Well we’ve arrived back home safely from our intense and unforgettable 7-week journey across South America. It has been an adjustment returning to work and routine back here in Canada but we are happy to be home. You really don’t realize how good life is in Canada until you travel abroad. All the little things that we take for granted can sometimes be non-existent or hard to find overseas. We both have a new respect for the clearly posted speed limits and no-passing lines on our highways, our accessible sidewalks and buildings, and the general safety of our towns and cities. This last point is especially poignant after our experiences traveling from Florianopolis, Brazil to Iguaçu Falls, Brazil during the 6th week of our trip. This particular episode was omitted from our blog posts while we were traveling so as to not alarm family members at home and leave them more worried than they already were. But now that we are safely home it is important that we share this particular tale so as to warn other travelers about the dangers of overnight bus travel in Brazil and because the story sounds straight out of a movie.
We boarded an overnight bus in Florianopolis, Brazil to take us to the spectacular Iguaçu Falls, 18 hours west near the tri-border region of Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay. The journey started out well enough on-board the comfortable luxury bus. It was ¾ full and we had seats near the back where Carolyn had the aisle seat and Tom the window. We had our laptop and kindle out but our time on the electronic devices was short-lived as the batteries died on both machines about a few hours later. Tom immediately went to sleep but Carolyn decided to stay awake as she had an unnerving feeling about the ride and the passengers that kept coming to the back of the bus for no apparent reason. We were the only foreigners on the bus of 60+ passengers. The rest was a collection of families with small children, independent young travelers, couples, and businessman. After stopping in Curitiba, Brazil to pick up the remaining passengers Carolyn finally drifted off to sleep.
Thirty minutes later, just after midnight she was roused from sleep by people shouting in Portuguese at the front of the bus. The bus was pulled off on the side of a busy highway with all of the interior lights on and peeking past the edge of her seat to see what was happening she looked straight at the barrel of a gun! It was held by a tall Brazilian man and pointed directly at the driver of the bus! Horrified she ducked back into her seat and woke Tom up who was wearing ear plugs and had no idea what was going on in the bus. He awoke to find the bus driver running up and down the aisles yelling “Rapido, rapido ... (fast, fast) while he placed the passenger's wallets into a white plastic bag. Dazed by sleep, Tom initially thought he was simply collecting garbage from the bus and was ready to offer his collection when he spotted the gunmen across the top of the seat and then slunk down so as to not be seen. We had been told to carry a wad of small bills in our pockets while traveling in South America in case of muggings or robberies so as the bus driver approached our seat we happily handed over a wad of American bills we had rolled together and he continued back to the front of the bus.
Unfortunately, the gunmen was still not satisfied by the bag of wallets so he ordered the driver back up the aisle at gun point for cell phones, watches and jewellery. We were not prepared to part with our full wallets, credit cards and valuables so as he was making his way towards the back we secretly removed our personal belongings and hid them in the edges of the seat. Tom kept his wallet accessible in case we were threatened but everything else of value was removed. Fortunately the terrified bus driver turned back to the front before reaching our seat and handed the loot to the gunmen who promptly fled off the bus into the darkness.
Our immediate reaction was of disbelief – did this really just happen? This was followed closely by a flood of emotions. We were extremely lucky not to have been seriously hurt and to only have lost a few dollars in the armed robbery. As the driver somehow regained his wits and composure he guided the bus back down the road until the nearest gas station where he pulled in to await for the authorities. About half a dozen police officers arrived 20 minutes later to take an inventory of what was stolen from each passenger but did not seem particularly intent on apprehending the gunmen who was no doubt hiding somewhere in the dark wilderness a few kilometres back. It was during this time that we learned the full details of the night as the other passengers filled us in with their best English or let us speak to their English-speaking relatives on cell phone.
The first realization was that the gunmen was a passenger on the bus and had obviously boarded the bus a few hours earlier with a gun concealed under his jacket (there are minimal security checks when boarding a bus in Brazil so it is not surprising that he was able to board). He waited until we were in a dark rural area and then moved to the front of the bus and down the half-flight of stairs to the unsuspecting driver where he no doubt put a gun to his head and ordered him back up the stairs to the passenger area. The second shocking point that we learned is that when he came back up to the passenger area with the driver he fired his gun into the ceiling of the bus to show that it was loaded and that he was serious. When we exited the bus later that night we could clearly see the bullet hole in the upholstered ceiling.
