For any of you budget travellers or backpackers thinking about staying in Rio:s Catete district, here is a warning. And no, it's not about violence or dangerous physical risks; in fact, this is a nice area and everything else said about it is just mass media lies. No, my warning concerns a special individual, a Canadian who calls himself Richard Simpson. This guy roams the streets around Rua do Catete looking for tourists to cheat. He calls himself a personal travel agent (and he is!) and he sells everything from overpriced Favela tours (which can be fascinating for those of you who haven't seen the slum before, but you should buy it from someone else) to even more overpriced trips to Foz do Iguacu. There is only one problem: This guy is a crook, even though a very carismatic and persuasive one. Virtually every word he says is either a lie or an exaggeration. This is, for example, what happened not only to me but also to some British guys who bought his "package" to Foz do Iguacu:
Richard Simpson claimed that buying his package, including a "luxury" hotel in Foz do Iguacu would only be $30 more expensive than doing what most people do: to stay at the excellent, friendly and helpful Youth Hostel there is in that town. Besides, by buying his package I would get a personal guide to take me around to both the falls and the bird park. Now, this guide never turned up, and was impossible to reach. Richard Simpson also lied about the hotel, which was good but far from being a luxury hotel. He also said that I would have to pay an entrance fee in order to cross into Argentina. This fee was supposed to be included in his package as well. This is a pure lie, however, since there is no such thing as a fee whatsoever. To sum up, without mentioning all his lies, you will lose A LOT more than $30 if you buy his package.
Another example: Before I left for Foz, I also saw Richard Simpson selling a watch to some Swedish girls for $40. He clamed it was a $500 watch stolen buy some gypsies. Exactly the same watch costs 30-40 reais in the street! R.S. always has at least ten such watches in his pockets. A strange behaviour for a man who claims himself to be a millionaire with a Swiss bank account (but without teeth), who only wishes to "help" tourists.
In other words: STAY AWAY FROM THIS GUY!
