Drums in the air

I am writing this while there is the occasional explosion of drums in the street outside. Being on a windy hill, it's difficult sometimes to work out where sound is coming from. In a way, it doesn't make much difference since being two weeks away from Carnaval means blocos of folks with deafening drums are pretty much everywhere.

Cariocas seem to travel most of the time, while their city fills up with tourists and people from outside Rio.

I wasn't looking forward to it particularly, seeing as I feel like an enforced party sometimes isn't fun - particularly one that goes on for more than a week. It's sort of like drinking with an alcoholic; at first it's a thrill ("we're starting at 7 in the morning!") then it starts to make you feel ill, and just when you feel totally broken and exhausted, it really kicks in.

However everyone says the bloco in Santa Teresa is one of the best, and having just got a ticket for the winner's parade on the final weekend at the sambadrome, I must admit I'm excited.

Before that, I'm going to spend a week in the Pantanal, the world's biggest wetland, getting up at 5am to trek across the big open plains in search of wildlife. I'll post some pictures on here once I come back, if I come back, and don't get eaten by an alligator or bitten by a Brazilian Wandering Spider (google that shit if you don't know).