Brazil: Good buzz, bad buzz

So here I am, barely one week in Brazil, and already I’ve been mugged in broad daylight, had my credit card skimmed, been charged €42 for a burger and contracted a bad dose of the dreaded Dengue fever.

Not.

According to the more apocalyptic warnings issued to visitors bound for these World Cup finals, any or all of the above could and maybe even should have befallen me by now. The fact that, au contraire, I’ve got nothing so far but glowing things to say about this intoxicating country, is a reminder that wise old Mark Twain was on the money when he observed that he’d been through some terrible things in his life, some of which actually happened.