Brazil is known for one of the most famous parties in the world: Carnival! Carnival begins the Friday before "Ash Wednesday". My friend convinced me to visit Brazil even though I was not impressed on my first visit.
About eighteen years before, I was left fired, stranded and broke in 'Rio' by an obsessive cruise director from "Princess Cruise Lines". I was in a rock band at the time and my boss felt my hair was too long. He fired me two weeks into a four week contract. I did not recall 'Rio' being that memorable EXCEPT for dancing with an exotically pretty girl at a club. We danced all night. I was extremely shy, nor did I speak a word of Portuguese, so, I went home alone before flying back to Los Angeles. I had to borrow from my older brother since the one-way, last-minute flight was a whopping $1,000.00 and this was the early 90's!
My buddy always wanted to visit Rio De Janeiro during Carnival so I agreed to join him and give Brazil another chance. We stayed in an apartment a couple blocks from Posto 5 at"Copacabana" beach which is basically "the center" of the famous beach. Carnival is that time of year where you will find block parties all over the city with DJs and dancing. The picture below shows me hanging out with a couple of local disc jockeys during my trip in February of 2009..
I have lived in Southern California for over 30 years and I can tell you that T.V. and movies (such as "Baywatch") give us unrealistic expectations of the "hot people" hanging out on the beaches... BUT... if you ever want to see the closest thing to real-life "Baywatch" .. Start at Copacabana Beach and continue your stroll over to Ipanema. You will witness some of the most beautiful people on the planet!
Of course, the main attraction is the parade at "The Sambadrome". In hindsight, I would have preferred to watch the spectacle with the locals who line the parade route throughout the city. It would have been free, more authentic and I found the general seating in "The Sambadrome" to be very uncomfortable and crowded. There is V.I.P. seating which allows you more elbow room and a close-up view of the pageantry.
One of the unexpected highlights of my trip was finding out that my friend had a checklist of the top 3 things to experience in Rio. #1 was to see the parade, #2 was to visit "Christ the Reedemer" statue and #3 was to hang gllide.
Hang glide?
I had no idea, but, of course, I was up for the experience which found me gliding over "Rio" and landing on the beach!
The weather is perfect during Carnival because Rio's summer is December through March. We enjoyed perfect weather for all of our activities while visiting. The amazing panoramic views at the peak of "Corcovado Mountain" is not to be missed.
Here is a picture I snapped of the famous art deco statue: "Christ the Redeemer":