Live Music and Corrupt Police

Friday night, we decided to go check out some nightlife. Dan had read about a place called Coconuts Live up by the Radisson so we decided to just head there for dinner. Ate at a restaurant in the hotel and then went out to find Coconuts. We walked up and down the street looking for it and couldn't seem to find it for the life of us. We looked it up on Google Maps and walked to where it was listed on the map. There was a sign for two bars and Coconuts Pool.

We decided that maybe this was Coconuts "Live" so we went in to one bar/club. Loud music and not one soul in there. So we figured we'd try to adjoining bar. Went in to find more of the same, but at least there were bartenders. We had a beer and waited for other people to show up. Welp, beer is gone and still no one here. It's 11:30!! How is there no one here?! Oh well, let's try something else.

Got in a cab and asked to go to Gil Vicente which, apparently, is a popular hangout not far from our hotel. He starts to pull away and asks us if we have "documentation" (meaning our passports) on us. We said yes, as we've been warned several times that we should always carry them on us because the police often stop white people and things get quite difficult if you cannot readily provide your documents. The cabby said "good because the police like money". We know, buddy, but we appreciate your concern.

We start to drive back towards our side of town. Mind you, pretty much the only reason to be on this road is if you are coming from the nicer hotels on the Indian Ocean/beach side. So the police aren't stupid with where they have placed their checkpoint because it's likely tourists/foreigners who would be coming from this direction. Not surprisingly, they stop our driver and we pull over. I start to try to put my seat belt on (because I've been yelled at for this before in Ghana) and Dan says not to bother. Funny part is that probably 80% of cabs I've been in both here and Ghana have seat belts but the buckle part is no where to be found.... making it totally useless.

Dan is in the back on the curb side and the police are now outside his window. They ask for our documents in Portuguese and we, of course, play dumb and ask for English. We hand them our passports, very reluctant to let them out of our grips. The guys flip through them (honestly, we wouldn't have cleared customs without a visa so this is obviously just a money grab). They hand the passports back and try to write us a ticket for not wearing our seat belts. This is where Dan's Ghana training comes in handy.

Dan says "No, I cannot give you any money as I work for the government. I'll need your name and badge number for any payments because I am required to report it." The guys take a step back. "Who do you work for?" Dan says "PwC" blank stare. Dan says "INP" (Instituto Nacional da Petroleo).  They look at each other and say "Oh." I lean forward to the driver and say "Yeah, you can go now." Finally, the cops say "you can go" and the three of us laugh as we pull away.

We arrive safely at Gil Vicente and the place looks mobbed. At least 15-20 people outside the door, but we quickly learn they are just outside to smoke or hang out and we got right in. There was a band and the place continued to fill up after we arrived. The music was good and we had a nice time. Walked back to the hotel to get some rest after an eventful evening.