The weather was still yucky, so Fernando took a group of boys to the beach for soccer. The waves were “closed” due to the weather, but they still had a great time. Many of us went to the sidewalk market around the corner for last minute souvenirs. We circled the wagons with everyone at 12:30 and walked again to the food court at the mall for a quick lunch. It’s a great spot for everyone, and the boys again loved the Mickey D’s.
We boarded Danica Patrick’s bus, and headed off to the pro soccer game of the entire trip: Fluminese vs. Internaticionale, #1 and #5 in the Brazilian soccer league. There are about 20 teams total in Division 1; four are in Rio and 5 are in Sao Paolo.
What a difference in the crowd of two top teams with one, Fluminense, having the largest fan club in the world. 11 sections of the stadium stood, cheered, boo’d, unveiled flags, clapped and sang the ENTIRE time. (It would be half of Qwest field.) The opposing team is allotted only one half-section of seats which are heavily guarded by cops.
There is a 70 year-old Polish guy we saw both nights before the game entertaining the crowds with his juggling. Fernando says he’s been there for as long as he can remember. He juggles his way around the stadium, never dropping the ball. ("But what if he does?" "He won't." "But what if he does?")
Another cool note, Deco – a new player just signed this week – joined the team for the first day, although he won’t play until this Saturday. He came on the field to wave to the fans for about 30 minutes and it was like the second coming of Christ. He is actually Brazilian in nationality, but has been playing for Chelsea and Barcelona. It was HUGE for these fans and the club.
Fernando changed up dinner on the last night, and we headed out to Barra (pronounced Baha) to the beautiful, wealthy open-aired mall for dinner. The Churrascaria was great to us, and we met another soccer team from a college in North Carolina in for dinner after their game. When in Rome…
We held a surprise celebration for Geena Marcelia’s 19th birthday, and sang Happy Birthday at the top of our lungs in Portuguese. Mr. and Mrs. Prestes along with Lorenzo taught it to us all in secret on the bus beforehand.
After dinner, we let the boys loose on the ice cream shop, and SURPRISE! it was a buffet, serve-yourself dealeo! Again with a theme. How the Brazilians are so thin is beyond us.
Back to the hotel by 11:00PM. Boys are still getting along great. Several in-room soccer games and even one sleepover party tonite to close out the trip.
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