Me in Brazil

Well, folks, this is your humble blogger shown within touching distance of a lovely latin lass deep in the heart of Brazil at carnival time. I resolved to go native and make whoopie with the revellers but my english reserve got the better of me and I felt more like an observer making a mental record of the partying locals. Still, there I was mixing with the natives, as it were, and, thanks to my mediterranean roots, looking like one of them, as long as I kept my mouth shut.

Needless to say the carnival frolics continued well into the night thanks to a hard core of ever-present merry-makers determined to whoop it up until they dropped. And they were helped by ample booze that flowed and the loud syncopated music that boomed out. The processions of effigies known as 'bonecos' had run their gauntlet among the crowds and now, as the night deepened, scattered groups of die-hards toughed it out in the streets under the watchful eye of the police.

And here is your humble blogger in more sedate moments, when the sights and sounds of Brazil could be savoured at a more leisurely pace in a seaside 'pousada' situated in a verdant setting far from the "madding crowd" and where the simple pleasures of sun and sea could be enjoyed in restful surroundings.

Brazilian Carnival

Carnival time in Brazil is a time to really let your hair down and go wild. For days on end there's nothing else but carnival and more carnival and for those few who are not into such revelry and merriment it is sheer hell. But for those who can't get enough of it, it's heaven on earth! For a great many, however, it's the way things are and they go with the flow in a sort of love-hate relationship with carnival capers and high jinks . Carnival during the day is lively enough, but come the night it livens up even more. The less adventurous stay indoors as much as they can while the more daring hit the street to live it up and party late into the night. Alcohol flows freely and makes people want to dance in the street and follow the many processions that parade through the streets.

The streets come to life with music and the noise of carnival in general, and at night some streets are illuminated by lots of overhead decorative lights strung up everywhere to add to the special atmosphere that characterises the carnival season. And by carnival season i mean the pre-carnival lead-up, the official carnival period, and the post-carnival wind-down! The Brazilians certainly know how to keep things going and milk a good thing when they have it.

A whole industry has grown up around the carnival and before the event itself takes place there are months of preparation to organise everything, make up the costumes, banners, giant dolls, floats and whatever else goes into making a carnival worthy of the name. This is especially so in such cities as Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro where the art of carnival is second to none and where the main event takes place in a stadium called a 'sambodrome'. The processions that parade through the sambodrome have to be seen to be believed. They are nothing short of magnificent and breath-taking.