Today was gorgeous. The first totally clear blue sky in weeks after days and days of heavy rain. The city woke up with an atmosphere of ‘let’s do it!’

I went to the famous Hippie market in Ipanema (my neighbourhood, the market is 1 block away) which I remember going to when I was 18 years old on my first visit to Brazil (I stayed a year in Salvador on my year off). I bought some gorgeous funky sandals, but was surprised at how little I really wanted to buy. I did buy a friend a gift of a cool leather headband flower thing which is also a necklace and a belt! Value for money at £6 (in a country which is getting increasingly expensive).

On the way there we had an Acai, a thick fresh dark purple smoothie of Acai berries which are an Amazonian fruit which is high in loads of minerals and vitamins and good stuff. Extremely tasty, makes you want to exercise.

A friend from England was in Rio this weekend for a few days of holiday before she goes to the mountains for a retreat. She is a wise and wonderful woman who I felt deep gratitude at having the pleasure of her company. Challenging and affirming. We had some great lunches out, wonderful food, sublime ice cream and deserts. Today we had lunch in one of the best ‘kilo’ restaurants in Rio. In Brazil these serve yourself, all you can eat places are incredible and you pay by the weight of your plate. The food is fresh and very healthy, tonnes of salad of all kinds, fruit as well as rice, quinoa, sushi, and all kinds of meat (I had some salmon and prawns with my salad which included aubergine crisps, palm heart and the most perfect avocado). Washed down with ‘Matte’, a typical Rio iced tea with fresh lemon…amazing.

I walked back home (to Dani’s house) the 2 blocks through the busy market to be met by Woody and his highly enthusiastic welcome. I took him for a walk around the block and enjoyed watching a solid trickle of people making their way to the beach. I joined them as soon as I could, although getting ready for the beach involves doing a full body sunscreen application which takes a while. It’s the only way to not miss any bits. I see all the tourists with the edges of their clothing sunburnt into their skin because they applied their sunscreen at the beach and just sloppily stuck it on the biggest areas, ignoring the edges…..fatal. I am a Virgo and have had allot of sun in my life so I now take particular care (and I have a tendency for overzealousness).

I stayed 2 hours at the beach, writing, thinking and watching people and then zoning into the nature of it amid the human chaos. The crashing waves are enormous just 4 metres from the water’s edge. Rio’s waves are different everyday and extraordinary most of the time. I find Brazilian beach life fascinating and entertaining. A group of 4 guys and a girl are in a circle at the water’s edge playing ‘keepy upie’ one touch only static football. They are good and keep the ball moving using their feet, knees, chests, shoulders and heads. It’s brilliant to watch, more interesting than an actual match I think. No wonder this country is magical on the pitch…. Brazil will be hosting the 2010 World Cup and then the Olympics in 2016. People are getting excited.

I then went back and grabbed my skates so I could enjoy the beach road which closes on Sundays along with most if the roads along the beaches. The usually motorway-like, 3 lane highway was quiet but for the patter of pedestrians, skate boarders, cyclists. It can be a bit chaotic, but people’s average pace (in any mode of movement) is pretty chilled and slow so you have time to dodge and weave). I spent hours skating without stopping. Practicing some new dance moves which was good but I’m not yet totally fluent in all of them enough to link them smoothly and without too many repetitions before changing step. Linking any moves is always harder than just doing them alone. I discover (again) for myself the things I often tell my students. At times, my knees weren’t bent enough and it was the cause of the problem! (the irony).

The beach is about 6km long and I skated it up and down many times. Sometimes speed skating (practicing and thinking more about the double push in preparation for my workshop on it in January), sometimes dancing in one spot, sometimes weaving backwards (slow and funky or like a bat out of hell – I went faster backwards today than I’ve ever been on the flat. Having 3 lanes allows you to really get in 3-5 back crossovers so the speed potential is amazing. With back crossunders thrown in a hih speed zigzag (aka The Farris) is my favourite way to skate. It was bliss. Check out this video on You Tube of where I skated today.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9R4ETWLoEO4

I skated home exhausted but blissed out. I’ve been resting my strained groins (from injuries earlier this year) for several days with no yoga and skating which has been hard, but I felt no pain today and was happy throughout. I feel incredibly grateful for this day and all the great experiences I had. Unbeatable holiday fun.