New Places and New Faces: Soccer and Beaches and Caprhinas, Oh My!

So here we are ladies and gentlemen... sorry for the delayed posting. We arrived at The Green Hostel in Rio de Janeiro as tired, smelly, worn out travelers, early on the morning of June 26th (no sleep for us on the night flight because we were in the emergency exit aisle so our seats didn’t recline and we hadn’t been able to shower since leaving the stifling heat of Iquitos). Paulo, an employee of the hostel and new friend, took us in and we slept like babies then woke up and got some groceries. Once again, we lucked out in meeting our new roommate, Jenny, who we hung out with the entire following week. She ended up being our great German friend/guide/Portugese translator. I think she made us fall in love with Rio before we really ever explored the place.

Over the next 6 or 7 days we did the following in no particular order: went to Sugar Loaf to see spectacular views of the city, hung out on Impanema, Copacabana and Leblon beaches, went dancing in Lapa, and took in a World Cup match between Brazil and the Ivory Coast on Copacabana Beach where they had the FIFA International Fan Fest set up. Imagine tailgating on OSU vs. Michigan game day on one of the most beautiful beaches in the world... and EVERYONE is rooting for the same team- that’s the best way I can describe the World Cup madness. It was more fun than eating ice cream. We met some new Brazilian friends at the Fan Fest and headed over to their place to continue the party after celebrating the victory on the beach. Plenty of caprhinas to go round, our newest find on the drink front. Involves lots of lime, sugar cane liquor, sugar and ice. Sergio, another new friend from the Green Hostel, is who took us to the bars in Lapa. Fridays are supposed to be good for samba which we tried to learn but to me it still looks like somebody just kind of running in place really fast. Hanging out on the beach was always enjoyable and we were lucky enough to meet musicians one of the days, whom played us music for a few hours while the sun set.

We spent lots of time on the hostel roof trying to learn Portugese with Jenny, Paulo and Sergio but to no avail. Paulo entertained us with some Lady Gaga singing and dancing while we all enjoyed some more caprinhas. We took in a movie with Sergio, which is something Lindsay and I were very happy to do because it’s something that makes you feel at home. After bidding Jenny farewell in Rio, Lindasy and I headed for the Iguazu Falls, on the border of Argentina and Brazil. We took in the Brazil/Portugal match at a local bar where we met some very fun Brazilians, including some federal police. Headed to the falls on the Argentenian side the next day and oh, what a sight. Twice as high as the Niagra Falls and who knows how many times as wide. On the way back from the falls we stopped at the point where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet to watch the sun set. Went back to the Green Hostel in Rio for a couple nights before moving on to El Salvador, during which time we tried to learn more Portugese, took in one last match at Copacabana and made dinner for Sergio and Paulo. We also tried going up to the Christ the Redeemer statue but halfway up realized we didn't have enough money to get in so we took pictures of J.C.'s butt. We were very sad to say goodbye to Brazil but we both know we’ll be back (fingers crossed, for Carnival). Brazil was just brilliant.

We didn’t think there would be anything to report from our time in El Salvador but as fate would have it, the owner of our hostel in San Salvador invited us to his new beach property. Roberto was a very gracious host and wanted us to see La Parlama, his seaside hotel. If you want to be on a beautiful, deserted beach, this is the place. We hung out pool/beachside all day drinking coco-locos and chatting with Roberto. He brought along his fresh fish catch and when grilled up they were amazing. Took naps on hammocks. On the way back from the beach we stopped in a small surfer/backpacker town and had some delicious dinner. El Salvador is like a mini Costa Rica with tons less tourists and cheaper. Who knew? The next day, July 4th, we boarded the first of 3 flights to get to India... woo hoo.

Ta-ta for now,
Michelle