Brazil

MATCHY MATCHY BRACELET TWINS

I realized the night before we left that Andrew and I were at risk of looking like the old couples you see wearing matching sweatshirts while they travel.  In the few days I was back at home to unpack, do laundry, and repack I also wanted to get some Mexican food (pretty much a ritual for all returning Californians after being out of state) and go to my favorite dive bar...wait for it..........The Goat!  We met up with some friends who had never met my travel partner, but they knew who he was in the crowd before ever being introduced.  How?  The matching Kenyan bracelets.  How dorky!  But, then again, wearing them does give us a chance to make more people aware of the issues in Kibera if they ask about the bracelets.

  So, watch out Brazil, the dorky bracelet twins are on their way!

PREGNANT HUNCHBACK

Just like a woman´s purse, the more room you have the more unnecessary just in case stuff you will cram into it.  I am sorry that I am guilty of that with my backpack.  South America will suffer from my lack of souvenir purchasing as there is no room to put in anything additional.  This pack weighs 40 lbs and towers a foot over my head.  Embarrassed I´m sure, Andrew has offered to carry it for me if I carry his 2 regular size daypacks.  The best way to carry those is the pregnant hunchback method (one on your back and the other on your front) when in cities where hoodlums often relieve you of your heavy bags.

  I am looking very fashionable.

GIFT WITH PURCHASE

Ever buy anything from the Clinique counter?  Always a thrill to get that gift with purchase which is usually a bag full of travel size items of which you probably could only use one since they are not in your colors.  But, you still feel like you made out like a bandit.

Well, you get that same thrill when you have long haul international flights.  Oh, the anticipation of what is going to be in that little bag awaiting you on your seat when you load!  I wasn´t expecting much this time since we were flying a US run airline which never seem to be as generous as those from other countries.  I won´t name names with the airline I have such low expectations of, as we did get to go for free using airline miles.

..  but did I mention that we had to fly through Atlanta before heading to Rio?  That is your little hint of which airline for those of you wanting to guess.

Anyways, our gift with purchase did not disappoint.  It contained earplugs, a scented sleep mask, headset, toothbrush, paste, and hand lotion.  The bubble gum scented mask was fun at first, until you tried to sleep with it on.  Someone needs to tell Delta (oops)  that lavendar scent is more appropriate for sleeping.

MAP NOT TO SCALE

Brasil (spelling it different now that I am in the country) doesn´t seem so far away on a map.  I mean, we are in North America and they are in South America.  How far can that be?  I am sure that I could research exactly how many kilometers or miles then do the conversion, but that is too much of a hassle.

  Visitors to California always point out that we don´t talk in lengths when asked how far something is anyway.  We always answer in time.  And the answer isn´t given until we find out what time of day they were planning on going.  So how far is Rio from Los Angeles?  It was 23 hours door to door.  Can you believe that?!  We left home at 7am Wed and arrived at the hostel at 10am Thurs.  So now you are thinking that Californians aren´t very good at math, right?!  Factor in the 4 hour time difference and it should work out.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

The charactoristic of Rio de Janiero that initially stood out to me was the graffiti.  The over abundance of  repeated spray canned signatures covering beautiful historic buildings from top to bottom.

  It is such a shame.  The architecture is amazing, but these angry hoodlums have gone overboard with defacing it.

WELCOME WAGON

While getting on the bus from the airport, a nice woman named Ana helped me get my big ass backpack thru the turnstyle they have on buses here.  She later overheard our conversation about where we needed to go.  She offered to get off the bus a stop after her own to walk us in the right direction to the hostel before going about her business.  What a nice welcome to the City of God that we were told to be scared of.  We would have definitely gotten lost if she had not done that and it would not have been pretty with these big bags hanging over us after having not much sleep for a long time.

