Rio, 1
We arrived in Rio to a little bit of cooler weather and light rain after so many days of strong sun in Bahia. It was a nice change, especially since it lasted about a day before clearing. Today, the weather is still cool and slightly overcast, but comfortable. The apartment was easy to get and great overall. So far the best shower and some of the fastest wi-fi that we have had since we got here. Now we can stream a show and get frustrated with lag time and turn it off after a few minutes. Marina seems to have recovered from her bout of food poisoning as well so after a slow first day things are moving well.
After an early evening we went for a walk on Monday along the Copacabana to explore the area. Two blocks away we found two BJJ schools and a Muay Thai school. So far we have already gone to the BJJ school twice as it is close and they have a lot of classes. Everyone has been great. I think now that Marina is feeling better, we might check out the MT place later today.
On the walk along the beach it was pretty empty because of still intermittent rain, but one local vender definitely marked us for tourists and made his move. He was clearly pretty destitute, clothes dirty, not looking to great, trying to earn a buck shining shoes for tourists. However, it seems that he boosts his business by dirtying your shoes first and then offering to clean them. I noticed him make a b-line from across the street toward us, walk past and in front for a minute and then turn around and point out that I "had shit" on my shoe. He said shit in several languages to make his point and then offered to clean my shoes. I looked down and sure enough I had a streak of bright yellow across my shoe. However, it was pretty clear that it was mustard and the little had sprayed it there on his walk past. Give him credit for good aim and craftiness. Later when we got back while wiping off my shoe a quick sniff confirmed, French's yellow mustard... We have been very careful with bags and how much cash and goods we carry since.
Monday night we went to check out Pedro do Sal, the old salt and apparently slave market that now houses a lively samba and dance ...party I guess, every Monday. Although there wasn't any Samba going on, there were Samba bands playing live music, various groups dancing and a couple streets of outdoor food and drink vendors, little tables with small crafts, and what not going on. It was pretty fun and we were able to make use of the Metro to get around pretty easily.
This morning after dropping in for the 7am BJJ, we headed to the Christo Redento, Christ Redeemer, big ass statue that looks over the city of Rio. While I could really care less about the statue, the views from the top are pretty amazing. The crowds all vying to take their selfie with god really get annoying fast, but when you walk to the areas out of the direct frontal assault, i mean view, the spaces open up and you can look out on the vast and sprawling city of Rio. It is pretty amazing, between the beaches and forests, the city is really carved out of a beautiful area and has done well to merge the urban with the landscape. Now its back to the apartment to rest for a bit before heading back out to the next stop on the Rio exploratory tour.
We arrived in Rio to a little bit of cooler weather and light rain after so many days of strong sun in Bahia. It was a nice change, especially since it lasted about a day before clearing. Today, the weather is still cool and slightly overcast, but comfortable. The apartment was easy to get and great overall. So far the best shower and some of the fastest wi-fi that we have had since we got here. Now we can stream a show and get frustrated with lag time and turn it off after a few minutes. Marina seems to have recovered from her bout of food poisoning as well so after a slow first day things are moving well.
After an early evening we went for a walk on Monday along the Copacabana to explore the area. Two blocks away we found two BJJ schools and a Muay Thai school. So far we have already gone to the BJJ school twice as it is close and they have a lot of classes. Everyone has been great. I think now that Marina is feeling better, we might check out the MT place later today.
On the walk along the beach it was pretty empty because of still intermittent rain, but one local vender definitely marked us for tourists and made his move. He was clearly pretty destitute, clothes dirty, not looking to great, trying to earn a buck shining shoes for tourists. However, it seems that he boosts his business by dirtying your shoes first and then offering to clean them. I noticed him make a b-line from across the street toward us, walk past and in front for a minute and then turn around and point out that I "had shit" on my shoe. He said shit in several languages to make his point and then offered to clean my shoes. I looked down and sure enough I had a streak of bright yellow across my shoe. However, it was pretty clear that it was mustard and the little had sprayed it there on his walk past. Give him credit for good aim and craftiness. Later when we got back while wiping off my shoe a quick sniff confirmed, French's yellow mustard... We have been very careful with bags and how much cash and goods we carry since.
Monday night we went to check out Pedro do Sal, the old salt and apparently slave market that now houses a lively samba and dance ...party I guess, every Monday. Although there wasn't any Samba going on, there were Samba bands playing live music, various groups dancing and a couple streets of outdoor food and drink vendors, little tables with small crafts, and what not going on. It was pretty fun and we were able to make use of the Metro to get around pretty easily.
This morning after dropping in for the 7am BJJ, we headed to the Christo Redento, Christ Redeemer, big ass statue that looks over the city of Rio. While I could really care less about the statue, the views from the top are pretty amazing. The crowds all vying to take their selfie with god really get annoying fast, but when you walk to the areas out of the direct frontal assault, i mean view, the spaces open up and you can look out on the vast and sprawling city of Rio. It is pretty amazing, between the beaches and forests, the city is really carved out of a beautiful area and has done well to merge the urban with the landscape. Now its back to the apartment to rest for a bit before heading back out to the next stop on the Rio exploratory tour.
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