Oi! (That's Portugese for hello--I think)
Man, Rio is one cool place.
The trip started off on an auspicious note, too. I
flew from Chicago to Atlanta on Delta, and when I got
to the gate in Atlanta for the flight to Rio, there
were balloons everywhere and tables set up with
hundreds of glasses of champagne.
What the heck is this? I thought.
Didn't take long to find out. Turns out this was Delta
airlines inaugural nonstop flight to Rio, and the
Brazilian ambassador to the United States, along with
senior consular officals and other key government and
airline officials showed up to cut the ribbon and
celebrate this historic event.
The fact that the ambassador was on our flight to Rio
did nothing to alleviate the cramped, uncomfortable
seating in coach, though, and I arrived in Rio nine
hours later with a severe case of uni-cheek (i.e. when
both your butt cheeks get so incredibly numb from
cramped seating that they merge into one, feelingless
cheek.)
But it was awesome to step out of the plane and feel
hot, summer sun!
Since I didn't have a hotel I spent the morning
looking around for a good deal in Copacabana, and
finally settled on the Grande Hotel Canada, just two
blocks from the beach.
The beach is incredible, especially for a city this
size. And Brazilians, from the looks of it, are even
more "body-conscious" than Californians. Either that
or they ship the ugly ones off to Argentina at birth!
I stood out for two main reasons. One, I'm paler than
death compared to everyone else on the beach and two,
I wore standard swim trunks instead of skimpy
skin-tight Speedos.
When in Rome, do as the Romans, as the famous saying
goes. The more I can blend in, the less likely I'll
get earmarked for a typical tourist mugging, which
apparently are quite common down here.
So I went shopping for Speedos. As I discovered, this
is much easier said than done!
The first pair I tried on nearly caused me to choke
with laughter. By virtue of the styling and tightness
of the material, I had no crotch!!
Now, I know "size doesn't matter" and all that, but
this was beyond ridiculous and looked like I'd been
recently castrated. It suddenly dawned on me why
swimsuit shopping is a big deal for women--when things
are skin-tight, a different cut makes a huge
difference!
I eventually found one that was suitable, but then I
faced my second big challenge. Coming out of my hotel
into a busy street with what felt like nothing more
than a g-string took a major leap of faith on my part!
I half expected women and children to run screaming
and to get arrested for indecent exposure.
But I just blended right in.
And, as with all new things, one eventually gets used
to them. And I'll certainly have a more thorough tan
than I would otherwise!
That night, I went to the Help Discotheque in
Copacabana. And, frankly, I haven't really left the
club scene since. Sleep by day, party by night. Heh,
heh!
In the next few days, though, I'm sure I'll go out and
explore Rio a bit more. There's a ton of stuff to do
and see around here. Such as hang gliding from one of
the local "mountains" down to the city below...
Yeeha!
Gabriel
