and then made a quick trip around the block to a small convenience store to get some snacks and, most importantly, some bottled water. On the way, just as we turned the corner to go to the store, a large crowd of men dressed as women came running down the street:
Keep reading for details from the rest of the day...
We hit the store and then went back to our room to take naps. The flight was long and I didn't sleep much, so I crashed for a couple of hours. We got up, got dressed, and then headed out for the evening.
Hadley had done some great research, so she had a restaurant in mind. That being the case, we set out on foot to find it. Unfortunately, a good number of the businesses close early on New Year's Eve, so when we got to the restaurant, to our dismay it was closed. We were hot, tired, and hungry, so we walked a few blocks more and went in the first place we found that was open, Rua Barao Da Torre 340. This was actually a great little restaurant! Somehow we were seated without reservations, ordered some calamari and our first round of caipiroshka's:
The traditional Brazilian drink is actually called a Caipirinha, and it's made with limes, sugar, ice and cachaca. However, Hadley likes vodka, so we chose the caipiroshka...which is the same thing except with vodka instead of cachaca. Either way, they were delicious! Halfway through dinner, Hadley spotted actor, Jared Leto, and two of his friends having dinner. I guess he was in Rio to enjoy New Year's, as well. We got the bill, wrapped up dinner, and then headed back to Copacabana beach for the fireworks.
Once we got back to the beach, it was almost overwhelming to see so many people. There were literally over two million people on beach! Reveillon is literally the planet's largest New Year's Eve celebration. Copacabana beach is about 4 kilometers long, so you can imagine how many people it could hold. There were stages set up with bands playing, and people were literally everywhere! Reveillon also coincides with the Festa de Iemanja, the goddess of the sea in the tradition of the Afro-Brazilian religions. Devotees dress in white, create altars of lighted candles in the sand:
and bring offerings of flowers, perfume, and cachaca to the revered sea goddess:
Some launched their gift into the sea on miniature boats in hopes that Iemanja will accept them:
And check out this sand castle...AMAZING!
Once we'd had enough of the beach, we decided to head back up to the room to get a great view of the fireworks from our balcony:
There were barges out in the water that lauched all of the fireworks...truly an amazing performance. Although we enjoyed them, part of our hotel blocked our view, and the huge clouds of smoke eventually rose to point that we couldn't see anything! Regardless, the fireworks were awesome, and were a great way to celebrate the New Year! We finished our drinks and hit the sack...to get ready for the next day...
To see more pictures from Day 2, click here, here, and here.
No comments:
Post a Comment