So we now find ourselves one week into February, and here in Brazil that means one thing: CARNAVAL. For obvious reasons I will wait until after the festivities to write my main Carnaval entry, but for now I’ll comment on a few observations I’ve made in this climate of simultaneous excitement and anxiety.
Everything has subtly but noticeably gotten more expensive. For example, I’ve been in the market for a certain style of bikini top for the past week or so, so I’ve been frequenting the beach, where vendors haul around huge racks of bikini tops and bottoms, among many, many, many other things, with extra regularity. It seems that even just a month ago, which was still prime tourist season, vendors were practically begging to haggle down their prices, but now my inquiries of “quanto costa?” are met with an expression of stern rigidity and a reply of “vinte” for a bikini top, which is twice the price of some department stores. Also, the average price of a beer (or rather, uma cerveza estupidamente gelada) seems to have gone up by a real or two, which is bothersome. But make no mistake, I’m definitely not complaining. If vendors, stores, hotels, airlines, and every other business in Brazil can make twice the money during two weeks than they normally make in six months, good for them; the vendors need the money, and the tourists who flock to Rio during Carnaval certainly aren’t hurting for it. R$3.50 is still less than two dollars for a beer, and hey, I bought that same bikini top plus another top and bottom at a stand in Centro yesterday for fourteen reais, so ha.
Blocos, or huge pre-Carnaval street parties, are everywhere. Even after having attended a few, I still don’t really understand them. At first I kind of thought they were supposed to give everyone a preview of what the real Carnaval was going to be like, but I shared this hypothesis with Dora and she laughed at me, telling me that no bloco was going to even come close to halfway-adequately representing CARNAVAL. Basically, big float-type things featuring singing men (usually dressed as women) on trucks roll down the street as thousands of people dance around them. There are beer vendors everywhere and everyone is very drunk. Yesterday’s bloco in Ipanema began at 4 and when my friend and I tried to buy beers at around 5:30 we were shocked to find that every vendor we sought was sold out. Overall impression: blocos are fun but being grabbed and proposed to by sweaty drunk men is not.
Most cariocas over the age of thirty don’t seem to be big fans of Carnaval. Traveling in February (which we will get to later!) is crazy around these parts not only because people visit Rio from all parts of the world for Carnaval, but also because of the mass exodus of cariocas to other calmer parts of the country. Whenever I express my excitement to Dora or any other carioca, they seem to think it’s really cute how all the gringos still get so enthusiastic about Carnaval, which makes sense I guess. As I am only beginning to see, the city really does get taken over for almost a month, making life as usual somewhat difficult. I asked Dora what she’s going to do for Carnaval, and she said she would probably watch TV and maybe visit her daughter.
On another note, I will be traveling TONIGHT to Salvador da Bahia, a city in the northeast of Brazil that is known for its African influence, drumming, laidback lifestyle, seafood, and capoeira. It is also the birthplace of Adriana Lima, thought by many to be The Most Attractive Person in the World. I highly encourage anyone who has the time to Google pictures of Salvador, but please be warned that it is very addictive and produces many a loud “ooh” or “ah.” Three of my friends and I will be staying and couch-surfing in Salvador until the first day of Carnaval and then returning to Rio for fun and games (to put it lightly). I am so, so, so excited to see another completely different part of Brazil, and if (fingers crossed) I actually end up buying a replacement camera by the end of the day, the rest of you will get to see it too!
Wish me boa sorte!
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