First thing I have to say about the beaches in Rio...There are some beautiful people and they all go to the beach. We walked out on the beach and rented a chair for 7,00 reais (about $4 US). In fact the entire day with drinks, chairs, and all cost us about 50 reais ($30 US). We spent about four hours on the beach. I spent a lot of it under my umbrella watching the waves roll through the turquoise water and crash to the shore. This town is centered around beach life. Shorts are rare, speedos are common and nice bodies are the rule. Made me wish I had taken weight watchers a little more seriously. Then I thought, "It's Rio, who cares" peeled off my shirt and ran out to the water with my friends. The waves here were serious. They'd drag you out and push you in as they came crashing down. There were a few times I had to pull my suit back up. Although it was cold, it was a blast. We went back to our chairs and people watched some more before deciding to head home.
After we got back home there were showers and a trip to the mall for some sim cards and dinner. Now it's 12:31AM and everyone is getting ready to hit the clubs. I'm on the fence. If I go to this I'm not going to pride tomorrow. There has to be more to Rio then trying to find large concentrations of gay men. I want to see the city. I've seen the beach. I think I may split from the group tomorrow and do my own thing. It's hard to believe but after tomorrow we only have two more full days here and then it's back to Houston. And though I'd prefer sitting in a beach side restaurant having acai paste, granola and bananas for breakfast with some fresh squeezed Ubru over dancing the night away at the clubs, I have to say I'm loving this city. Just being here is energizing. The constant breezes. The people all seem pleasant and happy. The word you hear the most is "Obragado" which means "thank you." You know that word and you'll get far.
This morning when Alex and I were having our breakfast by the beach we both agreed, we could spend a month here. I wish all my friends and family could be here. I know, I know, different strokes for different folks, but I can't imagine a life where I don't occasionally go to a place where no one speaks my language. I learn that though I get scared and I'm not comfortable, I can do it. I can make it. That's an important thing for me to remember. It's also nice to realize that even when the economy is in the tank, our life in the US is pretty good. Good enough that I could conceive of being in Rio for a month. I'm feeling pretty energetic, I think I'm going to go out.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
In Rio de Janeiro (Trip report and day 1)
Whenever I'm leaving for vacation I always imagine the experience as something like Pilgrim's Progress. I'm cutting off heavy load called "work" that I carry with me. Whenever I have a trip experience where things go wrong, I imagine it's like work trying to drag me back. Take four people on three flights with six segments through six various airports, combine with some bad weather and you have a recipe for a "Anything Could Happen" casserole.
My 9pm departure from Houston direct to Rio de Janeiro did not leave until after midnight, over three hours late. I was going to be the earliest to arrive and now I thought I'd be the latest. Since there was nothing I could do to speed the plane up I just sat back and enjoyed the 9hr 10min flight to Rio. I decided to upgrade myself to first class. I'm glad I did. The food and service were "ok". The real benefit for me was after the meal when everyone in the cabin pulled out their masks and ear plugs then laid their seats down, extended the leg rests and went to sleep. I slept until it was time for breakfast. It was very relaxing. Then, we landed. That's the end of the relaxing.
I was supposed to meet two others who were coming from Dallas at the airport. When I checked the arrival boards I could not find their flight. Two hours later I found out they weren't coming to that airport. I found myself in the circumstance I feared the most. No idea where anyone was. No idea how to speak to anyone in a place that was foreign to me. I was making calls to the people back in the states. I finally heard from Alex, we agreed I would join him at his airport. I arrived there around 5pm, four hours after landing.
On the cab ride over I saw much a very stratified Rio. Slums called favelas full of precariously stacked apartments, some only partly finished pushed up against a freeway of crawling traffic where motor cycles wiz between cars and vendors walk along the narrow medians selling food to people in their crawls as we crawled along. Then, we turned a corner, and we were on the main drag to Copacabana. As we entered the city the scenery changed dramatically. Lovely tree lined vistas, parks where kids were playing soccer and large buildings took the place of sprawling squaller. The people changed too. All dressed in shorts, sun glasses and some with shirts.
I arrived at the other airport to find Alex waiting. My trip at this point changed dramatically. I had someone who could speak the language. We stopped at a food stand and ordered some thing that was a blend between empanadas and a corn dog. It was delicious. Then we headed over to the apartment we would be renting for the week.
