View of Pão de Açúcar - Rio de Janeiro

Rio Carnaval!

Seriously, what fun-loving person has not dreamed of going to Rio Carnaval? It is the one week of the year in Brazil when you can do anything you want. Nothing is sacred and everything is fair game. It was a nocturnal life where going to bed before 5am is early, and frowned upon by all. There are block parties everywhere, everyone is in the streets, and the beer is cheaper than water. I shared an apartment 50ft. from Copacabana beach and during the few hours of daylight I saw, that was the place to be. The highlight for me though, was the Sambadromo parades. It is a huge competition that everyone takes very seriously and I have never seen anything like it. It starts at 7pm and ends at 7am and there are 4 days of that. I only saw one, but it was left an impression. Each samba school parade lasted 80 minutes and had at least 3,000 people in extremely elaborate costumes dancing the entire time and dozens of enormous ornate floats that have no equal anyway. It was a madhouse.