Zoe and I joined the Tucan Tour the 2nd last day in Rio but didn't really get to meet everyone properly until we headed to Parati.

After a huge final night in Rio the previous evening, we weren't too chatty and slept most of the way!

Disappointingly, there were 20 on our tour, instead of the small group promised in their brochure.

We were happy though, to find that the lady who was supposed to take our tour couldn't do it and we got the awesome Hernan from Cusco instead :-). (We'd spoken to people on her previous tour who said the tour was horrible & she was a useless guide!).

First night in Parati was quiet, second day we did a boat cruise to a few gorgeous islands off the coast.

As usual it rained, but not so much that the day was a waste.

That night we went to a nearby backpackers for dinner were I ran into my National Park guide from Torres, Kinner!

She was now working there temporarily and later that night introduced me to her Kumuka tour leader and driver friends from another overland truck.

I don't think i impressed them too much when I bagged Kumuka for putting on non local people who didn't know the country to do the tour! 

Sorry but after having South Africans running mine, and now an Aussie and kiwi running this one when they've only ever back packed here before ... How does that make for a good tour guide?!

Met a few other nice guys from the hostel, one told me a story about how he saw a lady in BA get her camera cut from its wrist strap as she wandered around with it dangling from her arm.  

He'd also been mugged in San Telmo when walking back late texting a friend from his iPhone as he went. 

He refused to give them the phone, so they grabbed both his arms, sliced him accross his chest with a knife, beat him up and left him in a crumpled heap! 

I think the moral of the story is don't put on display what you dont want to lose!

I walked home at night alone in San Telmo quite a few times with no problems?! Or was I just lucky???

Another lady from our new trip had someone try to snatch her bag while she was walking around the old town of Montevideo, during day light hours.  Fortunately it was round her neck and he gave up when she finally got her husbands attention to help her!

I've also been there ... Done that and wasn't concerned?!

Then a 19 year old petite girl from our trip, had a couple try to drag her away by her bag and hair when she walked on the beach near our Hotel in Flamengo Rio!

She was obviously very frightened so gave them her iPhone and $100 Reals ($60 AUD) to leave her alone!

People were around but didn't speak English and they only came up afterwards!

The remainder of her first day in Rio was spent at a police station filling in a report an looking at mug shots - which she thinks she picked the guy from the couple out of :-)

Zoe and I have had no problems ... We are cautious, try not to flash money or cameras too much, stay out of sparsely populated areas, try not to look to list or dazed and walk quick to get the f#%k out of there when we get
bad vibes!!!

Alas we may have just been lucky :-)