Streets of downtown Rio De Janeiro during Carnival.Rio De Janeiro
Page 3 - Less Clothing
Day 6, Friday
So we woke up at our hoopty hotel and headed back to the church.
Streets of downtown Rio De Janeiro during Carnival.
We headed to Copacabana beach once again, managed to sneak into the famed "Copacabana Palace" and go for a dip in their pool before they realized that this rat pack of unshaven guys had no business being there. After which we were promptly thrown out. lol. We managed, none-the-less to make fun even on this apparent overcast day.
Big kids never grow out of sand castles! (In our case, a giant hot tub).
So after chillin' at the beach most of the day, drinking the fresh fruit juices and cheap street food, we headed to Pão de Açúcar (Sugar Loaf - in all of the touristy pictures you see everywhere).
Looking around as if it wasn't he who farted.
While in transit (between cable car rides) we managed to watch a little samba in
action.
Yeah, we cool and we know it.
So we ended up shirtless again, go figure. There were some trails around the area that were fit for a romp, and vines and jungle and green and...
"We Tarzans. You Janes.
Come, swing from our vines."
Uungha! My name is Olarf the
Jungle Boy.
Would you trust me with your children?
Would you trust me with your children?
So after the wonderful night views of Pão de Açúcar, we headed onwards on the metro to our evening festivities. All dressed dapper por la noche, we meandered our way to a petit little spot for a local dinner which wasn't touristy at all, although we did have Micah wearing some stupid wig, which was pretty funny. We heard of a place, Club W, that was supposed to be da place for dancing that night, and upon our arrival, we found that the line (which was absurdly long) was not moving. We waited and waited like caged animals, then realized how stupid it was... the women walk right in, the men literally wait like drooling dogs. We waited until we were the very next ones in - we were by the banister to go in the door, and we left the line disgusted - waiting for such a long period of time took all the fun out of dancing. So back to the hotel we went - disappointed that the evening changed from an opportunity to dance into a meat market for women.
In the background, bad porno music
plays, the curtain rises, Nick Bump, the star in so many ways, enters the stage.
Day 7, Saturday
We had the opportunity to watch Americas play Flamenco (two local teams) in Maracana. It was awesome to see the fans and their spirit and to have a chance to partake in something so typical and essential in the life and culture of Brasil - football.
"What's wrong with me?"
Maracana, the world's largest stadium.
Later that evening, we were invited to Flavia's house to chill with her family for dinner - how cool is that! To go to a country as a bunch of tourists and be welcomed into the house of someone who hardly knows you to be treated to some authentic home cooking. How blessed our lives are! But the fun didn't stop there. That night was the finals of the parading at the Sambodromo. So naturally, we went, but Alex and Michael went with their little "flings" (for lack of a better word) and sat up front where the paraders were going by - how COOL is that!!! Micah and I chilled in the cheap seats we had been occupying all trip, and Jon and Bruce didn't feel comfortable going for some reason. They missed out. It was amazing - SUCH a fun time. Micah and I successfully instigated a huge paper fight in the stands - hundreds joined in and balled up their programs throwing them at people below until the police ended up breaking it up. It rocked. Talk about fans with spirit and fun! When Micah and I were returning at 5:00 AM, we walked back to the church through town to find that all of the floats had been parked right outside the church!!! So we climbed up and over all of them taking pictures and playing.
If the HEAD of a float looks like this, just imagine the rest of it!
Arrr matee, we've found the treasure! SKOL!!!
Again, for scale, picture the whole float.
The colors were incredible and indescribable.
Day 8, Sunday
So we never really went to bed the night before - technically that makes it still day 7 of our trip! Regardless, we were invited, as it was Sunday, to go to service with them. It happened to be in Portuguese (go figure!) and consequently, we felt bad falling asleep in the church, but heck, we couldn't understand a single word!!! (Well, I couldn't, perhaps Micah and Jon did alright). After the service, we went to Copacabana to meet up with my good friend Mike Daly who had been studying in Rio all year. With him we went to the Hippie Fair before packing and heading to the airport! What a trip!
The stereotypical Alex and Marc picture
in every country they visit.
At the airport. Hey Joyce, Flavia and Tish!!!
