It was now time to get ready to go to the Sambadrome. Here is where the day didn't go as well as planned. We had wanted to be at the Sambadrome when it opened at 6:00 so we could get front row seats. We had hoped to attach the Go Pro to the rail to record most of the parades.
Gus needed to drop his car at the Sambadrome and then the van driver would bring him to get us at the ship. We should have had Gus drop us at the Sambadrome at that time and then he could go get the rest of the group. Without the larger group we could have swung by the ship and picked up Trish & Gary without all the car swapping. The group was there waiting, but it was slow moving to get to the van and into the van. We got there over half an hour later than we had hoped. The front row was full, but we did get seats in the second row. Of course when they stood up they were up to the rail and we had to shoot photos over their heads. Greg hand held the Go Pro for the first parade and took stills of the other ones. They weren't bad seats by any means, but it did irritate me that we had the surprise of a larger group made us later than we would have liked.
The other hitch was that the added group only wanted to stay for 3 parades. I didn't wish to stay all night, but did want to watch at least 4 of them. Gus said he would take them back and then we could call him when we were ready to leave, but it just seemed easier to leave all at once. Plus, my feet don't stand well in one spot and each parade was around an hour and 20 minutes and my feet went numb during each parade, but then with the 10 to 15 minutes between parades they would bounce back again.
We ate a fast food dinner at Bob's Burgers at the Sambadrome. They also came around often selling ice cream and cold soft drinks and beer. It was great sitting amonst mostly Brazillians and a few other tourists we also in the sector we were in. We expected the venue to be over packed with people and expected most to be in costume, but most were not. The people were polite and nice and were there just to root on their favorite Samba Schools. We had plenty of room around us and no one infringed on our space.
In a word.....WOW. What an awesome experience. Each parade has hundreds of people in numerous costumes and around 5 to 7 floats each. Each parade tells a story and the costumes were not just colorful, but high tech with moving parts and or flashing lights. The floats were technological marvels as well, with people in and on them with moving parts.
The section of drummers go into the drummers niche as the rest of the parade continues on and then they follow after them as they exit. The entire length of the parade route is around a quarter of a mile or so. I had binoculars so I could see the detail of the costumes and the their smiling faces as they proudly sang along to the songs. All ages perform and many appeared to be older.
The parade is a labor of love and national pride. (they are not paid) They perform for the top honors of being in the top 6 of Samba Schools.
Carnaval is the combination of Blokos (street parties), the Sambadrome Parades and Balls which are quite formal.
Despite all the warnings of pickpockets and other robberies etc., we never felt unsafe at the Sambadrome or at the beaches, tourist sites or amongst the street parties. At one point in order to get around a blocked area, Gus went the wrong way on a one way street which got us where we wanted to go until we came head on to a block party. We figured we would need to back out of there, but the crowd cleared to let us pass and they pointed out a bus was coming in the other direction. Just nice people out having a good time and no one gets upset about anything. I think in the States they probably would have rocked the car and jeered us.
We got back to the ship around 3:00 in the morning and we only stayed for 3 of the 7 parades.
We were joined by Trish & Gary It helped to have another couple so we could eat or use the bathroom etc. while someone watched the seats. The seats aren’t assigned in this section, so it was important to “guard our turf”. They were kind enough and offered to stay with us if we wanted to stay for another parade, but honestly if we had stayed we were quite comfortable being there on our own. No one tried to push into our space, until it was clear we were leaving and then people moved on down.
What a great experience. A night to remember for sure! The photos are awesome and the video came out pretty well, but those will have to wait until we get back home.
Sambadrome Carnival Parades Rio https://photos.app.goo.gl/qoufGrbtAXBKFSMD2
Wow good for you, and a night owl on this occasion.
ReplyDelete