I to my lovely hostel last Wednesday and despite the long flight decided to go exploring the neighbourhood a little. Set between the loagoon and the beach, Ipanema is a beautiful neighbourhood. As I arrived to the lagoon the scene took my breath away. The granite mountains make for dramatic views from all over the city. After this I walked back to the beach where the locals were playing futevolei. Its a really impressive version of volleyball where instead of using their hands they show off their mad soccer skills, its so fun to watch.
The following day was spent exporing Ipanema, Copacabana and the City, looking at some rad art deco architecture and some ridiculously ornate churches. I saw an exhibition of paintings by a Brazilian artist Tarsila do Amaral which was brilliant. As I walked around the city there were stalls on every corner selling masks, crazy hats and silly glasses. The city was getting ready for Carnaval! That night I walked a few blocks from my hostel to a local bloco (street party) to see what it was all about...
It was crazy! Totally nuts! And bloody awesome:) There were people absolutely everywhere, decorated with feathers and aforementioned silly hats just singing and dancing and drinking and kissing. Smiles everywhere. The first bloco I went to and was in a park. I think there was a band somewhere in the middle of the massive crowd but people were just dancing to their own songs, loving life, it was great. The next bloco I stumbled upon had a proper parade with sexy samba dancers and an absolutely rocking percussion section which whipped the crowd (myself included) into a joyous frenzy. There was a float of a giant smiling condom, which at one point was dangerously close to hitting the powerlines over the street. Twelve Brazilian guys in green pig hats carefully, and rather comically, guided it through but didn't stop drinking or dancing in the entire operation. The blocos are the lifeblood of Carnaval, but the highlight are the parades in the Sambodrome.
I arrived to the Sambodrome and was immediately struck by the atmosphere, it was electric! I arrived about 10.30 pm and plonked myself down, solo gringa girl amongst hundreds of happy brazilians dancing, singing and waving the flags of the schools they came to support. Then the second schools parade began and in a short time my mind was blown. The costumes were nothing short of amazing. This first school had some strange historical theme, with kings and knights, boats to new lands, indigenous peoples (including bizarre aboriginals with boomerangs and koalas sitting on their hips?!?) then scientists with huge magnifying glasses and Newton´s with apples on their heads, through to Beatles with Yellow Submarine hats, finishing off with Alice in Wonderland for some reason. The themes were kinda random, but I liked that cos you never knew what to expect next! The school that ended up winning featured these incredible dancers in Slinky costumes, the Queen, Michael Jackson and Ronaldhino dancing on a plane, and some other weird and wonderful costumes and a catchy tune. I was there til 530 am and it was easily the most entertaining thing I have ever seen in my life. That day as I collapsed into bed I dreamt dazzling trippy rainbow dreams...
Other highlights of Rio have included: favela kids drumming on bins and dancing their little hearts out; the panoramic views from the giant Jesus statue; sitting on the Lapa steps at 4am discussing the practical applications of Pythagoras´ theorem with cute Argentinans; hanging out by the pool with the hostel cat, Lilu; and laying under an umbrella on Ipanema beach being served coconut water...I kinda love this town!
2 comments:
Awesome =D I hope you took some photos! xoxo
:) :) :) :) :) :)
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