Bad Waters

Photo: © Nacho Hernandez

The Tupi indians got it right when they named this beach Ipanema (Bad Waters).

Although the name originally referred to the lack of fish, it also applies to the treasonous undercurrents that often trap over-confident swimmers, sucking them towards the ocean.

Some of them (like today, in the image) have to be rescued by casting a net from a chopper, proving that there is some fish to catch in Ipanema, after all ...

World Photography Day

Photo: © Nacho Hernandez

Apparently today is World Photography Day, whatever that may mean.

Go out and take a photo to celebrate.

Maracanã

Photo: © Nacho Hernandez

If football is a religion in Brazil, Maracanã stadium in Rio de Janeiro is its Sanctum Sanctorum. Most major teams from Rio play in this municipal stadium, one of the biggest in the world. Among them is Flamengo, whose supporters claim to be "a maior torcida do mundo", the biggest fan base in the world.

The keepers of the flame ...

Lazy Sunday afternoon in Rio

Photo: © Nacho Hernandez

One of my Sunday rituals while living in the United States was to buy the New York Times and the Washington Post (a few kilos of journalism), and spend a lazy afternoon reading on the couch, sipping coffee or tea.

Now in Rio, I have realized that if I substitute the "Times" and the "Post" for "a Folha" and "o Globo", the coffee for a coconut or a caipirinha and the couch for a chair on nearby Ipanema beach, Sundays get even more relaxing.

The beautiful Rio winter light helps, of course ...