The feeling of getting to a "home" is such a grounding and secure feeling. It's nice to have a place to put down your bags. We dropped of four bags and hit the streets. We found a grocery and picked up some food and water and such. Then we headed back to the apartment and met up with the rest of our party. They dropped off their bags and we all got dressed and walked down to the beach to find some food.
From dinner we headed to a club. Clubs, in general, are almost all the same. They have the same types of people. This one was no different, save for the music sucked. It was stuff that we would have heard on the radio in the US years ago. Another interesting thing, it was all in English. That was fun to sing along with. We were out until 2'ish and then we headed for pizza.
I have to say that I enjoy not being single. But it can also be annoying. When the energy of the group is devoted to finding and meeting guys it can take away from the fun of dancing and hanging out with friends. Tying your self worth to the chance of meeting someone in a club is a risky bet. in my experience it is usually the people who are there to have fun who tend to get the attention. Something about people having a good time and not worrying about making eye contact or standing over in a certain part of the bar in order to try and get the attention of someone just seems to be a waste of an evening. I do also realize that I view things a little differently. My looks are not something that I've ever leaned on in order to make friends or meet people.
My 9pm departure from Houston direct to Rio de Janeiro did not leave until after midnight, over three hours late. I was going to be the earliest to arrive and now I thought I'd be the latest. Since there was nothing I could do to speed the plane up I just sat back and enjoyed the 9hr 10min flight to Rio. I decided to upgrade myself to first class. I'm glad I did. The food and service were "ok". The real benefit for me was after the meal when everyone in the cabin pulled out their masks and ear plugs then laid their seats down, extended the leg rests and went to sleep. I slept until it was time for breakfast. It was very relaxing. Then, we landed. That's the end of the relaxing.
I was supposed to meet two others who were coming from Dallas at the airport. When I checked the arrival boards I could not find their flight. Two hours later I found out they weren't coming to that airport. I found myself in the circumstance I feared the most. No idea where anyone was. No idea how to speak to anyone in a place that was foreign to me. I was making calls to the people back in the states. I finally heard from Alex, we agreed I would join him at his airport. I arrived there around 5pm, four hours after landing.
On the cab ride over I saw much a very stratified Rio. Slums called favelas full of precariously stacked apartments, some only partly finished pushed up against a freeway of crawling traffic where motor cycles wiz between cars and vendors walk along the narrow medians selling food to people in their crawls as we crawled along. Then, we turned a corner, and we were on the main drag to Copacabana. As we entered the city the scenery changed dramatically. Lovely tree lined vistas, parks where kids were playing soccer and large buildings took the place of sprawling squaller. The people changed too. All dressed in shorts, sun glasses and some with shirts.
I arrived at the other airport to find Alex waiting. My trip at this point changed dramatically. I had someone who could speak the language. We stopped at a food stand and ordered some thing that was a blend between empanadas and a corn dog. It was delicious. Then we headed over to the apartment we would be renting for the week.
The feeling of getting to a "home" is such a grounding and secure feeling. It's nice to have a place to put down your bags. We dropped of four bags and hit the streets. We found a grocery and picked up some food and water and such. Then we headed back to the apartment and met up with the rest of our party. They dropped off their bags and we all got dressed and walked down to the beach to find some food.
From dinner we headed to a club. Clubs, in general, are almost all the same. They have the same types of people. This one was no different, save for the music sucked. It was stuff that we would have heard on the radio in the US years ago. Another interesting thing, it was all in English. That was fun to sing along with. We were out until 2'ish and then we headed for pizza.
I have to say that I enjoy not being single. But it can also be annoying. When the energy of the group is devoted to finding and meeting guys it can take away from the fun of dancing and hanging out with friends. Tying your self worth to the chance of meeting someone in a club is a risky bet. in my experience it is usually the people who are there to have fun who tend to get the attention. Something about people having a good time and not worrying about making eye contact or standing over in a certain part of the bar in order to try and get the attention of someone just seems to be a waste of an evening. I do also realize that I view things a little differently. My looks are not something that I've ever leaned on in order to make friends or meet people.
Prologue
When my friend Alex said, “You should come to Rio with us next time!” The year was 2004 and a lot had happened to me in that one day in August that had lead me to Alex’s dinner table. Between now and then we became close friends. I say this only to point out that this trip has significance beyond just going to another place. It’s something a friend and I have talked about doing for a long time. That is important for me. It is important that I live a life of “I wanted to and I did” as opposed to “I’ve always wished I could have.” And now, even if I had to go home tomorrow, I’ve been to Rio de Janeiro. I wanted to do it and I did it
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