Travel Log

Went to Ilha dos Pescadores yesterday evening, it is a nightclub in the outskirts of Rio. One of the biggest samba schools in Rio, Salgueiro, was performing. It was quite a night. For three hours straight people went out of their dak to the samba rhythms. I was taught how to dance samba and I did, but a certain stiffness in my hips prevented me to keep up with the rhythm. But then I noticed that other people (especially men) danced as well but not to the samba beat but at a slower pace, and that was perfectly doable. Great night all in all, after the samba school´s performance another couple of bands played, some really good stuff.

A few nights ago at the beach in Barra i stumbled across a ¨bloco¨, this is a so-called ¨harmonia¨, a samba band that was playing. It was almost midnight but a crowd had gathered and went completely wild dancing. In Holland people take XTC to get into that mood, but here in Rio it is the samba beats that captivate people. It was special to witness.

Well, time has almost come for me to go back to the lowlands. I won´t blog anymore before being back in Mokum but I am sure I will spend some time writing a ¨sun set review¨ of my time here in Rio.