Reveillon. What a Bummer!

The zero hour was imminent.  The new year in Rio was almost upon us.  We were expecting one the most spectacular new year experiences of our lifetimes.  That day we deliberately did very little so we would be fresh for an all night party.

As midnight was approaching, our preparations were going exactly according to plan.

We donned our pristine white outfits, as is traditional in Rio and recorded a little fashion show.

A couple of rounds of cachaca later and we were good to go.

Unfortunately the rest of the evening didn't quite go according to plan.
As we weaved our way through the dense crowds on the way to Copacabana beach the atmosphere was electric.  We progressed slowly but surely through the revelers, hand in hand so that we wouldn't loose one another.  All was well until we reached the beach promenade where the crowd was denser and there was a lot of pushing, at which point one of our party was relieved of a certain smart phone in a matter of milliseconds by a pick-pocket.  Indeed, an attempt was made on me too but I grabbed my pockets in time to prevent the crime.

We decided to regroup back in our apartment in order to empty our pockets before venturing back out there, but our moods were depressed.  We had finally experienced the side of Brazil's cities that everyone warned us about.

In the end, only five of us made it to the beach to watch the most spectacular, synchronized firework display I have seen in my life, a record of which I could not make as I left my phone back at the apartment.  A couple of friendly bystanders agreed to take some photos of us to email us later, but at the time of writing, they had not been received. To get the idea of the spectacle, you can probably find some clips on the internet.

What was supposed to be the climax of the trip didn't quite turn out that way, but what can I say friends, you win some you loose some.  In the grander scheme of the whole trip, we hit the Jackpot, big-time.

But in order not to leave you all hanging on a low note,  I'm now going to show you all a few gratuitous photos of our stay in Rio that will cheer you up for sure.  I'd just like to point out that all subjects photographed gave there personal consent to appear in the this blog post.

First of all here is Lyora scoffing her 657th Asai,

followed by a fascinating anthropological study I carried out on Brazilian beach wear.

 

And finally have a go at "Spot the Bunda."

That did the trick didn't it!

Taking the Plunge

Do you ever wake up in the morning with the urge to hurl yourself off a mountain?  No, me neither, but when we´re talking about the views of Rio de Janeiro, one re-accesses ones rationality.

Yes my friends, yesterday I decided to take the plunge!

In the late morning we drove up the twisting roads of a mountain overlooking one of  the beaches in Rio where this scene was awaiting us.

That´s right; a queue of what looked like flying tents.  One of these was what was supposed to carry me safely to the beach below.  The butterflies started to build up in my stomach.


And watching other people taking the dive, in more ways than one, didn´t really help to relieve my nervousness.

I began to have second thoughts, I mean I consider myself a rational person.  Throwing ones body off a cliff isn´t really a reasonable thing to do.  I could just enjoy the view for a while and run down the hill when nobody is looking, right?

Well with Iris watching my every move, the macho male ego prevailed.  I would have to shit bricks quietly and run off the mountain with a smile on my face.

A quick rehearsal of the take off with my pilot Marcelo and I was all set - in theory at least, definitely not in practice.

Before I knew it I was at the head of the queue, about to launch myself into the abyss.

Ready!  3...........2.............1.............ruuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnnnn.  Look staight ahead, not down, straight ahead.

The initial drop before the wind caught our wings was terrifying but exhilarating at the same time.

Then just Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

After a few breath-taking circles over the hills below we were over the beach ready to take a steep dive into land.

Wow!!!!!!  What a rush!!!!!!!!!

But my dear friends. Hand-gliding off a mountain wasn´t really the plunge I was referring to in the title of this post.  Avy Tahan was about to take a much more serious plunge.

Upon his descent some time before my own, Iris´ brother Eduardo was constantly running a little intelligence operation to find out when exactly Iris would be descending so we could make preparations for the big moment, and when word reached us that she was on her way down, the stage was set.

If you zoom in to this image and scan the beach closely, you´ll notice this.

That´s right it´s your humble blogger standing beside a heart with the words `Iris. Marry Me!´ etched in the sand.  She did notice it on the way down but couldn´t make out the words, so I clarified them upon her landing.

Unfortunately, the video of her landing could not be uploaded to this blog to share with you all.

What did happen was I got down on one knee wearing the speedos that Iris bought me and popped the question - Iris Chvaicer, will you marry me? Naturally she said yes without hesitation.

Like I said my friends, today I really took the plunge - the plunge for life.  Iris, I love you! xxxxxx!

The Big Jee

Corcovado, the peak from where the famous statue of Jesus overlooks the entire city of Rio.  A quick glance skywards reminds any Carioca, not to drink that other caipirihna, not to stare at yet another bikini clad bunda, not to dance the samba a little bit closer, or not to hussle or mug another innocent tourist.  You could call it the conscience of Rio.

Well yesterday morning we woke up at the crack of dawn to pay a visit to the big man in his heavenly abode and, in the process, to catch a few beautiful panoramas.  Our taxi driver Andre picked us up at 8.15 sharp and drove us up the impressive mountain on which The Big Jee is perched.

As we ascended, we beheld a godly vision - escalators to take us up the final few meters.

The view from up there were truely awe inspiring, especially with a few gostosas in the foreground.

And like any superstar, the big man was happily willing to pose with all his fans.

and even some who weren´t necessarily.

Oh, and here´s my idea of the holy trinity.

At this point I was very pleased to discover the panaroma function on my Galaxy SIII. Well Halleluya, praise the lord!!

Here´s the best result I could muster from up there.  Click on it for a closer look.

From the summit of Corcovado one could easily make the claim that Rio is the most beautiful city in the world.

The Road to Rio

The costal road to Rio was beautiful.  Most of the way we drove along winding roads through forest covered mountains which would spill over into the ocean, occasionally cushioned from above by fluffy white clouds.

This typical landscape of Sao Paulo state extended for a couple of hundred kilometers until, a few hours later, the scenery changed as we were approaching Rio.

We didn´t exactly get the welcome we were expecting!

Let´s just say the road turned into a Rio.  As we resurfaced on the other side of the storm, however, we entered the sun-drentched Rio de Janeiro that we were expecting, with views typical of what you see in the movies.

We were feeling rather pekish after our 4 hour journey so we stopped off at the one place in Rio from which we knew that we wouldn´t leave hungry - Porcao!  A Rio institution,  Porcao is the best know Chuhascarria in town serving excellent cuts of all-you-can-eat barbecued beef, by a elite team of knife yielding carving ninjas.

But there were a couple of simple rules every greedy guest has to learn before setting out on his carnivorous journey of debauched greed.  So often do the waiters approach ones table with more meat that a simple signalling system was devised to allow the scoffing customer not to break his meaty momentum if he doesn´t want a 67th helping.

After loading our plates with various accompaniments from the unlimited buffet,

we were all systems go!

Another slice of picanha perhaps?

Yes please!

A little filet?

Why not?

Half a cow perhaps?

I thought you´d never ask!

Some other cow part that you´ve never heard of sir?

No thanks. Go feed some other greedy Porcao before i throw up!

Bursting at the seams, we unloaded our stuff at our rented apartment in Copacabana, before taking a stroll along the beach to aid our digestion.  Even at a late hour the beach seemed to double as a market offering everything any cool Carioca (Rio native) would require.

Bikinis of course,

or a trendy beach hat for Benny.

Not that one, this one.

As the sun set over Copacabana, we anticipated the days ahead with great excitement.

Let the countdown to the New Year begin!