#bolugoestobrazil: Football Edition

The Pillow and I love football (soccer for you 'Muricas).

I grew up in Indonesia watching Manchester United rule the world (for a jiff). The Pillow pretty much loves it since diaper land (he eat, breathe, live soccer). 

So of course one of the main reason of us going to Brazil was to watch the World Cup.

And the World Cup is a big deal, yo... Considered this bucket list: CHECKED.

So we arrived in Sao Paolo on 4th of July. Due to several hours long layover, we decided to hop on the train & bus and head on to the FIFA Fan Fest in downtown. Of course, we wore something American to celebrate Independence Day. We stayed to watch the France vs Germany, with Germany advancing to the next level. 

Then our first match happened in Brasilia, the capital of Brazil. Rob brought his fathead of Messi & Di Maria which made us in to Fox News & Univision. Hahaha... The Argentinian fans went crazy. They kept on wanting to do selfies with us or the fatheads. Being surrounded by hardcore fans of Argentina was surreal. I got chills when they sang the national anthem. It was a good game, despite not seeing a great Messi goal. But we didn't care, Argentina advanced to the next round beating Belgium. We met up with Rob's friend, Lauren & Kevin, who are also Argentina fans.

Our next match was the Semi Finals between Argentina and Netherlands, and mind you, that was a heart attack waiting to happen. The game ended in penalty kicks and Lauren & I was holding our pee for the whole 120 minutes. The nerves were wracking up like crazy. Rob was literally waiting to explode, either with happiness or sadness. Good thing Argentina won and the vibe there was incredible. To see these hardcore fans cry happy tears while waving their sky blue & white flag, hugging strangers, singing their game songs was an amazing experience for me. Sports really brings out the best in people (when winning, haha). But seriously, sport unites.

For the other Semi Final game, Brazil vs Germany, we were in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro. We decided to watch it in the Fifa Fan Fest... but then Brazil got killed by Germany. Hard. Fans were crying. From kids to old men were bawling. The Brazilians took it hard, we were afraid we were going to get caught in a riot. We had to fly out that night to Sao Paulo, so we left even before the game ended. Good thing we did because there was a riot post game in the area we were in! Woo!

As for the final, in Rio de Janeiro, unfortunately we didn't get tickets. Actually Rob purchased one from a website similar to StubHub but they actually cancelled it LAST MINUTE. He was soooo bummed. We spent all morning on the day online emailing people and on fifa.com, hoping to score some last minute tickets. People were selling tickets like they're gold (well, pretty much they were gold), especially knowing that it's Argentina, Brazil old rival, playing the Finals in their rival land. People were selling tickets for $6000 a piece. We even went to Maracana (the stadium) hoping to scout, but we didn't because cops were everywhere (you may get arrested because it was illegal). So we ended up heading back to Copacabana, went to our "old" hotel and good thing we kept our hotel key, and headed up to the rooftop bar to watch the game. And it was actually a brilliant idea. We were able to watch the game in peace and actually mourned in peace because Argentina lost. Copacabana was PACKED. It was ridiculous. But since we were on top of the roof, we were able to see everything from above. Kinda cool. But we were sad. Well Rob was in particular. As we left Copacabana, we were surrounded by sad yet happy Argentineans. Sad because they lost the final, but glad because they advanced way more than the host, Brazil, in the World Cup... especially being major rivals in football.

Overall the experience is amazing. To experience true fans excitement was very thrilling. Every time I replay videos of my time there, it brings a huge smile to my face. 

This is something that may not happen again in our lifetime. Or maybe it's just the beginning. 

Til the next #bolugoestobrazil :)

- Rima

#bolugoestobrazil: I'm on Top of the World

Cue that Imagine Dragon song... (or Carpenters if you're old school like me)...

This was the time in Brazil that I felt near to death. 

Not because of the possible of getting mobbed. Or getting ran over by hardcore Argentinean fans. Or by being too sexy (jk).