The third detail that emerged was that he aimed the loaded gun at the passengers sitting in the front of the bus after he had fired it into the air. Fortunately we were sitting at the back of the bus away from this terror as those front passengers lost all of their valuables and had their lives flash before their eyes (fortunately no one was injured or hurt by the armed assilant). The final realization occurred after we left the gas station and police interrogation when we discovered that the seat directly across the aisle from us was now empty except for a men’s suit jacket that was left in the chair. The gunmen prior to robbing the bus had been sitting directly beside us with gun in hand and we had no idea! Fortunately both of our electronic devices had stopped working before the gunmen boarded the bus otherwise he would have seen us and known that we were carrying a considerable amount of electronics and valuables: laptop, 2 cameras, 2 kindles, iPod and wallets. We would have been a prime target for sure!
Looking back we were incredibly lucky to have been sitting where we were. Every subsequent bus ride that we took after this incident we sat in the same rear seats and there were no more overnight bus rides. We later learned that this particular bus route is prone to armed robberies as wealthy Brazilian businessman with a considerable amount of cash in hand travel to Iguaçu Falls to purchase merchandise half-price in the adjacent Paraguayan border town before shipping it back to the coast. One gentleman on our bus later confided that this was the third time in his life that he had been robbed at gun point. The fact that these incidents continue with little or no police crackdown is bewildering and really leaves a bad impression about traveling through Brazil.
However, since our trip was generally amazing and a time that we will both treasure forever it is only fitting that we look past the negative experiences and end this last blog posting on a positive note. So in the spirit of traveling - in discovering a new part of the world, in learning new languages and cultures, trying new foods, and seeing your own life back home with a fresh set of eyes, here is a list of our South American favourites and some interesting facts from our 7-week trip.
Number of kilometres traveled: 12,286km
Number of countries visited: 6
Favourite country: Chile
Favourite city: Bariloche, Argentina
Favourite town: Pucon, Chile
Number of photographs taken: 2,492
Favourite moment: Trick photography session – Salt flat desert, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Favourite thing: Chilean hospitality
Average trip expenses: See pie chart
Number of bus rides: 45
Scariest moments on land: Armed robbery – Curitiba, Brazil &
Bus veering off edge of cliff – Tupiza, Bolivia
Bus veering off edge of cliff – Tupiza, Bolivia
Number of flights: 8
Best airline: TACA Airlines, Peru
Number of ferry rides: 8
Scariest moment on water: Ferry in danger of capsizing – Ilha Grande, Brazil
Most adventurous moment: Climbing the most active volcano in Chile while covered in glaciated
ice – Volcan Villarrica, Chile
ice – Volcan Villarrica, Chile
Favourite beach: Lopes Mendes – Ilha Grande, Brazil
Number of hostels/hotels stayed in: 26
Favourite accommodation: Campeche resort, Ilha de Santa Catarina, Brazil
Average weight of backpack: 17kg
Gear we packed but didn’t use: 2-man tent & hair straightener
Gear we should’ve packed more of: warm clothing
Favourite gear: Laptop
Coldest temperature: Below freezing – Salar de Uyuni, Bolvia
Warmest temperature: Above 30 degrees Celsius – Ilha Grande, Brazil
Favourite meal: Carolyn – Pesto dish – Huacachina, Peru
Tom – Seafood medley on rice – Huacachina, Peru
Tom – Seafood medley on rice – Huacachina, Peru
Funniest moment: Attempting to order a Pisco sour drink with no ice via charades and Pictionary –
Puno, Peru
Puno, Peru
Favourite animal experience: Discovering miniature wild monkeys in a tree outside
our room balcony – Campeche resort, Ilha de Santa Catarina, Brazil
our room balcony – Campeche resort, Ilha de Santa Catarina, Brazil
Favourite place: Salt flat desert, Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Thank you for being a part of our journey with us!
Carolyn & Tom
