Vargem Grande
After 10 day of the constant rhythm of Rio de Janeiro’s Carnival, which like NYC, is truly a city that never sleeps or stops partying! Ben and I looked forward to escaping the city to Brazil’s tropical countryside, where we could experience the country’s more rural side and maybe get some sleep! 😉 We were to be received as houseguests by fellow couch surfer, Cecilia, at her home in Vergem Grande, which is a barrio of Rio. This would be our first couch surfing experience of our world adventures and we were very excited to be spending time with another English speaker, there are not many in Rio. Our journey to Vergem Grande gave us our first glimpses into the kindness of the Brazilian people, without them we’d still be stuck in Rio. First we were unsure of our first transfer and after an hour of not see our bus go by we grew suspicious that we had gotten off at the wrong stop but the school kids at our bus stop assured us that our bus would come… eventually. Once on the second bus we asked a young woman in broken Portuguese what stop was Rio Water Planet, she told us and got off at our stop, but once she saw we were walking in the wrong direction, which is very typical of us, her and her friend ran after us politely pointing out the correct path to take. Once we got to the first road we needed we were stopped by a gentleman who said “I think you are missing!” and ran to his car to get his car’s GPS. He insisted in broken English that we use it. He also did an excellent job explaining to us what chicken wings were, charade-style, because he caught us eyeing a restaurant menu. It was definitely entertaining. By this time it was very late and dark, and again some patient locals had to ran after us to point out the correct gate where Cecilia lived because we were walking past it after we had asked them for help. We finally arrived at our host’s house and we were greeted us with open arms. Poor Cecilia worried that we were either lost or died and promptly served us delicious pizza, which we inhaled. We also meet her two very cute and playfully puppies. Nina, the female and the youngest, was mild tempered and content to follow the lead of Freddie, the male, the oldest and the troublemaker! Lol. They were like Cecilia’s shadows, constantly at her feet, bringing her joy and headaches in the same way small children bring to their parents. The last night Ben and I tried out our cocoons, which are like sleeping bags made out of sheets to keep the bugs from biting us. It was very hot and the windows needed to stay open. As you can see they are quite the fashion statement....
Read MoreThe Samba Parade, Part 3: The Spectacular.
On Sunday afternoon Ben and I were walking around Rio De Janeiro’s city center and saw that night’s Samba Parade floats still under construction! What… procrastination station! As we walked around taking picture, we joked that they had some major work to do… It looks like they pulled it off… To out stage one another, Samba parade floats often have some kind of mechanical moving part. In some cases a little menacing mechanical shark that emerges out of a pool to eat a Samba dancer will do. Oh no! Oh yes. Or maybe what a float really needs is a mechanical horse that gallops around a cottage? Of course this is Brazil so the rider must be topless! I think Ben must of took this picture. Some floats would spray bursts of glitter or colorful strings, but to really out do the competition you need a fountain flowing with water or some gorillas swinging from trees. Of course there were scores of celebrities, none of which I heard of because most of them were Brazilian. But there was one name that was familiar to me…Gisele Buendchen. She’s the one in gold in the front middle. I looked for Tom Brady after that in the stands with no luck. The only thing that is more fantastic then the floats are the samba dancers. Each school’s best Samba dancers can be easily spotted even from the top of the Grandstands. They are scantly clad; not wearing more then strategically placed sequences, a tong, a feathered headdress and wings. They are either leading legends of samba dancers or perched on tall pedestals atop giant float. Their feet moving at warp speed in 6-inch heels. But you don’t have to be a samba dancing beauty to get and keep the crowds on their feet. A street cleaner that broke into a samba while sweeping the streets during intermission received the loudest cheers of...
Read MoreThe Samba Parade, Part 2: The Survival.
