I come home early in the morning from a late night out just in time to catch the sunrise from Vidigal, the favela where I have been staying with my new friends Maya and Ariel.

The sunrise in Rio de Janeiro is something of another world. The colors are so saturated here and the natural beauty is so overwhelming I almost feel as if I am on some sort of ongoing acid trip. I hike up the steep hill to get a better view of the expansive horizon and sit on a rooftop watching in reverence as the sky becomes golden and the sun brings light to the unspeakably gorgeous landscape. I take a short nap and then make some coffee and get ready to head to the harbor to spend the day painting boats. Maya has already left for her job and will meet us later in the day.

Ariel and I walk out the front door and start down the steep, winding road which is flooded with early morning hustle and bustle. A multitude of motor-taxis speed by us honking their horns while we hug the very narrow sidewalks. As we wind down the hill toward the entrance of the favela I experience a medley of smells, melted cheese, strong perfume, gas, sweet flowers, urine, moss, smoke- the palate changes as I reach the bottom where I experience wafts of hot exhaust and pleasingly fresh, salty ocean air.

A passenger boards a motor-taxi toward the bottom of Vidigal

Across the street from the entrance of the favela a taxi van slams to a stop. It’s sliding door is open and a teenage kid hangs out shouting “Botafooooogo!”

We pile in.

American pop music blasts on the stereo as we cruise along Ipanema beach toward Copacabana. We pass endless palm trees, volley ball nets, and coconut stands and I see no less than three ambitious couples making out passionately on the beach. I wonder to myself if they are up early? or late?

After about 40 minutes in the van we arrive at the harbor. I start painting a new boat with white flowers and a heart filled with cosmos while Ariel starts sketching out a turtle for the top of another boat. So far we have 7 finished out of the 60+ potential boats.

“O Quadrado” (the square)

Maya and Ariel painting the tataruga (turtle)

We paint until tropical storm clouds roll in and then we pack up for the day and grab a cold beer at the local fisherman’s bar before we head back home to Vidigal.

Approaching Vidigal

This is an exciting week with my friend Eyal coming in from NYC and many new boats to paint. I will post more boat pics soon as new ones are finished.