Hairy Beast takes the Beach

A beautiful beach day, I decide to join Marcello and his local friends at POSTO 9 in Ipanema Beach - this is the top location for all the young people and since it is a tuesday - most live at home with no jobs - and it is a glorious sunny day after three days of NYC weather. I order my chair for 3 reales and have it set up by his group of english speaking friends. No one is fat or hairy here.

I chat it up with a few of his friends and then decide to go for a walk on my own down the beach. About 5 minutes along, a random guy shouts at me. Your in Rio - take off your shirt! I was shocked by the english and then by the randomness. Whats wrong with this dude - telling me what I should do. Then I start to look around. I couldnt find a single person wearing a shirt at all - not even one. Just my moronic self waltzing along in a yellow t-shirt and cargo shirts while the rest are in strings (men and women).

Embarassed, I walk back to my crowd to regroup. My shirt comes off and so does my cargo shorts. I borrow a pair of board shorts from Marcellos friend Lao and I trot down to the ocean - 10 days in Rio and I havent been in. Mostly because I dont go in, but I was using the excuse warned to me by everyone in Rio. Be careful of the undertow - its intense. Knowing me, I have trouble with the undertow in a stationary pool - but im up for the challenge - hairy body and all.

Feet dip in - cold! (not really) I gradually torture myself to the family jewels and WHACK! A massive wave takes me out. Struggling for air with body flailing, I stand up choking. The undertow is insane with just the whitewater! I think Im going back up just a bit. Meanwhile there are surfers whiping by on awesome waves at astronomical speeds. I squat down for a bathroom break before returning to shore.

The sun is setting as Marcello and I walk all the way to the end of Ipanema along the wave lines. I pay close attention to my footprints in the sand to see how my arch is looking. Big day tomorrow - massive hike up the largest monolith in the world. Arch needs to be healthy.

Rio is a marvelous place because has the similarities of three US states. Miami for its beaches and nightlife, NYC for its restaurants and lively 24 hour streetlife, and New Hampshire for its mountains, forests, and natural inhabitants. I think it might be up there as one of the great places to live if you know portuguese but that is to be determined as I know 10 words and maybe three or four expressions.

Marcello and I stop at a kiosk (hundreds of them) and grab an ACAI (which is like a smoothie with granola and the Acai Berries) and a Peru da Minas which is Turkey and cheese. You literally double park, get out, order at a counter, eat in less than 10 minutes and back in the car to the next plan. Cheap, fast and good!

We drive over to the Che Legarto hostel where I spent most of my time in Rio and picked up my bags as I exchanged goodbyes with the wonderful people I got to meet. I was off to Marcellos for the last two nights. Staying at marcellos house was interesting. Its a fully loaded massive apartment with a ton of bedrooms and would be well into the millions in NYC, but they dont have a dryer for clothes and they heat their showers by igniting a gas burner, similar to what we do with our barbecues! It has a art cultural feel, like an apartment in paris, probably because the father is an Art Dealer and the mother works for Sothebys.

My massive guest room was amazing after all the hostel living - but it was the hot shower that created the orgasmic feeling of instant health.

sleepy sleep for eight hours ahhhh...