The city of Aparecida above, with Our Lady of Aparecida Basilica sitting on a hill in the background.
Day 11 - Sunday, February 15, 2015:
From the hotel Father Duane caught the early bus from our hotel to the Basilica since he planned to con-celebrate mass. I met Roger and Desra in the lobby and we waited outside for the 7:30 bus, as we were told the day before. We waited and waited. Finally I went back inside and asked about bus service. I learned a bus would pick us up on the street. We ran. And just barely made it. By time we arrived at the cathedral at 7:55 there was barely standing room only and we were squashed like bugs at that. The service was not that crowded the Saturday evening before and so I thought I could get a good seat to take a photo of Fr. Duane. Instead, we were so far away from the altar and the main aisle that it was a lost cause. Being taller, Roger could catch a glimpse of Fr. Duane. But shorty me couldn’t see a thing. Thank goodness we were by a television monitor. I took a few photos via the monitor and captured Fr. Duane in a few of them. On a Facebook post I suggested there were thousands in attendance. At the time I didn't know the capacity is 45,000 to 70,000. Standing room only indeed! |
That afternoon we caught the bus back to Rio. From the bus station we caught a reluctant taxi driver, who declared he couldn't get us closer to our lodging due to heavy Carneval traffic. The driver got us close enough to the street where Joao Lira lived. Joao was a former student of Fr. Duane's. Joao knew our approximate time of arrival and was patiently waiting for us at an intersection and flagged us down.
We got settled in Joao’s house that he called a pousada/posada. It was like a bed and breakfast, or guesthouse. Joao and a friend were in the process of restoring this house. Currently it was a bit run down, but he had restored several others and no doubt this one will also be a success. We arrived tired after the bus ride and now we carried our baggage up three flights. There was no running water. And dim lighting. It looked like a flop house compared to the other two places. we stayed, but Joao was a charming and gracious host and we were grateful to have a welcoming place to rest our heads once we returned from THE EVENT later that night. It was opening night of Carneval.
We were psyched up for the event even though we weren't dressed in costume. Shortly after leaving the posada it started to drizzle and then it poured and did not let up throughout the evening. We arrived at the Sambadrome around 7 p.m. to get a good seat in the bleachers. (It wouldn't have mattered. Everyone stood up during the parades and swayed to the lively samba music.) It was debatable whether the parade and dancing would start on time since the rain continued and we weren't sure if the feathery costumes and floats would fall apart in the rain. But It did start on time. There were a total of six samba schools on parade that evening. Each lasted more than an hour. We only lasted for two of them and left at 1 a.m. We were tired and soaking wet as if right out of the shower. Roger, Desra and I purchased disposable plastic rain jackets. After an hour of resisting Duane broken down and also got one. It’s a miracle none of us got sick because our shoes were also full of rainwater.
We walked to the Samba-drome and had planned on walking back. Instead, at this late hour we tried to hail a taxi. Several did not want to take us saying they couldn't get close to our street. Finally one grumbling driver agreed, but he couldn't find our street even after he tried to pull up the address on his GPS. He left us off on a corner we recognized and we found our way in the dark and rain. Beforehand we were provided a key to the padlock that provided security to Joao's house, but our host was awakened by our arrival.
We got settled in Joao’s house that he called a pousada/posada. It was like a bed and breakfast, or guesthouse. Joao and a friend were in the process of restoring this house. Currently it was a bit run down, but he had restored several others and no doubt this one will also be a success. We arrived tired after the bus ride and now we carried our baggage up three flights. There was no running water. And dim lighting. It looked like a flop house compared to the other two places. we stayed, but Joao was a charming and gracious host and we were grateful to have a welcoming place to rest our heads once we returned from THE EVENT later that night. It was opening night of Carneval.
We were psyched up for the event even though we weren't dressed in costume. Shortly after leaving the posada it started to drizzle and then it poured and did not let up throughout the evening. We arrived at the Sambadrome around 7 p.m. to get a good seat in the bleachers. (It wouldn't have mattered. Everyone stood up during the parades and swayed to the lively samba music.) It was debatable whether the parade and dancing would start on time since the rain continued and we weren't sure if the feathery costumes and floats would fall apart in the rain. But It did start on time. There were a total of six samba schools on parade that evening. Each lasted more than an hour. We only lasted for two of them and left at 1 a.m. We were tired and soaking wet as if right out of the shower. Roger, Desra and I purchased disposable plastic rain jackets. After an hour of resisting Duane broken down and also got one. It’s a miracle none of us got sick because our shoes were also full of rainwater.
We walked to the Samba-drome and had planned on walking back. Instead, at this late hour we tried to hail a taxi. Several did not want to take us saying they couldn't get close to our street. Finally one grumbling driver agreed, but he couldn't find our street even after he tried to pull up the address on his GPS. He left us off on a corner we recognized and we found our way in the dark and rain. Beforehand we were provided a key to the padlock that provided security to Joao's house, but our host was awakened by our arrival.