MY FIRST HOSTEL EXPERIENCE

Samba Villa www.sambavilla.com is at the base of the historical Lapa Arches in the bohemian part of Rio.  On the steps outside our hostel lay homeless men, scantilly clad hookers, and poor children sniffing glue.  We are not too far from the favelas (slums,)  but hey...we are at home in this environment now.  From the balcony we can see drug deals, fights, and generally strange behavior 24 hours a day.  We learned from the hostel staff that Lapa is co-run by the police and the favela gangs.  The gangs agree not to use guns in the area, but help the police control activity.  Step into the favela and all bets are off. 

We are staying in a co-ed dorm with bunk beds for 14 people.

  We are provided with sheets, a big locking cupboard, free internet, free breakfast, shared bathroom, and 24 hour loud music!  Lapa is known as the place to be on Friday nights.  Wall to wall people line the streets.  A live Samba band was playing in the lobby on my first night until 4am when the DJ started pumping in music.   All this for the low price of 19 Real (about $9 USD.)

The hostel staff is nice as are the other travellers.  We had to check out at Noon, but our Couchsurfer wasn´t getting home until 7:30pm.  So the big dilemma was what to do with our bags in between.  We thought about finding a major hotel and asking them to store them.  The hostel people overheard us and offered to lock them up for us there for free in the cleaning closet.

  Normally they only offer to store them in the lobby where they are free for anyone to take.

The Englishman in the bed next to me slept most of our first day.  I wondered where Danny had partied the night before.  When he finally rolled over, I asked.  He then showed me his lacerated foot.  He had been in this bed for most of his 10 days in Rio after stepping on glass in a nightclub.  What a way to spend a vacation in this dream destination.  He had decided to pick out the stitches this day.  The thing soon expanded and had green pus coming out of it.  My vast experience as a pretend doctor in Kenya allowed me to diagnose the situation and determine that his foot would need to be cut off if he didn´t get to a hospital soon.

    We sent him off in a taxi and never saw him again.   Does this sound kinda like those missing kidney stories you hear?

FIRST DAY IN RIO

We spent most of the day walking around and getting nowhere.  But, that is what first days are for in a new city and we have plenty of time to get to know the place. 

Our first plan was to get a beer...yes at 10am.  We tasted Petro and Itaipava.  One of each was enough.  Then we were off to find more.  Skol wasn´t a favorite either.  Still searching for a good Rio beer.  Bohemian might be the best you can get here.  You can walk around the streets with beer here, so we did.  Then felt a little silly as we were walking in the business district where everyone was in suits.

  Tacky Americans coming to their country to get drunk, obviously. 

For lunch we got these little ham and cheese hot pocket type things that are sold in about every street cafe.  The cost was 2 Real (about $1 USD.)

Then it was off to find SIM cards for our cell phones.  We eventually found a place that sold TIM Sim cards.  We paid double what we should have as we were too exhausted to shop aropund.  My world SIM card didn´t work and neither did my Blackberry for a few days.  How can a major city like this not have good cell service, but I had no troubles in a slum in Kenya?  Operator error, I´m sure.  Hopefully, a local will help us figure that out.

We heard that you could ride a train for free (if you hang on the outside) around the Santa Theresa part of town.

  Never found the train though.  Bummer.  Jumped on a bus instead.  It went to Leblon.  We passed through Botafogo, Copacabana, and Ipanema beaches...or so the  bus sign said we were.  Our thought was...is that what all the hype is about?!  We later found out that we were driving through the inside areas and by a lagoon; not the famous beaches.  Then we were mislead by a bus driver to get on his bus to go back home.  A nice passenger straightened us out after a few miles.  We made it home just before dark.

EARPLUGS NOT INCLUDED

Now about the first night in Rio.  After a long day of getting nowhere, we came back to the hostel to find an 18 piece Samba band setting up in the lobby right below my bed.

  Even though we needed sleep badly, I was excited that we would not need to venture far on buses going the wrong way to find our evening entertainment.  We watched the band set up and practice then headed by the sad glue sniffing people on our doorstep to find some dinner. 

