Before we left on our travels, I was honestly a little naive to the dangerous side of Rio. I lived in South Africa for a year when I was just 18 and even then I was a little unaware of being an outsider in such foreign lands. As part of my traveller self though I like that, to go somewhere with an open mind and not let a preconceived judgement determine my experience. I mean I knew on a subconscious level that it's not exactly Disneyland but quite frankly, despite the beauty, I was to learn of just how dangerous a city it is. Paul wouldn't let me watch 'City of God' - the infamous movie about Rio's most notorious favela - before leaving (not to mention us embarking on a walking tour of one of the other favelas during our stay) and thank goodness he was so wise. It's INSANE. I like to pride myself on being a slight badass when it comes to facing real-life situations in the face and in my naivety, off we went with two of our divine friends who were in the city and spent an afternoon on a walking tour of one of the city's largest shanty towns.
Our tour guide was incredible and if you are to one day experience Rio in it's rawest form, there's nobody like him to show you around. He brought us through what is something only your wildest imagination could conjure up. Unlike the townships of Cape Town and the one I worked in in Plettenberg Bay during my time in South Africa, the buildings are of concrete structure and are stronger than most in standing up to the harsh weathers that tear other shanty towns apart around the world. Built on top of each other with literally just enough space to walk between each building, the favela sprawls over miles of acres and is home to some several million people who work here, rear their families and build their daily lives. Our tour guide informed us of how built up it has become and in the past 10 years how much safer it's streets have become in a transformation that has seen drug wars lessened, police enforcement implemented, and the quality of life risen beyond measure for those who call it home. They now even have satellite TV and WiFi - within reason. To us though, it was insane - a world that seems so far from our norm and yet one that once inside you're captivated by it's intensity and almost movie like reality. We learned of how just 10 years ago there is no way even the police would enter, not to mention a white foreigner. Kids running around with machine guns and drug lords killing the next target on their never-ending list of customers in need of their next fix. Life had absolutely no meaning it would seem and those who entered did so at the risk of loosing their life.
It was one of the most incredible experiences of my life. I loved it. However I'm not going to lie, we most definitely had a feeling that we were encroaching upon territory that was not ours and although some of the locals see it that we bringing awareness to the situation and also a certain amount of business, it still felt somewhat wrong to be there as a tourist. The scariest part, and the moment in which I realise was most real having since seen "City of God" was when two boys, no more than 12 years old, passed us with guns in their hands. Casually speaking, I got lost in the moment thinking perhaps it was just part of a movie. But sadly no, crime and mortality is still very much part of reality in the favelas in Rio.
