Domingo

It is Sunday in Rio. Saturday and Sunday are the only days of the week that have names, Sabado and Domingo. The other days are called Segunda-feira, Terca-feira, Quarta-feira and so on. Feira translates as weekday and also means fair, as in county fair. Lesson over.
8 AM and I am hungry. I didn’t eat much yesterday as I was feeling quite punk. The night passed well only waking up coughing a couple of times. The throat is still raspy but I feel 100 times better. That’ll probably change when I get on the plane tomorrow. With my resistance down I will probably contract something weird. You are crammed into such proximity with so many others including the little germ factories they call children, it a wonder anyone escapes healthy. The Rotterdam [and assume any other ship of repute] has the sanitation thing down. Before you can board or leave the ship you must get a handful of Purel. There are dispensers everywhere. EVERYWHERE! They also tell you on first boarding to refrain from kissing and shaking hands. They suggest bumping elbows or the “air-buss” that Europeans do so well. I am sure this concern and practice are fairly recent and brought on by the incidents of outbreaks of flu, flu-like symptoms and other ailments on cruise ships in the last few years. I think it is quite effective even if there are a few passengers who are above the rules and practice there own form of civil disobedience to the detriment of everyone else. Why would you travel in so social a manner if you felt so superior to everyone else? Perhaps they never leave their staterooms. Perhaps they like having a mobile home.
At the CCBB yesterday there was one more item worth mentioning. It is a giant installation in the rotunda of the bank itself. They have large circular padded beds that you can lay back on to study the piece. It had an odd title and as far as I can tell it meant something like “homage to the office plant.” Suspended from the dome was an array of vines, wires, branches and lines all adorned with real and artificial plants and flowers. It dropped down some 4 or 5 stories to a point where I could almost reach it. Branches of it might have a specific treatment [blue morning glories seeming to float in the air] but the overall effect was an explosion of color and shapes all dancing in the light from the glass dome.
Rio Centro is very much like any other big city. New and old buildings compete for your attention. There seems to be a preponderance of banks, like 5 to 1. The sidewalks are still tiled like the beach and there are many stalls selling papers and magazines, fruit drinks, whatever. There are plazas and squares every few blocks and traffic, traffic, traffic. There are street people. Some sit quietly on the side hoping for a donation. I didn’t see any really aggressive begging like you find at the beach. There were people asleep on the pavement and not off in a doorway either. It was as if they just laid down on the sidewalk when they were tired, probably the result of substance abuse which is quite common here. The police are not just in the business of gunrunning. The favelas and law-enforcement are in a very symbiotic relationship. We look at it as a disgraceful abuse of power; they look at it as making life as uncomplicated as possible. I was also told that law enforcement is a very low-income job ad most young people join knowing they will be able to supplement their income easily. And they get to carry a gun, which is very “sexy” in Brazil.
As a tourist you are told to stay away from certain areas, don’t go out alone or not to go to certain neighborhoods at night, especially on foot. I have found little discomfort wandering around but that might simply be my size. Flavio has taken me to places not recommended in the guidebooks but I always felt comfortable. Of course, Flavio is as tall as I am. That aside, I found most of Rio very friendly and helpful with lots of people willing to try to communicate with you in any combination you can come up with. Some Cariocas speak a little English or maybe a little French; they are all willing to try using Spanish, as it is so similar. And gestures are also helpful. The most common one I found is the “thumb-up” to indicate “yes” or “OK” or “fine” and if you show it “up” and then immediately turn it on it’s side or down it will usually convey that you are not interested in what they’re selling you, telling you, etc.