Yesterday was a challenge of trust for me. I had familiar dark feeling inside about some circumstances in my life. I literally had to stop myself in the middle of the sidewalk, rewind in my mind, and remind myself that these same feelings I’ve felt before have always lead to positive outcomes if I allow them to pass. And right then, when I wanted a friend, one called. That’s just life for ya, it’s on our side.
I recently had an accident and fried my Canon Rebel. A great loss, as she was my main travel companion. Luckily, she passed after an amazing trek around Ilha Grande! I had a bit of hope left, and after visiting a mac dealer for some ipod issues and meeting a pretty trustworthy guy who spoke English; I decided to ask if he knew a camera repair shop. He sent me down to a shop in Centro, a huge shopping district in Rio. It reminded me of a cross between Canal street, NY and Avenida Florida in Buenos Aires. I wandered around for a bit without a map overwhelmed with pastry shops, and bakeries with breads of all varieties, all the time wishing I was actually hungry to eat some of them. I made some discoveries as well. Rua Carioca is the main street for music stores. Oh! How I wanted to pop in a strum a guitar, but I was embarrassed with my lack of skills. I also found that on the corner of the square at Praca Tiradentes there are a ton of used book stores, really good ones! Highly organized, even have stacks of comic books!
So after the news and looks of “Are you crazy trying to fix this,” about the camera I took to the streets again, finding a bench near the University to mourn my loss. After an attempt to find the Art musuem and failed I decided it was time to head home. I was going to meet my friend, Jordana, for dinner that night. Jordana is my friend from Pennsylvania, a born and raised Carioka visiting her family for a month or so. A beautiful model and actress in New York. A unique soul contract we have, as we find ourselves chatting as if we’ve know each other all our lives. We ended up meeting at Tanka Lagoa, her favorite sushi spot. It was amazing! I think the best meal I’ve had in Brazil, to date! Amazing Salmon, spectacular service, all you can eat sushi for $50Reals. This is actually a pretty good deal considering the quality.
After a midnight departure from dinner, and feeling so much lighter after seeing a friend from home, I decided to make it over to the weekly CS meeting, at Bar Sarjeta, and see if anybody was still there. What a blast I had. Nacho, Cuaun, Barbara and some new Argentine friends were all well on there way to party mode when I arrived. I handed out a few doses of space cookies and practiced some Spanish, and started getting excited for my trip out of Brazil. Buenos Aires is going to be nuts this second time around, with the amount of friends I’ve made from there, clubbers, artists, trekkers, and climbers! Que Bueno!
Since this was Barbara’s last meeting before she heads back to Germany we closed the bar with a local, and the owner invited us to have the best sandwich in Copacabana!
Cervantes
Avenida Prado Júnior, 335 loja B – Copacabana – Rio de Janeiro – RJ
It was like having a sandwich at Katz in Lower East side, but with black tie waiters and 5 star service. Be warned that all sandwiches are the same price regardless if you want the pineapple or not. (hehe yes it said that) So you can image that there is pineapple on every sandwich. It must of been the beer, but I was speaking Portuguese. The two jolly men were not too keen on Barbara and I’s English conversations, which consisted of giggles, and commenting on “How do we find ourselves here in these situations.” I must say I will miss that crazy girl. We have a lot of similar conflicting thoughts in our minds, and sometimes it’s refreshing to be around someone who you can let it all lose with. 4 am was approaching, and Barbara was okay to head back to Impanema with our new jolly friend, and I was driven home in a Silver Vintage Volkswagaon Beetle by the owner of Bar Sarjeta, who I charmed with compliments of the great weekly meeting place for us wandering souls. Until next time… I find myself awake and hazy, and wondering how I’m going to eat all these space cakes before I leave for Uruguay.
