On Friday night there was an early party and BBQ in the hostel with live music. A really good time was had by all, especially me when I got to have a samba lesson!
After the party, we were going to head to Lapa to a bloco, but got separated from the rest of the group and went round the corner to find a bloco in progress in Ipanema - fantastic we cried, this is nice and easy!
We got chatting to some local people - who all seemed very happy to practise their English, which is good as my brain can only cope with Spanish at the mo. Suddenly I found myself being kissed by a rather attractive 20 year old Brazilian guy - who am I to complain, after all it is carnival!
It was a great night and ended about 3am.
Yesterday, it was raining - again! However, a group of us had arranged to go on a favela tour in the afternoon - I was not sure what to expect, but was interested to find out.
The first favela, as my friend Jim told me long ago, was rather like south Quito. It was interesting and our guide was very good at explaining the situation in favelas and how they've changed over the years. Contrary to popular belief there is no crime within the favelas as most are controlled by drug traffickers who do not want any police coming into the favela. Therefore they have their own rules.
The second favela was a much smaller community and we visited a school, Para Ti. I found I was more affected than I expected to be at the school and was almost in tears. The classrooms were tiny and because of the lack of building regulation, have had no natural light since a new house was built next door. We were able to buy souvenirs and I chose a book of photographs by the children of the school. It seemed appropriate in many ways, especially as I didn't feel entirely right about taking pictures myself.
The feeling of sadness stayed with me for a while after returning to the hostel and so last night I retired early.
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