Day 106 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Carnival day is finally here (well the Sambodrome part of it anyway). What an absolutely cracking day we had today. One of the best of our trip. It has to be one of the best experiences life can throw at you. Everyone should come to Rio Carnival at once in their lives. Warning this post contains a hell of a lot of bright and flashing pics!! ;-)

We start the day by heading to the other of Rio's world famous beaches - Ipanema. We wake up a little groggy this morning after a fairly big night last night (or bigger than we have grown used to). After a spot of breakfast we jump in a cab across town to Ipanema. Our research suggests that Post 9 is the best spot where all the beautiful people hang out so naturally we head there!

We are very lucky with the weather as it said rain all day but it turns out to be completely the opposite. 

The waves are enormous today. Some of the biggest we have been in. Me and Dad spend ages in there riding the huge waves and occasionally being caught out by them and being washed to shore. Mum has a very funny incident trying to get out where she got knocked over and then to our amusement couldn't get back up as more waves continue to crash onto her. End result - more Copacabana sand in her costume than on the beach. 

Finally I manage to get myself a Brazil top. Now given, it's not a real one, but for £10 you can't go wrong. 

This is the life. Deck chair waiter service with an ice bag full of cold beers, people watching. 

Now you may be wondering why you haven't seen pics of the Brazillian beach babes - rest assured they are on their way. I am writing a dedicated special report on them as the topic is of utmost importance and deserves it. 

At about 4pm we decide to head for some food and then back to the hotel. By this time Ipanema is getting absolutely heaving (naturally as everywhere is in this city during carnival). I have no idea where all the people come from. They have closed the whole road along the beach which is three lanes either way plus a cycle lane along and you can hardly see road or pavement for people. There are easily hundreds of thousands of people there when we leave and people are still streaming in. 

The restaurant we went to was a very pleasant surprise, an absolutely fantastic buffet which charged by the kilo. I obviously won the plate weight competition. It had a transport theme with really cool old posters on the walls. 

After a bit of a chill out it's time to Samba. We get picked up at 9:30pm and make our way to the Sambadrome. It is a surprisingly slick transfer to the venue. 

Once there, it strikes us just how organised and slick the event is. The venue is amazing, it must be about a kilometre long with large stadiums liking the route on each side. We are in section 11 which is pretty central and a great spot just to the left of where the judges sit and also the spot where the drummers stand when they come into the arena. Well worth splashing the extra money on the tickets. 

Obviously with it being Brazil the beer is free flowing and surprisingly pretty cheap too. 35 Reals for a bag (full with ice) of seven cans of Devassa. We grab the first two bags of the evening and head to our seats. 

By the time we arrive we catch the end of the first samba school coming through. Basically the evening is broken into 6-7 sessions, each from a different Samba school typically with 4-6,000 people per session and anywhere between 10-15 huge floats. It takes about an hour and fifteen minutes for the procession to complete. The atmosphere is electric. Each session has the same song throughout which sounds like it would be annoying but they are really entertaining and it actually helps us learn part of the words. Also each school gives out flags, balloons, posters etc you name it in support of their school when it is their turn. 

The start of the second school had a man being fired out of a giant canon which is pretty impressive to see. 

The costumes are out of this world. 

Each section of dancers has a lead lady which is the quintessential vision of the Rio carnival - skimpy outfit with huge feathered wings. 

I couldn't find the pic on my camera to upload it but loads of the dancers one certain a floats were topless which I personally think is a fantastic touch! Like the worlds biggest strip club. 

Note the green outfits in this pic. 

We see one of the dancers walking outside the venue and ask if we can borrow his costume for a great photo opp. 

This girl sure could wiggle her bootie. 

Massive streamers are constantly fired into the air for support of the schools. 

An amazing dragon. 

There is one very funny moment when one the floats with a huge statue is too tall to get underneath the camera and TV platform over the track. The float plows through it taking the head of the statue off. Very amusing. 

One of the things I love about my Dad is his relentless enthusiasm for mixing with the locals - particularly those that don't speak a word of English.  Here he is being taught the words by girl next to him. 

The Salgueiro school is up next. 

By this time it is getting pretty late as it is 4:30am and it's still going strong. Well it's not quite going as strong for some people. Mum perfecting the art of sleeping on a concrete step in the middle of the loudest carnival on earth. 

We finally get back to the hotel at about 5:30am, just as it is getting light. It has been a truly phenomenal experience. A sight to behold and an experience we will remember forever. We have never experienced an atmosphere like it - it exceeded all of our already high expectations of it. Absolutely love Rio.