Olinda Vassourinhas

This is the actual news story from TV Brasil! 

More Carnaval

The scene during Carnaval was non stop!  We had constant music on the street and at the Pousada!  The band would take a break when blocos were passing to avoid conflict.  It is a law in Olinda to turn off any music including bands when blocos pass.  TV Brasil was doing a story on foreigners in Olinda for Carnaval, and how Olinda's Carnaval anthems are ingrained into even Americans!  Our French friends Sylvie and Cecile were interviewed as well, and they emailed me the clip from the show!  They were generous enough to give me all their photos and video clips since my camera got destroyed.

Carnaval in Olinda

After a couple days of hanging with friends in Olinda, Carnaval has started. It is non stop blocos -marching street bands!  Constantly from 10AM until after midnight the streets in the Citade Alta are filled with bands and marchers, and people in costume. Tons of street vendors supply the beers and cocktails, also there is a large contingent of clean up people collecting empty cans and sweeping etc. If you throw an empty on the street, it will be picked up in literally nano seconds! The music is mostly Frevo featuring tons of horns, and Maracatu which is more drums and vocals. We are lucky enough to be staying at Pousada Quatro Cantos which is in the center of the parade route, so we have constant entertainment from two diffent streets at two different levels. We have also been hanging at Jonah's house which is right around the corner, and his balcony is on the second floor, so we get yet another angle to view the costumed dancing crowd, floats, blocos, stilt walkers, and giant dolls.  Yesterday we hung around at Nando's house with Fofa, Sergio and others getting dressed and ready to party on the street.  At around midnight there is a parade of the giant dolls which is about 25-20 two story tall dolls literally running together up and down the cobblestone streets!

The big bonus is that here at the Pousada, they are also throwing a 4 day party from 10am to 7pm with open bar, DJ and amazing bands -included with the Carnaval package!  Yesterday there was a killer pagode group right here at the Pousada on a shaded patio.  When the blocos come, the band takes a break, and resume as soon as they are past the Pousada.  There is security at the door, but we haven't seen any robbers or violence of any kind so far!  The pool is only open to guests at the Pousada versus the entire party, so we can hang in the pool, cooling off, enjoying cocktails and music, and there are only ten of us who are staying here and not working, so there is plenty of space for us.  The mood is happiness! Alegria Geral!  The weather is perfect 85 degrees and sunny!

nao xixi aqui

I had to post this because it is part of a campaign to clean up Rio. New this year in Rio, no smoking in bars and restaurants! Also, no peeing on the street, and it is enforced! Another sign we have seen around is Segura a xixi, qui o banheiro e logo a li - Hold your pee, the bathroom is over there!

Ilha Grande

After an amazing weekend of partying in Rio, we decided to take a little break and spend a couple days in Ilha Grande. There are no cars on the island, and it isn't too far from Rio, so we hopped in a cab to the bus station, and got the next executive bus out of town to Angra dos Reis where we got the ferry to Abraao. The water is super clean and clear, and the people very chic with a few exceptions of course... We had brought the C4 iSUP boards, and planned a trip to Lopez Mendes the next day. We wanted to spend the whole day at the beach, so after breakfast we got the first boat to Mangues, and hiked with the boards to Lopez Mendes. It was completly stunning 10km long white sand beach, no houses, or any development at all, just surfers, and a few vendors. The backdrop is Atlantic rain forest climbing up to about 2500 feet! For sure we are going back because it was so fun, and one of the best beaches for SUP we have found anywhere! The surf was mellow, but really fun.

Viradouro technical rehearsal

 

Tuesday night was Viradouro in Niteroi. We met up with Luiz and Jim at their apartment in Icarai, had some beers, then from there had an amazing salad in the neighborhood. We got a cab to the quadra. When we got there, it was after midnight, but the music hadn't really started, so we hung around outside the quadra and had some more beers. When the music started we went in, and it was a giant space, even bigger than Estacio de Sa, and outdoors so with the breeze, it was a bit cooler. The bateria was super tight, with amazingly technical breaks. Mexico is the theme for the samba enredo this year, and the lyrics are super fun about drinking tequila! You can hear in the YouTube video when the bateria kicks in it is so intense because of the volume and the energy. It is hard to describe the feeling other than everyone gets goose bumps!

Lapa

Monday we had a great morning doing our first stand up paddle session with the new C4 boards. We took the boards down to the lobby and inflated them, then left the pump at the front desk, and walked barefoot to the beach with the boards and paddles. It is about a 3 block walk from the hotel, no problem although the sand was so hot on the beach that we had to run to avoid burning! The paddling was fun because the local beach is Flamengo which is on Guanabara bay, and wonderful views.

