April’s farewell from the WAG – 15 July

April has been working at the WAG (West Avenue Grill) for a while now. The people that she works with are great and they have become quite close. April and I share the thrill of the adventure of new things and she has been accepted to her masters, half in Finland and half in Canada. So her colleagues threw her a going away party right after work.

Parties are parties, but this one had quite an interesting end. Eric had converted his flat into club. No, I’m not joking. And this is not a half-assed attempt at it either. Huge speakers and sound system to match. Disco ball, which everyone seems to think is tacky but we all secretly love it. Especially if there is a laser…which he has! And a stocked bar which doubles as the DJ box. Then when you get tired, don’t even think of driving home…remember my ticket on the beach. They would probably ship you off to some far eastern country to perform slave labour if they caught you under the influence :) No, Eric has bunk beds in the spare room. Just crash there. The rest is party history.

Sitting at the bar at the WAG. The sign was put up by the manager…due to the staff. Classic – Centre of Eric’s living room/dance floor

 
Laser & bar – The DJ at work

Music festival – 10 July

Certain things you can only get in certain places. Ever heard of Bubble Tea? I hadn’t, but April assured me that I had to try it. It’s basically flavoured tea with gelatine balls. We had to go to downtown Vancouver to find a shop that sold Bubble tea. I actually had a “red tea” which is better know back home a Rooibos tea. It is served cold and even though the gelatine doesn’t taste of much, but it is a new sensation. A little chewy so you get to keep busy while drinking :)

We’d heard about a music festival in Stanley park (I forget the occasion) which sounded cool. April had to work (she was saving up for her studies, hence all the working), but I went with some of her friends I’d met before.
”Sprit of the West” was playing, one of April’s favourite band, so I was her proxy. To me great disappointment and regret (I got played some of their music later at home & it would’ve been a great concert), we got there too late and only caught their last song :( Bummer. We did see the main act, a Canadian band, but not quite my taste. At least the company was good.

Bubble tea – Vancouver at sunset from Stanley park – Spirit of the West

Cool lighting on the main stage – Huge lit up beach balls bounced around by the crowd – The Ferry terminal all lit up.

Carnaval in Rio

I think my experience of Carnaval was different from most tourist’s. Most people head straight for the Sambodromo (where the main event is held). Due to my late decision to stay for Carnaval, I didn’t get tickets for the Sambodromo. This didn’t stop me from having a great Carnaval though :) I have been told that in the old days, Carnaval was a celebration in the streets with the local Bataria (band) providing Samba music for the people. These are called Bloco’s, as mentioned in a previous post. The whole competition (held in the Sambodromo) is fairly “new”. So if the streets are where everything is happening, then that is where I will be.

I met some of Adriana’s friends the previous week, and we were going to join them for Carnaval. Andrea, Kassia and 4 friends were going to dress up differently every day. Definitely the right crowd to hang out with!

Day 1:
I arrived in Rio on the Saturday that Carnaval started…at 7am. After a long bus ride from Ouro Preto. On my arrival I was quite tired. After a huge lunch, I rested for a bit. By this time the people I was going to join for the day, had partied too hard and were all man-down. To be honest, this suited me quite well as I stretched myself a bit thin the week.

Day 2:
All rested out, Adriana and I headed for a bloco at the botanical garden (close to her house). This was a bit of a disappointment as the bataria had stopped playing quite early and beers were nowhere to be found. Some people bring their own instruments and they got the party started, well at least for the people close to them.

Since the day was disappointing, we would hit Lapa that night to make up for it. There was just one small thing that we forgot to take into account. Carnaval was now in full swing with bloco's everywhere, making public transport VERY slow. A trip that would normally take 30-60min, took us 2.5 hours! By the time we met up with Andrea it was 11pm! The other girls had gone to another party and it seemed everyone wanted to do their own thing. So the party didn’t last very long. This was a bit of a blessing as I was going to join the girls tomorrow at 9am for a bloco in Santa Teresa.

Day 3:
We all overslept :) I got a call at 9:45am to meet the girls at 10am. I slapped some clothes on and off I went. On arrival in Santa Teresa…something was wrong. Where were all the people? We checked that we were in the right place…yes we were. But we got the time wrong, damn! The bloco was only starting at 3pm. Eish. Well we were there, so lets make the most of it.

Santa Teresa has a long road running through it with little centres (grouping of shops & bars) along it. We went to the next centre in search of an open bar. On the corner of the bar, a guy was dressed as a hooker…an ugly one. He was incredibly sharp and had a snappy comment for everyone…including me. He said I should leave the girls and take him. I hadn’t gotten my “Carnaval legs” yet so I didn’t play along. (Should’ve though) It was very entertaining to watch him dish out comments, with translation from Andrea. I’d say this was the highlight of my morning.

Afternoon was creeping up on us and we headed for the site of the bloco. More people had arrived and by the time the bataria started, the party was in full swing! The bataria doesn’t stay in one spot, it moves through the streets. In this case to the second centre where we had beers earlier. Wow it was really fun! Difficult to put into words.

The girls wanted to go to a show the night in Lapa and by the time it was dark, we headed for the ticket booth. It was quite a walk, but it helped get rid of the beer in our systems. Tickets in hand we headed home for a shower and food!