We were so excited to find a lady with a grill making meat on a stick.  Reminded us of our nights around the corn grill in Kenya.  So, she cooked up some beef for us and rolled it in bread crumbs.  Yum!  This cost us the equivelent of $1USD.  Then we strolled a little further and came across a nice litttle outdoor restaurant / bar.  Decided to sit there for a beer only, but they kept walking by with trays of amazing looking appetizers.  They were pricier, but delicious.

  The best was this puff pastry filled with creamy rich mashed potatos and shrimp.  mmmmmm. 

On the stroll back, we realized that we are in the transvestite hooker part of town.   Just 2 blocks from our hostel is a street where every 10 feet is a very tall, beautiful lady man bent over the window of a passing car. 

Got back at 10:30 and the band was still just sound checking.  I decided to head up stairs for a nap while Andrew went out on the street to check out more of the scene.  Well, I ended up staying in there all night and he ended up staying out there all night.  I was just too tired to get up and head down the stairs on my bad knee.  The music was loud enough that I could enjoy it all night long.

..until 4am!  Plus I had visitors periodically throughout the night.  There were some empty beds in our dorm, so occasionally friends of the hostel workers would come up to borrow the beds for a few minutes.  So, I basically slept with one eye open the whole night wondering who was walking in and if they were going to leave me alone as there was no way Danny with his foot about to fall off could save me.  Andrew strolled in about 6am having met tons of people and creating our social network for the next few weeks.

BATHING SUIT SCAM

I received lots of warnings before coming to Rio about the many dangers here.  There is one such warning I did not receive and thought I better pass it on.  I call it the bathing suit scam.

  Here is how it works.  You bring 2 bathing suits to Rio.  The bikini and the the more versatile tankini (to double as a top.)  The bikini then disappears leaving you having to buy one of those really small ones as they have no other choices here in Brasil!  There are 3 potential suspects in this scam.  One are the local baggage carriers at the airport.  Others are the cleaning ladies at the hostels.  The third possibility is yourself when you were packing and repacking and left it sitting on the floor at home.  I ran into TravBuddy KatieBug on the beach here and she said that her bathing suit was also missing from the hostel.  Hmmmm 

Anyways, I did try to replace it here but they really don´t have anything that covers more than 2 inches of any part of your body.

  My tans lines just won´t work with this.  Maybe they need to write a song about The Tankini Lady of Ipanema.

***UPDATE***Two months later I found the bathing suit in a secret side pocket in my backpack.  My apologies to the luggage handlers and hostel cleaners of Rio.

TAPAS ON THE BEACH

Not topless; tapas!  We spent the next day on the right bus to the beach.  We headed there with Rachael and Holly (English roses from the hostel.)  Danny told us that Ipanema Posto 9 was the best spot.  So we set up camp there.  Soon we understood why it was Danny´s favorite spot.  The smell of pot filled the air.  We learned that each Posto has a personality.  This was the partier posto.  Posto 8 is the gay area.

  Posto 10 is the perfect body area.  What?!  I think every posto is the perfect body one.  They are all crammed into those tiny stretchy trunks and floss bottoms and pulling it off well.  No one appears to have plastic surgery either.  When you have perfect behinds, I guess you don't feel the need to add anything up top.

We spend a little time each day on the beach.  This is where we have lunch.  There are vendors walking up and down the beach selling all kinds of treats.  My favorite is the fried cheese on a stick.  Apparently, I really like any food on a stick.  The cheese is rolled in oregano and them grilled for you next to your towel.  It tastes too good!  Then you wash it down with ice cold matte.

  Guys walk around with 2 big barrels on either arm.  One has the matte tea in it.  The other has lemonaid.  You open the pouts to make your own right combination of the drink.  Love that stuff!  For dessert it is churros or acias.  But not your regular churros.  These ones are filled in the center with dulce de leche or chocolate!  Incredible! Acias is a fruit icee that tastes like a cross between blueberries and chocolate.  You can also buy shrimp on a stick, empanadas, tasteless donut shaped pork rinds called Globos, ice cream...you name it.

PORTUSPANGLISH

We have learned that although Portuguese and Spanish appear to be similiar by the signs we can read, it is not easy to communicate.