That evening, Xuxa called and wanted to go out to see this group Samba de Roda in Lapa. We met him, Eris, and Dalva at Xuxa's, had a couple beers, then got a cab to Lapa. When we arrived at the club, Carioca da Gema, it was packed and the band was taking a break. We got some Caipirinhas, and found a great table upstairs that had a view of the stage. This woman came around and was taking pictures of us with her camera, so I asked if she would take one with my camera. We were all laughing after because I didn't understand that she was going to try to sell her picture to us. Dalva actually did buy one from her, and she was cool about the whole thing, so it all worked out. When the band came on, they did not stop for the whole set, and it was one Enredo after another. The singer was amazing, and the band was super tight. This video doesn't really do it justice, but it will give you all an idea of the quality at this club. There was a R$20 cover I was asked to stop shooting video when one of the bouncers caught me...

Banda de Ipanema

Sunday was Xuxa's party which started at noon. Luiz and Jim stopped by the hotel, and we made our way over to Xuxa's apartment. There were about 25 people there preparing for the Banda de Ipanema parade which was starting in the afternoon. It was super festive because we had a ton of ice cold beers, makeup, costumes and friends.

Dagoberto was there dressed as the tres racas (three races), Xuxa had black makeup, done by Eris and a blue afro!   There was a little drama in the elevator getting back down to the street level, but from there we headed over to Ipanema for the parade.  We bumped into Kathleen there, and took some more pictures.

Samba School

Our first evening in Rio, we went out to eat at a self service restaurant in Larangeiras neighborhood. It is so great to be able to assemble your plate depending on what you are in the mood for. We served ourselves mostly veggies and salads all super fresh and some churrasco - barbecued meats. After selecting your items, you have your plate weighed which determines how much you pay. Once you sit down, servers come to offer drinks. We got choppe - draft beer which came to the table ice cold! From there we went over to Xuxa's house and met his brother Daniel who lives in Belo Horizonte. He was visiting for the weekend. We visited with him and his date for a while, and went from there to an old downtown area, and ended up meeting up with some people we had met before, and our good friends Tete and Frede! We enjoyed some wonderful pagode music in Maua and had a couple beers, then went from there to Estacio de Sa samba school. I took this in the quadra - the central rehearsal and party space for the samba school.

 

I tried to take some video of the scene there, but it is really diffucult to show the scale of this space. It is the size of an airplane hanger, and packed with people. There is no air conditioning, only fans to keep semi cool. The funny thing is that we were the only ones sweating! Everyone is dancing from 7 year old kids up to the oldest was in her 90s! The music is so intense you feel it through your whole body! You really can't help but dance!

 

 

Xuxa

We went out for some coconut water to get hydrated, and refreshed. It was mid day, so super hot in the sun, but we found a really well shaded spot in Largo do Machado that had a bunch of coconut water vendors. It was so sweet and wonderful to get to drink the nectar. After that we started walking around Larangeiras neighborhood and found Xuxa's address pretty easily, and were pleasantly surprised to find out from the doorman he had just arrived home. He let us in, and we got a tour of his chic pad which was pretty impressive including 3 bathrooms and maid living area! We had a beer, visited, and made plans for this evening. On the way back to the hotel we ordered a huge bowl of Acai at Big Bi, and enjoyed it immensely while people watching. Here is a shot of Beto and Xuxa in his apartment.

 

We are now getting rested up for tonight's activities which is going to include Estacio de Sa samba school!

Preparing for Rio de Janeiro

On the way to Brazil, spending a little time in Boca Raton, Florida with Susan and Chuinha. I had a super fun SUP surf session today at Spanish River beach here in Boca. There were some fun waves and a lot of chop, but overall it was a great session. 75 degree air, and 70 degree water!

The exciting part of the trip starts tonight when we board this evening for our flight for Rio! It is non-stop flight!

arrived - Rio de Janeiro

We arrived at 7am, and it is a beautiful day in the mid 70s! The taxi driver was super chatty, and played the current enredos for us for all his favorite samba schools. Salgueiro is the best one that we heard so far. This picture is the fruit course of the wonderful breakfast at the Hotel Rondonia Palace in Catete neighborhood in Rio. We ran into a friend, Lee from Austin, Texas who we know from Brazil camp at breakfast who filled us in on the the past week. Getting settled quickly here with full internet access - banda larga (hi speed), and a view of Corcovado from the window! Going out now for acai and coconut water!