Brazil: The First Days

Brazil struck its beauty upon me at daybreak as we slowly crept into the port. The city of Salvador shined its skyline in our direction; we absorbed the view. Shortly after passing through immigration, I was whisked away in a taxi to the airport. My four day solo trip to Rio de Janeiro had begun!

Arriving in Rio that evening, I shared a taxi and headed to my chosen hostel, hoping that they would have room! Indeed, they did; though, it was not a pretty sight! I was led up a flight of stairs to the small room in which I would be staying. The smell was overwhelmingly awful! Before my eyes in the small room were two three-person bunk beds. With no air movement in the room whatsoever, I knew that it would be a long night.

Later, a group of other backpackers and I headed to Lapa, an area know for its nightlife. Amongst street vendors and the young Brazilian crowd, we waited in line to buy our ticket of entry to the festive event. We soon realized that we were going to watch one of Brazil’s most popular reggae musicians. Unintentionally splitting from the group, I was left to enjoy the concert amongst the passionate Brazilian fans!

Arising early the next morning, Paulo awaited for me outside the hostel. As we began to drive, Paulo began to tell me about his experience as a hang-glider. My confidence strengthened as he told me that he had piloted approximately 12,000 tandem flights successfully without incident. Strapped in and prepared to run off the cliff for our take off, we were forced to wait because of the looming cloudiness, resulting in little visibility. As I filmed Paulo, he said, “We have low visibility, and the wind is blowing in the wrong direction; I am not sure what we are doing up here.” My confidence shrank. As conditions slightly bettered, we ran full speed towards the cliff’s end. Reaching the end, the hang glide took off. Descending upon Rio from above was truly a remarkable experience.

TS