New Years Eve at Copacabana beach

we all got ready and headed towards the bus stop about 830pm. the metro is not an option because tickets are much more expensive and people are sardined into the subway. and our stop is about halfway to copacabana so there is no way we would get a seat. so off to the crazy buses we went. the firs stop we went to had a bunch of people waiting, all in white. the first few buses started pulling up completely full of people, also sardined on. so, we decided to head in the rain mind you to a previous stop to try and get on a bus. sure enough we fit onto a bus and squeezed our way to the back where there was a little more room then elsewhere.

we got on an airconditioned bus. thank goodness. the drive to copa took about 1 hour and 30 minutes. yes, we arrived to copa at 1040 pm. then we had to walk through the people and in th rain to pier 7 where the couchsurfing gang was impatiently waiting. they had a spot on the beach and most everyone was quite tipsy. awaiting patiently in the bay were about 7 cruiseships to watch the fireworks display from the water side. we did not drink because we knew going to the bathroom would be an issue. we met some of the same people we met the night before at the sunset, but there were many more people here this time. We met daria and rahan both of which agreed to show us the city. well see if that works out. it continued to rain.... nonstop, it was an annoying drizzle like most rainshowers in juneau, ak. just enough rain to get you drenched and cold. oh well. felicio then told us the story: dating back, the government used to pay a religious leader an absurdly large amount of money to do an anti-rain dance and keep the rains away on 12/31. last year, after paying out the large amount of money it rained for about 10 minutes and people thought the antirain dances were balogne. therefore, this year the government of rio did NOT pay for the anti-rain dance, therefore, it was raining.

then with 15 minutes to midnight, we crept closer to the shoreline so we had a front row view of the fireworks. felicio opened the champaigne and passed it around. other people were bringing their offerings of flowers to the sea and another religion has people bury holes and place a lit candle, a flute of champaigne and flowers. then at 10 seconds to midnight-- we started counting in porteguese: dez, nove, oito, sete, seis, cinco, quatro, três, dois, un! feliz ano novo!!!! immediately after that the fireworks started in the harbor. there were two barges that were lighting off the same firework at the same time. the show lasted for a good 20-30 minutes. there were more fireworks than the fourth of july back home. especially because it was a central location and two locations that were lighting off the fireworks. amazing! after the fireworks were done, rachel and i and ana kicked off our shoes to go jump over 7 waves for good luck. they didnt need to be large waves, just waves. and seven of them.

the rest of the night was filled with people watching. everyone else was quite intoxicated. andrea got a new years kiss. then we headed with the large group of couchsurfers towards the concert—where david guetta was to be performing at 140am. we did not get there until 150. at about 230 we decided to head back towards lapa on a bus. but there were still alot of people around so we ducked into copapolis for some food. rachel got a coke, andrea ordered cheese and bread as did ana and felicio got cheese ham and bread. then a table opened up and we took it. which was the first time we had sat since 1040pm. we enjoyed the food and stayed around for about a half hour trying to clear up some of the buses.

no way jose! we went to the bus stop near the restaurant and all the buses were still completely full. so then we decided to head towards earlier stops. sure enough, a nearly empty bus pulled up. we all got on, grabbed seats and sure enough within two more stops, people were sardined on the bus. rachel and andrea were head bobbing throughout the hour long ride home. ana had the bus stop not at a bus stop but right around the corner from their house. it was perfect---and 5am. we got home washed our feet in the shower and passed out. what a great new years :-)