Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai

Our first day in Rio de Janiero! We visited Sambadrome Marques de Sapucai (the famous main street) where it all goes down the real deal. The big parade that last 5 long days of all kinds of different floats and people all dressed up. We were even lucky enough to get to try on all the traditional Brazilian costumes… Of course, we look like models, but in reality, we struggled to keep those big headsets up and to carry those big shoulders sets. They were just getting started decorating for Carnaval coming up at the end of this month and I can’t imagine what it’s going to be like when its all done. I wish I could make it, but I’ll just have to come back again in the future!

Homemade Carnaval!

Take me back to the night I dressed up like an Arabic Egyptian girl and danced on the street. We filled these streets with sound and color as we passed small restaurants and homes. This little town called Olinda is very small with tight streets and plenty of houses built on top of each other. It’s a cute little town very colorful and famous for their culture.  Some residents are very into religion and attending church, while others entertain with crazy funky dances in the streets.

As foreigners, we made fools of ourselves, but it was a blast trying to copy our Brazilian dance leaders. For as long as 45 minutes, we danced, paraded and chanted.  We were exhausted getting back on that bus by the end of the night because it’s not easy dancing like Brazilians.