Castles in the Sand

I slept from 4 till 8 tonight. When I awoke it was completely dark outside. This is my first time south of the equator. Similar to our winter, the sun disappears very early in the evening. I took a walk along one of the main streets parallel to the beach looking for food to eat. I had only a pack of peanuts while searching for a hostel since a ham and cheese crausant, some darjiling tea flavored cookie and a peach fruit cup served this morning on the airplane. The breakfast I ate while watching the sun rise towards the left side of the airplane. Even though smoking is prohibited on the plane, this morning, the flight attendants rolled carts selling duty free items such as cigarettes by the carton and liquor by the bottle with sweets, perfumes, jewelery. I asked about the cigarettes, US$33 for Marlboro in the red and white carton. I don´t know if this is a good price as I don´t smoke.

While taking my frequent walks on the plane, I met one of the flight attendants named Andy. There was a section at the rear next to the bathroom and an emergency exit where the attendants stored their carts for service. Andy was from San Francisco but based out of Charlotte. This was his third time to Rio and he said he would have a 35 hour layover where he could sleep twice and spend some time as a tourist to see Christ the Redemer situated on top of a mountain overlooking Rio and the Atlantic ocean (one of the wonders of the world). I said I would like to go there in a few days after I settle in. He asked me of other places I had traveled to and I mentioned having lived in Costa Rica twice. We spoke in Spanish for awhile as he told me of his many work trips to Costa Rica as he has a Costa Rican wife. She happened to grow up in Allahuela (where the San Jose airport is, a suburb of the capital). Through the rest of the flight he would call me by name every time he passed and would ask frequently if I needed any more water, of which I drank a lot. He even filled up my quart water bottle before exiting the plane this morning.

Pedro, who I met at customs, refused to take any money from me as I told him I had Reis (plural for Real), the local currency. In Portuguese, this is pronounced like hey-ice and in the singular form the L´s are pronounced like an ow making it sound like hey-ow (the ow being the slang word for ouch). He pointed out various landmark along the way to the beaches while giving me valuable information about what buses and where to take them from the hostels to the University. When the taxi driver dropped me off, he unloaded all the luggage on the back seat thinking the luggege was mine. The driver heard I would be here for six months and was surprised to see my only belongings was a small backpack with room to spare.

My room at the hostel is bare except for four bunk beds along each of the walls. There is a door leading to the bathroom which contains a very small sink, a hook to hang your clothes and just about enough room to turn around in. The room is full capacity (8). I thought the rooms would be segregated by sex but this is not the case. There are two young women. Kathryn is from London and I have yet to meet the other. The others I have met are two from Isreal, one from Holland, one from Chile and one from India. I have yet to meet anyone from the USA.

I was lying in my bed reading when Kathryn came in and asked my if I wanted to join the group and go to a clup somewhere. She began to ask which dress she should wear, the black or the purple. She began to change right there in front of me and two other guys in the room. Putting modesty aside, she slipped on her dress while slipping down her tank top and skirt. I declined her invitation tp gp clubbing as I wanted to read, type and spend some time relaxing.

As for my first meal in Rio, after walking about a mile reading various menus and prices, I came upon a grocery. I bought several slices of deli turkey and cheese, a bell pepper and a small tomato. With food in hand, I walked two blocks to the beach to eat. I wanted to wash the veggies so I took them to the water and washed them with the sand. The beach drops steeply into the water where the breaking waves are huge. Bigger than any I have ever seen. 12 to 15 ft breaking waves are common with peaks approaching more. With the steepness of the beach, these waves break so close to shore. There are DO NOT SWIM signs all along the beaches. The tide was close to high. As I sat on the 2 foot ledge marking high tide, I bagan to eat. During an oblivious moment, I guess one of the larger breaking waves rushed water over the ledge where I was eating. In the last second before being drenched from the thighs down, I looked up in the instant I grabbed the cheese off my knee and headed for higher ground. My turkey didn´t make it to my hands as I saw the five slices about 15 feet down from where I had been sitting. They were partially covered in sand like a flounder. I took all five pieces, washed the sand off one by one and ate them. After I finished the turkey I thought of the ocean water being polluted next to such a major city. I guess we´ll see what happens.

I havn´t taken any photos yet, but while walking along the beach after eating, I came across a very intricately carved sand castle spanding about 3 or four yards by chest high. I stood there in awe of the beauty of the sculpture. I intend to go back tomorrow to take a few pictures during daylight.

I look forward to your correspondence when you can write.

Eric