Rio-epilogue part 1

1:00 A.M.
running to catch a bus that’s makin a pit stop...

10:12 A.M.
Oh god! I think I’m in heaven! Heaven, for some people, mainly people completely addicted to coffee having suffered withdrawals to good kinds, is also known as Starbucks. For the first time in Brazil,I ordered coffee, knowing exactly what it was going to taste like. Even at 7:30 this morning as I passed the mall I knew the taste of that caramel frappachino. It’s almost sad to think that in a country who’s main exports include coffee, I fee; such an urge to drink american coffee. But it is nice to know that wherever you are in the world there are places that can make you feel a little closer to home.
...And so, the story of how I arrived here. At about 10:30 last night I left my house in SJDR to pick up passport in Rio. At about 11:00, I found out that the bus I was going to take didn’t have any vacancies and the next one left at 6 the following morning.. After looking distraught and confused for a minute, the bus attendant told me that there was a bus coming from Divinopolis that was going to stop here real fast on its way to Rio de Janeiro. It would be here between 12:20 to 1:00 for about 5min. So I left to go eat a burger and came back around 11:50p.m. to start waiting. And so I waived. And waited. Then it started raining so I waited some more. And finally, as I start thinking of leaving and going home, I see a bus. Only, it wasn’t going where I had expected it to go. So I sprinted around the bus station and ask if I can hitch a ride with them. Turns out that I can and I ended up paying close to half the price of a normal fare! We arrived in in Rio somewhere around 6:30a.m. This being my second time in Rio, I knew my around a little better so I hopped on a bus and headed for Flamenco, a district close to downtown Rio. I walked around with one goal in mind: Find Starbucks. After about a mile of walking around, I finally found the mall that the Starbucks was in. Just one problem: The mall didn’t open for another two and half hours. So I decided to find the world renown beach; Copacabana. So I headed South. Now here is the point of the story where I introduce a new character. Like my previous adventures, I met someone along the way. He wasn’t an angel or an american burnout, but an intriguing person none the less. By the end of out time together, I was certain that he was home-less, family-less, and also, friends-less. He spoke super fast with an un-enunciated accent so I barley understood anything that he said, but that didn’t stop him from talking about everything in the world.. He also carried around a stereo from the 70’s that probably didn’t work but he kept a gospel CD in there anyway. Although I didn’t understand a single thing that he said, he accompanied me for about two hours showing me different places with our final destination being Copacabana. He took me to a few different ‘touristy’ places and another beach before reaching Copa. Copa however, wasn’t as good as I had expected. The water was dirty, it was rainy, there was trash everywhere, and my vagabond friend kept showing me all of his possessions. I will say that it did have some decent waves. Probably some of the biggest I have ever seen actually, measuring around 15-20 feet tall. The landscape too was nice. So after watching the waves and my friend washing his shirt in them, I said ‘Adieu’ and took a bus back to the mall. And in almost perfect synchronization, as I walked up to the entrance and the line of people waiting outside, the mall opened. Three floors up, I found my golden treasure...
R$12.00 Grande Caramel frappachino, that’s what I’m talking about! I’ve now been sitting here for about an hour, slowly sipping down that frothy deliciousness and writing this blog. Now, I’m off to the consulate to pick up my passport. But first, another double shot!