Day 5: Sugar Loaf & Gay Scala

After 3am bedtime from our costume-raiding last night, we slept until late morning, then headed to Sugar Loaf Mountain.


Named for its resemblance to the traditional shape of refined loaf sugar, it sits 394m above the harbor and is the third highest rock near water in the world (after Corcovado and Gibraltar (414m)).



The first and second cable cars were originally built in 1911 and 1912, respectively.

The Portuguese built their first fort there because Brazilians avoided it as they believed all the spirits were there.


From the top of Sugar Loaf, overlooking Guanamara Bay (Christ the Redeemer sits in the background, atop Corcovado Mountain, welcoming people arriving in the Bay).


Constant helicopter tours take you on a variety of routes. (Christ the Redeemer again in the background)

After our Sugar Loaf adventure we were starved, so took a taxi to Fogo de Chao, a very nice Brazilian Barbecue restaurant. They had a big salad/side bar, and waiters periodically came around with big skewers of varied meats to serve you. We enjoyed chicken, pork sausage, beef and pork ribs, tenderloin, lamb chops, and filet mignon.

It was delicious, and 2.5 bottles of wine later we decided we should try dessert!


Dessert was a delicious baked coconut with ice cream (left) and wine-soaked pear with ice cream and fruit sauce (right)... So delicious!

Next was 1-2 hours of downtime before prepping for the infamous Gay Ball Scala! (Which didn't start until 11pm!)


Getting ready...


Ready!!! (We convinced Mom to wear her costume-find from the night before... It was perfectly suited for the event!) At midnight we were off to the party!

Upon entering, there is a red carpet runway. The event is nationally televised, and everyone who enters is on TV.



Roll down the red carpet!


There were all kinds! Anything and everything was there! Gays, straights, transgender. Ball gowns, huge feathered costumes, skimpy tassel suits. Paint, sparkles, feathers. You name it, it was there!



We danced the night away, mingled, and had a couple drinks (which were very strong... You got your 15$R worth!)


Mom had people taking her picture, and others were always more than happy to pose for you to take their picture.

Around 4am we decided we should call it quits. As we walked around looking for a taxi we stumbled upon Lapa! Lapa is supposedly like the old town, still very cultural, trendy, etc. It had been our plan to come here tomorrow, and suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of music, food stalls, and parties in the main square!

We ate some chicken skewers and fried cheese, and then headed back.

Arriving at our hotel at 5:00am, it was bedtime! For a few hours, anyway...

Day 4: Bloco party!

After bedtime at 6am this morning, we were up at noon for the next event!

Walked through Flamengo park, along the beach to a bloco (block/neighborhood party, which, as you will see, puts our block parties TO SHAME!)


Coolest tree! Called a bomb tree (don't recall the translation). The unique flowers are very fragrant but the fruit is not good.


Pickle ball court on the beach, with Sugar Loaf Mountain in the background.


Sgto. do Pimenta Bloco in Flamengo area.



We got there about 2pm; there were a few thousand people there... But within a few hours we found out THAT was just the beginning!






Corn!


Cute costumes- nurse and patient!


Hello, Beef & Barley Days! I'm going to make these tasty treats instead of jello shooters this year... In all kinds if fruit flavours, they're basically frozen fruit Popsicles with booze... Equals YUM!


By 4:30pm there were probably 20,000+ people, and still a constant flow of people going in. Above shows just one side (there were about double this, at just 4:30pm).

We then decided to head back to the Sambadrome, as it was night #2. Although we have tickets to the second night (where the second group of six schools compete), we wanted to take in the atmosphere outside the Sambadrome that we missed the first night.

There were all kinds of street music and food. We tried three puff-pastries; one stuffed with meat, one with cheese, and one chicken. We passed on the hot dogs and popcorn, as those are everywhere here. Next was a skewer of fried cheese... Yum! (You can't seriously ever go wrong with cheese!) Then we had some crepes (not to be confused with creeps- thank you, spell check (not!), for an almost-hilarious error.) One crepe was filled with chicken, and one with bacon and cheese. Mom tried a really cool thing; a skewer with ham and melted cheese on the inside, with a light batter overtop (think melted ham and cheese sandwich in corn dog form, but even better!)

By now the first school of tonight was done performing, and they were beginning to ditch their costumes all along the road (whatever they don't want to take home that doesn't make it in the garbage trucks at the end of the parade route they just put on the street for people to take, reuse, clean up, etc). So, we found Mom an AWESOME costume!!!



Haha!!! LOVE IT! I really think she should wear it to the Gay Ball Scala tomorrow night (after all, we are on live national TV when we enter the Ball!)

We then made our way to the gates at the end of the route, where the paraders exit the Sambadrome...


We found an alternate hat for Mom's costume...


I found a hat of my own! This baby should keep the sun off my shoulders! Yeehaw!

We waited for the second school to finish- many cool costumes, but none fitting for the Gay Ball. It was very neat to see the people and costumes so up close, though... What a lot of work!


Then a Pinocchio float came out this way (they usually go opposite).


Also very neat to see up close.

They use cranes to get people off the tops of the floats!!

At 2-3:00am we called it a night. Tucked into our cozy room (of four single beds lined up against the wall) it was bedtime!

(Thank you, again, spell check... "Single beds" almost became "agile beds"... You might be entertaining but you're not very good at this, Spell Check! Lol)

Day 3, Part 3/3: Samba Parade continued

School 3


School 3


School 4


Panoramic view (this is just four sections, but you can see the bright white lights going to the right at the top... That's the tops of all of the bleacher stands)


So many bright colors!



Wha-oh!!! "What we've got here is a failure to communicate!" Who measured this?!?! Bah-Ha! Mr. Native lost his headdress (was actually pretty scary, as it was huge and fell backwards)... He also lost half his face/head... Poor guy! I wonder if they lose points for this...?!?!



Here's a view of one float...


Then a close up of half the float...


Then a closer-up... See how small the people on the float are? Gives you an idea how huge they are!



These guys/gals almost didn't make it under, either! (But these were real people on top!)


But alas, they ducked and made it!
School 5.



As we had to be up at noon for another activity, we reluctantly left at 04:30am, missing the sixth school.

Back at the hotel by 5:30am, it was shower and bed.