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Published: February 22nd 2013
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Rio Carnaval 2013 - Part one We start our trip with a week in Rio de Janeiro at the time of Carnaval, a immense festival of colour, music and general indulgence before the start of lent. Really a visit to Rio during Carnaval should come with a note of caution - if you value your sleep, are averse to large raucous crowds or are in anyway claustrophobic - Carnaval is not for you! We arrive in Rio late in the evening, after our first sweaty, meagre nights sleep we arise with one thing in mind - the beach! Rio is famed for its miles of sandy beaches and striking views (girls with big butts and tiny g-strings) so we thought what better way to start our stay than with a trip to Ipanema, the next beach along from the city's most renowned, Copacabana. With its soft, light sand, rolling waves and stunning setting overlooked by one of Rio's many peaks, Ipanema is easily the most breathtaking city beach I have ever seen. As we relax on hot crisp sand, I notice a commotion to my right at the shore. Sun kissed locals call out to people in the sea in a
frenzy, I stand up to get a better look and then I see it... a giant fin. "Oh shit, a shark! And just 10-15 metres out," I yell to Sonya who lies oblivious next to me. As everybody flees from the ocean and just as the last person wades ashore, the fin disappears for a second and then this monster of the ocean dives up out the sea to reveal itself. The whole beach is silent for a split second, you can hear a collective sharp intake of breath and moments later this is followed by cheers and applause. The fin is not that of a shark after all but instead a whale! The emotion on beach turns from terror to ecstasy in seconds, enhanced when people discover the pod of three smaller whales closely behind. Whether whales that close to shore are common in Rio I'm uncertain but given the reaction of the revellers, I'd bet it doesn't happen all that often. Perhaps like us, they were just in town to enjoy Carnaval!! We couldn't believe how lucky we were to have seen these amazing creatures so close up in the wild and on our first day in Cidade
Maravilhosa - the marvellous city as it's affectionately known. Our hostel informed us of a 'blocco' later that day in Santa Teressa, one of Rio's barrios (districts) and perhaps the most bohemian of them all. The lady at the hostel explains that a blocco is essentially a huge street party, usually with a procession and a samba band. They take place in numerous districts everyday during Carnaval. Along with a small group from the hostel, we decide to go along to get our first taste of Carnaval. A few stops on the metro later we follow the crowds up steep, cobbled streets to a set of even steeper steps, now you can feel the beat of drums as the music pulsates through your body. It's around
4pm and it's baking hot, we're breathless and soaked in sweat as we reach the top. The road in front of the stairs is where the procession is taking place and is crammed with people in all manner of weird and wonderful fancy dress. To our right there's the procession; puppets hoisted above crowds, dancers in bright exotic costumes and at the back an open top vehicle from where a samba band plays for
hours and hours on end - no breaks, no pauses between songs, just the constant banging of the drums which you can't help but move your feet to. In truth the crowds got a little too much for us both, you can barely move - think of being at the very front of a music festival crowd, sweaty bodies, pushing and shoving - it's great fun for a while but when it's 35 degrees and your under the sun, you need a break so we retreated down the first flight of stairs to watch and drink tequila sold by street vendors at a fairly reasonable price ( 3 shots for 12 Reais, about £4). We head for home after a couple of hours as Sonya is in desperate need of a wee and the Blocco hasn't really catered for the masses in terms of its toilet facilities. She doesn't speak a word the whole walk to the subway, she holds herself as she finally finds a toilet. Hopping from one foot to the next, a Brazilian women in front of her in the queue notices her plight and let's her jump in front. She makes it to the loo just
in time - she comes out relieved but still annoyed with her wild goose chase for the banherio. I can't help but laugh, a happy ending to a great afternoon in Santa Teressa. Lapa is the barrio that comes alive at night and is where people come to party until the sun comes up. We get off the subway and as is often the case, follow the hoards a short walk to the main area distinguished by the huge aqueduct/ arched bridge. Lapa was electric; tens of thousands of people in the streets, markets, bars pumping out music, street performers and beers sold from cool boxes. We had a fantastic night dancing in the streets, trying ride a backwards bicycle and generally just chatting and exchanging stories with a large group from our hostel. We head home with black, sore feet (you wear haivianas everywhere) at about
4am but the party is by no means over in Lapa. Christ the Redeemer - Rio's most iconic symbol - a statue of Jesus which sits atop of one of the cities peaks looking down and embracing this fabulous city and its people. I will never forget the first time I saw the monument; we were walking to the metro station in Botafogo, I look up and there directly in front of us in the clear nights sky was the illuminated figure of Christ, seemingly hovering over the city. It was such a striking vision, the kind of thing you see and you immediately have to do a double take to give your brain chance comprehend what your eyes are telling it. After a few misty mornings, we awoke to a clearer day - perfect conditions to make the trip up Corcovado to see Christ the Redeemer up close and enjoy the panoramic views of Rio. Turns out every other tourist has the same idea! We arrive at the foot of the hill to take the tram up to the top but tickets are unavailable until
5pm so instead we queue to take the shuttle bus up the steep cobbled streets. The shuttle bus drops us off, next we queue for tickets for entry to the monument. Tickets paid for, brilliant lets go! Ahh not so fast. We are herded into yet another queue, this one longer than all the others put together, for another shuttle service to the statues base. 45 mins later and around 3 hours after we left the hostel, Sonya, I and three guys we were sharing a dorm with arrive at the entrance. As we walk up the stairs, the views of the city are incredible, a little hazy given the summers afternoon intense heat but amazing nonetheless. You can see the long golden sands of Copacabana and Ipanema, the Maracana - the cities great football stadium, Sugar Loaf mountain - Rio's highest point, numerous Favellas, the lush botanical gardens and much more. The queuing was worth it for the views alone but then we arrive at the statue. Stood on a platform with his arms out stretched perhaps 100ft high, Christ the Redeemer was utterly breathtaking. The sculpture is simplistic, without intricate detail yet the design is so impressive and imposing you can't take your eyes off the smooth grey stone for a second. We spent maybe half an hour gazing in awe, trying to get the perfect photograph from all angles, minus the hoards of tourists around us. As we begin our descent, there's a plaque near the exit which reads, (or at least something along the lines of) "In 2007, Christ the Redeemer was voted one of the Modern Seven Wonders of the World." Enough said. Sonya will fill you in on the rest of our antics in Rio de Janeiro in the next blog post. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed, Jon x
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Graham & Andrea
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Hi ya chaps
Hi Jonathan and Sonya Just caught up with your travel blog and it looks like your having a fantastic time, really getting into the local culture and booze - hic!! The carnival in Rio looks absolutely spectacular, wish we were there with you. Ile Grande, well what can you say, paradisio for sure. Anyway will keep up with you progress now and will share what you have put up with Dad so that he can see where your up to. Take good cares of yourselves, take it easy on the beer/rum, bad advice don't do that, and keep the pictures coming. We look forward to the next episode. Love Graham and Andrea