1.) What to wear? So what does one wear to a Samba parade? Answer: Anything or next to nothing if you wish… as long as your costume is not big. While in line, two Australian guys who looked like they walked out of a Samba parade, were asked to discard their costumes because of their size, heart breaking, but the stands were packed so the request was understandable. We kept our attire low key. Ben in his red and white poke-a-dotted onesie with discarded giraffe, elk hybrid hat… nothing but class. I in a curly purple wig and a silver Carnival mask I picked up at street vendor for 18 Reals. Another option is to run away and join the Carnival! To samba in the parade with one of the schools requires a costume that you can actually buy from them online! Once you have their outfit you can join the Samba Parade with that school. Costumes range anywhere from $195 to $1300 US Dollars plus the purchase of a Parade ticket ($100 US Dollars). 2.) When to arrive? We sat in Section 4, which is a General Admission Grandstand. Every $100 US Dollar seat had an amazing view but get there a few hours early if you want to grab a closer seat. The closer you are the more detail you can see in the elaborate costumes and the more you can feel the beat of the more then 300 samba drums. 3.) What to bring? Bring water and food in your backpack since the parade is eight hours long. You can leave whenever you want but the floats do seem to get progressively more spectacular as the night goes on so try to stick it out until the end. We didn’t bring snacks or water… clueless, so we ended up spending a small fortune. Beer and snacks are sold in the stands and in booths just like any US sporting event. Bring a poncho since umbrellas are discouraged because it obstructs the view. We only brought our umbrella and could only use it during samba school intermissions. Count on it raining, you are in Brazil, the land of Rain Forests. Bring or buy a seat cushion or follow the Parade program. Seat cushions are good way to stake your claim on seats during samba school intermissions. I, however, just followed the program and sat down after the last float went by guaranteeing myself a coveted spot during the intermissions… smart. 3.) What to know? The secrets no one tells you, but we will! Know your samba songs. Get on The Rio Carnival Guide website: http://www.rio-carnival.net/ or other similar websites and learn that year’s Samba songs. Everyone will be singing along to them. To feel like a true Carioca (Someone who is from Rio de Janeiro) you have to know at least the favorites to get by. Do not buy your tickets ahead of time. Many international tourists (Ben and I included) buy tickets for both Sunday and Monday. After barely surviving Sunday night, many tourists sell or even give away their Monday night tickets! We sold ours at a $50 dollar discount. In fact the guy we sold our tickets to ended up acquiring 2 more tickets for free! You can easily acquire them at a hostel or on...
Read MoreThe Samba Parade, Part I: The Background.
The Samba Parades are the considered the highlight of Rio’s Carnaval. These Samba Parades are spectacular precessions of ornate customs and floats paired with riveting samba dancers, booming samba music, twirling flag bearers, and fireworks. Rio’s fourteen best samba schools parade on the Sunday and Monday night before Ash Wednesday, seven schools each night. Each Samba school is comprised of talented, very modest living people, many who live in Rio’s notoriously dangerous slums or Favelas. Every year they make difficult sacrifices by pouring a year’s worth of passion, creativity and labor into the hope that their 1 hour and 20 minutes parade will be the most dazzling, making their school the Pride of Rio and Brazil. It’s like high stakes poker; the jackpot is to be Champion for a year. The Samba Parades goes from 9 pm to 6 am. We went on Sunday night and in true Brazilian fashion it started at 11 pm. This would be like the equivalent of our Super bowl or Thanksgiving Day parade starting 2 hours late, but Brazil you soon discover is like your charming fashionably late friend. The Samba Parade takes place in the Sambodromo, which is marked by wishbone like arches on every map of Rio. It is located right off the Metro orange line’s Praca Onze stop. It sits in an enchanting neighborhood lined with food vendors and beer stands and where children as young as five can be seen running free in Disney princesses and Super Heroes customs. Parade programs written in both Portuguese and English were handed out upon entering the Sambodromo. They tell you every thing you need to know about the samba schools, their colors, themes, songs, samba wings, and floats. I found the program extremely helpful and interesting. Pee funnels were also handed out to the ladies… also interesting and...
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