Carnaval Pt.2

So I´ve been Rio-ing it up good and proper. Managed to fit just about everything Rio-y into the last 48 hours: Samba, rum, football, beach, Jesus, carnival and crime - managed the lot.

The Carnival's pretty all dominating here. Stomping around the city like a feather-hatted stompy thing. Bloc parties ago-go. Got pickpocketed, serves me right for not having a bra to put my money in.

Went to the Sambadrome and saw Carnival proper. It was pretty amazing, a mile of tightly-packed, sequin-clad, dancing monkeys all trying to out-samba each other. Well spectacle. But it went on for 9 hours and I was over it within about ten mins. Each Samba school has an hour run, wherein they play the same song constantly. The costumes and the floats change but the song and the dance stays the same. Then the next Samba school comes out and does the same thing again for another hour. Once again, I've got no proof that I was there, so you're going to have to believe me. If you want pictures you'll just have to google some.

Visited the Redeemer statue. It´s the first proper tourist attraction I've been to on my trip. It reminded me how much I hate people in general and people with cameras in particular. Everyone there was taking exactly the same photos:
1. Them in the foreground with the bay behind.
2. Them with their arms out with The Big Man behind.
This was made even more ridiculous by the sheer volume of people trying to take the same photos without anyone else in them. Idiots. Neither photo comes out well. It's not the best view of the bay. It's not the best view of the statue. So do people just need proof that they've been? Won't their friends believe them? For my part I completed that dare (you know the one) and have absolutely no proof, so you´ll just have to take my word for it.

Went to watch football at the Maracaña stadium. Loud, I tell you, and full of crazies. The match for its part was pretty mediocre but there were some sendings off, so, you know...

Been away for a month now. I celebrated by having a shave, which isn't normally newsworthy. But equally it doesn't normally take an hour, I can see me getting my face burnt before the day is out.