Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 29oC, hot, Sunny and a little unstable.
IT IS THE JOURNEY, NOT THE DESTINATION!!!
The journey is more important than the destination. Sometimes, the destination may change, but the journey remains the same. It is what we have. Without it, we have nothing. When we overly focus on reaching the destination, we overlook the journey, where we learn and grow as individuals.
We can carry the lessons and experiences from the journey for a lifetime. In contrast, the destination can often be a letdown or a deception because we have placed too much emphasis on it and not enough on the process of getting there.
It is the Saturday before Carnival, and there are already street processions with large parts of the city blocked for traffic. Rio becomes hell during Carnival: hot and sticky, with unpleasant smells from urine, stale beer and anything else that you can imagine. It is a military operation to cross from one neighbourhood to another, let alone the city.
I was up very early, and at the end of Leme, I was doing exercise before 5:30 in the morning. Imagine exercising so early on a Saturday morning with few people in the street; it is so good. Where I exercise at the end of Leme, there is a kind of circular sunken skate rink surrounded by a half-meter-high wall a meter wide; the wall is a kind of elevated stand for people to sit, walk and stand on.
This is where I work out, on top of the wall, in an elevated position where I can see everything around me, including the beach and the sea, only 10 metres from me. I stay on the wall nearer to the beach, whereas the dog owners stay precisely opposite me on the other side of the rink on the wall. The dogs play inside the rink, and all around, and often, they come to visit me.
Sometimes, I begin with skipping and then move on to TRX exercises or vice versa. I like to do at least 20 to 30 minutes of skipping and a minimum of 45 minutes for a whole workout session. I have been going there for more than a year, every day in the morning, so I have got to know the regulars. People like me are always there for a reason. If not for the dogs, it is for exercise, yoga, fishing, or just walking every morning before the Orla starts to get full.
After the workout and checking my phone, I change my trainers to flip-flops and walk back, usually passing first by a buteo near the beach to buy mineral water and nearer home to pass by the Portuguese bakers to drink at least one coffee outside, watching the world go by; it is Saturday, there are no classes so there is no rush.
The Portuguese bakers are not the most sophisticated in Copacabana. The truth is that it is a bit tatty and not the cleanest. The service makes the difference; the people who work there are incredibly kind and helpful, making a world of difference.
When I got home at about 11 a.m., Yasmin was up. We had arranged the night before to play chess today, the best of three. It wasn’t necessarily a third game; Yasmin beat me two nil. She played very well, and I was a little distracted.
Later in the afternoon, I took Yasmin back to her mother’s, where I talked to her about the possibility of living there before travelling to England. Nalva understood and was very receptive to the idea.
When I returned to Copacabana, the weather changed, and I watched some videos, films, etc.
In bed by 8:30 p.m.
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Richard
