Rio 2008/9 1

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Day 1 (Tuesday) - The bus pulled into port 60. My directions said to catch a bus to the main metro station at port 60. I was a little confused but quickly found a bus titled "Estacion Metro" pulling in Port 59. The bus driver was quite helpful, guiding me through the motions necessary to get me a bus and metro ticket. He also let me keep my large bag at the front, which freed me from the heavy lifting and contortion necessary to get it over the turnstile. The bus took off, we were on our way and the anxiety of a new city's stresses seemed to fall off of me. It was an easy walk to the metro and all I had to do was wait for the Botafogo stop. The Ace Hostel was only about a block away from one of the metro station exits. I made my way up to the front desk and the stress that had just fallen off me jumped back on with many new anxiety friends when the girl at the front said that she couldn't find my booking. This was Rio and it was New Year (everything was booked). One of the girls who worked there introduced herself as Ruth and talked with me while the girl at the front and one of the married couple owners searched for my booking. Ruth took me to the bar room, which also served as the breakfast area. I sat with her and grabbed a bite to eat, while distracted from the conversation with Ruth by the contingency plans that were being planned in my less than spry mind. Fortunately, all was saved as we found out that my reservation had somehow been made one night too late and that there was a bed available that night as well. Time was again operating at its normal beat. I finished breakfast with Ruth and a Londoner named Steve, who was on day number two of his trip. Steve and I hit it off pretty well and decided to spend the morning exploring Botafogo before his early afternoon organized tour. The walk was nice though warm. Botafogo is a nice area of now. It does not have the pretention of Ipanema or as much of a crime or begging element as in Copacabana. After Steve went for his tour, I went back to the hostel and made my bed and cleaned up. Afterwards, I talked with Ruth for a while to get a lay of the land and to find out more about the following night's festivities. Ruth told me that everyone war white down to the water, which was nice to know as I had no white shirts with me. After a while Steve got back from his tour with plans to go to Copacabana that night with Geoffrey, an Asian born grad student at Wharton on his Christmas holiday. I was asked to join and off we went. We took the subway to Copacabana, planning to walk the whole way. We were obviously naive on distance. We had planned on walking down Copacabana to Ipanema, where we would grab dinner. However, after 20 minutes of walking, we found ourselves not much closer than at the beginning. We modified our plan to include eating at the first quilo restaurant we came to and then walking the beach in the evening. Dinner was good and the stroll down the beach was quite nice. Copacabana beach would be the hub of the following night's activities and it was neat watching the huge building project that was underway. There were many stages and platforms being strewn down the length of the beach. We were fortunate as Copacabana isn't too terribly safe in the evening, which we didn't know, but all the preparation brought in a stronger than normal police presence. As dusk was approaching (9ish), we watched the sun set on the water. Shortly thereafter, we headed back to the hostel where we grabbed a few drinks then nodded off to catch some necessary sleep before the following night's activities.

Day 2 (Wednesday) - New Year's Eve in Rio, Woooo Hoooo! First things first, I needed to get a white shirt. I had some shorts that were close to white already but purchased a linen shirt capable of breathing that would retain value through the rest of the trip. Steve was kind enough to come with me for the shirt before we walked to the little community of Urca. Sugar Loaf or Pan de Azucar is a famous attraction in Rio. It is a huge rock that sits at the tip of the hills dividing Botafogo and Copacabana. Apparently there is a wire tram that goes up to the top and gives a spectacular view across the city. I never made it up there but I am not one for tourist attractions that come with long queues. Urca is nestled at the base of the Sugar Loaf that faces Botafogo and Centro. There is only one road that leads in and out and it appears to be super exclusive. Homes there are nice and lavish and the citizens there have their own little beach. However, exclusivity comes at its price. Along with its stellar views and isolation comes an apparent fear of crime. Every in the few blocks has its own 5 - 10 video cameras that view the streets, gates, doors and windows. This was quite a nice walk and got us back in time to grab some food and get cleaned up before heading to Copacabana. We started the 40 minute walk to Copacabana about 8 o’clock. It was a bit early but the sun was still out and this would get us there early. With 2 million people or more set to descent upon the beach, getting there early seemed a good idea. Four of us left together: Tom; from San Francisco; Steve; Julian, from Sydney; and myself. It was a good group. I was trying to set up a rendezvous point to meet up with my friend Vanessa from earlier in the trip before I left but to no avail. We got a pretty good spot on the beach and were listening to one of the performances. I tried one last attempt to text message Vanessa where we were but did not know if it got through. The other 3 guys got a little restless shortly thereafter and wanted to walk around in search of a better place, closer to the stage. Having just sent the text, I didn’t want to have Vanessa come only to find me not there. So I told the other guys to go without me and send a man back to get me in an hour or so, should they find a better locale. So there I was on Copacabana Beach at about 9:30 on New Year’s Eve by myself. Things could have looked better at this point and did quickly. Within a few minutes of me pretending to be caught up in the rhythms of a local band, two ladies twenty feet from me started waving at me. They invited me to join them. I was not sure to where I was going but knew that it was likely better than being alone. It was much better; these two girls were part of a large group of locals (7 girls and 2 guys). Heaven has opened up several times on this trip to embrace me with the warm, comforting hug of providence. I would say it is Karma but no man deserves this much positive karma. So I become the instant super star of the group and the hottest dancing ticket in town (or at least the 5 square meters). Not too long after my 3 prodigal friends return to find the bounty which I have found. Not only was the ratio so favorable but they were intent on sharing their two chest size coolers of refreshments with us. This was one of the best nights I have ever had. To have such high expectations met and surpassed was unbelievable. We stayed out there dancing through intermittent rain storms till about 3 in the morning. We walked back to the hostel and I was cleaned up and in bed shortly after 4 in the morning.

