So I've fallen behind yet again! Whoops!

I got caught up in Carnaval and afterwards I had to pay for my internet connection, but I'm back for a bit!

Carnaval was amazing. The city truly was alive: People were awake at all hours dancing, talking, drinking and parading. Every day there were several blocos (street parties) happening at the same time in different neighborhoods. Everyone would follow around these large trucks where people were singing samba and a band was playing samba. The people behind the trucks were just having a good time with eachother and would follow the trucks for hours on end. When the music stopped they would move onto another bloco and continue the good time.

I was amazed by the fact that I didn't hear or see any fights happen while I was in Rio. I assumed that during carnaval I would see at least one: When you put millions of drunken tourists in the same city, or even thousands of drunk people in a bloco, I would think there might be a fight or two. But I didn't see one! I feel like that would never happen in the US, maybe people are too aggressive there. Or don't know how to handle their cervejas. Or maybe the lifestyle in brazil is just different enough to prevent fighting.

It seems when a fight is about to break out the two people involved end up talking about it for about ten minutes, then shake hands and walk away. A mutual understanding of sorts, where neither side wins or loses, but both parties are agreed: And if someone is in the wrong he or she tends to apologize.

I love this.

Another side of carnaval was the samba drome where all the big samba schools paraded. Each school has thousands of students that can participate in the parade and each school takes about an hour to an hour and a half to parade though the Samba Drome. The costumes are amazing and lavish as are the floats (Pictures coming soon). It's amazing how much money must go into carnaval every year!


After Carnaval I went to Ilha Grande, about three hours south of Rio de Janeiro. The island was absolutely beautiful. It was like something out of a movie. There was a small town on one side of the island where all the tourists landed, but most of the rest of the island was untouched. The beach Lopes Mendes was incredibly clean with waves about 10 feet tall. On either side of the beach there were these tall stones to frame the picture and the when I arrived the beach was nearly empty of people. It was AMAZING. Other than that the island has beautiful hikes through tropical forests with some prison ruins and farm ruins. It's really full of things to do.

A tip for travelers: When going there, don't book a hostel in advance. There are tons of people willing to rent out an apartment or a room in a pousada for cheap.


And now (just arrived today) I'm in Paraty. I think this might be one of my favorite towns, but I'll tell all of you about that later.

Boa Noite,
-Josh