Rio de Janeiro Day 5

We got back from the Sambodrome around 5 and went straight to bed. We had a few hours sleep before the staff at the hotel were knocking on our door to deliver breakfast (despite us not even ordering it...) we had intended to wake up at 7, but were woken up at 8 with breakfast after Allan's failed alarm, so it worked out for the better in the end. We planned to get up after what was essentially a nap to head into the center for some of the megablock parties. Today is the last official day of Carnaval, so Rio is pulling out all the stops.

We caught a quick Uber after breakfast to Ge and Yating's hotel to drop off the cushions they lent us. After that, it was onwards to the bloco. When we got there, several streets were closed off and the area was swarmed with people and vendors selling cold drinks. Similar to the party we got caught in in São Paulo, there were a few big trucks with speakers, performers and dancers crawling along the street with people following them and crowding the surrounding streets. It was pretty overwhelming, but luckily we didn't walk into it accidentally like last time. We found a spot that wasn't cramped with sweaty, drunk people and watched the partying people while we waited for the trucks to drive past. We even managed to snag a couple of free bucket hats that were being passed around by Mercado Pago. Still feeling pretty tired, and very sober, we didn't dance very much and decided to avoid the middle of the crowd where there was a fire hose being sprayed over the dancing crowd. Once the trucks drove past (crawled is probably more appropriate), we headed away from the craziness to get some lunch and go back to the hotel.

From visiting the cathedral a few days ago, we had some bearings and navigated to a Burger King for some quick, cheap food. After eating, we tried to get an Uber to avoid the long walk, but unfortunately with all of the road closures for the hundreds of parties and all the humans wanting lifts, it was expensive. We had to walk the hour back to the hotel.

Once we got back from the block party and our unfortunately long walk, we had quick showers and finally got to lie down for a few hours before we had to get ready for Sambodrome part 2. We left the hotel later than planned, and had some nonsense with which sector to enter to get to our seats (who knew that sector 12 was meant to go through sector 8 entrance...), but we made it before the first parade started.

Unlike last night where we were more birds eye view and central, tonight we were front row right at the street, but at the very end. We had to wait a pretty long time, but finally the dancers and floats began to arrive to our section after about 40 minutes.

Mocidade was the first samba school of the night. They had an interesting theme incorporating space, futuristic elements, and lots of aliens. There were robot dogs at the start and at one point the Flintstones and Jetsons made an appearance! I also think there was a nod to Star Wars and Men in Black. The costumes were all pretty funky, but very on theme with lots of eyes, appendages, and neon colors. There was also a video screen simulating tech billionaires as video game characters fighting in Tekken. The band was at the end of the samba school parade which was also different from last night.

The second samba school was Paraiso do Tuiuti. The theme was honoring Xica Manicongo, the first indigenous "travesti" in Brazil. She was enslaved in the 16th century and defied gender norms by rejecting masculine attire. She is a symbol of resistance for the trans community I'm Brazil. Throughout the entire performance, the theme was clear with Amazonian and indigenous floats and costumes as well as a strong focus on clothing and gender, especially pink and blue. The music was different from other samba schools because it didn't keep the same tempo throughout the whole parade, it varied. Towards the middle of the parade, the school started to speed up. By the end, they were running across the finish line because they have to have the gate closed by 80 minutes. They managed literally in the 80th minute, but they were running! It was exciting but also annoying because we didn't get to see the proper performance and it was a really interesting story/theme.

The third samba school was Grande Rio. The theme was The Enchantment of the Turkish Princesses. It was a mystical journey through Amazonian waters blending nature with enchantments. It's all about the princesses' journeys encountering enchanted beings and traveling through the land. The power of water was throughout the parade. The floats and costumes were amazin and I loved the floating blue and green fish and jellyfish at the start of the parade that helped set the scene. The story was very clear throughout the parade which hasn't always been the case. Everytime a new set of costumes came by I was stunned; they were all so beautiful and elaborate. The floats were pretty incredible too with all of the marine details like mermaids and seashells, but it was the costumes that kept me engaged during this parade. They even had jellyfish costumes and bubbles for the ocean! They really thought of everything to create the continuity. The Middle Eastern elements were few, which makes sense if the princesses were traveling in the Amazon, but there were costumes with middle eastern dress elements and even a cow on a golden pedestal (costume, not float!).

The final school was Portela. Their theme was based on Milton Nascimento, a musician, and his connection with Brazilian identity. The parade followed his musical journey and how it related to Brazilian culture. Milton himself even sat on a throne on one of the floats! There were a lot of flowers and musical instruments woven through the floats and costumes. I thought it was clever how they incorporated the musical instruments in the costumes, but still made them interesting and flashy. The floats focused on different songs that Milton Nascimento has made and towards the end it focused more on him and what makes him feel Brazilian. The music during the parade was his music and was one of the only parades where the music changed a few times throughout the 80 minute performance rather than just playing the same song the entire time.

Once the parade was over, almost an hour later than the one yesterday, we climbed over the fence like the day before. Because we were at the end we saw the aftermath of the last parade. There were people changing, eater stations, and the stage at the end of the parade route had musicians playing. The performers that had changed were now enjoying the live music and revelling in the success of the night. It was still an electric atmosphere despite the fact that everyone had been awake for so long and the sun was about to come up. We lingered for a bit and then made our way back through the Sambodrome to walk back to our hotel.

Carnaval was officially over, and what an experience it was!Læs mere