Girl to Ipanema
Monday, June 20th, 200519 June 2005 (Sunday) – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
My intention is to go to Ipanema today, for the hippie fair and then later, to the beach. But instead of the warm and sunny weather we had had for the past 2 days, it was cool and breezy today, not more than 25 degrees C.
Sarah would leave tonight for somewhere in the north, but she left the apartment now with all her gears, to meet her friend, Elaine, at Lapa. I bade her farewell at the bus-stop. I have grown very fond of her, as she has an amazing spirit and is obviously a very talented artist and musician. She is on this journey to find something and to connect with people. I think she will be able to do it. In our short time together, she had already taught me to open up to more people. Maybe we will see each other somewhere up north later.
Along the bus-ride to Ipanema, again, I admired the graffiti sprayed on the wall along Rua Jardim Botanico. Wow, truly magnificent. I wonder if anyone ever thought of the idea of doing a Graffiti Tour around Rio de Janeiro? I think it would be a really interesting tour. Peering out constantly to admire the street-art had its dangers – I caught sight of some guys (old, flabby ones, if I may add) walking around with only their speedos on. Ewww….
At Praça General Osorio, the Ipanema Sunday hippie fair was already busy. I had read that the fair started at 8am and lasted until 6pm. At first, I couldn’t believe it but it must be true. You see, in Buenos Aires, on a Sunday… not a soul would be awake until much, much later and the fairs there, only really begin from 2pm onwards. Here, it is a different city.
Hmmm… there are indeed some stalls selling really interesting and creative crafts. I browsed through the clothes stall with some interests. Now, here are clothes that I could buy and use back home. I mean, I had loved the clothes in Buenos Aires, but they were for autumn and winter. They looked really, really pretty on the window displays, and were very cheap, but I entered the stores and simply did not know HOW to go about selecting long-sleeved blouses and woolly sweaters.
Here in Rio, it was different. I was way within my shopping capabilities. Within half an hour, I plonked down a lot of reais for 2 skirts I had to had to had to have. I pondered over a dress for a while and decided against it. Nah… I am on a budget trip! Not a fashion-buying trip!!
Later, I lay down on Ipanema beach and thought of nothing but the dress. Argh! Today is really not a day for beaches. It was getting really cool, around 22 degrees. I lazed around for a while before putting my clothes back on and left. Yep, my excuse for returning to the fair. Goodness, some stalls were already closing up and it was only 4:30pm!! I told myself if I find the stall again, then, I would know what to do. If not, well, it was never meant to be.
Yes, I found the stall. So with this unexpected turn of event (i.e. excessive shopping!) now, I figure I would have to starve for the next 10 days!
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