Sunday in Rio

Like many places in the world Sunday can be a quiet day with stores closed and less traffic. This is true in Rio although we did get to a flea market near our hotel. There was the usual assortment of stuff and you can negotiate a bit with the vendors .  They all have credit/debit card machines which reduces somewhat the need for cash. I did manage to pick up a few things for family at home.

My Bajan friend Jasper and I headed to an area called Saara which he thought would be a good shopping area. It turns out all the stores were closed so we headed to an area called Lara. Many of my Canadian colleagues stayed there during the Olympics and had a mixed experience. It was party central with lots of entertainment and noise and dodgy hotels.

One of the fascinating things about Rio ( at least to me ) is the sidewalks. They are all made of these small stones in various patterns. Very labour intensive to do but very interesting to experience.

We also saw the famous steps called Escadaria Selaron with colourful mosaics over 215 steps. I did not run up them as sometimes seen in a Visa commercial. While there we got talking to a guy who is an Observer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I advised him to hire Jasper for views and advice on how to organize things there