I go to Rio de Janeiro
Trip Start
Jan 20, 2004
1
6
88
Trip End
Feb 01, 2005
Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil
Tuesday, February 3, 2004
Flying over the coast, boats looked like minnows with their white wake amongst the deep blue water and limestone mountains. When my bus turned onto Copacabana beach I was awestruck by the umbrellas lining the beach and the swarms of tanned, beautiful people wearing very little.
I felt very pasty and conservative in comparison, so after checking into my hostel, I went in search of a new bikini, one that wouldn't compromise my modesty, but that also wouldn't brand me a total tourist
Copacabana Beach
. One of the most interesting things about Rio is the melting pot of races and colours. It is not unusual to see a mother and children that don't look anything alike. People vary in colour from palest white to the darkest black.
The hostel is pretty quiet, bordering on very boring, so I slept for 14 hours the first night and then woke to go and hang out by the beach. I put my togs on and packed my sarong and off I went to Copacabana beach, a few blocks away. The footpaths are all little mosaics and uneven.
On the beach I spread out my sarong and lay down amongst hundreds of other people. After about 30-40 minutes I was dripping with sweat and in need of a drink and some shade. I got up and put on my burning hot thongs and crossed the beach to the footpath. I wasn't feeling very well and I knew that I needed water so I went to a bar and asked for "Um agua" which the bartender said that he didn't have. By this stage I was getting desperate and was starting to feel lightheaded. I crossed the bike path and started to get dizzy and lose my sight. I stumbled on a piece of the pavement and then held onto a lightpole as suddenly everything turned a fuzzy black and I couldn't see.
I'm not sure if I started to cross the road, but I saw a man coming towards me through the darkness. He held my arm and led me to a palm tree where I sat down and leaned against it. A woman came rushing up and asked me something to which I replied "Agua, agua" She came rushing back with a bottle of water and handed it to me. As I sat under the tree with the water I started to feel better, and rather silly that I'd allowed myself to get dehydrated. The man that helped me had bleached blonde hair and tattoos on his arms. He hung around for awhile while the woman, who spoke a bit of English, got me a bucket of water to put over my head, face and arms. He then asked her if I wanted him to help me cross the road, but I was feeling much better and just needed to sit and finish my water for a bit. He left and I thanked him very much. I don't know what would have happened if he hadn't been there to help me.
The woman told me that I had to be careful of thieves and that the sun is very hot. I thanked her and she went on her way with her family.
I decided to spend the rest of the day resting, and bought 3litres of water on my way back to the hostel.
I ended up watching the Superbowl with a set of American twins, Ronnie and Bobby. The only place we could find it on TV was at the Marriott Hotel so we luxed it up for an evening. I was going for the New England Patriots and was glad when they beat the Carolina Panthers in the last 5 seconds of the game. It was truly a great introduction to American football.
Still haven't visited the Sugar Loaf or Christ the Redeemer. I think I'm heading to Cabo Frio tomorrow on a tour with people from the hostel. Not really sure what to expect but I think that it will involve an early start (5:30am) and an opportunity to beach it up. Will try and visit the two most famous Rio landmarks on Thursday.
Last night I went for a swim in the Copa Sea off the Copacabana Beach. It was very salty, but I suppose that's what I should expect of the sea (I should have at least learned that by now!). That was followed by a visit to a churrascaria rodizío which is a Brazilian buffet barbeque. You go up and load your plate up with salads and side servings and then waiters come around to your table with massive skewers of different meat and carve it directly onto your plate. I was in carnivore heaven!!! And all for just 12 reais ($6AUD)!!!
Today I attended to the tedious task of getting my backpack fixed. I supposedly bought a good quality pack that would withstand months on the road. After 10 days one of the seams on the bottom compartment had split. Newton, the hostel owner, sent one of his employees, Eduardo, to show me where to get it fixed. It now looks stronger than ever and was only 10 reais to fix.
My time in Rio is going by pretty quickly without much to note. Surprisingly I haven't had a massive night out in Rio. I went to an Irish bar, Shenanigans, in Ipanema last night, but it was full of Americans and packed to the hilt - I wasn't in the groove. I spend most of my days sleeping and then people watching, drinking juice and eating delicious food all of which I could still do for years to come.
