We go to Leme, because it is one of the cleanest beaches in Rio. The famous Copacabana is overcrowded as are many others in Rio. Leme is populated, but is cleaner than most of the other beaches.
It’s a gorgeous day. We arrive, take off our Havanas (quintessential Brazilian flip flops) and find a little patch of sand to call our own. We rent a beach umbrella for 6 Reals (equivalent to about US $3) and lay back to survey the scene. And it’s a scene!
People of all shapes and sizes, all colors and shades, freckle the sand in their skin tight bandeaus, bikinis and speedos. There is no extra fabric on this beach. Children chase each other, dripping wet and covered in sand. They dig holes, make sand castles, and play in inflatable kiddie pools while their parents lounge nearby. Young girls and dudes parade about looking for interest from the opposite sex.
Vendors of many stripes schlep their wares back and forth, weaving in between the colorful beach umbrellas. They are one of my favorite parts of going to the beach in Rio. Each vendor has a sort-of “song,” a little diddy for their product, and they yell it loud for all to hear. There’s the Globo guy, he walks around with big bags of oily puffed air biscuits yelling “GLOBO GLOBO GLOBO! Biscoooooito sal e dooooceeeeeeeee!! (Globo! Salty and sweet biscuits!) And then there’s the popsicle guy, He walks around shouting "Olha o picoléeeeeeeee!” (Loook! Popsicles!!!) There’s no reason to go anywhere else, you can get empanadas, pineapple, grilled shrimp, Acai, fruit juice, a bikini, a hat, jewelry… right on the beach.
“Empanaaaaaaaada! Empanaaaaaaaada! Empanaaaaaaaaada!”
However the hot Brazilian sun creeps under our umbrella and our hot skin begs for a swim. We leave the hot sand for the cold water… and it’s REAL COLD! Bracing ourselves, we wade in, knee deep, and as a big wave comes toward us we dive like penguins into the sea. I resurface in a state of shock, blinking and wiping the salt water and snot from my nose. It’s a form of baptism. I am refreshed and bewildered. We swim and maneuver through the large waves, trying to catch them at their peak and ride them into shore without them tossing us like rag dolls. It is incredible fun and also easy to get smacked around by Lemenja (the Afro-Brazilian goddess of the sea). I get a few proper beatings.
We become thirsty from all the sun and salt water and so we go back in to shore. We hear, “Olhaaaaa o Mateeeeeee!!! Mate LeãooooooooOOO” (Look! it’s Mate! The Mate of the Lion!)
The Mate man fills our cup and we are refreshed again!
Tomorrow Perola and I leave for Vienna, where we will lay some groundwork for our next project, “The Aces of Perception,” which will hit the city streets this September.
More soon~