It was only a matter of 40 cents and my life was in real danger.
Was it the crime for which Rio is famous? Hardly. I felt less safe in New York City.
It was a streetcar. And it didn't almost run me down like you are probably thinking. And it wasn't because the driver was crazy. It was just dangerous.
Let me explain. You can ride inside or outside. If you ride outside, you stand on a little step and hold on tightly because you cannot stand comfortably, you are leaning back. Supposedly it is free if you are standing, but I ended up paying the 40 cents anyway, no big loss.
There is no warning by anyone about any potential dangers and I am so accustomed to tourist sites that warn you with signs, verbal warnings, and safety equipment that I was not on guard. The difference is that this streetcar is primarily transportation for locals and secondarily for tourists, hence, the low price and lack of warnings.
The danger starts when you leave the station and cross a high and narrow aqueduct. I was leaning back, enjoying the air, when I realized that I had about half a second to squeeze my feet as close to the streetcar as possible or I would be knocked off by the ankle high concrete wall the runs across the aqueduct. There was only about an inch and a half( 3 cm) of extra room.
I was marveling at how close of a call that was when I barely missed getting knocked off by a post that is remarkable close to the side of the streetcar. All the way up the mountain there were posts, poles, walls, cars, and signs that forced the people riding on the outside to flatten themselves to the side. I tried to look at the view while keeping an eye out for the next danger flying past. It was a dangerous to be inattentive. I loved it. It was exciting and completely contrary to anything in the states. If you get hurt, there is no chance to sue anyone, so take care of yourself.
The best/worst part was on the way down. We were not going too fast and I was clinging to the back, when I heard a terrible crunching scraping noise and I saw my fellow standers jumping up into the air. We were squeezing past a car that was parked too close to the tracks. The problem was that if you stayed standing it would crush your legs between the vehicles and we had to jump on top of the car, sliding and bouncing over the trunk, top, windshield, and hood, the whole time keeping hold of the streetcar because it was not stopping. We just kept going down the hill.
It was quite an exciting adventure.