It was all from this damn freaking hike I did. I couldn't breath. I was so out of shape. I felt like an asthmatic, I was pretty much wheezing and out of breath, I had to pause a lot and actually hating myself big time for doing this hike. I'm not a big outdoorsy person in the first place.

Anyways, Rob's friends from OC was in Rio too for the World Cup and invited us to do this hike tour at a nearby hill/mountain. They sent some instagram pictures of the view, and I was like, "Yeah sure. Sign us up." I looked to Rob and said, "I think I can do it. It's an easy hike, right?" So off to Morro Dois Irmaos (means two brother hills) we went. We met up with our tour group at a Sheraton in Leblon. After a small introduction & briefing ("The hike is pretty easy"), we had a little walk to the beginning of the favela, Vidigal. We took a VW Combi van thru out the favela and stop at the entrance of the trail. I swallow my saliva. Gulp.

my "before-i-die" smile.

I was dead wrong. I really wanted to die. DIE DIE DIE. My legs were super sore, they were like jello on the way down. I had to stop multiple time, kinda slowing down the tour. There were 6 of us plus our tour guide, Mo. Rob felt bad, but being the good boy he is, he waited for me and helped me with my bratty rants, "F***, why did I sign up for this? WTF". Good thing there was only one way up & one way down, so no chance of getting lost. We saw people walking down and they say the view up the mountain was worth it. Kinda gave me a boost... a little. Mr. Mo said there are 3 break stops on the way to the top for pictures and such. 

Stop number one: The view of Favela Vidigal. Impressive. I can't believe these people live in these stacks of houses on the foothills of Morro Dois Irmaos.

 They look like toys from above! Legos!

I forgot the name of this mountain, but this is where people paraglide in Rio! 

You can see Christ the Redeemer from here. Hi Jesus!

After another intense hike thru the mini "forest", we made it to the second stop, and I just had to take a breather. At least the view wasn't too bad...

Effin' tired.

At the third stop, I really wanted to give up. My right calf was cramping up really bad. I didn't even have the mood to take pictures. I was tired, exhausted, the humidity was making me mad, and my water that I have was sparkling. WHO DRINKS SPARKLING WATER WHEN YOU'RE PANTING FOR AIR? It burns! But I didn't want to make a fool out of myself or embarrassed Rob, I man up and freakin' went for it. When I was at the top, I was in awe. Literally that Imagine Dragon song automatically played in my head.

The peak of Morro Dois Irmaos overlooks Ipanema, Cobacabana, pretty much the whole city of Rio De Janeiro. It was breathtaking. Amazing. My mind was totally off of my sore legs. The breeze was incredible, it felt really good.

(via)

Yup, that circle was where we were. That view was amazing. We spent like 45 minutes there, just enjoying the view. Then after that precious time, we headed down. It was rough. There were some steep pathways, so lots of squatting down and balancing were done. *groan* After we got back down to the top of the village/beginning of trail, we walked down towards town thru the Favela. 

I noticed when I was in Brazil, the Brazilians really do love graffiti. From the weird ones to pretty ones. Setarra would love Brazil. Seriously.

Of course the next 5 days in Brazil, I had a hard time walking, let alone sitting down to pee or tie my shoes. The struggle was super real. Rob had to help me get up multiple times... He was LOLing hard. #damn.

Despite that crazy hike, the view of awesomeness really paid off the fatigue I experienced. Apparently this is literally a new hike, even a lot of Brazilians don't really know about this trail. Super cool. If you ever get a chance to visit, I do recommend hiking up the peak of Morro Dois Irmaos. You won't regret it. I thought I regret it at the time, but now I am glad that I did it!

xoxo,

Rima

PS: Tour was done thru Trilha Dois Irmaos. I do recommend them! And ask for Mohammed (he is Turkish, speaks 8 languages, and is awesome). *i am not affiliated with them. i am recommending them!*