Date Written: Feb. 12, 2002 (5:05 a.m.)
Current Location: Top Service hotel-Rio
Subject: Back with Johanna!!!! First night in Rio and the Guapo Loco

Saturday, Feb. 9 (con't)
Word. Well, much has happened in the last few days and there hasn't been much time to write. Ironically, it's not because things have been so crazy...I'll get to all that though. First, I have to tell everyone out there who is wondering that after almost an hour and half of going in circles around Rio we finally got to our hotel...AND when we got here, JOHANNA was WAITING for us!!!! I was sooooooooooo happy to see her. The girl is just a freakin' goddess!! She is actually sleeping right next to me at the moment. Don't get excited though...I don't even want to get into that one for now. More I want to discuss how the trip is going. Rio has not been all it's cracked up to be. Carnival was a great time but did not come anywhere near the craziness that I expected. I mean to say that it seems like the last few days could have been the same if it wasn't carnival and we were just partying in Rio...well, that isn't totally true since we went to the Sombodoro tonight, BUT I haven't seen the TOTAL craziness that I was expecting. Very weak. The beaches in Rio, however, more than live up to expectations...Amazing females, but that's another story.
Crap, I need to go back over what happened on the night we got here. Damn, I'm tired so I don't know how far I will get but I'll give it a shot. The sun is starting to come up. I knew this would be a tough week to keep up with writing.
So, as I just said, it was a bit of a challenge finding the hotel. The only map we really had was the one in the Lonely Planet book. The problem was, that since it's carnival, a lot of the major roads become one way or are blocked off. We were all over the place but finally made it. So when we got here, I ran inside to make sure we are all set and find out where to park while Tony waited in the car. So I ask the guy at the desk if he speaks Spanish, and he's said yes. So then I say to him in Spanish that we have a reservation. Then he says, "Johanna?" Well, I didn't pick up on it right away so I'm like, "no, Tony Carosella." Then he's like, "Yeah, you have a room for 3 people." And I'm like no, it's for two people, under the name Tony Carosella. Then he says Johanna again and it hits me...she was ALREADY there. She had already CHECKED IN to OUR room.
No let me just put some more emphasis on that for anyone out there who might doubt how amazing this girl is. I mean, this situation just perfectly describes how hot she was. The girl's name was on NOTHING and she arrived at OUR hotel and CHECKED IN to OUR ROOM. Do you see what I mean? I just don't think the average person could walk into a hotel and say, "I want to check into so and so's room." And then it happens. Especially in the middle of Carnival, when every single place in the city is booked. I mean, she had checked into our room and had been waiting for like 4 or 5 hours already. That is incredible. What is amazing is that she is oblivious to the fact that people will do anything for beautiful women (or men for that matter). See, it's just a very good microcosmic example of how much easier life is when you are beautiful. There are just a lot fewer obstacles. I could write an entire essay on this subject matter. I want to say that one more time for those who are not paying attention: Her name was NOWHERE on ANYTHING having to do with us in that hotel room...and she was able to check in to our room. In fact, we had only made a reservation for TWO. So not only did she check-in, she changed the damn reservation. I think that that really speaks for itself.
ANYWAY, as I said, I was ecstatic to see her. I had really started missing her quite a bit. It was so good to have my traveling companion back in the mix. I cannot stress how good she looked, but I am constantly saying that so what's the difference. Man, I just can't get over it.
So I had been filling Tony in on EVERYTHING that had happened up to that point while we were on our drive, so he pretty much knew everything...Of course, 80% of that story centered around Johanna, so it is safe to say that I had built up his expectations quite a bit...and it is also safe to say that he was NOT let down by even a little bit. We ordered up a couple caipirinhas from room service, sat down and toasted a good start to our time in Rio.
Oh, I should mention something. The hotel is AMAZING. I mean, it has to be one of the nicest places I have stayed and probably one of the nicer places in Rio. We have an AWESOME view of Sugar Loaf mountain and the Corcovado. I have to admit, Fernanda (the girl who made the reservation for us) really did a good job. A shout out to her for that hook up. It was really cool to be in a nice hotel after slumming it in the hostels for the past 9 days.
So after a couple caipirinhas and a bit of Gold Cup (the whiskey I bought at Walmart) and coke, it was time to shower up and roll out. That was probably one of the best showers in my life!!! Hostels are great for people but they are lacking severely in the shower department. The only hostel shower I have used ever that gets more than a 3 (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being your own shower at home) is the one in the hostel in Madrid! That one was almost a 10!!
After cleaning up, we were out on the town. We walked around Leblon a bit and went to a couple places near our hotel. Nothing seemed to be jumping like crazy though. We met a couple locals and they told us about a nearby club called "Guapo Loco" Around 2 or so we headed there. It was there that I learned about one of the great concepts in Brazil. Tony and I have this idea where we are gonna take all the ideas from the many bars we have seen around the world and build the ultimate bar. Well, brazil definitely has a concept that is gonna be part of the ultimate bar.
What happens is that clubs have what they call a "cover" but it's really just a minimum. So in Guapo Loco, the cover was about $7 US. But you don't pay that at the door. They give you this little card when you go in. Then, when you order at the bar, the bartender just marks your card or punches holes in the right spots. So what is cool is that the bartender basically never touches money...they just make drinks...which keeps things much more efficient. It works because there is no tipping in Brazil. So then, at the end of the night, on your way out, there is a cashier. You give that person your card, and if you have had 7 or less dollars worth of drinks, you pay the 7 dollars. If you have had 10 bucks worth of drinks, then you just pay 10. So it's cool because you are basically paying a cover, but you get to drink that cover. It works really well there because everything is so cheap. Even if you get the top shelf, most expensive drink, it is not gonna even be 5 bucks. A very cool system if you ask me.
So the Guapo Loco was a great time. We met these local girls and danced with them for awhile. They really liked Tony. We didn't get their numbers or anything though, but we took some pics with them. Too bad, because it probably would have been cool to have them to take us around the next day. One of them was really good looking. What was funny was that it was this large group of people, but only one spoke english. She was translating everything for us. Johanna and I danced a bunch too and caught up but she didn't seem to have a good time that night. We ended up leaving that place around 5. I was still going strong and wanted to keep rolling but everyone else was dead tired. That's all good though. We headed back to the hotel, and in the end it was great to be in a nice big, comfortable bed...especially since Johanna was only about a foot away:) Caught some great Z's...speaking of Z's, I really need to get some right now so I'll sign off here. Tomorrow, Tony and I are off to Buzios and Johanna and I will finally part ways...makes me a bit sad. I'm not worried though. I know I will see her again. I'll talk about it tomorrow. Peace.

AC