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Published: February 29th 2008
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Brazil
Samba Parade My original plan was to spend Carnaval in Salvador, but after making such great friends in Rio I decided to spend it there.
I met up with the gang at Ipanema beach on Friday afternoon. It was the only day I was back there that was sunny. I had forgotten how much it rains in Rio. We hung out there for a couple of hours and then went home to change for the night. My first two nights of Carnaval were spent at Lapa. I was a bit disappointed with this as I had been out in Lapa many times before and was expecting something different for Carnaval. They were good nights but I didn't feel like it was Carnaval. There were a lot more people than usual in Lapa. People party in the streets on a normal weekend, but the streets were packed with people as far as the eye could see. Bands were also playing at an outdoor stage next to the arches.
Sunday felt like Carnaval. We went to a block party next to the Botanical gardens mid-afternoon. Though it wasn't sunny it wasn't raining either. It was actually perfect weather for a block party. If
Brazil
Botanical Garden Block Party it was warm and sunny it would have been painful to be in the huge crowd of people. Bands were playing atop an old bus at one end and there were people getting into the Carnaval spirit all around us. I was so excited to be there.
We stayed at the block party untill it got dark and then moved to Ipanema beach. The streets and the beach itself were filled with people. We wandered around for a while and met up with some others from our group. Here we split up for the night. A few of the Americans were keen to watch the superbowl that was playing that night. I was keen for a sit down so I tagged along. We went to the two Irish bars in Ipanema figuring they would be showing it there. They were, however they were both packed and we couldn't get in. One of the guys knew it was playing at a fancy hotel in Copacabana so we high-tailed it there. We arrived ragged and intoxicated and must have stood out amongst the rich, clean American tourists that were staying at the hotel. We scored some seats and settled in to
Brazil
Botanical Garden Block Party watch the remainder of the game. After two ridiculously expensive rounds, one of the girls popped across the road to buy some cheap cans of beer. She snuck them in successfully. So there we were - dirty, some of us barefoot, drinking cheap cans of beer at this swank hotel. Good times.
Monday night for me was Samba night. Five of us went out to the parade and managed to haggle with some scalpers to get tickets for around A$15. The samba parade is unique to Rio and a definite highlight of it's Carnaval. Because we were in the cheap seats we were sitting at the end of the parade where the samba schools finish their routine. The stretch of concrete the parade is on is a permanent structure and I can't imagine it gets used for anything else. The parade goes in a straight line so there is not much benefit of being in the expensive seats. I can't believe people pay hundreds of dollars when they can see the same thing for 15.
It was amazing ! The amount of effort they go to to make the floats and costumes is tremendous. When each new float
Brazil
Botanical Garden Block Party came along I was sure it was the most spectacular and I wouldn't be as impressed by anything that followed. Then the next group came along and I was somehow more amazed. I couldn't stop saying "wow".
Those people can really dance. It was great when one of the women would be infront doing some sort of dance solo and you could really see the performace.
By Tuesday it was time for another block party. This time we went to Ipanema. Possibly the most fun I had during carnaval. There were musicians walking down the main street banging their drums and the crowd was moving with them. Beer in hand I danced to the sounds of Brazil as the crowd moved towards Leblon beach. It was such a great atmosphere. Somehow our group ended up leading the crowd along as the sun started to go down over the sea. It was a fantastic day.
After dinner we regrouped at - you guessed it - Lapa. It ended up being a really fun night and I didn't mind being there again after experiencing different things from Carnaval.
If there is one word to describe the smell of
Brazil
Botanical Garden Block Party Carnaval, it's "piss". Because there are so many more people than usual and the same amount of toilets, people were pissing in the street and the smell stayed. Some sections of Lapa were quite horrid to go near.
I am so stoked I got to experience Carnaval. It was a great event to be a part of. Another thing I can tick off my list. Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.
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Tyrone
non-member comment
Lapa lapa lapa
I honestly have not been more jealous throughout the entire time I've been reading the self indulgent tripe that seems to spew forth from your keyboard in these blogs. You sicken me. Oh and can you please tell all those Brazillian girls to be less attractive, thank you.