"Don't worry, take it easy."

Seemingly the Brazilian mantra. So many people have said that exact phrase to me. When I asked the owner of my last hostel in Santa Teresa, Rio whether she wanted paying now or later for the laundry she laughed and said "You're so funny! Don't worry, take it easy." (I took that to mean she didn't want paying. I was wrong).

Other Brazilian things I've noticed: 

No one will happily accept a note larger than R$20. To put that into perspective, the next note up (R$50) is worth £12.50. Drives me crazy. 

If a taxi driver doesn't know where a place is, he will kick you out of the taxi. 

Flip flops and shorts are the national uniform. 

Spoken Portuguese is nothing like Spanish. If you think it is, you're wrong. If you think speaking Spanish will help you understand when someone speaks to you, re-evaluate your life. But on the bright side, written is generally okay. I basically just need the phrase 'I don't speak Portuguese, but would you mind writing everything you want to say down in my handy notepad?' 

Oh! And as a side note, more about travelling in general than Brazil. I'd read that when you're backpacking you meet people and then keep bumping into them along the tourist trail. I was like 'Yeah, maybe once or twice...' In the last two days I've bumped into four separate people I've stayed with in hostels in other cities. I'm currently in Paraty (a lovely colonial town four hours or so outside of Rio) in a dorm with two people who were in my first hostel in Botafogo, Rio. There's a storm outside, and the roof is leaking, but that's a story for another day.

It's a gorgeous place though.

Tomorrow Milena and I are going to São Paulo, with a change on the bus because you can't book in advance in Brazil without a Brazilian tax code (need to sort that out before foreigners descend on you for the World Cup/ Olympics, Brazil) or by paying commission to an English language bus middleman. And the plan is to be there for just one night before getting a bus to Iguassu Falls, but if all the buses are booked we might be there longer. (Again, sort it out Brazil!) 

Can't wait to see the Falls! Hopefully I'll sort my life out and get some photos up soon. 

Beyoncé Party in Copacabana

'Nuff said.

Sambadrome Parade

Wow.

On Sunday night Milena and I went to the Sambadrome (Sambadromo in Portuguese) to see the highlight of Carnival. 

And wow. 

It's where all the major samba schools compete and do hour-long (ish) parades in an effort to be crowned champion. 

It started at 9pm, but Milena and I had been told that the best ones parade after midnight, so we slept for a bit (which was easy as we'd had a massive feijoada lunch at our friend Nicky's house earlier that day) and then went for midnight. We took motorbike taxis, which I hadn't done before. It was great fun to cling onto the back of a motorbike for dear life while the driver goes one-handed to take out his helmet, readjust it, and put it back on. At one point his phone rang, and I was thinking 'You bloody dare'. He didn't, thank god. But it was actually quite exhilarating. 

And then the show. Dear god, it was fantastic. I have never seen anything as colourful, dramatic and fabulous as that parade. Anyone who says that you can go to Carnival and just go to the blocos (street parties) and experience it all, is wrong. The blocos were fun, and I enjoyed seeing that side of it, but the Sambadrome was on another level. Even if you get cheap tickets for a less-good view, do it! 

We stayed til the end, which I was glad about, because the last two were the best. And we saw the sunrise over the last parade as well, and it finished at 5.30am. 

Getting a taxi home was a laugh a minute, but we managed it in the end. And we arrived in time to have breakfast at the hostel! Nothing like a toastie after five hours of parade watching. 

I will upload photos when I have the chance, but at the moment I'm draped over a beanbag chair in a hostel on Ilha Grande, an island just outside Rio. Life is hard. 

Tomorrow we're going to explore the island and then on Friday continue our travels along the coast towards Argentina. Will post again when I can!

And here are some photos to prove just how incredible it was...

Booking Brazilian Buses and Collecting Carnival Tickets

Okay, this is when I knew travelling would be a bit more stressful than being a beach bum. Actually trying to make things happen.

I'd heard of foreigners having trouble booking buses online because you need to input a Brazilian tax number (CPF) when you pay. I was keen to book in advance because Milena and I are going to Ilha Grande on Wednesday, straight after Carnival, and a lot of other people I've spoken to are planning to do the same thing. So my friend's mum booked it for me with Costa Verde and I gave her the cash. We had to provide our passport numbers, but because Milena was on a plane at the time we put my passport number in for both passengers. So tomorrow we're going to have to go and explain that we need to change that passport number, just in case they refuse us boarding to the bus on Wednesday. So fingers crossed we can sort that out. (My friend wrote out an explanation in Portuguese, so with any luck that will be sufficient).

And then I thought, okay, let's make this a productive day, I'll go and collect the Carnival samba parade tickets I ordered for me and Milena from Rio Carnival.net for this Sunday. I found the place without trouble and handed over my photocopy of my passport and the debit card I used to buy the tickets. The man disappeared for a second and then came back. He waved me over to the side and then said "There's been a bit of a problem". Right.

Apparently they are waiting for more tickets for Sector 8 (which I ordered because it's meant to have one of the best views of the whole parade) to arrive, so he offered me two tickets for Sector 7. Now I knew that Sector 8 was one of the most expensive sectors, so I told him that that wasn't good enough, and he insisted that the sectors cost the same. So I said I would return on Sunday, which is when he said they'd have more Sector 8 tickets. (I checked when I got back to the hostel, and did the sectors cost the same? Did they my foot.)

I asked the woman at the door when I left the collection point, and she said they might get more Sector 8 tickets tomorrow afternoon. Conflicting information! So I might go on Saturday during the day and see if they have any. But considering today is the first day we were able to collect the tickets, it's pretty poor that they didn't have enough for everyone.

My worry now is that they won't have ordered enough Sector 8s and we'll miss out. Of course I'll kick up a fuss if that's the case, and ask for more than the CD of samba music the guy offered me as a "present". But will I end up regretting not taking the Sector 7 alternative and cutting my losses, when I'm stuck in Sector 1? We'll see.

Anyway. Here's a picture of the sunset at Copacabana yesterday. That's just nicer in general.