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!
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!
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!
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!
