Ipanema Beach

The Cariocas (natives of Rio de Janeiro) don’t seem to have a problem finding time to hit the beach mid-week. In fact, it’s crowded all day, every day. Vendors stroll the sands selling cold drinks and sarongs. I’ve discovered that sitting on my butt in a rented beach chair is my preferred way of shopping.

Even though the backs of our bathing suits are much too large to blend in here, I still can’t imagine buying a bikini from a salesman on the beach. They seemed busy enough without our business though.

We have rented an apartment midway between Ipanema and Copacabana beaches, and really you can’t get much better than that. Every day, regardless of the weather, we stroll to one of these praias and kick back with the locals (and lots of tourists too – I’ve heard more English here than in the last 3 months combined).

Bode has been getting ready for his sunga with beach workouts, but I think his workout buddy may be a little jealous of the attention he was getting.