  They understand what we are saying to them in Spanish about a quarter of the time.  I understand them a little more than that. 

The trick is to add a "ch" or "sh" sound to everything you say and sing it instead of saying it.  This will make your Spanish sound more Portuguese.  Cheese = Queso = Quejo = Kay-shoo  My favorite drink Matte is pronounced Machh.  Also, if you are a woman add an "A" to the end of words and if you are a man add an "O."  Obrigada or Obrigado is thank you.  People must have thought I was one of the many transvestites here for the first few days when I kept saying Obrigado.  I wasn't sure if everyone thought I was french at first because they would say what sounded like bonjour to me.

  Apparently monseur is the formal way to say hello.  I also wondered if the main religion here was Jewish because I kept hearing people say Oi...the less formal way to say hello.  Oi vay.  Portuguese is hard. 

English does not appear to be used much at all.  So we do spend a good amount of our time heading the wrong direction, getting on the wrong bus, and getting the wrong items.  Funny.

OUR FIRST COUCHSURF

Grabbed our bags from the hostel and jumped in a taxi to go to Bruno´s at 7:30.  As usual, we were taken to the wrong location.  Thank goodness, our driver got on the phone to speak with Bruno is Portuguese to get us there.  Bruno lives in a security building apartment in a cute little neighborhood called Botafogo.

  It is between Lapa and Copacabana.  I especially like his shower.  There is a little furnace in the bathroom that you turn on before taking a shower to heat the water.  Pretty cool.  What a great guy he is.  He and his friends devoted their whole weekend to showing us the variety of life in Rio.  We experienced all night partying, traditional food, beach life, futbol, and a favela baile funk club.

LAPA AND THE CAPRIHINA

Friday night we headed back to Lapa because apparently the all night party they had there our first night was not the big toodo they do on Friday nights.  It was a great time walking through the sea of people on the stone streets dancing to the local music coming from every club...samba, salsa, baile funk, etc.

  On the beach I tried my first caprihina (the drink they push here.)  But, Bruno took me to the guy on the street who sells the best strawberry flavored ones.  Strong and sweet stuff.  Don´t really need to try that again.  We decided that if we run out of travelling money that we will spend our last reais on a bottle of tequila and dixie cups.  Anyone can stroll the street with a tray of tequila and dixie cups selling them to the crazy people partying it up.

We started our night, by the way, around midnight like everyone else.  About 3am is when you decide which club to go into.  We went into a hip hop club and danced until heading home at 6am.  And these are the hours we have kept ever since.  1-4 hours sleep a night and walking home when the sun comes up.

  We are amazed at how we are functioning this long on no sleep.  Adrenilin.  We have also noticed that our clothes are fitting much more loosely.  I hear that you burn an extra 100 calories for every hour you are awake instead of sleeping.  Look for my Rio Nightlife Diet informercial on late night TV soon.

VOMIT DOG

Before making it all the way home in the morning, you have to stop at a cart on the street to get a vomit dog though.  Some of you know my story of why I have not eaten a hotdog since 1981.  My experience here will ensure that I will go another 26 years without eating a hotdog.  Ketchup and mustard is not enough for their hot dog buns here.  They smother these dogs in everything to cover the fact that there is a hotdog in there somewhere.

  It is a color explosion.  You will find corn, beans, mayo, mustard, ketchup, string fries, peas, the kitchen sink in this thing.  I agreed to take a bite of just the condiments and bun just once.  Had to spit it out.  That thing not only looked like vomit, it smelled like it, and tasted like it.

SUNSET ON THE BEACH

There are some rocks in between Copacabana and Ipanema where everyone gathers to watch the sunset.  So after a nice day on the beach with Ana (Bruno´s local friend) & Marcus and his papa (Bruno´s friend from Porto Allegre,) we climbed up the rock.  Not only do you get to watch a beautiful sunset, you also can see many couples laying on the rocks embracing.  This is pretty much the scene everywhere.

  Lots of public displays of afffection.

