A last postcard from Rio

Here it goes, the last post from Rio... the last PanAm story before I head home tomorrow. I must say it's weird : for nearly all the reports on this trip, I wasn't lacking inspiration and the writing pretty much did its own work. But this time, for some reason, I feel I will have a lot more trouble to finish this journal entry.Not that there isn't anything to tell though, Brazil has proved to be a perfect place to finish this trip ! I had a fun time in the Pantanal area, although the fever I had to bear there and the millions of mosquitos did their utter best to ruin the fun. And it was hot as hell, that was something to get used to after chilly Bolivia as well. The weather has been a little bit less tropical in and around Rio, but nevertheless, I truly enjoyed this hedonistic city too. Observing the macho beach lovers in their sexy Speedo tights, the samba soccer on the beach and savouring up on the 'all you can stuff yourself with' buffets (you pay by the kilo!) put a smile on my face. The world famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema were worth the visit as well : I have never seen more silicon and less textile per square meter than there. The Brazilians call the tight thongs very inspiringly 'dental flosses'. It´s also a city for the fast and the furious. Brazilians love Formula 1, especially the bus drivers ! Taking a bus in Rio is a real adventure, especially if you get stuck with the local Senna or Schumacher. They hold real races between traffic lights ! And if you get thirsty after all that, there are the ever yummie sucos bars, where for less than an euro, you can be in 7th heaven sipping on a fresh exotic fruit juice (they have fruit here that I never had heard of !). Just to say that Brazil is definitely worth another visit : a quick hop through in less than 2 weeks doesn't do justice to the place at all. There is also soooo much to see and visit, it's huge ! I felt like touching down in another continent entering the country : the language sounds nothing like Spanish (more like samba music), but most of the people understood me talking Spanish to them. Weird ! And I found out that Brazilians in general smile a lot, and will give you the thumbs up at almost any event (well, especially when buying something from them), which all add to their coolness. That attitude was certainly a refresher after the not always easy or flexible Bolivian way of doing things. Well, I won't generalize too much, because after all, I have only seen a very tiny and very touristy part of this big country. And there are a LOT of things that are just as chaotic here as in Bolivia or Peru ! But just doing like most Brazilians do - that is just to stroll around in beach sandals and swim shorts - and relaxing for all the time you can, well... that would be not too bad at all if I could make a living out of it ! I met this French guy on the island of Ilha Grande (where I spent some days away from Rio) who made enough money to travel by just selling self made caipirinhas on the street and the beach in Rio. It's certainly a place that allows people to chase their dreams, but only to have a couple realizing them. They say that Brazil is the country of tomorrow, but that it will always stay like that. And just watching the news about urban violence, reading about the environmental problems, police corruption and the living conditions in the favellas makes you realize that the country indeed still has a long way to go. But by the night of the day, it all ends with samba, beach and soccer. Not that I want to put up too many cliches on Brazil (see above), but it does seem the case that people forget on their daily troubles on these things. Together with a couple of Irish I met in my Rio hostal, we went to see a soccer game at the Macarana stadium in Rio, and that was some prove of it too. Although the game wasn't exactly Champions League class, and the big stadium wasn't even near to full, the atmosphere was very lively and exotic. The taste of life here is certainly one of sugar, bitter sweet though with lemon and chacaça (sugar cane rum) in an icy cold caipirinha. They know how to party for sure, with a little hangover though in the morning. But like we all know, those tend to heal well and quickly when the sun is out and you can walk down a sandy beach for a fresh swim. :)And that´s just about what there was left for me to do these last days at the friendly and cosy Rio Backpackers Hotel. Although the weather isn´t exactly carnaval like this time of year, and the samba schools are closed as well, Rio still is a great place to go out, walk along the beach or visit the city sights (the famous Christ statue, the Sugar Loaf mountain) for some amazing views. So I am enjoying the last moments of this trip to the fullest. And it always seems that just at those moments, you run into old friends : coming back to Rio, I met Xavier again, a Swiss guy I had traveled with before in Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Yes, the world is a small place !So it´s time to say goodbye... time to pack up my things one last time and get on that bus to the airport, where I probably will enough time to kill to finish a whole novel. Waiting in airports can be as inspiring as dull, very strange. Maybe I can start daydreaming on some destinations for a next trip... who knows !This trip certainly has been very inspiring, but now the end nears by, I am glad to go home. Go to a place where people speak my language, where the bakery opens at 7am, where the beer is good and where the streets are ours. Home is a good place. It´s ironic to have to travel half around the world for half a year to find that out. But it was all more than worth it. See you all very very soon.