Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: 28oC, hot and overcast.
No exercise, just up early doing things about the flat. I am feeling a little slow due to drinking the night before. Not that I was drunk, but I think because of my age and having lost a little of the habit of drinking, my resistance to alcohol is less than when I was younger. I was slow and sluggish.
Tonight marks the first of two nights in Sambodromo for the special group of samba schools competing to win the prestigious trophy for the best samba school and procession of the year. The first school will commence at 9 pm, and the procession will last for one hour before the next school takes over, with the cycle continuing until 5 or 6 in the morning.
It’s a marathon event filled with an abundance of noise, drums, colours, fireworks, and beautiful people. While it may seem overwhelming, it’s definitely worth experiencing it at least once, either as a spectator or participant.
I went to the supermarket in the morning when most people were still sleeping off the day or night before; remember, it is a carnival. It is good because the checkout is quicker; in this supermarket where I like to go, the checkout is sometimes kilometric later in the day. This time, I was paying in cash, and the cashier did not have any change.
Change, coins, notes, etc., is a real problem in Brazil. I had to go home, get some more money, and return it with precisely the right amount, and I did not want to owe them. I do not mind; the girls who work there are always nice, and when they see me, we usually have some fun. Sometimes, I buy a box of chocolates for them to share; it is all good.
It is a carnival, so there are usually a lot of barbecues to go to. I had been invited to two, one far from the south zone, about 2 hours by public transport, and the other Nalva was doing with her sisters and brother.
Nalva said it would start at 3 pm, but when I arrived, it had not begun yet. That is no problem; this is quite common in Brazil.
You arrange a time, then put in an hour or two hours more and maybe, if you are lucky, it has begun. Nalva had bought a bottle of wine, knowing that nowadays I only drink wine, which was kind of her. Her sister and Nalva accompanied me on the wine and everybody else on the beer or caipirinhas.
Everything was perfect. It was a pleasant afternoon spent eating a ton of meat, drinking decent wine, having good conversations with nice people, and nobody dying. What more could you ask for?
I stayed until about 7 pm and was back in Copacabana by 8.
In bed by 10:00 pm.
Thank you.
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Richard
