Rio - part 1

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We hadn´t planned on going to Rio just yet...our flight out of Brazil leaves Rio on 8th January and we were going to save it til last. But the promise of dancing in the streets with our friends made the decision easy, so now we have a weekend in Rio to enjoy.

We stay in Santa Teresa, a neighbourhood to the north of the famous beaches but next door to Lapa, the heart of Rio´s street party scene. Every weekend the streets around the landmark Arcos do Lapa aqueduct fill with bands of samba drummers and dancing crowds...it´s like a mini Carnaval. We have a crazy capirinha-soaked soaked Friday night and Ritchie Aerosmith Rocks even puts in an appearance...spotted chasing a harassed-looking tequila man down the Escadaria Selarón. We end the night watching the sky get light from the hostel´s rooftop pool 😊

Also whilst in Rio, we experience a churrascaria restaurant in Copacabana. This type of bbq restuarant is crazy...you pay a set price and get given a card: red on one side, green on the other, which allows you to join in this all-you-can-eat extravaganza. We decide the trick is to not eat all day in preparation and then on the night avoid all the carby side dishes...no need for chips or rice and beans when there´s all-you-can-eat prime rib on offer! I can just picture Chris & Jamie here contending for the 'And that´s why they call him Meat´ Championship Title. There´s a huge buffet of salads, sushi, pasta and paella whilst waiters circle the tables brandishing huge skewers of perfectly bbq-ed meat. If your card is facing up green they´ll just keep on coming...carving off slices of sirloin, filet...the choices are endless and the quality is amazing. Even if your card faces up red they constantly try to tempt you to eat more, and it takes a concerted effort to ignore them and go at your own pace. If you do manage to, then there is a small chance that you might be able to stand and walk out completely unaided.

Me and Ritch sit out (sleep out?!) the last night out, even though there´s guestlist to Groove Armada in a club on Sugarloaf Mountain on offer...yes, we must have been ill! Two pairs of bruised dancing feet, one tequila tired head and the prospect of a 30 hour bus ride up to Salvador de Bahia amanhã mean the night would be wasted on us this time.

So, a weekend in Rio...more party, more bbq and more tequila than anyone could ever need! I´m going to go rest in the Bahia and I can´t wait to come back to the Cidade Maravilhosa in January for some more. The skies have been thick with low clouds for the whole weekend, so we´re in the weird position of having been to Rio, but not yet having seen Christ the Redeemer or Sugarloaf Mountain. I hope the sky is blue when we get back, or the clouds at least clear enough for us to catch a glimpse of that famous skyline.

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