After a week of chasing a bunch of girls through the streets of Salvador, and then getting chased back by several of them that turned out to not be girls; Carnival was over. This meant also that Dave and my traveling time together was done. We shared a special moment in the hostel as he left early one morning to go to Rio a couple of days before I went. There was a twinge of sadness in my voice when I asked him to not forget to turn out the light as he left. Dave wiped the sleep boogers out of his eyes, but it could have well be a tear as he grunt and closed the door. Jon was still dead to the world and said later that it took him a full week to recover from the chaos that was a week in Salvador. Some might say he never did!
Before I could run off to Rio I needed some good R and R from my 3 month and 3 week vacation. I took off to Lençois a nice little mountain town without any mountains to the west of Salvador. I ran into some Irish chaps who like all good Irishmen loved to drink. So we took to getting rid of our week long hangovers though the old Irish method of drinking more which seems to work well enough. Lençois had some fun hikes that we didn't do, some interesting geological formations that we didn't see, and some very pleasant natural hot springs that we didn't swim in. Like much of Brazil the tourism industry gets a little outrageous for the month before and after Carnival, and this being the end of my trip (read: strapped for cash) I was perfectly content to sit creek-side and enjoy a good book about cocaine smuggling.
After the batteries were charged for another go at a major party city we headed back towards Rio. The bus ride took us a few days with a stop at beach town where we enjoyed what most people enjoy at a good beach.
A couple of days later we found ourselves in a street party in Rio. I asked some of the locals in my horrible Portuguese if this was still left over from the Carnival party that was now a week old. She laughed and said that this 10 sq block area was always full on a Tuesday night with the hipsters from Brazil and all over the world. The famous beaches are also quite the sight to see, but like the other beaches around the world there is the sandy part and then there is the ocean part. Ipanema though reminded me of what one might see on Baywatch.
I was really impressed by the Christ Redeemer and the story he's always telling of the best fishing trip ever. It's location atop a rocky bulge in the middle of the city gives awesome presence even in the sprawling suburbs. From the top it is possible to see the Sugar Loaf as seen in the picture in this post, and the Maracana which is the Brazilian shrine to soccer. The Christ Redeemer's fishing trip gives it great presence in the entire city, but its placement in the modern 7 Wonders of the World I find a little cheeky. I was more impressed by the Statue of Liberty; something I alost skipped on my trip to New York but was astounded how impressed I was standing at it's feet. Ms. Liberty's construction was also more difficult and an achievement at the time, but I digress.
I made arrangement so that the last thing I did in country was go see a soccer game in the Maracana. It is the largest stadium in South America, officially holds 95,000 fans and has been reported to have held unofficially around 200,000 fans for a game back in the 1950's. As is the etiquette in all other South American countries the end zones are reserved for the general masses and where the large banners and flares go off. When goals were scored the look of exhilaration at one end was matched only by the dejected look from the opposing end of the stadium. With everyone wanting to sit in the worst seat to be a part of the best atmosphere, we walked into the stadium 3 minutes before the kick-off of the Semi-final match and sat 18 rows behind the teams at midfield, the best seats in the house!
The Irish lads and I tried to wander up into the crazy section, but my poor Portuguese and their non-existent Portuguese did not allow us to talk our way past security. It's amazing how the grass is always greener, and we were put off by our unsuccessful attempt to join the animated areas as we scuffeled back to our seats at midfield. The game end 2-1 and was back and forth the entire way between to Rio clubs that were both well represented in the stadium. This definitely makes the list as a top three sporting events I've seen in person, and certainly one of the best venues in which to see nearly 100,000 people go crazy at the same time.
After the game I went straight out to the airport where I sat and waited for my red eye flight to Panama and eventually home. Brazil and Carnival did not disappoint as a good place to end a trip of this caliber. Check South America of the places to visit in the world. Next stop... SE Asia. I guess I'd better go get a job so that I can eventually pay for it.
No comments:
Post a Comment