BUCOWSKI

Being the versatile host that he is, Bruno also took us to experience a more low key kind of nightlife.  Just a few doors down from his apartment was a club in a 2 story house.  There was a nice bar and seating area in the backyard.  Inside the house was a pool table room, an art gallery room, a dance floor room, and a hookah smoking room.  They call the hookah something else here, but I don´t recall the name.  Ana and Marcus came along with Alimoa (Gol airline pilot) and Raphaella (a couchsurfer from Italy.)  Raphaella and I may meet up for the second month of my travels here.  She is on the tail end of her 1 year RTW trip.

It was interesting how this place worked.

  You give your name at the door and they give you a little timecard type thing top present whenever you buy something.  They write on your card everything you drank along with the 18 Reai cover charge.  Then at the end of the evening you wait in line with your card to pay the total.  Not a cool thing when everyone wants to leave at the same time and you are waiting in a line all the way up the stairs to leave the place.

Nonetheless, we had a good time dancing and singing at the top of our lungs to 80s music and hookahing. 

FUTBOL AT MARACANA STADIUM

One of the most common things people told me I needed to do before coming here was go to a futbol (soccer) game.  Ya Ya whatever.  Not being into watching professional sports so much I didn´t think much of it.

  Until I went!  This has been the most exciting part of the visit, I think.  I was a little apprehensive, though, when we walked out of Bruno's apartment and heard the loudest explosion I have ever heard coming from around the corner.  This was definitely a bomb and I was running for cover.   It is all just part of the excitement.  Kids build bombs to celebrate big games.

We watched the Flemingos play Fluminense.  Go Mengos!  You follow the sea of red jerseys on the metro to the biggestest stadium in the world.  I could not believe how big it was when we walked in.  It holds 80,000 crazy fans.  Even though this was a big game due to the rivalry of the 2 teams, it wasn´t very exciting.  The exciting part was the 2 hours before the game.

  The streamers, the flags, the blow torches of fire people hold up in the stands, the wave, the shirts whipping around, the songs and cheers done in unison, and flipping the bird to the other team.  These people are passionate.

The 2 funniest things  were the 5 year old kid in front of me holding up both his middle fingers when they flashed the opposing team up on the screen and his dad giving him a pat on the back in encouragement.  Got a nice photo of that.  Then there was Bruno.  He is a crazy fan of the Flemingos and he actually lost his voice yelling at his team over this game.  They weren´t playing very well.  The funny thing is that they play waaaaaay better than any soccer I have seen before.  They are so fast.

  So I was impressed.

FAVELA FUNK PARTY

Favelas are the slums of Rio.  You´ve seen them in the movie City of God.  Ironically these very poor people live on the hills and have a beautiful view of the rich people down below at the beach.  We decided to go with Marcus to a nightclub on the outskirts of the favela to dance baile funk.  Since it could be really sketchy going into these areas without a resident, we loaded up in vans full of Irish tourist dudes and headed up the hill to Castelo das Pedras.  This was the biggest nightclub I have ever seen.  There must have been 5000 bodies smashed together grinding to the funk.  Our gringo group had its own VIP area in the balcony if you wanted to watch the scene.

As soon as we arrived the power went out and the place was pitchblack (except for everyone´s cell phone lights) for about an hour.  No music.  No lights.  Definitely hid out in the VIP area during that time. Could have been insanity, but everyone remained calm.  When the music came on we couldn´t help but want to dance so we headed down to the pit.  It was basically a sea of sweaty shirtless don juans and scantily clad beautiful women.  By the end of the night, our pants were soaking wet and black on the bottom from all the spilled drinks and whatever other fluids were in that place.  It was an experience!

COUCHLESS IN RIO

The weekend soon ended which meant Bruno had to throw us out since his roommate was coming back to town.

