For a number of years, Rio’s Carnaval has been on my travel list. Parties, bright colors and samba always drew my attention. Why not, you ask? Well, I did not have someone to go with and it is a party. Who wants to party alone while not even safe to party alone. Or any other excuses as lack of time-off, etc.

After my recent trip to Africa, New Adventures buddies told me they were going this year and I should join them. I was in! As fate would have it, my next contract ended the Friday before the tour started. I was excited! I was due to arrive in Rio a few days early to decompress and have some beach time before all the partying began.

Having attended a few Mardi Gras celebrations in the past, in New Orleans and Carnevale in Venice, this was my first Rio Carnaval and the first time I set foot in South America. Hearing stories of the amazing traveling Blocos (Blocos are street parties or neighborhood parties) from previous travelers filled my head over the years, as well as crossing off another continent had me nervously excited for the adventure.

While Rio is not the first Carnaval in the world. It is the BIGGEST party in the world. An estimated 7 million people attend Carnaval with the parade and Blocos each year. Since a large number of attendees are locals they support some top Samba schools in the region.

As safety in numbers, I joined a G Adventure Group. The first day was spent exploring the popular tourist spots of Rio, Christ Redeemer before he disappeared behind the clouds, a quick trip up to Sugar Loaf to catch the view of the city and later that night a private Purple Party.

Come rain or shine the party was out on the beach and it looked like rain. Discarding the dress i was going to wear then opted for a bathing suit since It was going to be wet anyway. The night started on the roof for some more added glitter (if you did not have enough on already) a welcome drink, Caipirinhas and of course the endless selfies and groupies.

All purple and glitter! Ready for the Purple Party

Short wet walk down Copacabana beach and the party begins.

Please, what happens at the Purple Party stays at the Purple Party. But here is one more image from the night. The night was fantastic. The party went well into the morning. Luckily only a short walk back to the hotel.

Parties happen at all hours of the day at Carnaval. Blocos or neighborhood parties pop up all over Rio and beyond. Some are moving with a band on a truck and driving along the neighborhood or some resembling music festivals or other block parties. Some Blocos are more popular than others, like the Beatles Bloco.

In a large muddy field, we arrived early to grab a spot close to the stage. It had been raining on and off for the last few days and soon we were all going to be covered in mud again.

Being a hot day and fortunately for us under all those umbrellas were vendors selling cold beverages from beer to gin and tonic and water to keep us hydrated. Other vendors walked around with the famous Caipirinha Cocktail that consists of a shot of Cachaça, half a lime and sugar. Depending on the vendor or who makes them, they can be quite potent. We rocked out all afternoon to the famous Beatles jams.

Stumbling upon a drum circle Bloco in Copacabana Beach was a lot of fun with a touch of drama. One woman who Samba’d her way to the front of the band was disruptive with her dancing. When she was asked to stop. She proceeded to get herself in a fight with several members.

Then comes the highlight of Carnaval. The parade…..Sambadrome

Planned and executed all year by the top Samba schools in the Region, the performers practiced their moves. They created and learned new songs, while obsessively placed each bead of the float, down to the last button on each of the hundreds of costumes they made to perfection.

This is a competition, you know. Only the top six schools get a coveted spot. Losing your spot is a big deal. Firece competion! When one school’s float broke down, Judges ruled, they had to make an extra float for several years. It is that tough. and costs a lot of money. Some of the money comes from the government but can run out fairly quickly and the schools spend most of the year trying to secure private donors.

Be prepared the parade is an all nighter! The parade starts around 9pm and finishes sometime after 4am. It is all outdoors, if it rains, you are getting wet.

My ticket section 5 is in the middle. provides a good view of coming and going. section 11 is at the end.

Each school has about an hour to get through Sambadrome. The whole place is singing along with the school. Some of the schools handed out flags to the crowd. The locals learned the Samba school song throughout the year at various events to promote, compete for the school.

Each school has 5 different floats and the themes vary each year and are picked by the schools.

I had purchased a carnival experience which includes a tour where I was able to go behind the scenes of one of the Samba schools. I observed the floats up-close and witnessed the intricate detail and the intense work that goes into each float and each costume. They have to make hundreds of costumes for the band and the dancers and everyone on the float. Hundreds and hundreds. While I was not able to take pictures then (I had taken the tour prior to the start of Carnaval) since the Samba school did not want us spoiling their surprise. They did dress us up in last year’s costumes with tons of selfies and a samba lesson. Which was a lot of fun.

Carnaval Experience. We were able to try on previous years costumes.

The Samba schools are judged on their floats, costumes, dance and song. Competition is fierce and it is a big deal to stay on top. The top six are given space to make their floats and costumes. Carnaval is a big deal and provides hundreds of jobs each year.

The parade goes on for several nights. All night long. It is quite an experience. I went Sunday night. We lasted until 3 am where our transportation took us back to the hotel. I did not want to leave the stadium during the parade and was starving afterwards and made it just in time to grab something quick before the vendors closed up for the evening. Luckily it did not end up raining like they predicted. We all went back to the hotels and crashed. We recovered on the beach the next morning with more Caipirinhas and awaited more Blocos.

Carnaval 2020

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