Day 3 (Thursday) - My morning started a bit earlier than expected. At 6am I was woken up by a guy in the bunk caddy-corner to mine that I had only met previously the day before. He was a foot or so away from my face telling me Happy New Year. I said thank you and then he asked if I would mind talking to him for a while. My eyelids were in a heaviness competition with elephants but thinking he may need a friend for a minute, I said ok. Well, he spends the next thirty minutes telling me the story of his life and his battle with drug addiction. In order to combat it, he had moved to an island with no drugs to work 9 months a year. Not a bad idea, except that the other 2 or 3 months a year, he would spend on a drug bender. God, I am glad I have never felt the need to try drugs. The drugs completely controlled his life so much that his mission in life was to sustain the unsustainable at the expense of everything else. After hearing his story we talked a little bit, me half awake, half asleep with eyes closed. My eyes were opened quickly when I felt a punch land on my chest. It was my drug-addicted neighbor. To say I was confused would be a slight understatement. I asked why he did that and apparently in his inebriated state he fell down punching me in the chest in order to catch himself from falling to the floor. After that he apologized and left for the restroom. I went to sleep and pulled the blanket over my head in an effort to hide. That day was pretty tame. Julian and I went to Ipanema and alternated playing in the waves while the other watched the stuff and sleeping on the beach. It was a real nice day though I did manage to burn a splotch in my back that I did not reach with my suntan lotion. That night when I got back to the hostel, I met a group of fellow travelers and we all went out to a meat buffet restaurant around the corner. The food was pricey but good. The waiters would walk around with cuts of meat that they would cut off on to your plate. It was quite excellent. I was very hungry that night and ate my money’s worth. Upon returning to the hostel, I ran into Steve and some others who were just getting back from another tour. We sat and shared some drinks together and then all being tired from the night previous decided to turn in.

Day 4 (Friday) - The previous day had been the only day of sun in the three days prior and this one returned to status quo. It seemed to rain all day, which was actually perfect as I had some blog and other computer work to do before my German lady friends, Ute and Wiebke from Bolivia, flew in from Buenos Aires. I worked on the computer till about 5 with a few breaks to catch some food and other in-between then got cleaned up. About 6, the ladies arrived and they were tired; Sleepiness seemed to be a constant theme around the hostel. A group of hostel residents were going to Lapa (a street of bars and samba clubs) but Steve, the ladies and I decided to join two of the hostel staff (Bernardo and Anna) as they were headed to a more low key spot. We sat out there for a few hours and talked but it was clear that the troops were restless, so we didn’t make it a late night. I was in bed before 2.

Day 5 (Saturday) - The hostel was very quiet in the morning as those who went to Lapa were out till morning. I planned to hang out with the girls for the day and let them choose what they wanted to do. They decided on the Jesus. Cristo Redentor on Corcovado mountain, is a landmark known the world over. This massive statue is perched above the city as a reminder to the inhabitants of their faith and Jesus’ omnipresence. We waited in a queue for two hours before we could buy the tickets which were for a tram that was 3 and a half hours away from departing. In the mean time, we were hungry so we decided to go to Ipanema for some food. I was stupid for not killing that idea as I was the only one who knew how far it was away. With an hour down and an hour back, we were very rushed and made it back with more haste necessary than I would have hoped. We got up to Jesus about an hour and a half before sunset and it was slammed with people. We hung up there a while and were fortunate to have a prime seat as clouds rushed over the mountain closest to us. We decided to head down before sunset as we didn’t want to be stuck on the mountain all night (with so many people waiting for so few spots and Latin American standards for cutting in line, the thought of getting on after sunset sent a chill down my spine). We got back to the hostel around 9 and were all spent. We got some dinner and then had an early night.

Day 6 (Sunday) - It was another rainy days and everyone was doing things that didn’t really appeal to me so I decided to get caught up on some more computer work. I spent the majority of the day typing away and figuring out bills, not fun but necessary. After I finished there was just time for dinner and drinks. That evening a few of us played cards for several hours. I haven’t played cards in quite a while and forgot how fun it can be when with a good group.

Day 7 (Monday) - Steve was leaving that morning for another hostel in town and it was another rainy day. I tried to find an ATM that worked but was having trouble as in the past. Finally, when I gave up, it was time for lunch. Natalia, one of the girls from the hostel, was very sweet and took Steve and I to go get some food with her. I must chalk one up for the Ace Hostel because they really know how to hire staff. Just like Ruth, Natalia is a social butterfly with an unbelievable knack to make others feel included. She took us to a place that had very good food for very cheap, which we took to go. We ate the food back at the hostel. Steve, Natalia, Ruth and I had lots of laughs over lunch. That afternoon Ute and Wiebke returned and the three of us were to spend the afternoon together. The rain was not abating but increasing so we decided to go to a big mall a short ways away by cab. We walked around for a few hours, had some coffee, then went back to the hostel. That night was a big night. After dinner it was the Ohio State - Texas Fiesta Bowl Game. I was accompanied for the first half by Wiebke and Ute who got more kicks out of the message board on my computer site than the game but they soon got board and went to bed. With the time differential and having to wake up early, I paid the price for watching the game but was pleased with how my Buckeyes performed despite the loss.

Day 8 (Tuesday) - After only a few hours of sleep, I woke up the girls to say goodbye then caught the local bus to the bus station so I could grab the 6 hour omnibus to Sao Paulo. I was on the bus and on my way by 9.

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Photos

Enjoying Acai with Steve
A berry based treat I forsee becoming all the rage

A Laugh
Best name I have seen for a beverage stand

Jesus and Me
Hangin' with the big guy...