Brasilian Sertanejo

Olympic flame at 6.30 in the morning.

One week to go and we are having a real tough week ahead. Last night I had a 5 hour sleep – which was great! Let’s say, lately there has been no problems in falling asleep. Good for us, since a good night sleep is SO important. I don’t know why I usually tend to wake up at six at every morning. Here it has been a great asset, but then to wake up one hour earlier can be hellish. Then of course that can’t be the case, as I wake up to the church bells. I doubt there are churches in hell.

Our hotel is average, nothing very posh and yet not the worst kind. The area is said not to be safe, even the natives say that. Which means I don’t go around the neighborhood very much. Not that I have any time to do that. So far we have  acquaintance with three restaurants, one very native and two quite simple – you know the pizza and hamburger style. As the hotel is situated at a business area, there are no real fine restaurants around. Not that I would have any time to do that either!

Getting a good room in a hotel is quite often a lottery. This time I changed a room only once, which I would say is quite good! I’m happy with my 22nd floor room, not too close to the lifts. Usually the lift area is very noisy; people just don’t understand that a hotel is for sleeping and not for having fun in the corridors. My first room was on the 4th floor, just above the hotel entrance on the street side and only some 20 minutes in the room convinced me that it was definitely NOT my room. Moving up to 22nd was rather easy, although I did recall all possible disasters that could happen – you know – a fire, broken lifts, only cold water. But then I also made a rough estimate about all creepy creatures that would not climb up more than 10 floors and if there was a problem with plumbing, the water would definitely not climb up either. So I considered that I would gain more than loose. The view from my window is not uplifting; the church, a narrow view to the harbor and a very abandoned pool on the roof at the opposite building. Must be a private one. Last night the view included fireworks, at 1 o’clock in the night. I’m glad I saw the sparkling sky, because otherwise I would have thought it was gunshots.

Every time I go to a vacation I carefully choose my hotel. Think about all the pros and cons. It also gives me the right to be critical and complain about bad service or other inconveniences. This time we have no options. You take what you get. The logistics of our employer has carefully thought about all options and made the decision for us. Mostly it is based on location and surprise, surprise! – the budget. I would say the outcome this time is not excellent, but not lousy either. I’m sure there are not very many who will long back to this part of Rio and this particular hotel, still it could have been a lot worse. Driving around the city is a good reminder of that. We have an excellent breakfast, with lots of fresh fruits. I don’t know what happened to all the vegetables, maybe they got lost somewhere else. But we’ll manage. As we always do. A porridge would be great, but it’ll have to wait till I get home. The food here will surely be a good story later on.

The rooms are pretty outdated, but clean. To pick the right room is not easy. Once you have outcome the dilemma of the floor to be, you must pick the right location. Is it close to the lifts? – no. Not in this hotel. The lifts are so loud that if they are located nextdoor, you would think you live at the airport. Quite a bunch of us changed the room after realizing they are close to the lifts. Some have been very brave and stayed there. A medal to that!

What more could I complain about? We have wi-fi, with on and off functions. The bathroom is big and the bed is cozy. Of course I can only speak for myself. But since I don’t stay as much in the room, the things I appreciate most are the three B’s; breakfast, bedroom and bed. If I had time and energy I could take a swim in the pool or go to the gym. My next challenge #eight is to stay healthy and in a good mood. I will have my one week time off when I get home. With lots of sleep.

Have a nice week!