Samba Lessons

Yesterday was my first full day of adventure and it was perfect! It was an all day and night affair!

First we took a travelers tour of Rio. At 10am our guide, Wilson, picked up Stephanie &Alex (England), Karol (Ireland), Marta (Spain) and me for a hike in the Tijuca National Park. Yes, I did hike up to the top of Pedro Bonita and thought I might die. But, the view of the city and all its beaches was well worth it. I was able to enjoy the walk down where we saw orchids growing wild and adorable star monkeys.

Next stop was the top of the Christ the Redemmer statue which welcomes everyone to Rio, much like our Statue of Liberty. There were more amazing views and some hilarious group photos.

Next our merry group took a trolly ride up to Santa Teresa, a mountain artist community near the city center. We had a wonderful and simple Brazilian soul food lunch at Bar do Mineiro (Rua Pascoal Carlos Magno, 99/ 2221-9227 bardomineiro@zipmail.com). They had great magazine placements framed from Vogue, etc. Loved it!

We headed back to Casa 6 for communal power naps and more food. Everyone got all dolled up for an evening on the town. We went out with a group to celebrate our guide Wilson´s birthday. He picked us up at 10:30pm and took us to a local outdoor samba table club on top of Santa Teresa. The place was rustic, the locals were hot and music was heavenly. I learned to samba while drinking caipirinha´s and taking in all the lights of Rio below. People were spilling out into the street doing the samba under the stars. It doesn´t get much better! Well, actually it did...

We headed at 3am to the Friday night street dance in Lapa, another area near the city center. Thousands of shirtless Barzilians dancing in the clubs and the street made for an exciting evening/morning. We danced until dawn and then Karol, Elana and I hopped in a taxi to Ipanema beach for the sunrise.

Just another day in paradise! I might not come home...