Rio surpassed all my expectations and has given me a great desire to explore more of Brazil. The location of the city, set among the mountains and looking out to sea, is spectacular. Cariocas are genuinely warm and friendly. The food is delicious. The music is great.

But it is uncomfortable to be in a city where you never quite feel safe. The gated apartment blocks, the constant anecdotes of tourists being robbed and of Cariocas being shot and killed mitigate so much of what makes Rio so great. Just one day after we left Rio 19 people were killed in gun battles between drug dealers and police that spilled over into the heart of the city.

It seems strange that a gigantic statue of Jesus Christ looks out over a city where there is so much violence and poverty, and where sex, in the form of Cariocas’ skimpy bathing outfits and the passionate rhythms of Samba and Forro, is never far from the surface.

As for the lawlessness, we were lucky that our hotel in Ipanema had a rooftop pool. I don’t know how I would have felt if I had to spend an afternoon trying to relax on the beach never trusting when I went into the sea that I would return to find my things where I left them.

In fact, I think it was Ilha Grande that really cemented my love for Brazil. It was the only part of our holiday when we could truly relax. And when we returned to Rio afterwards, what had once seemed an exotic, bustling city, became a humid, dirty, smelly metropolis.

It was the music that made Rio so special. If you want to really enjoy Brazil’s beaches and natural beauty you’ve got to get out of the city.