Carnival

Carnival completely surpassed expectations. 3,000+ dancers in each school, performing for 75 minutes in a wide array of complex colourful costumes, around several massive floats.

There will be a photoblog later because this has to be seen to be believed. But there is also the wall of sound from the drumming, the singing and from the ecstatic local crowd. Earplugs were issued and many guests wore them (!!) Each school has a theme. The first school was themed around Brazil, showing its progress from early society to the modern age, depicting a lot of its wildlife and agriculture. The second school was themed around a song which was sung over and over again by the audience, with accompanying dancing and wild gestures. TSH and Diva would have liked a song sheet to join in with it all.

On the way to the Sambadrome, TSH and Diva saw many impromptu street events, mostly attended by young people dressed in bizarre costumes, which are supposed to be unique rather than purchased. Think about stag and hen parties attended by hundreds of people. Mixed sex and maybe less alcohol.

Unfortunately, it rained for a while and everyone wore plastic ponchos, but eventually it cleared up. TSH and Diva watched two schools and then went back to the ship, arriving at 2:30am to a semi-cheerful ‘Good Morning’ from the seaman on security duty. TSH had told the butler not to worry about providing food but in the suite on return were the best sandwiches anyone ever tasted, plus cheese, crackers, cookies and cake.

TSH and Diva were in the secure tourist area – a controlled section of the Sambadrome (around 70,000 people) where there is much less chance of crime and disorder. There was an accident with a float which went out of control injuring a number of people but the drome is so vast that no-one in ‘sector 11’ was aware that anything had happened.