Hot Hot Heat

On a sunny weekday in Rio de Janeiro, the beach is dotted with parasols and sarongs, and beachgoers clad in bikinis or speedos lie under and on them, respectively. There are vendors who roam the beach, selling biscuits, beer, juices, and ice cream, and you will see the occasional man selling fresh sugar cane or freshly roasted cubes of cheese. Between the sand and the street, there are stands selling coconut milk and other drinks, and on Sundays, one side of the street is closed to allow for bicyclists and joggers and everyone else who is out. The beach is marked off every few blocks by post numbers. Post 9 is supposedly the hippest section; on most summer days, there's the smell of pot in the air to prove it.

There haven't been enough sunny days while I've been at Rio; I don't think there could ever be enough, but I think that we've been especially unlucky. Last week was all rain and wetness, and humidity that made my hair fairly unmanageable.

This weekend, however, the sun managed to come out, and so did the rest of Rio. We went to the beach, fully lathered in sunscreen, and lay on our sarong, reading Ulysses and occasionally venturing into the water. The waves were high this weekend, frighteningly so for me. Even when I stood at the edge of the water, the undercurrent pulled at my legs and the sand swirled rapidly under my feet, a shifting ground. There were surfers about 15 feet in, and the waves came in such quick succession and with such force that I didn't have the courage to go in past my waist. The locals, on the other hand, know how to handle such situations. They'll approach the water and as the wave is about to crash down, will drop sideways into the water, letting the wave pass over them to avoid the otherwise crushing weight. They always seem calm, never accidentally swallowing the water or gasping for air. I don't know if such is an acquirable skill at this point, or if it requires a childhood spent near the ocean.

Unfortunately, even it were possible, I don't think I have enough time left to learn.