We have been having a blast here in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil including an incredible New Years eve, complete with fireworks and great fun... so it has been a little difficult to write. Getting to Rio from Iguazu Falls was a bit challenging for us (and I know I haven't even written about the amazing Iguazu Falls.. I hope to one day)... We actually were denied boarding by Gol Airlines due to an incident that happened 2 years ago.What happened was that we asked a friend of a friend to pay for our airline ticket on their credit card (Gol didn't accept Canadian credit cards). However, after they received their statement, they told Gol that they never took this flight, so Gol thinks that we are scam artists. We thought we sorted it out last year but evidently not.. when we arrived at the airport for our 6am flight, we were told we couldn't get on since we didn't pay our ticket (however Ariel produced our Amex bill which showed that we clearlly did). After a long struggle and fight we boarded a 2pm flight to beautiful Rio. Here is a cute picture of Ariel about to board our flight.
Rio is blessed with beautiful beaches and beautiful bodies. In order to get ready for the beach, I neeeded to ensure that my toenails (aka weapons of mass destruction) were not jagged so I decded to go for pedicure.... I don't really enjoy pedicures but I appreciate the end product! Here is a shot of me enjoying the pedi...
Joining us here in Rio for the last stop on our amazing adventure is my good friend Jodi from Toronto. The three of us are living in tight quarters here in an apartment here in Copacabana. The picture of the apartment on the internet made it look a lot larger when I booked it. In fact, the kitchen here is so tiny that the fridge needs to be put in the hallway. But in any case, we are not really in the apartment much since we are on the BEACH most of the time!!! Here is a picture of us near the beach enjoying the sun...
A couple of comments I must make on myself (see photo). First off, yes I am an addict! I couldn't help myself, I swear... I had to do it... Yes folks, I caved and have dyed my hair again after 3 months of grey. So I am back to being a brunette. I do like both looks so I'm going to have to figure out what to do when I get back to the T-Dot. Also, I got 2 tattoos.. well, just temporary henna tattoos on the beach but I really think I want a real one now so perhaps when we are back in TO, it may be time to get INKED! Ariel also got one which looks great...
Speaking of tattoos, Jodi also got one on her back, but unfortunately forgot that it was there and sat down on her chair on the beach so here is the after product...
In terms of my hair, I'm having a really hard time here because most of the hair products are made for black women which I am clearly not. I ran out of my KMS paste which I use to style my hair so the best thing that I can find is Brylcream (see photo) but I think this is the type of stuff my grandparents used. The brylcream is not really working other than making my hair smell funny so as a result i am wearing my latino thug hat more often here.
New Years, as we said, was an incredible time. Everyone wears white, there was a HUGE fireworks display at midnight, as well as people selling food and drinks on the street. I loved the energy that everyone had, and people were super friendly. I kept trying to get Jodi to meet a Brazilian guy here because they are super hot but unfortunately she doesn't appreciate my pimping skills.Here are some photos from New Years eve.
We ended up on the beach relaxing and listening to some music. All and all, a fantastic way to ring in the new year.
On the beach, all the guys wear sungas (e.g. speedos) except the surfers who wear board shorts. Of course we have our sungas ready from past years of experience on the beach. Here is a photo of Jodi and I on the beach to prove that I actually am wearing the sunga.....
The Brazilians have sick bods which is causing me to drool all over the beach. The gene pool here is quite incredible (see photo of specimen to right)!
Here is a cute picture of the three of us in Lapa where we were last night listening to some great music and enjoying the outdoor action. One part of the outdoor action which was particularly of interest was this trans woman putting on a street show including showing off her boobs to all the uncomfortable straight men.
Finally, yesterday we got to see the other side of Rio-- the favelas. I was initially against going on a tour of the favelas but decided to do it. It was really informative and we realized that by going on the tour, we are helping poor children by building schools and other community infrastructure for them. All and all, the tour was extremely interesting. The favelas are not as bad as I thought--- in fact they have banks and restaurants. There are drug problems but in fact the largest problem is actually with the Brazilian government... that's food for thought...
Now, off to the beach.. will write soon!
Love Miguel!
