Noemia’s Guesthouse – Santa Teresa, Rio de Janeiro

With the inflated prices for hostels due to carnival, we decided to stay in a guesthouse. A bread and breakfast of sorts. The house was in Santa Teresa: a small, hilly district just west of Lapa. Finding the house was a challenge, the streets were not on our map, nobody knew the street names, it was hot, we had our heavy backpacks on and there was a slight mist. The hills had intense slopes. Nearly vertical on cobblestone streets. It was a test of endurance and nerves, but after numerous conversations in a combination of broken Portuguese, English, and gestures we found Noemia’s Guesthouse. And our spirits were instantly lifted when we met Noemia and her family. Noemia is a single mother renting out the spare rooms in her home as her main means of living. Noemia instantly connected with Leah, and I think she warmed up to me after a little while. Noemia cooked soup, danced, and shared wine and stories with us for hours. It was an amazing experience. She showed us her prized interview video from when she hosted the band “In Living Color” at her house.

At night, we walked down to the Sambadrome and watched the fireworks after each Samba school finished dancing. After each school was done, they discarded their costumes in the streets; free for the pillaging. Leah and I tried a couple costumes on for size.