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!