Whilst Bren went surfing I spent a day walking 3km up the main coastline, stopping regularly to sunbathe and divulge in the odd coconut. Time stopped that day and everything in life back home just seemed so beautifully insignificant.
As evening approached I swung by the town to grab a few gifts for the family, met Bren and went to a local bar to watch the Germany vs Brazil game. Game of the tournament in so many ways for me.
The build up was just Neymar Neymar Neymar, everyone was talking about it, it seemed evident, especially when Luiz & Cesar held up his shirt whilst singing the anthem before KO that the team's focus was elsewhere. They certainly underestimated the drilled German force. 5-0 at half time and the bar just emptied, the people who did stay for the second half were full of acceptance, clapping the 6th and 7th as they knew they had just witnessed the biggest humiliation in world cup history. Ouch.
The next day we took a coach upto Recife to spend 4 nights before flying to Rio for the final leg.
Our host Marcus was extremely accomodating, we ended up with a single room each which was a pleasant change! 4th floor flat in a 15 story building. Big place with 4 bedrooms.
The first full day was spent scoping out the place and walking along the beach front for a few miles. A perfect urban beach, aligned with classy high rise buildings across the road.
The next evening came and Marcus' mate took us out for a few beers in the main drinking area, a maze of streets buzzing with all kinds of people and bars. Most of the streets had live music going on, whether it be a quartet of drummers or a typical band. After wondering and nipping into various places for a quick beer to soak up the vibe of place we settled oustide a cool bar with maybe a hundred people listening to this awesome band play. Consisted of an extremely talented guitarist, base player, drummer and a dude with some bongos. Worked really well. Played some classic stuff, singing in both Portuguese and English. The best part for me though is that if this was set up in the UK the band would be on a stage further back from the crowd and would be over-organised. This was just like they threw their kit on the street oustide a bar and just starting jamming, occasionally stopping to go for a piss and grab a few beers!
Was a privilege to be part of that, wicked night.
The following day it was more of same, and we finished off with a 2 hour Muay Thai training session, first time for me, Bren had some decent experience but I got through it. Really enjoyed it actually, great workout for the whole body although after 5 weeks of doing naff all I felt it massively the next day! Would recommend it to anyone.
Watched the Final yesterday, nothing much of a game really, the Argies had their chances to go 1 or even 2 up, but with some Gotze magic the deserved team came through in the end. A fitting end to a team and a country that's world class, both on and off the field.
I read somewhere today that the Germans came to Brazil 6 months ago, paid and built their own training complex, hiring only the Brazilian locals. After the cup they will hand the complex over to that community for sports facilities and a school. All paid for by Germany. That's the sort of thing that makes you worthy winners.
Just about to board the final Internal flight to the last destination, hoping time will stop once more.
All for now.
Alex x
cool
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