Day #18. 3rd day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Today I wanted to do absolutely nothing. And that is exactly what I did. This super cool, bleach-blonde Aussie girl named Alana and I spent the entire day lounging around at Ipanema beach, which was conveniently located one block from our hostel. The demographics of the beach crowd varies depending on the lifeguard tower number. We went to tower #9, which Alana says is where all the hippies, artists, and young people are. It was more like families actually, but whatever. I didn’t care. I was at a gorgeous beach without anyplace to go!! We rented chairs and an umbrella, sipped on ice cold Coke, talked about everything and nothing, and sampled the always constant stream of beach snacks. Every food imaginable is available to you via locals carrying coolers, buckets, wheelbarrows, etc. We had frozen acai topped with granola; sandwiches filled with grilled veggies, chimichurri, and sliced steak; corn on the cob that had been rolled in butter and a generous helping of salt; roasted cashews; and the most delicious cheese on a stick that they toast right in front of you in a tiny little tin oven. There were a lot of other things I didn’t try, like bags of airy wafers, hot dogs, and iced tea that they lug around in a keg hanging from their shoulder. Everything was delicious, especially that acai!

I took a walk down the beach and saw that lifeguard tower #8 seemed to be hopping. A lot more people in their 20’s were hanging out, and tons of kids were playing some sort of game where they stand in circles and pass a soccer ball around with every body part except their upper extremities. Went back to our post and poor Alana was burnt to a crisp, so we packed up and headed to Arpoador Rock for sunset. The rock was already crowded with people. We sat and waited. Finally... it happened. We watched the distant mountains swallow the sun whole as the sky faded blazing into shadows. Once the sun started sinking, it went down like a bowling ball. We sat in awe. Everyone clapped. It’s tradition, Alana said.

There was a beautiful young couple standing on the rock in front of us, so I offered to take a picture for them. “Um beijo! A kiss!” I said, but they just giggled. “Um beijo!! Um beijo” I continued to coax, but still nothing! Then the girl said in halting English, “We never kiss before.” Ohhhh! It all made sense. Just then, the boy laid one on her. A ravenous, passionate kiss that would make any girl swoon. Alana and I watched in surprised silence as we witnessed their young love evolve before our very eyes. I almost forgot to take the picture!! But somehow, I snapped out of it and managed to capture this moment for them. If they get married one day, that photo better make the slide show. I handed the beaming couple their iPhone and off they went, hand in hand, laughing blissfully over the rocks. But not before one more kiss!