This last week in Rio has been a blast. I’ve been staying with my cousin’s girlfriend, Purebreed, pretending to understand Portuguese, and hanging out with two couchsurfers from Belem, Rabbit and Late Period, who came here to pursue their respective intimate interests and have their birthdays.
For Late Period’s birthday, we went hang-gliding over Rio– *awesome*. We flew across Floresta Tijuca, in the middle of Rio, past a favela and high-class homes, and out over the ocean briefly before a soft landing on the beach. Sadly, they don’t let you glide your own hang. You help take off– by running off a cliff, wheee– and you help land, and otherwise you just hang around.
On Wednesday, I participated in a small “Free Hugs” campaign, in the middle of Rio. We took over a spot between a metro station and a busy intersection, all with “Abraços Grátis” signs, and hugged away. A local magazine seller advertised us as a side benefit to buying his merchandise. At our most, we had five people, which was fun for the energy, but the time I was doing it just with the organizer was fun for the challenge.
And Friday night, I went partying in Lapa, an region known for its Bohemian nightlife. An area about three city blocks on a side was absolutely swimming with partiers, sizzling meat, drink stands, tequila pushers, hippie artisans, and dancing to loud music that never left-off before the next began. We bobbed to Samba under a bridge, shifted under strobe lights to electronic, and danced Salsa right below– everywhere was packed, but never so much that you couldn’t move. Purebreed turns out to be a fantastic learn-by-doing teacher of Salsa, and I learned a bunch.
My Belém friends left this morning, and I just want to see Copacabana’s gay pride parade today before heading down to Curitiba!
 Floresta Tijuca |
 Group before gliding |
 Over Floresta Tijuca |
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| Hang-Gliding over Rio | ||
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| From the beach where we landed | ||
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| Art in the Museum of Contemporary Art | ||
 View from Copacabana |
 My good friend, Rabbit |
A Famous Statue |
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| Views from Pedras Arboador | ||