However there is much more to this city than just the amazing scenery. There is Ipanema Beach. A place where the locals like to kick back, relax and enjoy the more pleasant aspects of life. Whether its beach football, beach volleyball or simply sitting on the beach drinking from a coconut there is plenty to keep one´s self occupied. There is also Copacabana Beach, where I encountered a gentleman by the name of `Fabinhio`. This lad performs the art of `keepy-uppy`, not with a football however, but with anything else. I stood there in amazement as he showed such impressive control of a Coconut, an egg, and even a small sweet which resembled a skittle. A very admirable performance indeed. He certainly thought so anyway as he proceeded to inform me that as he has put on such a good show he deserves monetary compensation for his troubles. He politely requested that I pay him 100 reais (about 45 euro) for his artistry skills. I gave him 10 reais for his troubles...
As anybody with even the smallest knowledge of Football will know that to Brazilians it is more than just a game, it is practically a religion. I had the pleasure of experiencing this first hand when I visited the 2016 Olympic Stadium for a crunch game between Flueminese and Corinthians, first versus second in the Brazilian Serie A. The stadium may have been only half full, with 23,000 people in attendance, but the noise generated by these fanatics from Rio was about ten times louder than what you would hear at a jam-packed Croke Park. They spent the entire 90 minutes singing, chanting, booing, cheering, abusing the referee and so on and so forth. The atmosphere is something I have never experienced at any sporting event before. It does not bare thinking what it will be like in 2014 at the Maracana when Brazil kick off the FIFA World Cup.
There were a couple of disappointments however. Firstly the Maracana, one of the most famous football stadia on earth closed for redevelopment just one week before I arrived. Secondly, the overcast weather today spoiled what should have been an incredible view of the sunset over Rio from the top of the Sugar Loaf mountain.
A few bizarre things about Rio before I go:
1) There is no need to stand at a bus stop here. You simply hail a bus in the same way that you would seek a taxi at 3am on a Saturday night in Temple Bar.
2) There appears to be a strange policy of job creation here in Rio. On the bus, the driver doesn't take the money off you. No no, there is a second employee hired to do that particular task, so the driver can fully concentrate on his appointed job. The supermarket would be the craziest example of jobs for the sake of jobs. On each till, one employee scans the goods you are buying and takes the money from you. A second employee packs your goods neatly into plastic bags for you. Finally a third employee stands there overseeing the process to ensure everything is being performed appropriately. It must be part of some policy to try keep the unemployment rate as low as possible in Brazil!!
Tomorrow I head off to Ilha Grande, where I hope the weather will be kinder than it was today.
Later
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