The concert was a famous Brazilian Samba band. The lead singer (who all the girls were gaga about) made me think about James Blunt. Great concert with another famous Brazilian singer (this time female) joining the band. Apparently her mother was a ridiculously good singer and even more famous. The band finished at 3am and there were 2 more acts to come. None of us had the energy to carry on, so we headed home.

Day 4:
The last day of Carnaval. No matter how tired I was, today was not a day for sleeping! Admittedly I did get up late & had an afternoon nap but as it is tradition in Rio, the party only gets started after dark. First a bloco in Ipanema (along the beach) then we went to a bar right around the corner of Adriana’s place…called Uncle Sam’s bar (yes like the American Uncle Sam). I had to chuckle.

Those of you that know me well, will know that I’m not the biggest party animal. By this time my batteries were running low, so I couldn’t work in another party…even if I tried. So my Carnaval ended as gently as it started, with pizza, beer and the company of a lovely lady. Without her (and her friends) I don’t think Carnaval would’ve been the spectacle that I had heard it should be.

 

For those of you always bugging me for photos, I didn’t take any as things like cameras have a way of disappearing out of you pockets during Carnaval. But Kassia did have her camera with her. Here are some crazy pics taken during Carnaval.

Pre Carnival block party

Before (and I think during) Carnival there are block parties. These are held in the various areas of the city where a Samba band is the centre of the party. By this time they are in full swing. Yesterday I went for lunch with Adriana & two of her sisters in Barra de Tijuca. The youngest, Gabriella, was going to a block party that night and invited my & Hannes (sailing buddy) along. So we go home & left everything of value behind, since petty crime is a reality at these events.

The party was close to the city’s centre, in Larangeiras. Gabriella’s best friend Bruno met us there, but by this time he was pretty inebriated as he had been drinking since lunch (according to him). I have been told, by many people, that Carnival’s main attraction for the locals is not the “parade”, Samba & costumes. Rather it is the party & “Beijinios” (Kisses). As I understand it, it is normal to walk up to a girl during Carnival (and of course block parties), chat her up & then full on snog. All within 2min, if you are smooth!

The party was held in a square with the band in the middle, playing traditional Carnival Samba. By the time we arrived, the party was in full swing. Its a nice vibe. Honestly, I was a bit daunted by the whole thing…remember, I’m short. Usually taller people try to push me out of the way to get through, so I have to stand my ground. Not really the way you want to spend you evening. The people’s attitude is different here. They are more polite, not always in what they say, but in how they conduct themselves. It took me about an hour or two to acclimatise, and eventually I could properly enjoy the party.

Beer is sold everywhere. Getting rid of the beer is the big problem. I commandeered a close by VET’s bathroom rather than use a tree and potentially get locked up.

By now you are probably wondering about the “Beijinios”? I know my friends too well :) At the end of my first beer, Bruno was on top form. I was encouraged to give it a whirl. My biggest enemy was myself. Apparently I look and sound like a Carioca. So as soon as I said “hi”, I’m all out of Portuguese conversation. Switching to English confuses the girl, because in her eyes I’m local. Damn! So now she won’t believe that I’m from South Africa….and no kiss :( This went on for most of the night.

The band stopped playing at 19:00 (it was Sunday after all), but people were still hanging around. The party only showed signs of dispersing by 20:00. By this time we were able to chat to some girl & convince them that we were “strangeiros” (foreigners). As Gabriella had class in the morning, she & Bruno (who was now properly pissed, but not unable to get “Beijinios”) left. Hannes & I were invited for beer, by two girls (who can speak English), and how do you say “no” to that :) Much later after many beers we all went home…separate homes :)

All in all, a great night!

Party night in Lapa

Every town has its area or suburb that is renowned for its party. In Rio, the place is the area of Lapa (no, not a braai place :) ). It is in the central area of Rio and borders the CBD. Sandy lived in Rio for a year and told me that this was the place to be on Friday night. I did a good job of spreading the word among the sailors and we had a whole group going.

I started off with the guys from Hot Ice and we trundled into a small street (one of the other guys had been here before) that looked quite local (code for a bit run down with a great atmosphere). We walked to Sala Cecilia Meiteles (steps that are very colourful and decorated with tiles that have been donated from almost every country in the world) where we sat down to have supper at a small restaurant. Prices are really good here :)

After supper with a Caparinha in the hand, we were joined by two gorgeous girls that the skipper of Hot Ice met on Copacabana. Unfortunately only one spoke English. They convinced that group that a Salsa club was the best option, but Hans and I thought otherwise. The local scene was a much more attractive, so we took to exploring the streets. We ended up under the aqueduct in Lapa and got informed by some locals that the “lady” dancing in front of use was in fact a “she-male”. Jikes, they disguise them selves well!

Later we met up with a younger crowd of SA sailors. Back at to the Aqueduct for some dancing, we met up with some South African girls (Carol & co.) who are working on cruise liners. After having a wallet stolen and an attempt on .. necklace, we decided this was a good time to go home.

We commandeered a minibus and piled in, Africa style :) We might have overloaded the minibus, as the cops were close by when we stopped and started to write the driver a ticket. NMP, so we went to sleep. Needless to say that the hangover was quite bad as our main alcoholic intake for the evening was Caparinha’s (Cachaca – Sugar cane spirit, Lime & Sugar).

The street where it all began; The “Sala Cecilia Meiteles “ steps

Supper

 
Our South African cruise liner friends :) Me, Carol & her friend