Today was my first full day staying at Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Copacabana beach.
I woke up very early this morning & saw the sunrise out at sea, it was beautiful but unfortunately, my photo through my hotel window did not do it justice. I went back to bed but couldn't sleep & went for breakfast in the hotel buffet at around 7 am. The buffet wasn't particularly good & certainly not as good as the pictures on the website made it look. I had some breakfast anyway & sat reading my Kindle.
As I was reading my Kindle, Gail entered the buffet & we sat talking for a while. Gail was going for a walk around Copacabana Beach, but my leg was still aching & I said I would meet her on the beach this afternoon.
After breakfast, I had a walk around the area the hotel was in. I walked back a couple of roads but most of the shops were not yet open so I went back to the hotel. I put my swim shorts on, collected a beach towel & my Kindle & walked across the road to Copacabana Beach. The beach was quite empty & I chose a spot on the beach, quite close to the surf where it broke on the sand, to lie down. I love the noise of breaking waves on the beach as it seems to override the noise that my tinnitus continually makes. I find it very relaxing.
I decided to video the waves crashing on the beach. I would then be able to separate the audio from the film tracks on my computer. I would be able to loop the audio & hopefully build a longer track that would help control the tinnitus when I get home. This idea seemed to be a good one & started well but I had not been filming long when people started to walk along the beach for their morning exercise before it got too hot. At one point a man & lady walking in opposite directions met & stopped directly in front of me whilst I videoed the waves. I didn't mind too much as she was gorgeous. I think she stopped where she did on purpose because as she turned my way she even gave me a cheeky smile & waved.
As the beach filled up, I continued to read my Kindle & it wasn't long before I realised that the sun was stronger than it appeared because I could feel myself burning. I put a shirt on to stop myself from burning further & carried on reading. I had wanted to go swimming but red flags were flying, the full length of the beach, warning people not to go in the water. I didn't know why they were flying but I did see them & felt it was safer to take notice of them.
After I left the beach I had a shower at the hotel & this evening I met Gail to go & have something to eat. We went to the restaurant a short walk from the hotel. Once again I had a steak that wasn't very good. I had always heard that Brazilian steaks were wonderful but apart from the one I had at Tijuipe Waterfall I hadn't had a good one. Gail went back to the hotel when she had finished eating, & I had another beer & sat watching the world go past before going back to the hotel & going back to my room.