LA PLAYA DE IPANEMA
BRAZIL TRAVELOGUE - DAY 15 - RIO DE JANEIRO BRAZIL

A DAY AT THE BEACH

This morning, against Marcelo's advice (go to the market after 3:00PM - that's when the locals go there.  You'll get better deals after all the tourists are gone), we go back to the Hippie Market to finish our shopping, primarily gifts for friends and family.  The market is bustling and the weather is fantastic for the first time since we arrived in Rio.  Bright sunshine - not too hot fills the sky as we scour the wares of the merchants.

After we've finally exhausted our list, we pack our things back over to Boteco Belmonte for lunch.  .   

We all just have soup this time, though we try one of their famed appetizers (cold and gooey - tasted like it would have been good if it was hot, though)

After lunch, we head back to the apartment to change and head down to the beach.  It's a Sunday, so the beach avenue - Av. Vieira Souto - is closed one-way to traffic.  The beach and boulevard are bustling with people now - the first time we'd seen this kind of mass congregation since coming to Rio.  We rent some chairs and an umbrella from a beach vendor, and sit and take in the sun, observing people.  At the end of our street is Post 8, the main gay beach in Rio, clearly marked by the rainbow flag, so we move over to Post 9 next door where there are more families.

The beach in Rio is exactly like you've seen in the photos - packed to the gills with beautiful people with beautiful bodies, sun worshipping in dental-floss masquerading as bathing suits.  It is like a religion in Rio - the society revolves around the beach.  We can certainly see why.

After some more sun tanning, napping and people-watching, we've had enough and we head back for the apartment to shower up for our show that evening - we're going to have dinner at Plataforma and a Samba show afterward...