Day 573 13th February 2018
Rio
I have really had enough of Rio now.
My hotel is awful, as soon as you step outside onto the streets the whole of Rio stinks of a heady mix of urine, vomit, beer, sewerage, poverty and pure filth. A week of carnival is more than enough. I just don’t get it. I’m not sure where is the fun in walking around looking for a blocco in your pants and then dancing to what often is a crap sound system while ankle deep in a slushy mix of piss, beer, ice water, tin cans and broken bottles which ends up in a black sludge.
The assault on the ears can be horrendous as a wall of noise hits you from all angles. Most people are completely out of it on drink or drugs or whatever it is they are taking. I am no angel and I like the odd drink but this place is incredible. Today I saw people in a restaurant who could not find their mouths, three guys climb on the back of a moving dust cart who were then joined by a girl who went on to prove that romance isn’t dead as she kissed one of them while the dustmen threw rubbish into the back. Girls squatting in the street is the norm, they tend to prefer between parked cars but anywhere will do. I’ve seen the street vendors fighting each other over their pitches. The only thing I find amazing is that there is not more trouble, seeing as everyone is off their faces. There is a police presence but I have not seen them being called into action very often. There are reports of shootings every day on tv but most seem to involve drugs.
Am I officially getting old now!!!!