Raped & Robbed in Rio !!

[+ glutes]

I will have to temper my last post of " Rio - Two Thumbs Up", it can be dangerous. On my 3rd night after leaving Estacio I was approached by two black youths on bicycles, one displaying a gun in his waistband and demanding "Money, Money!". I handed over my wallet with minimal contents, my pockets and neck were searched for other extractions. Fortunately I'm physically unscathed (emotional was somewhat different), and only out $75USD, and moderate Timex watch, and my own handwritten guide and map to the Rio hot spots!

The following evening I was have dinner with a couple (straight) from Europe when I asked them if they had any 'crimal stories' to tell me of Rio. They looked at one another for a bit, then said they'd also been robbed the previous night, turns out nearly at the same location (Copacanbana Ave. NS near Campos). There crook was a white man who walked alongside them and kept saying something in Portu or Spanish, finally he said "Gun Motherfucker!",, this got their attention. They also lost minor jewlery and less than $100USD. Both muggings occured between 8:30PM - 10:30PM.

So forget about racial profiling, everyone is suspect. The Euro couple also told me that hadn't run into a tourist that hadn't been robbed yet!!!!

In speaking with a new found local he said after dark, ALWAYS ALWAYS take a marked and metered cab. They people prey on tourists, even broad daylight on the beach when it is crowded. Only take the very esentials that you'll need, and dress down.

Now about the 'rape', it could have been. My second evening at Rodgers was very very odd. When you choose the boy, they bring you upstairs, through a locked iron gate (which the biy has the key), and then into your designated room, also locked. Upon entering the cabin the boy 'noticed' that the spray bottle used to disinfect the plastic mattress was empty of agent, and made motions to go get more. I indicted no problem, and he left closing the door.

After 3-4 minutes no boy or bottle back I decided to go check, turned out I was locked in the room! Even if I could have gotten out I would have had to deal also with the locked metal gate. I started pounding and kicking the door - finally some kid appeared and let me out so I could find out what was going on.

Now I run on the suspicious side, I thought the boy was most probably rooting through my locker, and upon inspection nothing was touched, or stolen anyway. The kid was just standing sheepishly in the locker-room, and via an interpreter said "He forgot to take a shower". Toooo many stories for me - I boogied, and will never go back to Rodgers. This is also a major safety concern for me, what if there had been a fire?? You need a key to get in and out, and you don't have the key?? It seems like prison.

Lessons learned:

-only take the very minimum with you outside the hotel

-don't let the rent boys lock you in a room by yourself, tell him to leave the key!

- always take a designated taxi after dark, they are cheap and plentiful

I hope this helps any potential traveler there - all in all the boys are still worth it - but it comes a 'price'...

[trilingual]

Sorry to hear about the bad experiences. Even using all your street smarts, it's possible to get mugged in Brazil (or elsewhere in the third world). As any visitor can see, there is enormous poverty, not enough jobs, and these factors propel a lot of crime. I don't think visitors get attacked quite as often as Glutes seems to think. Possibly I've just had amazingly dumb luck, but I've never had a problem in Rio in my umpteen trips there. (There was the somewhat hilarious pickpocket incident on Pça. da República in SP last year, but no harm was done. I guess the not-very-skilled pickpocket wasn't prepared for a gringo shrieking in Portuguese in the midst of a mobbed sidewalk!)

 

Anyway, all of the advice to exercise caution is good, including leaving anything you don't need at your hotel and not inviting pick-ups to your room. That's what saunas and "motels" are for, gents!

 

As for the locked gate at Roger's, someone should talk to the management about it and let them know it's getting them bad publicity. I don't know what the story is on that. They didn't always have the gate, and the other saunas don't have them. I don't know why they need it; the rooms have (or can have) individual locks, just as they do in the other saunas, and you don't need the key to leave the room. If there really is some need for the gate (and I can't imagine what it could be) there's no reason that it can't be fixed so that it opens from the inside without a key so it's safer in case of fire.

