A Brazilian Sunday

Each day our students will blog about some of their experiences on the Brazil Travel Course.  Our first entry for Sunday, 1/22 comes from Rob Ruiz.

Sunday = leisure. Sunday, in Rio de Janeiro, in the Summer, on a 90 degree day … now that’s a whole different kind of leisure.

For the first time on our trip I was able to sleep in a bit – until about 10 am – much needed after enjoying the incredible
Rio Scenarium bar
until about 4 am the night before!  Since a handful of my other classmates started their days bright and early paragliding / hang gliding, I had the opportunity to spend a portion of the day on my own to try and immerse myself in to Rio and it’s beach culture. With that in mind, I figured I had to make sure to do a few “local” things.

1. Walk – Everyone here walks.
2. Start the day off right with a fresh coconut juice – This happens to be a really effective way to cure “dehydration.”
3. Check out some local beach sports – Volleyball, Foot Volleyball, Sand Futbol, etc.

So, with that in mind, I headed towards the part of the beach that our tour guide, Pablo, had mentioned was where the best foot volleyball is played. On Sundays, the city closes the main street near the beach for pedestrians, cyclists and others to use. So there I was, leisurely strolling along the beach, in the middle lane of the street, with a coconut in hand watching some crazy foot volleyball at 11 am. Awesome.

My feet then led me further down the beach and ultimately a bit inland to the “Hippie Market” where I was able to find some souvenirs for folks back home and engage in some healthy bartering with the vendors.  Between my Spanish and some key Brazilian hand gestures that I’ve picked up the last week, I was able to score a couple of deals.

Eventually, I ran into a classmate of mine and we headed back to our hotel, walking some more and taking our time to stop and try some more local food and drinks. It was great, and I really enjoyed seeing the people of Rio enjoy a summer day as only they can.

– Rob