Rio–Phil and his buddies – Sept 8, 2006
You can’t go to Rio and not visit its famous beaches of Copacabana and Ipanema, and this is the day we choose to tour them both, keeping a sharp eye out for the latest in swimsuit fashions. For lunch, we choose to avoid these crowded places and instead go to Praia (beach in Portuguese) Vermelyha or Red Beach, a small place tucked away at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain. There we sit on the sand in rented beach chairs sipping on cold beer, watching bikinis pass by, and joking among ourselves until it’s time to eat at a restaurant sited right on the beach.
Following long naps on Indigo and further tours of the city and extended bull sessions, we dine that night at famous Mario’s on Copacabana Beach and then retire for the night exhausted. —Phil