a little down and out, maybe a homeless women just chillin. All of a sudden there was a loud scream from behind. I spun around to see what was going on and was surprised to see her running towards me. She was talking a million miles a minute in Portugese and I thought she mght be a little bit crazy. I repeated "I no falo Portugese" and started backing up, knowing that it is usually good to keep a little distance between myself and a raving lunitic. She finally started saying "You, Me, Aqui" "You Me Aqui" (You and Me Here) while pointing to the grass. I had read in our guide book that there were prostitues in the area but was surpised to be getting a proposition in the middle of the day. I guess she saw a single, white tourist strolling the beach and figured maybe she could make a buck. Although flattered, I politely declined what I thought was an offer and continued on my way. I was so interested (actually spaced out) watching the ocean that I took little notice of the four guys chillin' in the shade. I just walked right past at a quick pace trying to get to the sand dunes as soon as possible. Then the entire day changed. All of a sudden there was yelling and commotion behind me. Then suddenly, there were pulls and tugs and much more yelling. It was the four guys. They quickly made evident their intentions when one of the kids pulled out a 10 inch kitchen knife. It was long and slender with a lime green plastic handle, something that you might use for carving a turkey. I just stood there, stunned to what was going on. I felt my pack being torn off by his three buddies and hands going through my pockets. Everything was happening so fast that I never even felt the hand slap my face so they could get my sunglasses, I just watched straight ahead. I kept thinking to myself, actually praying, that this kid wouldn't get scared and do something stupid and try and show how tough he was to his friend. I just watched the blade, the shirtless kid just moving it back and forth in front of me to make certain I understood the situation. And then, just like that they were gone. They bolted across the street and jumped into the favela (aka ghetto). I stood there for a minute, thanking my lucky stars. That is when I realized how fortunate it was that Summer wasn't around, it was a blessing that there was only one of us who had to go through this. I started walking home, trying to put all the pieces together...what the hell just happened? I walked past the old woman on the ground who was once again yelling at me. It occured to me then what her real intentions had been earlier. The poor old women was simply trying to warn me not to go any farther, she was just trying to help. I turned around and said "Obrigado" (Thank-You). She smiled and said "Tudo bom" (How are You?) and I replied "Tudo bem" (I'm Fine). She shook her head in disgust to what just happened.... Lesson learned: Never trust a book by its cover. Anyway, I started to walk on when I heard that same loud yell behind me once again. "What now??" I turned around to glance at her and she was pointing toward the street at the red and white Military Police Dune Buggy heading in our direction (the same buggy I was admiring the night before). We both yelled and waved our hands and they came to a halt. Suddenly, out of nowhere I feel a hand shoving me into the back seat. A man who was at the beach was talking a million miles a minute to the officers. He jumped in the buggy next to me and was carrying a small bag and wearing only flip flops, baseball cap and a swimsuit. And then we were off, the chase was on. We went straight into the hood, bouncing over pot holes and smashing through heaps of garbage. It turns out that the guy next to me was either an undercover or off duty cop. From his small bad he pulled out a massive chrome hand gun (mind you, all guns are massive to me) and quickly began loading it in the bumpy back seat of the buggy. Of course I'm thinking "What the fuck is going on here, it is only a backpack". They saw it different I guess, they meant business. They seemed to have an idea of where we were going, or at least the best place to start our search. We came to a sliding screaching halt in an intersection. Faces popped out of windows and doors and we disturbed about a dozen people taking naps on the sidewalks. The guy next to me wrapped his gun in his hat and jumped out the back, the one riding shot gun slid out Dukes of Hazards style. He was a really big guy and looked bad-ass in dark grey camo. He tore out his black semi-automatic that was strapped to his thigh. They agreed on some meeting point and took off down different alleys. Now, it is me in the backseat with the driver. We sped off in the buggy trying not to lose too much time on these guys. We zig-zagged left and right watching every road we flew past. I was of little help though since I was relieved of my prescription sunglasses. I just kind off sat back and took everything in. We slowed down and started asking people if they had seen anything. No one knew anything or, if they did, they kept their mouth shut not wanting to have anything to do with a heavy armed military man driving through their hood. Talk about being the center of attention. No one enters the favelas, not even the regular police. So to have a white kid in swimsuit in the back of a military dune buggy was an interesting site. We kept cruising along (great tour) and came upon four men playing cards. They started yelling and screaming, pointing down an alley. It turns out the theives had passed through only minutes before. I can only assume that they had already been warned of our presence. So the driver jumps out, gun held high, and starts off down the alley. All of a sudden panic...ice cold blood passed through my veins...Does this guy think he is going to leave me here??? He got about 20 paces down the corridor he reconsidered, maybe realizing that leaving me alone may not be the best idea. So he came back and waited impatiently for the other to arrive. Minutes later the two men that were searching the streets joined us and jumped back in the car. We took off down the road again, searching the streets. We came across three guys walking who were about the right age but I couldn't be certain. The police wanted me to say it was them but I wasn't going to pick them out knowing that I was only on a chance. Everything happened so fast that nothing really registered. I could draw a perfect picture of the carving knife but had no idea what the thieves looked like. After two hours it was time to call it quits. I was ready to go home, I had enough of the favela tour in the buggy and was exhausted. The guys took me to the police station so I could make a report and answer some questions. I couldn't believe how helpful these people were. Everyone really went out of their way and were genuinely concerned about my well being. Fortunately I had packed light that day. I lost my digital camera (thankfully insured and recent downloaded), a great day pack, and variety of things for the beach. Maybe the worst thing I lost was my book. I had about 100 pages left in "The World According To Garp" and now am going to have to wait until I get back to the US to find out how it ends....the agony. Out of sheer luck Summer had our our important items...passports, important numbers, cash and credit cards. I was thinking what a great thing it was that she had ALL the money until I reallized she was at the shopping mall... Icey panic hits in once again... I learned some important lessons though: shit happens, never travel with too much, remain calm in situtions like that (its not worth being a tough guy) and most importantly that everything seems to go much better when Summer is around... Next Adventure: Heading South Down The East Coast Of Brazil |
| "Don't Worry, It's Broad Daylight" Getting mugged was best summed up by our friend Scott Carney... "A bad day getting mugged in a Brazilian ghetto Is still better than a great day at work." |