While it was only 450kms from Sao Paulo to Rio it was all busy highways and I had to get out of the heart of Sao Paulo first and then into the centre of Rio. I’ve just realised that I always stay in the centre of big cities. I know many other people doing the South America ride, avoid them like the plague. I like them. The problem with city traffic in such big cities is that if you miss an exit then it could take you 15 minutes of rerouting to get back on track again. Fortunately, this only happened once on this day. And heading into Rio was full of diversions in preparation for the start of Carnival. Bloody Carnival.

With a population of 6.2 million, Rio de Janeiro (River of January) is the second largest city in Brazil, but it increases by a couple of million for the Carnival period. I didn’t want to be there at this time but because Jesus decided to die on the cross at Easter it meant that Ash Wednesday would be 51 days earlier and Carnival always starts on the Friday before Ash Wednesday. Which this year was the 28^th of February. Next year the 13^th of February and the following year the 5^th of February. So I had thought it was always the same time of year and it was all finished before March. I’ll know next time! Carnival literally means remove meat. The party was normally held to use up meat and all the products that might go off during lent. People were also meant to save money by eating more humbly during lent and then give that money to the church.

On a side note, and to include a couple of pics, having so many people must be a logistical nightmare. One smallish supermarket I went to had all it’s 20 cashiers running. Obviously trying to use up all the food before lent. Ha. And each night all the rubbish is piled onto the street and magically taken away.

The history of Carnival is very old. Started with the Greeks and then the Romans and the rich and the poor and the slaves and samba and the Christians, who, hijacked it at some stage and tied it in with their celebrations. It is supposed to be the big party before the start of lent when you give up all the fun things and meat and poultry. But not eggs which are actually unborn poultry but we won’t go there. And easter eggs are chocolate and you can eat them for breakfast on Easter Sunday, so no point in adhering to all the traditions. And the easter bunny? I’m getting too distracted and way behind.

Rio was great. Despite the crowds and the lack of accommodation, I managed to get a room for 2 nights at the Ibis for $125 a night and then a third night for $225. And although I would have liked one more night the city was booked out. And going further out and riding or bussing it in with the millions of others had no appeal so I actually had to plan carefully so I could see all the stuff I needed to see in those 3 days and get out of the place.

First morning was “Christ the Redeemer”. The big guy up on the hill. I took the advice and went early morning and even booked on the first bus to avoid the crowds. Ha. I can’t imagine how much more crowded it could get. It was pretty awesome though and a bit of a highlight. It’s a tiny, but high hill, at the end of some winding cobbled streets. Amazing views out over the city. Over the years they have perfected, booking, crowd control and crowd movement and so it all went smoothly. It was $45AUD.

Next I had to visit Copacabana and Ipanema beaches which were only a couple of kilometres away from my hotel and why I chose that spot. It was a long day and a lot of steps but I managed to walk both beaches and they also lived up to expectations. I actually made an error and walked the length of Copacabana, thinking it was Ipanema. After realising my mistake I had to walk the beach again in the opposite direction and the around point and onto Ipanema. Very similar beaches. I had THE song, ear worming in my head, as I had played it before I left the hotel to remind me of it. despite the nice day it was pretty cold so only my feet got to swim at both beaches. And there was a pretty cool free beachside gym with weights made from old pipe and concrete.

Then I had one more thing on my three day hit list. Sugarloaf Mountain.  They said sunset was when the crowds got big but I figured that was in normal times. I sort of hoped that everyone would avoid it because of all the people, and to some extent I was right. It took me less than an hour of queuing to buy my ticket and get to the top. There was even Carnival themed entertainment in the wait lines. And yet again I wasn’t disappointed. In fact, probably even more impressed that I expected. Sugarloaf was great. You catch one cable car to a halfway point then a short walk to another cable car to the top. I arrived with time to relax before sunset and then decided I was happy to take my time and avoid the rush down on the cable car and pay high prices for a couple of beers and a couple of slices of a reasonable pizza. And I forgot to mention something.

When I was buying my ticket to go up, the guy asked if I was over 60 and instead of paying $45AUD for a ticket I only had to pay $22.50. Which just happened to be the same price as the beer and pizza. I enjoyed the sunset and then the darkness but the line to get down never seemed to shorten. I joined the cable car lineup and calculated it would be well over an hour before I got to the front of the line. But as luck would have it an employee walking past asked me if I was over 60 and then escorted me to the front of the line and put me on the next available car. I then used the same process on the second cable car which is halfway down, and no one said anything. How nice. I was getting tired and actually just wanted to go back and enjoy a bit of my $225 room as I would be leaving town early the next morning. To avoid the crowds.

All in all I really enjoyed Rio. I would have liked to see some of the actual parade but I would never have been able to get a ticket. I did see some of the floats all lined up in a closed off lane on a main road. They were without people and looked huge. I also saw lots of impromptu groups practising while I was out walking. And the vibe was pretty strong. And as I left town next morning there were lines of people everywhere walking in lots of places with chairs and eskies and singing and dancing. Not much clothing and lots of decoration. I’m sure it would live up to its reputation. A few other random pics below. I thought if you lived in Rio and made it to sixty then you’ve probably partied hard and done okay and that’s why they look after their elders.

I got away about 8:00am and the traffic going out of town wasn’t too bad which was great as I had a long way to go and some long riding days ahead of me. And lots of new adventures.

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