On the first day when we arrived in Rio, I had a field lab for my
Popular Music class. We went to the DOME where the Carnaval celebration
happens. After we went to the samba dance schools and were able to see
the warehouses where all the costumes and floats were being constructed
for next year's Carnaval. We ate at a really good buffet then went to a
samba club a little outside of the city that was very local and
authentic place to see samba dancing and music. That night after getting
back to the ship, I went out in LAPA which is a popular night life part
of the city!
The second morning I got up early to go up to see the Christ
Redeemer statue which looks over the entire city of Rio. It was very
hot, but definitely worth seeing! From there, I headed to Copacabana
beach to look around and get some sun! Thank god I got to the beach that
day because the weather wasn't that great the rest of the days. A group
of us took the gondola up to the top of Sugar Loaf mountain to watch a
beautiful sunset.
For the next three days, instead of traveling to Salvador with the
ship, I overlanded with a group of friends to get the chance to spend
more time in Rio. We stayed at amazing apartment right in Copacabana. My
friend Kyle made us delicious omelets each morning! We had a great
time... going out at night, going to a local soccer game at the big
stadium, walked around the beach and a hippie market on the last day! At
the market we met a kid that goes to Syracuse and is studying abroad. We
spent the rest of the day with him which was awesome. He took us down to
one of the beaches near his place where Nike was releasing the new
Brazil soccer team jersey. It was a huge festival on the beach... it
rained but it was still a blast! Perhaps the GREATEST thing about the
three days spent there was having cable TV and being able to watch the
Patriots for the first time in months... being surrounded by Broncos
fans made the win even better :)
After the flight back to Salvador on the 25th, the boat was already
in port so we took a 2 hour scenic bus ride from the airport there. Took
it easy that night after an exhausting three days in Rio. I wasn't sure
how Salvador was going to be, but I loved it! The first morning there I
went to the beach with a big group of friends and then at night there
was a really cool cultural festival in the historic downtown of the
city. Finally, after what seemed like a month, the last day in Brazil
was sadly here. Me, Savannah and Stef checked out a really cool market
to get some goodies then checked out the beach area again. We had a
great lunch! I tried a delicious Brazilian stew.
Brazil is definitely one of the places that I want to come back!
They warned us that it was really dangerous, but I managed to keep my
head on my shoulders and stay safe :)
See you all in 18 days!
xoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment