Xmas in Rio 2005

Above, a view of the sand art that a Brazilian friend of mine considered to be in bad taste. But hey, it is Christmas in the southern hemisphere.

Christmas in Brazil coincides with summer vacation. So the themes are, rather than snow, reindeer, and sleigh rides, sun, thongs, and the beach. Those who insist on a white Christmas can stare at the sand at Copacabana beach--don´t try at Ipanema, because you´ll only see flesh tones and of course bits of color where the bikini straps are supposed to be. I´ll be posting a basically visual blog over the next few weeks. Enjoy, and, to all who visit this site, a very happy holiday season. Above: A boy faces the white espuma of the surf at Copacabana beach. You can see part of the famous sidewalk design at Copacabana right under the boy. Two young women got in the way of this photograph. ______________________________________________________________

Below: A guy and gal from Ipanema, December 2005. This about sums up the genesis of the famous song.

Below: Humans are not the only ones getting tanned at the Praia da Urca. Aphrodite here is keeping her eyes on the famous Pão de Açucar (Sugarloaf). If you know the alternative meaning of pão in Portuguese, you´ll understand why her hand gestures suggestively at her toga.

Below: It´s two days to Xmas. Shopping´s done, surf´s up

Below: Scenery on the route between Newark, New Jersey and Rio de Janeiro.