I got off the plane in search of Bob's. I had a Brazilian friend I was supposed to meet at this mysterious Bob's in the airport. I was a little worried that somehow we wouldn't connect and I'd be stuck in Rio without friends and without a place to stay! Lolo didn't have a phone or anything. But everything worked out! Lolo, Chris, and new acquaintance Reese were waiting in front of Bob's with an acai. After the bus ride from hell (going through turnstiles with a big 17kg backpack and then standing for approximately an hour with it on, on a very hot and very crowded bus), Rio was a blast! Chris and I were staying with Lolo and his roommate Aldael in university housing. Brazilians university students, btw, not only get their tuition paid for, but they also get a place to live and a stipend!! The next day, one of Lolo and Aldael's friend's offered to let us stay with him in Botafogo because it'd be closer to the center and more comfortable. So nice!
Carnaval in Rio is different from what I remember seeing in Salvador four years ago. For one, I felt safer - my friends even said I could bring a camera out with me. (Four years ago in Salvador, one of my friends was fighting back and forth with a guy over his disposable camera!) Also in Salvador, I remember hands everywhere searching pockets for anything valuable. There was none of that in Rio. The atmosphere is more relaxed here. The music is also different, strictly samba - which is fun in it's own way, but doesn't compare to the Axe of Bahia. For the blocos, there is one band playing atop a truck that people follow around, and then when it's gone, it's gone. They have a lot of shows throughout the Carnaval time too, with free music and a big dancing crowd. I had a lot of the Antarctica beer, tried a big sausage (salsichao) off the street, and avoided the "tapioca" on the street :)
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