I was robbed at gunpoint in Brazil. If I had trusted my intuition, it wouldn’t have happened.
Walking to a restaurant at dusk in the nice Rio de Janeiro neighborhood of Santa Teresa, I turned off the main street onto a side road. It was a ghost town. Immediately, I felt the hairs on the back on my neck rise.
“Its just a two minute walk and I can see the road below,” I rationalized. After walking a bit, a red motorbike with two young boys passed me. A warning from local friends resurfaced in my head: “thieves often use motorbikes when robbing people for a quick getaway.” My whole body tensed. Something was very wrong.
Then, I heard the rumble of the motorbike returning. In that moment, I knew with factual certainty that I was about to be robbed. I started running, but it was too late. The boys pulled up next to me, a gun waving in my face. In under 30 seconds they took my keys, phones and wallet.
The experience was harrowing. But I could have avoided it all together.
I did two things wrong and a third thing right —
1. Wrong: I prioritized convenience over safety.
It is easy to ignore safety tips in the moment. To cheat a little. Convince yourself to ignore what you’ve been told. In Brazil, going the more populated route would have taken longer. I rationalized my way out of the warning to never walk on streets without people on them. Mistake number one.
2. Wrong: I didn’t trust my gut feeling.
Nothing compares with trusting your gut. Our bodies are evolutionarily wired to sense when something is off. Our gut alerts us in subtle ways: reoccurring thoughts, a sinking feeling in your stomach, or the hairs on the back of your neck. My gut was screaming that something was wrong in Brazil. I just didn’t listen to it. Mistake number two.
3. Right: I sought out local safety intel.
Knowing common scams, the safest neighborhoods, and locally-sourced tips is the best way to stay safe. Before traveling, I asked Brazilian friends what to expect. If only I had followed their advice…
Trusting Intuition + Local Safety Guidelines = Peace of Mind
Acting On Your Intuition
Your intuition is your most powerful tool. The key to utilizing this superpower is to:
- Listen to it.
- Act accordingly.
Build your intuition like a muscle. Do a body scan, slowly going from the tip of your head down to your toes. Notice if you are holding tension or unease anywhere in your body. Ask yourself why. Maybe journal about it. Repeat this process a few times over. You’ll start to notice patterns, places you hold tension and triggers. After a while, you’ll be in tune with your body’s signals.
Act at the first sign of danger. Acting on intuition means nothing when you’re in immediate danger. You must act at the first sign that something may be wrong. Before making a decision you feel uneasy about, ask yourself why you are making that decision. Then ask if that motivation is worth risking your personal safety. Usually the answer is no.
The Value of Local Safety Guidelines
Fine-tune your intuition like an instrument. Feed it the information it needs to keep you safe. Because I knew that robbers often use motorbikes in Brazil, my intuition knew what to be wary of.
She Travels Safely creates location-specific guides to do exactly that: give solo female travelers the local intelligence needed to power their intuition. The U.S. State Department is another good source. You can also ask local friends or fellow travelers for their safety tips. Remember, recent information is best. Ignore tips from someone that traveled to the place decades ago, its likely outdated.
What type of information to know before you go:
- Common scams.
- Local customs.
- Neighborhoods to avoid.
- Staying in the right neighborhood.
Conclusion
Your intuition is your most powerful tool. No tip, trick, or hack can replace it. In Brazil, my intuition told me to trust the woman who found me wandering after being robbed. She got me back to my hostel unscathed. I learned a lesson — trust your gut when it whispers as much as when it screams.