  So after 1.5 hours of sleep, we threw the big ass backpacks on and started wandering the streets of Rio at 7:30am.  Found an internet cafe and searched for a cheap hostel.  We ended up at El Misti www.elmistihostel.com in Botafogo and stayed for 3 nights.  They had the usual ham and cheese sandwhich breakfast (we are ODing on ham and cheese.)  Our mixed dorm cost 25 real (about $12usd.)  The bunk beds are stacked 3 high.  We share our room with a bunch of nice danish dudes who like to jump around in their underwear.  The other dorm rooms are filled with Brazillian theater types in town for a festival.   We enjoyed hanging out with a couple of them (Jessica and Re) and mostly doing sign language (due to our poor Portuguese skills) with them at a boteca down the street.  

The only negative about this hostel is that I got about 6 spider bites on my face while sleeping there.  My eye socket and cheek is swollen up as if I was in a fist fight.  Very attractive.  I also have a cold, so I am a complete mess right now.  I guess this is what not getting enough sleep does to you. 

SANTA THERESA

Feeling as though we should see at least a few of the sites here in Rio before leaving next week, we decided to check out Santa Theresa which is supposed to be a bohemian local crafts type neighborhood on the hill above Lapa.  We walked part of the way up the famous tiled steps and stopped to take a photo.  This is when we noticed that we were being eyed by 2 young men.

  So we walked up the next set of steps and they slowy followed.  When we stopped again, they did too.  Strange.  So as to not risk being mugged in this area that is notorius for it,  we decided to not continue up and instead head back down the direction we came.  You could see the look of disappointment in their eyes when we did this.

Bound and determined to still see this village, we went to the other side where there is a tram you can ride up to Santa Theresa.  We sat next to Russ from Melbourne.  He was equally unsure of where we were to get off.  I assume that we got off too early because there wasn´t much to see.  There were nice restaurants and a few craft stores.  The homes were interesting to look at.

  The view was nice.  The people weren´t.  Some crazy women approached us to sell her crafts.  Andrew told her No Obrigado (no thank you.)  She asked where we were from.  He said Estados Unidos and she acted as if that explained it all and stomped off.  This is the first blantant dislike for our country we have found.  

We walked on down the hill out of there and back to our usual hang out with Russ...Ipanema Posto 9.  There we met up with Marcus, Antonio (one of my couchsuring buddies,) and eventually Katiebug and a few of her friends.  We enjoyed a few caprihinas on the beach while watching the sunset before heading home.  

FERRY TO NITEROI

Russ and I decided it would be cool to go check out the MAC (contemporary museum) on an island about an hour from Rio.

  Andrew was not having any of this toursist stuff after the let down of Santa Theresa.  It would cut into his beach time.  So, he put me on the metro to go meet Russ.  Since I had no cell phone or map, there was a chance I would get totally lost and leave Russ hanging.  I´m not sure why but I have always gotten a thrill out of conquering public transportation in a foreign city.  I´m always a little surprised when I actually make it to my destination.  We did find each other in the subway and walked over to the ferry.

The museum was designed by a famous architect and looks like a spaceship.  Inside there was some interesting and crazy artwork.  A few of the peices had some sort of reference to the US or war.

  Since I don´t read Portuguese too well it was hard to tell what they said, but I did see lots of dollar signs and dead bodies.

As we walked back to the ferry, we came upon 2 neat local beaches.  One was a small strip of land between 2 bodies of water.  A group of military police officers were training on the beach, young kids were playing soccer, and others were doing a clambake.  So, we sat down and watched the scene for a while.  These poor police officers were head to toe in black uniforms and heavy backpacks doing pushups in the sand, jogging and rowing boats in the heat while chicks in thongs were frollicing in the water.

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

We finally got up close and personal with Jesus today.

  Cristo the Redeemer has been watching over us the whole time we have been here from high on Corcovado.  You can take a train to see him or do what we did...taxi for 35 reai.  Basically, you get to see just how big that statue is and get a great 360 degree view of the city.  It is kind of foggy though so I´m afraid that my pictures aren´t that great.

While up there, we ran into 4 of the 6 couchsurfing friends we had met on the beach the day before.  Some are from the US and some from Rio.  While sitting on the beach, they had overheard talk of couchsurfing and introduced themselves.  It is a small world.  Very cool people.  Cecilia and Fernanda are local girls who are helping to fill up our social calendar.

