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Published: February 19th 2014
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Rio is really gearing up for Carnival. I have seen some of the most beautiful drag queens on earth just walking down the street with the most divine glittery costumes. I have no idea how they can walk so gracefully in such massive platforms, but they do. You can also see the drunken tourists beginning to pile into the city, and the nights are getting more crowded and loud. I’ve seen a few people drinking beer at 10am and earlier during weekdays - but Andreia seems to think that’s pretty normal for Rio and not a Carnival thing... It seems to me that most of Rio’s residents try and escape the city for the days of carnival (28 March – 4 April) because there are so many people flooding the city. I hear that it is impossible to eat, drink or move without waiting in some tremendous queue and battling the people.
It is now my fifth day in Rio and its been overcast all bar one day, yesterday…. It’s never overcast in the postcards! On the upside, Rio is a bloody beautiful city regardless of the weather and the temperature at the moment is just fantastic.
At the
Not Copacabana Beach
This is Botofogo beach, shot taken at night (obviously). beach, vendors walk up and down the sand all day selling bikini’s, drinks, hire chairs, umbrellas, ice-creams, coconut water and clothes. I can’t imagine what it would be like doing that all day in the hot sun, so I’ve got a lot of respect for them. They don’t really bother you too much, which is nice. Also, there is CORN, huge cobs for $2.50, buttered and delicious…
So far, the swell I have seen here is crazy; I haven’t seen anyone swimming because the currents and waves are so strong. Andreia says it is quite unusual for it to be this rough, its certainly different from Glenelg and St Kilda…
Yesterday, I went for a run along Copacabana beach. It was stunning. I know I said last time that all the pretty people came to Ipanema. I was wrong. The beautiful people are at Copacabana. I console myself by thinking of them as walking nutrient deficiencies with skin cancer …
There is a good running track that goes the entire length of the beach from Ipanema to Copacabana. Man the heat was intense! I did better than the run the day before though so that is good,
except at the end I got lost and ran too far. Doh. There are massive buildings going all the way off the beach, but every now and then you pass a street and can see back to the hills behind it, with all the favelas. I’m really quite interested by them all actually; I wonder what people in them do all day…
The other night Andreia took me to an awesome Japanese place called Koni. It’s like a Japanese fast food joint, but the quality is really good and they do cool combo packs. I tried a matte leão, which tastes to me like a sweet, white iced tea. It was a little sweet for my liking but something I am sure I will become addicted to over time. Oh, I forgot to say last time, they have McDonalds stores here that only sell sundaes and ice cream! I tried to take a picture, but the signs didn’t come up because they were too bright, and I think I embarrassed Andreia because I was taking pictures of McDonalds…
Jet lag has been an interesting experience. I had two very long plane rides over here, and I think it
actually really allowed me to reset my body clock. I had getting an hour or two of sleep here and there on the plane, but managed to get about 8 hours in total and stay up until 10 pm (10 am Brissie time) my first night here. So I am not tired as such, but I think that jetlag has been affecting me in other ways. For instance, I have been acting quite teary and emotional at around 10am every morning, it usually lasts for about an hour, then I feel fine. Also, I feel slightly hung-over at different times of the day, but then it passes. Is this jet lag? I am not sure. I am not drinking atm so it’s not a hangover. I have only midnight snacked once this trip, which I am proud of.
On our way home one night I saw a big white Jesus hovering in the misty distance. First I thought Andreia had slipped something in my drink but then I realised it was Christo Redenter (Christ Redeemer) lit up on the mountain. It was absolutely stunning and very mystical. It literally looked like a Jesus hovering in the sky, because you
couldn’t see the mountain it was standing on. Can’t wait till I see the big guy up close! ...The statue that is.
Oh, by the way - if anyone decides ever to come to Rio, make sure you get an adaptor before you arrive! I went to about 15 different places over 3 days searching for an adaptor before I found somewhere that sold Apple chargers. FYI ‘adaptor’ is really difficult to mime if one does not speak Portuguese - and no, it did not occur to me to take my charger for demonstrative assistance…
Till next time.
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Paula
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Christ the Redeemer
Wow!! It looks a little eerie yet beautiful. Can't wait to see the pics of it up close. Love the blog too :)