This Warning from the US Embassy in Brasilia was issued on January 9.

Bill

Health scares aside, Brazil is a pretty dangerous place to vacation, unless you opt for the holiday compound option. Having read about scams to watch out for I was caught out on Barra beach in Salvador de Bahia. While, with a girl friend, I watched the sun set behind the horizon on Barra beach (voted 3rd most beautiful beach in the world by The Guardian newspaper UK), a man came and grabbed my foot, tucking my leg under his arm in a vice-like grip. While I yelled "Stop! Get off me!" he proceeded to dig his fingernails into the sole of my foot and even bit it, just long enough to claim I owed him 20 reals for "reflexology". When I refused to pay - I had no money anyway as I had left my purse behind to avoid theft - he turned nasty and threatened to do me harm. The deckchair attendants were visibly scared and when I made it back to the hotel with my assailant in hot pursuit the concierge told me the guy was a violent criminal who had just got out of prison. Every night after the sun set (at about 5.30pm) hordes of crack addicts crept out like cockroaches. Taxi drivers took us miles off-route deliberately and others in my party were mugged at knife-point. Sure, we had some good times, but the omnipresent threat of violence marred it for me. Middle class Brazilians live in gated communities and travel everywhere by car, so unless you behave like them you are a target, no matter if you're black or white. This lack of personal freedom made it an unhappy vacation for me. Perhaps speaking Portuguese would have improved things. Would be interested to hear if others have experienced similar things, or was it just back luck?