We have been very fortunate thus far on our trip, having only been victims of crime once, when Bryson’s trusty truck Wilfred was broken into in Mexico. That was mostly due to our negligence and lack of planning. Apart from that, we have sailed the world in trusting bliss, and have been rewarded with no problems.

It has been a combination of avoidance, precaution, and blind luck that has kept us safe thus far. Sure, we lock the boat occasionally, and even once in Indonesia hired guards for the night we spent ashore, but on the whole we could easily fall victim to theft by any halfway motivated criminal. Surfboards are often in plain view on deck, camera’s, laptops, wallets, radios abound below. Shhhhh…

But what are you going to do, really? Sail around in Fort Knox? Not possible. Avoid any interesting place that might have some unsavory characters? Well, from my experience back home, petty theft is often worse in the so-called ‘nice’ neighborhoods, which are far less interesting anyways. Nope, modus operandi is to go where we’re going to go, exercise a bit of caution and a lot of trust. It has served us well thus far. That being said, we have visited very few major cities; where you find lots of people, wealth and the inherent disparity, there too you find crime.

Right now we find ourselves in the port city of Forteleza, population 2 million, moored up at The Marina Park Hotel, a 5-Star resort complete with marina (there might be a pool and hammocks too). Not exactly where you’d expect to find the intrepid off-the-beaten-track adventure vessel Khulula. But given the options, it might not be such a bad place to be. Of the main harbor, our cruising guide says ” The anchorage off the Yacht Club is reported as unsafe following frequent robberies from yachts anchored there. It is dangerous to walk to the yacht club and using a taxi is essential for visiting harbour authorities etc.”

That doesn’t sound too appealing. But maybe it is blown out of proportion. Even so, is it worth it? So here we find ourselves at the hotel, where certainly the security is high. We leave surfboards in plain view on deck, the boat unlocked throughout the day, no worries. It comes at a cost though; $35 a day. Not outrageous, but it adds up. Although do the math: one stolen surfboard, or one lifted laptop and its paid for itself. Mostly it just seems a bit unadventurous to pay for the sterile environment when we travel to experience each place; we’re walled in from the true heart of the city.

So what do we do? Well, try and escape the gates and guards to explore the city; the culturally and architecturally rich Centro, only 3 or 4 blocks away. But wait the guard at the entrance says it is not safe to walk between here and there. Not safe? What exactly does that mean and for who? A rich executive with a mobile phone, thick wallet, fancy watch? Or two young guys with nothing but board shorts and some loose change in their pockets Or dangerous for even the most street wise local living in the barrio? We’ve already heard plenty of 2nd hand stories of muggings and robbery. But it is hard to judge because you never hear the story of someone going to an ATM, withdrawing $100’s of dollars and safely walking away. So we’ve ventured into the city plenty, taken the bus at night, and walked through some pretty unsavory areas, but never with camera or with an ease and speed that allows us to properly take it all in.

And then there’s the surfing beach 1 km away, again through a ‘rough’ part of town. (Incidentally just past a sewage treatment plant, yup it smells awful). As we spend more days here regularly walking back and forth to the beach, we’re becoming much more comfortable and feeling secure here… but secure enough to bring the camera along to take some pictures? Are we being watched? How much do we stick out? Are we targets? Is it worth it? Are we paranoid?