Since coming back from my trip through Brazil, I've had a number of people ask to hear stories and see pictures, the usual post-trip banter. Some asked if I had a travel blog, which I didn't, and thought it would be a great way to share. So here I am trying to put down memories and miles into pixels. Here's part 1, Rio de Janiero.
Before leaving, when most people heard I was going to Rio and Brazil, their minds raced to kidnappings and murder before beaches and beautiful landscapes. I'll admit I didn't know quite what we were walking into but I knew it wouldn't be as bad as everyone predicted. We were on guard of course from the time we flew in, as you would be in any foreign place. But throughout the trip we never really felt threatened or at risk. We were just careful not to attract too much attention.
The first glimpse of Rio is incredible. You fly into the bay with large buildings and beaches on both sides where the runway is waiting on a peninsula jutting out into the water, mountains and the Christ statue towering over you. It seems to be the only truly flat piece of ground in the vicinity.
A view from Pao de Azucar, airport runway juts into the bay on the right side.
Once we arrived we picked a random hostel to stay and taxied there, dropped our stuff off and headed for Copacabana beach. It was hot, abnormally hot for 5 o'clock, especially for three northern gringos who just left the snowy Midwest. We walked the beach, or part of it, as the potentially bacteria-filled ocean waves nipped at our feet. The beaches go on forever, interrupted only by large rock cliffs stretching out into the bay, a few miles apart.
You would have thought we were celebritieswalking by the way everyone on the beach stared at us. It was friendly reminder we really were far from home. In all fairness, they probably hadn't seen our skin tone outside of a magazine or tv show in a while.
In Rio they play volleyball. But on a whole new level. Footvolley they call it. All your regular volleyball rules, just no hands. Only feet. This is the point where you don't believe me and YouTube it . It was amazing. I don't know if two of us could have beat them with our hands. Turns out that game was invented on Copacabana beach 50 years ago. We found a young teen and his mother(?) who preferred the traditional version and took them on in 2-on-2. They were not shy to ask if we were any good before starting. No sense in them wasting their previous time on tourists I guess. We were competitive but walked away red-faced, sweat-soaked, dehydrated, and winless, wondering how these people lived in a place so hot and humid.
