Carnaval in Downtown Rio

Carnaval in Downtown Rio

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, South America

I got up this morning and really had one goal for the day. I wanted to go back to the Havaiana shop that we went to on the free walking tour of downtown and get some flip flops as gifts for a few people. So I got up, got the metro down to Carioca where the tour had started, and was pretty shocked at what I found. There were tens of thousands of people all crowding the streets and the squares for block parties. It didn’t look anything like the place we had visited just a couple of days ago.

I walked (slowly and reluctantly) to the Havaiana shop that was just a few blocks from the metro station, and it was amazing how many people were out already. Everyone was drinking and dancing and walking around all over the downtown area. I don’t think any of the streets were actually open to cars, it looked like they had all been closed down. There were quite a few blocos going on at the same time and it was really interesting to see the people who had bought the abadas, which are the shirts the allow you into the barriers to be in the party. You can literally be right outside the fence, which is only about three feet high, for free, or you could pay at least £20 for a shirt, just to get inside the fence. I don’t really see the point in it, but apparently a lot of other people do.

I finally got down to the Havaiana shop, and as I should have guessed, it was closed. Now that Carnaval is in full swing, everything in the city is closed down. Everything! The only restaurant I saw that was open in the center was McDonalds. Apparently they close for nothing. I hung around for about an hour and checked out a few of the different blocos. Some had DJs, some had bands, others had singers. All of them had too many people in a small space, and looked really uncomfortable to me. I’ve never been claustrophobic before, but I’m starting to think that I am now when it comes to groups of people.

I came back to the apartment, a little disappointed about the Havaiana shop, but also glad I got to see a bit more of what carnaval looked like. I went out for dinner at this reverse buffet place where you sit at the table and they bring the food around to you. They came around with different pizzas, pastas, and crepes. It was very good food, and only cost £7.50. I was pretty happy with it.

When I got out of dinner, I was walking back to the apartment on the main road of Catete Avenue, and I got back just as a carnaval parade was coming down the street. I hung around for a few minutes to watch from the street level, but I didn’t have my camera or phone or anything with me, so I went up to the apartment and I could watch the whole parade from the terrace. It was great because I was able to use my camera without having to bring it down into the chaos of the parade. It was pretty cool to see. I was also amazed at how quickly it ended. It took about 40 minutes for the parade, complete with a band on a truck and dancers, to get down the road. Right behind them was a cleaning crew hosing down the road and picking up trash. It was very efficient. You can tell they do that every year.

Tonight is my last night in Rio, and tomorrow I’m heading out to Salvador at mid-day. I haven’t seen Janine, the owner of my apartment, for a couple of days now, which is a bit strange. She’s changed the wifi password a couple of times in the last couple of days, and she hasn’t let me know. So I’ve just woken up and the internet isn’t working. So for me to get the new password, I’ve had to text her and wait for her to get back to me. It’s pretty annoying. The good thing about Airbnb is that you get to stay with a local and they can give you tips about the area and sometimes show you around. Janine hasn’t done any of that. I haven’t even seen her. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do with the key when I leave tomorrow. I’ll figure something out I’m sure.

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