Furia Jovem do Botafogo
Yesterday was a recovery day for me. My fever had subsided, and I was feeling normal except a few pains from football on the beach. The sun was not shining as bright so, I took some time to walk around and take pictures. Later in the day, Mark and went to Copacabana. To finish the evening, we went to see Botafogo play at the Maracana. Recovery? Hardly.
I walked from Botafogo into Lagoa to the Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas. I took some sweet pictures of the lake. I found a wooden floating dock that extended out into the lake a few hundred feet. It was relaxing. I then caught the bus back to Botafogo. I walked around the Praia de Botafogo toward Centro. I was able to get some shots of the Botafogo beach were we played football and the harbor. At this point, my legs were tired, and I headed back to the Hostel. I saw Malcom at the ATM, and we walked back together.
Suprise Suprise, Mark was in our room! I woke him up, and we decided to hit up Copacabana. I wanted to find a street market. We rode the metro into the end of Zona Sul. A quick three block walk, and there is the beach. We stopped by a drink stand at the foot of the beach for some coconut juice directly from the fruit. Its kind of tart without and extra sugar added. They literally chop a whole in the top of the coconut and give you a straw. The people watching along Avenida Atlantica is so awesome. We took in the sites, snapped a few photos, and watched Beija Flor be crowned champion of Carnaval 2005 from a small tv. Sweet! We couldn't find a street market. They seemed to have all closed for the holiday. I'll have to hit the hippie market on Sunday.
We went back to the hostel to clean up and prepare of Campeonato Carioca 2005. This is a local football tournament to crown the best club in Rio. We were set to see our local boys - Botafogo - play Volta Redonda. I took the Metro over to Maracana with Mark, Herb, Matt, Eric, and Nick. The Metro here is so easy and safe.
At the stadium, we found a ticket booth. The entrance fee was about $5 US. Herczeg and I also scored Kappa Botafogo jerseys - Black and White pinstripes. We sat on the side of the field for the first half. It was uneventful. Redonda was crowding the box, and Botafogo was not taking their chances. The stadium was 95% Fogo and 5% Redonda. That being said, the stadium was so large. It has two moats seperating the stands from the field. The stands are split in two with bullet proof glass and police to keep opposing teams from each other. Crazy. Redonda had 1-0 lead at the half with a quick counter attack goal. We saw the crazy fan section across the field and joined them for the second half. Best decision of the night.
They call themselves Furia Jovem do Botafogo. It was so crazy. The drums kept the fans singing and dancing throughout the game. They had so many different songs. We tried to pick up on a few like Botafogo - FoooGooo - Fooo - Goo. It was a blast. They would boo when our own keeper held the ball. They whistled at the other team. Every call made against Botafogo was jeered. We sang, danced, and cheered the entire time Botafogo possessed the ball. Then, Botafogo scored. Our section went absolutely crazy. Insane. They pulled a large Furia flag down over the entire section. We could only see black and stabbed at the flag above us. They had handheld fireworks sparkeling everywhere. Wow. This continued for the rest of the half, and Botafogo took the lead in the last 15 minutes. It was good to have a win for our new found home team. They played much better in the second half and really deserved the win. Furia keep cheering after the final whistle all the way out into the streets. FooooGoooo!
We took cabs across town and called it an evening. We did chill in the patio for a few hours. I was glad to not go out till 6am. We were informed not much was happening. What a great Recovery Day. It was jam packed, but I feel great today. We are prolly not heading out of town. I really just want to relax and go to the beach the rest of the time. Traveling three hours to another town would be a pain. Allright, time to head to Leblon for the afternoon. Yay Furia. Yay Botafogo.
