The Journey Continues...

I took a walk through Ipanema early this morning… one last look through town. Its one of my favorite times of day in any city. Before the rush of the day sets in and the streets get crowded. It’s quiet, the sun is coming up and in any other city it would be a great time to get the camera out. (But of course, not here as I’d likely have it stolen pretty quickly.)

The residents of Ipanema are pulling themselves together after many days of celebration. Carnaval is over. Lent has begun. Today is a day of rest and recovery and most of the businesses in the city are still closed.

Residents down the street were all out washing the residue of Carnaval off of their sidewalks. It’s very symbolic of the contrast between the parties and celebrations of Carnaval and the period of Lent that follows. You can almost see it in their work… anxious to clean up their homes and move on, yet still very proud of this place and the traditions.

On TV they are showing the results of the parade from the Sambadrome. They are reading off the judges scores, one-by-one for each of the 14 schools . The scores are tallied for many categories including “presentation” and “happiness.” It’s been going on for a few hours now and the stadium is full of samba school fans cheering each score. Unfortunately, my school (Estácio de Sá) isn’t doing very well... in fact, they came in last! I don’t understand… I know I was very happy when we marched.

It’s been a wonderful month for me here and an incredible experience. I’ve met some great new friends, and got to spend a lot of time with my hosts Chris and Anderson better.

I’m not sure if I explained this early in the blog, but they met two years ago at Carnaval. Chris is from DC. Anderson is from Belem in northern Brazil. Unfortunately, due to our country’s immigration laws, Anderson is not able to visit the US though the two of them are in a two-year, committed relationship. So, Chris left his job at the company he founded to move here. They’re not sure where they will wind up, but I’m glad they’re together.

I met Anderson when I was traveling in Amsterdam in the summer of 2005. This is the first time I’ve seen the two of them together and it’s been a real treat to get to know them as a couple. I’m forever grateful to them both for opening their home and sharing their adopted city with me.

My bags are just about packed and I’m headed to the airport in a few hours for the overnight flight back to DC. (Yes, I’m wearing pants.)

On Friday, Rob and I head to Disney World to meet up w/ my brother Rick and his family for a few days of fun with the Mouse. After that its back home. I don’t know where I’ll be going next, but you can rest assured I’ll be writing about it and sharing some great pictures.

Thanks for checking in and following my journey.