When I arrived, Cabo Frio was just like I remembered it—a long, long beach, a sun-bathed city, and a cute historical centre.

Obviously, it was busier and livelier than during the pandemic, but unlike Rio de Janeiro, Cabo Frio wasn’t on Carnaval mode yet.

I spent three days in a first meh Airbnb in Centro. I went to Arraial do Cabo twice for the day, then to Búzios. On Thursday, I moved to a lovely apartment in Braga, at the far end of the beach, behind the dunes, and I waited for the big party. Meanwhile, in Canada, Feng and the Dragon were getting ready for the Chinese New Year. Carnival is early this year and Chinese New Year is late so we had the unique chance to share celebrations—I cooked fish and noodles, Feng asked me to livestream blocos. Yes, we’re weird.

On Friday, the beach started to fill up. It went from “it’s summer, it’s busy” to “holy shit, it’s packed.”

Then beer, booze and ice took over the streets—Brazilians are obsessed with “gelo”, ice, because they fill up an entire cooler and drink beer all day long. Eh, it’s hot. I get it.

But I’m not a drinker so this is not the part of Carnival I was looking forward to—I was hoping for blocos, huge crowds, music and more. The official program is online so I knew that there would be shows, street parties and the usual craziness. Still, I wasn’t sure how many people were expected and what Carnival would look like in Cabo Frio. I have tons of Carnival experience in Rio and São Paulo, plus pre-Carnival in Salvador but things could be different in Cabo Frio. Like, the city isn’t boarded up and street signs aren’t removed for trucks, for instance.

And indeed, on Friday, everybody was at the beach. Tons of booze being consumed Carnival-style, yes, but only a few tiny bloquinhos and the stage on the beach was still a work in progress.

“They’d rather spend their day at the beach!” I told Feng later that night.

“Everybody could be in Rio. I mean, Rio takes Carnival very seriously but maybe it’s just about beach bumming in Cabo Frio.”

On Saturday, my expectations were low. I headed to the beach. Lively, crowded, fun but again, no Carnival.

It all changed around 5 p.m.

All of a sudden, men in tutu and women covered in glitter took over the main street, closed to traffic. The stage on the beach was finally up. And… oh my God, drums!

Carnival was starting in a very messy disorganized way but it was starting. Forget about the official program, apparently, Cabo Frio does blocos whenever wherever. Even the shows don’t start on time.

I walked back around 10 p.m., bumping into more completely unscheduled blocos along the way.

Now I’m wondering what the next few days will be like. Beach then party after sunset? All-day party now that Carnival has started? A quick descent into organized chaos?

I guess I’ll find out tomorrow.