Sun, Sea and Samba (LB)

On Sunday we decided to head down to Ipanama in search of somewhere showing the football. We found a Mexican bar and Spurs lost :-( 

To pick up our spirits we went for a leisurely stroll along Ipanama beachfront. This is the next bay along from Copacabana. The main road was closed and the road turned into a mass of pedestrians, skaters and cyclists. We then mooched around the market. Our guest house owners had told us there was a lovely hippy market there. There were lots of beautiful paintings, bags, Jewellery etc. If we were on a short holiday, I would have taken some of those paintings home but they'll just have to stay locked in our memories.

There was one thing that was high up on my list of 'must do's' before we left; to experience live Samba music. We headed to Lapa, the Rio party district, on the hunt for some live Samba music. As it was Sunday, we were told that there wouldn't be any, we stopped for a quick beer and left a little disappointed.

We headed back to Santa Teresa, where we were staying, freshened up and headed out to find some food. As we were at the end of our Rio trip, we didn't have much left of our budget. Well two of our prayers were answered 1) find somewhere cheap to eat and drink and 2) find live samba music. We walked 100 meters from the guest house and on the street corner there was a 10 piece local Samba band!!! All FREE and street food and drinks available at next to nothing. The atmosphere was electric, very vibey and quite romantic. Gareth and I grooved our little butts off until the band had a break. 

We got chatting to 4 guys who were at various stages of their travels from Sunderland, Ireland, France and Germany. They wanted to check out Santa Teresa and asked us if we wanted to join them, so we thought, why not? We passed a junkyard, as we had a number of times already, but one of the guys suggested we try the makeshift bar on top of the scrap yard. It seemed a little random but again thought, why not? As we climbed the rickety steps, we were immediately hit by the most breathtaking views of Rio at night. G was probably impacted the most here, so I'll let him tell you the rest.

Gareth: 

Firstly, note to my Mum; you may not want to read this bit!

Most people who know me will testify to the fact that I am actually quite 'risk overse'.  When presented with options, I will generally take the less risky one even if that means less reward.  I had a feeling before we left England that I would have to let go of this habit in order to fully experience everything that this trip has to offer. Well, this was well and truly 'show time'....

Lauren and I had walked past this grotty looking scrap yard on the side of the road a few times the day before. There was scrap metal stacked floor to ceiling in what may once have been a carport or maybe a triple garage with no doors on the front. The day before there was an old man making scrap metal sculptures out of parts of a 1970s VW Beetle alongside engines from old Citroens, tin baths and all kinds of obscure and unidentifiable pieces of bent metal. Above this (on the flat roof) I had noticed an old neon sign stating there was a "Bar" up there. I didn't even have to think about a visit. There was no way in the world I would EVER even consider going up there for a drink.

Fast forward 24 hours and a new Irish, fellow travelling friend walks past there with us and says, "Bar?!! Up there?!! Well, we HAVE to go and have a beer up there"!!  My heart sunk when I realised he wasn't joking and an internal fight ensued within me. 

'He's nearly half my age, what does he know?'

'He's been traveling all over the world for years and has experienced so much, what could go wrong?'

'It says it's a Bar but who really knows?'

'I like these guys, I don't want to sound like a bonehead'

My pride won and, not wanting to look like a spoilsport (or a bonehead) I followed the guys (against my better judgement) up the rickety, wooden steps made from ancient timber on to the scrapyard roof.  

This was a monumental decision and a moment I will treasure for the rest of my life. Under my feet were dark brown, wobbly, wooden planks holding me from falling into 1000 tonnes of scrap metal lying dormant below me. To the side of me was a lovely Brazilian 'barman', so pleased to see me and interested in who I was, what I did and what I wanted to drink. In front of me was probably the most beautiful night time skyline I have ever seen - Rio de Janeiro from so high up, like most have never seen it before; Bright lights, huge mountains and waves glistening in the moonlight as far as the eye could see. Most importantly was the woman by my side.  My wife, who I've committed to doing this journey with. Not just these 3 months but the rest of my life. 

I could've died then a happy man, especially as I made the mistake of leaning on the makeshift wooden railing on that far end of the roof bar! It wobbled like someone had just dug a spade in the ground and was trying to loosen up hard soil. Below the roof & beyond the rail was a 50ft drop into the roofs of the houses in the street below. Visions of me toppling over the edge and landing in someone's front room whilst they were watching 'Strictly Come Samba' made me retreat my risk overse butt to a seat (pallet) a few metres from the edge. 

For me, I'd just experienced a 'coming of age' moment....at 40. 

(This picture just does not do it justice)

Lauren:

Monday, our last day in Rio, resulted in us heading to Christ the Redeemer, if only to try and recreate the awful picture Darren Lewis created in Gareth's Facebook:

The views were yet again stunning and the journey to the top was ridiculously steep. When we reached the top, we had to jostle our way through the heaving crowd to get a good view. 

There was one more must for me, sipping a fresh coconut on Copacabana beach. We strolled along the beach, paddling in the refreshing Aqua South Atlantic Ocean, bliss! 

Straight from here we were off to the airport for the next leg of our exciting journey: Sao Paulo.