Rio: ‘How safe do I really feel here?’

MELISSA Hoyer hit Rio on high alert and with trepidation. And she’s surprised to find the fear factor is fading as Olympic fever takes hold.

Serious security: Melissa Hoyer on the streets in Rio Picture: Instagram

BEING told when and where I can go isn’t normally the way I live.

But when there are police everywhere carrying guns you tend to sit up and take notice.

Welcome to Rio.

The security briefing notes were handed to us new arrivals in the Olympic city ras soon as we landed at our hotel a few blocks back from Copacabana Beach.

No bling (OK, so the glittery earrings were left at home); any too-provocative clothing and nothing that bought too much attention to any part of my body were all part of the no-go list.

For someone not used to being told what not to wear this came as a bit of a shock but when you see gun-toting police on every corner and trucks full of Brazilian soldiers on the streets, umm, fashion somehow takes a very back seat.

While one of the rules is not to go out on your own the expectation is that you always have a partner/pal with you - or certainly the phone number of your hotel very, very close at hand.

The feeling is a seemingly retrograde step in a capital that prides itself on its brash, loud, flashy and dynamic daily vibe.

But hey, the lead up to the Olympics hasn’t exactly been a smooth sailing when I comes to muggings, shootings and robberies.

I did absolutely arrive with trepidation.

And for someone whose fear factor is fairly minimal that’s saying quite a lot.

But to be honest I am nowhere near as scared or as fearful as I thought I would be when I left Australia..

Here a few hours & straight to it. #rio2016 #AUS #copacabana beach is like #Bondi on a badly busy day @newscomauhq pic.twitter.com/yD4xlYU3gi

— Melissa Hoyer (@melissahoyer) August 4, 2016

For every one ‘suspicious’ character there are about 2000 normal punters trawling the main drag of Copacabana beach soaking up the stench ... I mean salty sea air, observing the zillions of street performers and just trying to get in to the spirit of Rio.

The long stretch of beach that is Copacabana is dotted with mega-food station kiosks, bars and huge numbers — all of which make identifying meeting spots easy.

You hear the sirens, the loud noises, screeches, heated conversations, oh, and some pretty happy people in among all of that.

We’ve all been told not to travel on our own, and I certainly won’t be disobeying that security measure.

After the shooting of a would-be thief by a Russian diplomat and the theft of photographic gear from a News Corp photographer in the space of 10 seconds not far from where we are, I ain’t changing anything from the original security brief.

The Botanic Gardens has a security entrance. More cops are stationed outside the fake handbag stand just off the beach front.

Camouflaged cops on duty would not raise a smile no matter how nicely we asked. (Okay, so Portuguese isn’t my specialty subject.)

So far, the public security element in element Rio seems very well organised, but I can imagine how busy it will be at the opening ceremony Friday night, where punters are expected to walk a couple of kilometres from their drop off point, before they even reach the stadium.

That will just be the beginning of a very long few weeks of heightened security measures and some rather fearful Olympics guests.

The guidelines are pretty simple to be honest — act like you would when you go anywhere and you are out of your comfort zone.

Don’t look ostentatious. Don’t take the iPhone out at every opportunity, don’t leave the handbag unzipped or on the floor next to you.

Sure, the lack of iPhone accessibility may make my Rio trip not as colourful as I may have liked, but what is the choice? Safety and sanity? Or a stolen iPhone with a whole lot of pictures the robber couldn’t give a stuff about anyway.

Rio, to so many is a pretty mad place at this point, and a dynamic hot mess.

Listening outside it’s like I am at a football grand final.

It’s crowded, loud, packed with traffic, friendly, accessible, smelly, hot, devoid of deodorant, poverty-fuelled, full of rich peeps, of limos, a tad grubby and full of every type of human possible.

It’s 8 and 3/4 months pregnant, and basically waiting for the opening ceremony to start.

It’s everything you expect it to be: a study in contrasts which makes it slightly scary in an alert kind of way.

And it is these contrasts that make it interesting.

I don’t think the feelings of fear will totally dissipate. To use that well-worn phrase, everyone here is alert but not too alarmed. Yet.

And if you can learn to tell the difference between the laughter outside of your hotel room as opposed to serious screams, I guess the Olympics will be deemed, at least, an emotional success.

* Melissa Hoyer is in Rio for news.com.au as a guest of Oakley