I got my ultimate Rio experience tonight – getting robbed on the Copacabana beach. We were really asking for trouble, though, walking on the somewhat empty beach near the water, rather than sticking with the more crowded Avenida Atlantica. We also got separated by about 15 meters, though not sure it would have made any difference if we were walking together.

As far as robbing goes, it wasn’t so bad. They did have a knife, but knives usually don’t end up shooting by mistake, so it wasn’t as scary. They surprised me by politely leaving me with the wallet, all of my credit cards and IDs. The guy who examined my wallet emptied its contents on the beach (in a hurry but with reasonable care) but didn’t take anything other than about R$20 (~US$9) in cash. Strangely, he left me with a folded R$50 note, despite the fact that he took it out of a compartment where it was “hidden”. I guess the good thing about being robbed in the dark is that they don’t recognize the money. Luisa also lost a small amount of cash.

They did take my watch, however, which I got in Stockholm for €50, after 50% discount. It was a nice watch – people even referred to it as “the timepiece” occasionally and used it as an example of the kind of watch that shouldn’t be worn in some parts of Rio de Janeiro. But the glass was cracked, so no big deal. I also lost my wedding ring, which, however, was bought to be stolen – we deliberately chose cheap wedding bands so that we could wear them in the streets of Rio without too much fear. I am wondering if I would have managed to keep the ring if they noticed that R$50 note. They were clearly disappointed by the content of my wallet, asked me if I had anything else, gave me another careful look, then noticed the ring.