 

As far as being taken advantage of by the guy at Roger's, I seriously doubt it's likely. Much more likely is that he had to wait while someone got him another bottle of ethanol (widely used as a cleaner in Brazil, as well as to power cars), or to take a quick shower, or he got detained while some friend was chatting him up. As a rule, that's not very likely to happen, because the guys want to be with their customers. After all, they don't get paid until AFTER the "programa'" is over, so they don't want to dawdle or miss out on the chance of earning their money. But it would be good if Roger's can be persuaded to fix or eliminate that gate.

[Guest fukamarine]

Sorry to hear you were robbed, but the rape?? sure this isn't wishful thinking :-)

 

fukamarine

[+ Axiom2001]

glutes, I, too, am so sorry about your misfortunate situation. When I walked those same streets a few weeks ago after 10 pm-- I carried a photocopy of my passport, had none of my US money on me, had purchased a very, very cheap watch but chose not to wear it. I honored the guidelines that had been given here and had no mishaps. When Ernani and I went out and I arrived late back at the hotel, I took a taxi. When I went long distances, I always returned by taxi.

 

I met some European tourists and others from other parts of the world, and apparently they HAD NO problems with the safety issue. (When I told a few people that I had planned a trip to Brazil, the first thing that came out was: it's quite violent. I asked them how did they deduce this concept; they had no response.)

 

On the plane in my return was a young American man who had mentioned Rio as being violent, but he had only seen two incidents, neither of which he had been involved. I requested that he begin to reflect of cities in our own country, and go from there.

 

Again, I extend my sensivities and concern to you, and do hope that when you return that you (if at all possible) be with another person while walking the streets at night; be careful and cognizant of your immediate environment, and exercise caution.

[alankay]

I will be arriving in Rio on 11/27 and appreciate the heads up. I was robbed at gunpoint in Chicago a number of years ago and I can still recall the incident quite vividly. The robbery took place on LaSalle near Goethe--a very nice area on the near north side--at 6:30 PM. I mention this as such events are unfortunately not uncommon here in the US. I will follow your advice and use a cab even for short trips. I like to walk but your experience has made me realize that it may not be wise at certain times and in certain places. I do not want to experience such an incident a second time.

[marko]

If you're interested, you can read about a bad experience I had this summer in Rio on the current p. 5 here, called "Trouble in Paradise" on the "Portuguese for the Baths" string. And although I've never been robbed at gunpoint in Brazil, it isn't hard to imagine it happening, especially after my bad experience with that street hustler in Rio. (Called himself Anderson, very black and well-built guy.)

I think that the drop in value of the real, widespread unemployment and lots of poverty, combined with Lula's almost certain victory will cause further insecurity and so extra caution is called for in Brasil these days. While an eruption of some sort seems unlikely, things there are going to get worse before they get better, I'd bet. I'll be more wary than usual when I get there at the end of December. But I can't wait to see the great cities, wonderful people, and the terrific guys I've gotten to know and love there! I'll give Cinelandia and street hustlers generally a wide berth. At least I hope I will! One gets giddy in Rio! I think Sao Paulo is safer than Rio and have consistently better luck on the street there than in Rio. Anyway, giving up on Brazil is too terrible a thought because, despite the real trouble you can find there (which you can find anywhere, of course), Brazil really is a sort of paradise; most other places I know aren't. I'll take my chances in Brazil and be grateful for them! Cannot get enough of that place!

[Driver]

This reminds me the first time i went to new york in 1995 and i followed the advice of the guidebook and took a "muggers wallet" with some expired credit cards and library cards and loyalty cards of no value with some dollar bills in case i got mugged. Thankfully i never needed it but based on what has been said here i shall get my passport photocopied.

[Reed]

Glutes, sorry to hear about your misfortune, but thanks for sharing your experience. As we read about the fabulous time that we all have in Rio, it helps to have a dose of reality injected every so often.

 

As has been mentioned here before, the posters here have done a great job in providing tips and advice on safety. As your experience indicates, sometimes things happen anyway.

 

I spent a week in Rio early this month and am trying to finalize plans to return again the week of November 18. Obviously I had a great time. I never felt unsafe during my stay in Rio.

