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!