One thing is obvious; everyone who has something in his or her hand is holding it tight. Women have their handbags hung around their necks, and hold them with both hands as if their whole belongings have been stuffed into them. Men run around holding their briefcases tight with both hands. Thieves are supposed to come at one from behind on motorbikes or walking. Quite often, they are kids, 10 or 12 years old. C had told us that they were the most dangerous, because they have nothing to loose. Brazilians love to wear their shirts or T-shirts outside their trousers. We did the same; this means that one is not pick-pocketed so quickly. If one of the little bastards does happen to turn up and try to nick something out of ones pocket, it is then easier to hold things tight and prevent them from being stolen. If one has the shirt stuffed in the trousers, then things are nicked faster that one thinks, we had been warned about walking about the Copa holding a camera in the hand, there things happen very quickly, and the camera disappears in a jiffy never to be be seen again….

During the nighttime, one must be very careful when down the Copa; if possible, we always took a taxi, especially between two and three in the morning, even if we were only travelling a very short distance to the hotel. We never had anything worth nicking with us, Brazil is poor, ok, the camera, but mine was so small that it fitted into my trouser pocket.

A friend who has been living in Brazil for years now, told us that he himself had been left lying in the dirt a couple of times with a rod pointing at his nut. One of these times, he had lost a lot of cash. However, 90 percent of robberies in Brazil end up with no bloodshed. The other 10 percent seem to be those where the victim had put up resistance. – Such as the German tourist who didn’t want to hand over his rucksack at the Corcovado, and unfortunately, was shot. So, take this information in and have a nice day. Our friend also said that these people mainly do such things because they are poor; in general, they are good catholic family fathers who love their children.