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Our (Non-Instagramable) Christmas Day 2020 in Rio de Janeiro

Sounds like a dream day, eh? I feel cool just typing the title.

Except that… well, this is why I’m not on Instagram—I just don’t have this kind of perfect life.

We walked along Copacabana beach in the afternoon but it was raining, then I walked along Ipanema beach in the evening but a thunderstorm broke out, unleashing much heavier rain and flooding streets.

My life just isn’t Instagramable. Trust me, the best AI-powered filter couldn’t have turned the sky blue or make me look dry.

I took shelter under a store canopy somewhere on Rua Visconde de Pirajá, Ipanema’s main street, when lightening turned the sky purple. I was already wet but I wasn’t prepared for this kind of torrential downpour.

We were three or four people waiting for it to pass, exchanging typical pleasantries about the weather:

“É apenas uma tempestade.”

“Isso vai passar.”

“Água não mata.”

But despite these words of wisdom, it didn’t pass and even though as stated above “water doesn’t kill,” I was a soaked mess when I got back to the hotel. Streets were flooded and storm drains had turned into geysers.

“Merry Christmas!” shouted a cyclist without an ounce of irony.

I laughed.

It was a pretty good Christmas day, actually.

Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
Praia de Copacabana on Christmas Day, Rio de Janeiro
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Zhu

French woman in English Canada.

Exploring the world with my camera since 1999, translating sentences for a living, writing stories that may or may not get attention.

Firm believer that nobody is normal... and it’s better this way.

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