familiarity with the local phone system is vital to safety and assistance in emergency situations - it is highly recommended to buy a local cell phone chip, since it enables anyone to contact the appropriate services during an emergency - chips can be purchased at a local phone services store with an original passport.

local public phones are called 'orelhão,' are normally blue and very easy to spot from a distance - for a picture of the typical public phone click here. LINK

public phones in rio do not accept coins so a phone card is neccessary to utilize the formentioned services - a picture of a phone care can be found here LINK - phone cards are sold in many different denominations, and can be purchased a the local news stands found on every street corner in the city - make sure to purchase a card of at least twenty reais since usage adds up.