Ferries and Bicycles and Floats.. Oh My! - Rio, Day 4

This was an early morning. Unlike other days, where the itinerary wasn't set, we knew what we were doing today. We woke up bright and early and headed to Praça XV to buy ferry tickets to Paqueta Island, which is about 90 minutes away. On the way, we saw people dressed up in costumes, ready for an early morning parade/concert. 

The ferry ride was pretty horrible.. sooo many people in close quarters without any cooling system. I thought a breeze would come in once the ferry started moving, but this was not the case.

However, it was worth it, as Paqueta Island is awesome. It's quite peaceful and feels like a blast from the past. Cars aren't allowed on the island, so it's bikes, pedicabs, and horse-drawn carriages to get around. Jimmy convinced me to rent bikes, which I was nervous about because I am pretty uncoordinated. I did have some hiccups, such as rolling straight into the curb and bumping off the seat in the space between the handlebars and the seat. I also wanted to see Fat Maria, this gigantic tree that's supposed to bring you luck if you kiss it, but we didn't have time to find it.

Jimmy took this photo of me, looking contemplative while sitting on the dock.  I was doing my best Dawson's Creek impression.

The ferry ride back was nearly empty, so this was a more pleasant experience. After taking a breather at the hostel, we headed out to the Samba Parade, the main event. Unsurprisingly, the subway was insanely crowded but with a lively ambiance, as someone was playing the drums and the whole subway car was loudly singing a Samba song.

When we got there, it was mayhem. The parade was amazing - we stayed for 3 of the 6 groups of that night. It was a really long show that probably went until 7am. 

I made friends with this old lady next to me who kept speaking to me in Portuguese, even though I think her daughter told her I don't understand the language. Every time the camera would zoom by, she'd pull out this paper sign and I'd point at the sign. At different points of the night, she offered me gum and crackers.

Each Samba school has about 80 minutes to perform, and they play the same one song throughout their performance.  We sat in the sector across from the judges' booth, so we got the best parts of the show. Here's a lot of pictures from the parade.  It's similar to the Rose Parade, but no flowers and wayyyyy more people.  Each Samba school's performance has a theme.  I'm not sure what the first school, Estacio's theme was, but Uniao de Ilha, the 2nd school seemed to have a Rio theme and Beija-Flor, the 3rd school had a very gold theme.  Beija-Flor's the reigning champion from 2015.  Beija-Flor certainly seemed the most expensive, with glittery gold everywhere, but Uniao de Ilha was our favorite - it was whimsical and fun.

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This guy was singing his little heart out.

These are people in beach ball costumes that open and close.

It was at this point that I sat down and the sign lady said some stuff in Portuguese and said the word karate.  I guess she thought it was important that I see this part.

This costume has each person walking with a fake person in front and in back of them.

A favela float.

If you see the green hat in the middle, I took a picture because I felt bad for all the people sitting behind him, since he's definitely obstructing the view.