 

On my first morning in Rio I set out to explore the area a little, scouting out Blockbuster for the ATM machine, etc. I was wearing slacks and a golf shirt and I stuck out like a sore thumb. From that point forward, as I made my nightly trek from my beachfront hotel to Rogers or Estacao, I wore jeans, a white T shirt and sneakers and no watch. I may be deluding myself, but I think I passed for the typical Brazilian on the street. No one paid a bit of attention to me. And as others have recommended, I left my passport, wallet, car keys, camera and excess money locked up in the safe in the hotel room. All I had with me was a copy of my passport and what cash I was intending to use...and a credit card. I always left the saunas by 10:00 or 10:30 and the streets were always full of people at that time and that provided me a certain degree of comfort, though your incident and the other you described took place early in the evening when I'm sure there were a lot of people around.

 

I hope my trip next month goes as smoothly as the first one did. I'm sure the temperature will be hotter....it was warm enough during the first trip. Its a good thing I like sweaty encounters because I bet those unairconditioned cabines in Rogers will be like saunas themselves.

[+ glutes]

Just reading these posts for the first time since posting this. Many thanks to all of you who've expressed empathy for me - YOU GUYS ARE GREAT!! That's what makes this board sooo great.

[+ Axiom2001]

The guys turned on the fans. Lucas sweated profusely, and that was so friggin' hot to me... (This occurred at Rogers. Lucas is so hotttttt!:9

[sman]

its no joke, rio and the whole of brasil is very violent. especially now with a very insecure political and economic climate. i live in south america so i know what i am talking about.

[Guest Tomcal_]

Glutes, I am really sorry, i wasn't with you that night, if two guys walk together, just like in the states, the muggers look for the easiest prey, people walking alone, etc. I was at Estacio last night, unbelievable live sex show, but will post that on the other thread, I am mentioning it, because i met 4 local guys (2 lawyers) all between 42 and 55 at Estacio last night. Also there were 9 Americans there, 3 groups of 2 guys each and the rest like me solo. all had been there between one and 3 weeks. No one had been robbed or felt in the least bit threatened. The 2 local lawyers said, what happened to Glutes is uncommon in the area Glutes described, (Siquero Campos/Copacabana Blvd.) first because it is a very busy area, lots of pedistrian traffic and auto traffic(Glutes where was everybody when this was going on, you said 8:30, there are tons of people on the street then, kinda like times square!) The lawyers said they all walk this area in Copa all the time, and felt this type of incident is no more or less common then any large city-one of them at lived in NYC for a year. One reason I like this hotel is that it is in a busy area/intersection and only 1/2 block to Estacio and 2-1/2 blocks to Rogers. Also, as one poster noted, I always wear what i wear in california, jeans and T shirt, no watch or ring. Don't look like a tourist, everyone on the street is in shorts or jeans and T's or muscle shirts. Again they are going to look for the easiest target, and a worthwhile one, if there is nothing apparent that makes you look like it's worth it to them to take the risk, they move on to the next target. Again last night for the 7th night in a row, i am walking back to the hotel from the restaurant, about 7-8 blocks, and the route i take is one that has many people both men and women on it, if there are alot of women walking the route, i figure it makes the odds a lot less that this is a dangerous route.

[Guest Jake]

I, too have never had a bad experience in Rio. The only time I was ever held up (and tied up, if that does something for anyone's fantasies) was entering the front entrance of the house where my apartment was located in a very nice section of New York normally well-populated at 7 PM. And I, too, dress casually, although I wear a less expensive watch and split my money between pockets and leave my wallet at home. It sounds like glutes incident could have been on the perimeter of the park where I am always a little more careful and never pick up any of the boys hanging out later except on the specific recommendation of a Brazilian friend (but that's another story to be told shortly).

I feel safe enough that I am actively negotiating for an apartment in Copacabana, which I prefer to Ipanema for it's even more 50-60's friendly neighborhood feeling.

[+ Axiom2001]

When I walked by that park one night that has the wrought iron fence, I decided to walk in the street until I had passed it. I made it safely back to Hotel Atlantico. (I felt comfortable walking the streets at night alone, but as I advised glutes, it would have been better if there had been two or more of us walking.)