I stepped into Carnival when—of all places! —I stepped into a Carrefour supermarket a few minutes after arriving in Recife.

Grocery shopping is my first chore when I check into a new Airbnb. I need water, coffee, veggies, protein and more because I cook all of my meals. I’ve got it down to a science—I know exactly what I need, how much of it, and where it’s usually hidden on Brazilian shelves. I’m used to the fact that Parmesan cheese isn’t in the fridge, I don’t mind lining up for some freshly cut peito de peru or presunto (that’s turkey and ham, by the way, not some kind of barbaric ritual where you watch someone being cut off), and I even have favourite brands (Batavo flan, anyone?).

Grocery shopping is actually pretty fun, it’s the hauling everything back I’m not a big fan of. Fortunately, Brazilian supermarkets still give free plastic bags. Got ahead, blame me for killing the planet… but I reuse them and I’m not travelling with a million eco-friendly tote bags.

Plus, I’m walking instead of dumping groceries in the trunk of my SUV.

Anyway, I went straight to Carrefour in Recife because I remembered it as a giant supermarket with probably everything I needed—basically, food to cook.

Except a million employees inside the Carrefour were busy clearing the shelves to make room for pallets and pallets of beer.

Oh, right. It’s Carnival soon.

Pasta? No more, have a can of Brahma instead.

Yogurt? Yeah, no. Not in the fridge, anyway, just grab some Antarctica.

Can I get some Coke Zero, at least?

Nope, the Carnival edition is either Coke with coffee or Coke with Jack Daniel’s.

Damn it.

It’s not that I had forgotten about Carnival but it’s a late-February Carnival this year, so still two weeks ahead. Natal and João Pessoa aren’t big on Carnival as well so I didn’t notice the not-so-subtle switch.

I was sheltered.

But Recife—and mostly Olinda—throw a hell of a party, so they were switching to Carnival mode.

Carnival mode includes constant delivery of beer, boarding up the city and starting the party early with pré-Carnival blocos.

I’m not fluent in Recife-Olinda Carnival so I went to a couple of blocos in Olinda last Saturday to find out how the state of Pernambuco celebrates it. I learned it features frevo dances and music, as well as colourful umbrellas and giant puppets. It wasn’t too crowded yet… but there are still two weeks to go.

I’m pretty sure all supermarkets have enough beer, though.