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT FOR MEN

So, you have always wanted to come to Brasil  in hopes of meeting lots of beautiful women right?  I have been able to observe pretty closely how the whole thing works here.  First, throw out all your techniques that have worked for you at home or you will be very frustrated.  Then watch what the local guys do here.

None of this making eye contact across the room for an hour before getting the nerve to approach.  In fact, don't even let her see you.  Just swoop on in when she is not looking and hover on top of her at an angle where she can not see what you look like at all.  Make no attempt at small talk to get to know her.  Just whisper in her ear, "Can I kiss you now?  Then start macking on her.

  I have seen this work over and over again.  Making out is the equivelent of shaking hands.  You will see girls "shaking hands" with as many of 5-6 guys in a nightclub a night.  When she finally comes up for air, she will more than likely move on to some other guy.  Don't get depressed and think that she thinks you are ugly now that she has seen your face.  She expects you to go after her and take her out of the arms of the new guy. 

If she gives you her phone number you are in.  It will not seem like it though.  As she will agree to meet you somewhere for a date but not show up.  Most would think they have been blown off, but this is not really the case.  She is expecting you to prove you really like her by continueing to call her and begging for a meeting.

  You must have patience and persistence here.

This concludes my public service announcement.

FAVELA KIDS

One of our couchsurfing friends, Cecilia, invited us to join her family to celebrate the Children´s Day Holiday with some kids from the favela.  They actually feed and play with these kids every Saturday.  There were about 30 kids from age 8 to 15 who met up at an abandoned community center for vomit dogs and cake.  We had so much fun with them.  They were very interested in practicing their English and making fun of our Portuguese.  Andrew was very popular with the older girls and it was a little creepy the way they are over sexualized.  People had donated lots of games, dolls, etc. that they don´t have at home.

  So this is their one real play day.  Andrew participated in a rough game of basketball.  I stuck to Barbies and board games.  We were both hurting after only 1 hour sleep the night before, but are both amazed at how we are functioning day after day on no sleep.  There was no way we would miss this opportunity though. 

GAY PRIDE IN COPACABANA

What to do on my last day in Rio?  Never did go into the favelas.  Never did go up SugarLoaf.  Never did go paragliding.  Didn´t know that there was going to be a big gay pride parade along Copacabana Beach today.  Where else could they have the best gay pride parade than in Rio?!  So, Marcus and I headed there to meet Andrew, Alimoa (Gol pilot friend of Marcus´who has been in and out of Rio 3 times this week,) Russ, Nimet couchsurfer from Turkey, and Lais local couchsurfer where Andrew is staying.

  It was a fun last day of lots of loud music, dancing on the streets, crazy costumes, etc. 

LAST NIGHT, LAST THOUGHTS

I am ready to leave Rio.  I am exhausted.  I planned to just stay in the hostel for a quiet night.  But, around midnight I got a little hungry.  It may sound shocking but I feel pretty safe here.  The glue sniffers on our doorstep don't bother us at all.  So, off I wander at midnight on my own through the rough streets of Lapa looking for my last ham and cheese salgado.    Found it a few blocks away.  Stopped to chat with a french traveller before retiring to my bunk. 

My roommate this night was Adam.  He is an English kid who has been living in the hostel with his local girlfriend for 5 months.

  She must have kicked him out.  He told me that he has decided to leave because he got mugged and saw a dead guy down the street this week.  Hmmm.  I guess I got lucky again on my little stroll.  Cristo is watching over me. 

No rest for the weary.  Andrew pops up at the hostel at 1am and drags me out of bed.  My travel partner is going to kill me.  I swear I have shaved off 15 years from my life in the last 2 months.  Luckily the music wasn't great at the dance clubs and I was home by 3am. 

Taking a look at my finances, it was another inexpensive visit.  I spent less than $400 in 2 weeks on everything.  This includes 6 nights in hostels (5 nights at Bruno's saved us some cash.

) The item we spent the most on was bus transportation costing us $1 USD each time.

*** the crazy photos are below***