After the show

I get up at around 7:00. First thing I do is to check outside. The party is over. I wonder how long it went on?

After a little pottering, I go downstairs for breakfast.

It's the same as always. Scranbled egg and cheese to start. Fruit to finish. Along with coffee and orange juice. Will this be the last time I have this combination? Of course, it fucking won’t. 

A breakfast of scrambled egg, cheese, orange juice and coffee.

I have a new approach to getting my eSIM working, I read the instructions. And realise that I need to manually set up an access point. Then it works. Who would have guessed that? That you need to follow the instructions? It’s totally counterintuitive.

What to do today? Nothing too strenuous. Or complicated. Preferably, withing walking distance. And with a certain amount of drinking involved. Beer, possibly. Though caipirinhas will do nicely.

Virus seems a good idea. I tramp down there a little after midday. And it's very closed. As if it never existed. That's a bit of a bugger. I’d planned on spending the afternoon methodically plodding through their beers

After some deep thought, I decide to give Colarinho in Copacabana a try. Good beer and good food. What more do I need? Not too pricey, either. I can remember the name and location. And they open for lunch.

An Uber gets me there pretty quickly. It's impressive how they've cleaned up the streets after yesterday's madness. There’s almost no trace left.

The packed terrace of Colarinho with waiters rushing about.

Colarinho is fairly busy, but I manage to find a seat outside. Where I order;

Noi Amara Imperial IPA 10%
A nice light lunch beer. It's an attractive amber colour with a thick, dense head. It's a little hazy, though well short of sludgy. It's very bitter. It claims to be 100 IBU and I can believe it. Not bad at all.

A pint of Noi Amara Imperial IPA. What a lovely amber colour.

I do like Coarinho. I come here almost every time I’m in Rio. Starting with my first visit to Brazil in 2020, when I met Martyn Cornell here. I don’t know, it just feels comfortable.

Tempted by those dining around me, I order a steak. It comes without any trappings, which is fine by me. I don't really need any carbs. Very enjoyable, it is. As I expected, this being Brazil.

My steak after I'd eaten half of it.

I order myself another Noi Amara and watch the beautiful people streaming to and from the beach. Which, I noticed on the way in, is packed.

After a while they roll out the monster TV screen. I remember it well from last year. On that screen I saw the cheating foreigners cheat England out of victory in the Euros. Just to make my opinion clear: the foreigners cheated.

They're showing a Champions League game. Feyenoord against an Italian bunch. Feyenoord concede a goal just before half time. I'm tempted to start an anti-Feyenoord chant. But can restrain myself. I doubt anyone would have joined in, anyway.

After two beers, it’s time to stretch my drinking legs and move on to caipirinhas. Don’t want to consume too many carbs. Not if I want to keep my svelte contours.

I order a couple of cod "balls". More like cigars, really. They're very good, if a little salty. I’m eating like a king today.

Two cod balls with some sort of red sauce.

It’s wonderful having my phone working. I feel so free. I can go wherever I want. Currently, that’s my hotel.

Which is exactly where I go. To watch Liverpool thrash PSG with a scrawpy late goal. That'll teach the foreigners. While consuming some of the cheapest cachaça available. If I mix it with enough cola, I shouldn’t go blind.

I turn in around 11. Fear of disablement hurries me to sleepytown.



Boteco Colarinho Escondido
R. Francisco Otaviano, 30
Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro
RJ, 22080-040.