(Not so) Lazy Sunday Afternoons
In the UK, Sundays are generally spent sleeping off the effects of the night before, watching TV and eating cold pizza, or swigging a ´hair of the dog´ drink with friends. So it was a bit of a shock to arrive in Rio and find that most cariocas spend their Sundays clad head-to-toe in lycra, while striding, running or skating along the beachfront.
There is some method to their madness - on Sundays the beachfront roads, normally a blur of speeding cars, buses and taxis, are closed to traffic all the way from Leblon to Copacabana. It´s a perfect opportunity to stroll along the famous black and white-tiled promenades, taking in the crashing waves, the clear blue skies and the imposing mountains. Except cariocas don´t stroll. Especially cariocas from the beach-focused Zona Sul. Regardless of age, gender or size, Sunday is the prime time for locals to pull on those stretchy leggings and crop tops and do some serious exercise, often in the company of an anguished-looking toy poodle trying its best to keep up with its power-walking owner.
Regardless of your feelings about exercise-wear, Sundays are a good time to hit the beachfront - if you´re feeling super-energetic you could walk all the way from Leblon, through Ipanema and Arpoador to Copacabana and Leme (or vice versa); a scenic walk that would take the best part of three hours. Alternatively, if you´ve been partying hard the night before, you can just pull up a chair at a beach bar, order an ice-cold coconut water (drunk straight from the coconut through a straw, naturally), and watch the Lycra-clad world whizz by.