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In the afternoon

Being stuffed full of the Carioca delicacies, it is best to gently wander back to Copacabana beach to find somewhere to relax while your digestive system gets to work. This isn’t a time to be getting active! Therefore, you now have time to practice your new found beach etiquette and relax on the sand. Just remember to sit close enough to the barraqueiro (little drink vendors dotted around) so that you can keep the drinks flowing. You don’t need to pay every time they bring a drink – you can have a running tab.

As the afternoon cools a couple of degrees it is time to start exercising – it is important that you make space for that delicious dinner awaiting you. It is disgraceful to arrive at dinner full! To ensure that you get enough exercise it is best to walk to Cafeino Copacabana.  Of all the coffee shops around I found they served the best tasting coffees. They also serve delicious hot chocolates, teas, specialties, cakes and even food if you have place. My favourite drink was the chai latte made from different Indian spices mixed with evaporated milk. Quite addictive!

In the evening

After savouring your drink, admiring the skills of local drivers and enjoying the buzz created by locals heading home (actually to the beach) after a hard day in the office, start the next leg of your exercise regime and walk back down the Copacabana beach front to the hippie market. This is open 6 days a week from 6pm onwards selling everything from havaianas (flip flops) to souvenirs.

Don’t despair if you are slightly early, instead find a seat with a good view and order yourself a caipirinha and relax. After all exercising is about staying healthy and you don’t want to exhaust yourself! By the time you have finished your drink the market should be ready for you to try your hand at negotiating.

A good tip is to walk around the stalls a couple of times, noting what you like and if it is available at more than one stall. This will help when it comes to negotiating and you may get the object of your desire a little cheaper – not always but most times it worked!

In Rio things only get going round 10pm onwards so depending on how exhausted your day in Copacabana has left you, you can find a place to sit and have another caipirinha, cheer with the locals watching a televised football/soccer match and watch the world go by while waiting for the buzz to start. Then head off to the Samba bar for fun and laughter till early hours of the morning.

Or you can head off for an early dinner (at 8pm), have a caipirinha and join in with cheering for a local soccer match before chilling out in your hotel. Either option gives you a chance to end your relaxing day with good food, interesting company and a sense of well being that comes from spending way too much time in the sun relaxing…

To find out how to chill out in the morning see Part 1