November 2002

ihana.com - big trip - diary - brasil - november 2002

Thursday 14 - Friday 22 November

We had been waiting for perfect weather before going up the Corcovada. The Cristo statue on top is visible from many places in Rio and its often enveloped in cloud. This time it was bright sunshine so we set off before 2pm with T taking his turn to drive. With Nacho, Ts doris Magaly and B as passengers in the two seat landy things weren't too comfy. It would have been ok if Ts sense of direction was a bit better. By the time we arrived at Maracana football stadium, miles from the Corcovada, it was time to ask somebody the way. B was squashed in the back, semi concious after a heavy night out so wasn't too pleased about spending three hours aimlessly bouncing about in the back of the landy. Eventually we arrived near the top of the steep mountain, needing low box to get up comfortably. The very top is only open to taxis and its a good hours walk so we bit the bullet and forked out $5 for the ride up. It was well worth it though. Afterwards we descended the mountain on the side nearest home and spent another hour in traffic, B having to stagger out a couple of times to get some air.

Waiting for thenext theatre showing	Listen up, Lula	A couple of wierd oldies
Night time is wicked too	Our Palio	Not our Palio

The Corcovado episode prompted us to hire a car for a few days. One of the most popular cars in Brasil, a Fiat Palio 'Fire', built locally with a 'nippy' 1 litre 'powerplant' was the car of choice - because it was the cheapest. After spending the last couple of years driving a Landy it was a bit of a shock using the super light pedals but at least we could all fit inside and also not worry about leaving it parked in the street outside the disco.

Nigel wasn't sure...

...what to make of it all...

...but eventually got the hang of things

The discos in Rio were a mixed bag, a few were pretty good, most were not. Our first night out was spent in a place called People Lounge which was excellent with banging house tunes and some wicked dorises. We even rounded off the night with Ts doris having a bit of a cat-fight with a local hoe which was a good laugh for the lads. The radio stations here have some good music for a change and theres even some Brasilian drum and bass.

T's doris has a dip - this photo was awarded 'Editor's choice' in ephotozine

 

Join our Mailing List      Read Guest Book

all content is copyright © ihana.com 2002