Feest Isolation Days – 9 February 2021
There is a lot of news about the efficacy of the vaccines swirling around at the moment. In South Africa they have decided not to use the Oxford Astra Zeneca vaccine because they don’t think that it will protect against the SA variant. Professor Sarah Gilbert, who heads the team that produced the vaccine, says that the preliminary findings are from a small group and they can’t yet establish its rate of efficacy but that they were confident it would offer protection against serious cases and death because it created neutralising antibodies.
Here in Bristol, they seem to have identified yet another mutation of the virus and there are twenty-four post codes in the city being asked to have testing – what is known as surge testing. We have only seen information about this in the media and have yet to receive information officially about how to access testing. In Liverpool where they have also identified a mutation in some areas, people are going house to house to offer tests. We will sit tight and see what happens. We are not going anywhere.
We had a wonderful Zoom dinner with friends at the weekend and after the inevitable discussion about all things pandemic we talked travel. They were on one of the last planes out of Columbia before Lockdown, and fell in love with South America and want to return when it’s possible to do so. We encouraged them to include the Rio Carnaval on the list of must do’s when they return. It took me back to our adventure there in 2012.
We spent several weeks in South America and met all weathers. In Patagonia, I was buying gloves and a scarf as it was so cold.
And a few days later I was in my swimsuit on Copacabana beach. The wonders of travel!
We didn’t know exactly what to expect of Carnaval but soon discovered that it is a focus for the lives of many people of Rio. It takes place every year starting on the Friday before Lent begins on Ash Wednesday. With over two million people converging on Rio, it’s considered the biggest festival in the world. The festival has been around since 1723. Carnaval is the pinnacle of the year in the Samba Schools. Although Samba Schools aren’t places where teaching occurs, there are about 200 of them and they are devoted to dancing, marching, drumming and performing the African- Brazilian dance. They are called schools because they began rehearsals in the playgrounds of schools. Each area of the city has a team of up to 3000 people that will process in their costumes and with their floats in the purpose-built stadium over one of two nights when the main festivities are held. The back up team for these 3000 numbers into the many more thousands. The Samba Schools offer community and they are also very competitive!
The Main Procession itself doesn’t perform in the streets, but only in the stadium. It takes 90 minutes for the troupe to dance and send their floats from one end of the stadium to the other. When they begin there are fireworks to precede them. About a dozen Samba Schools perform each of the two evenings so that all the schools can be accommodated. There are all sorts of knock out competitions to get to the stadium. The organisers set the annual theme and the Samba schools create floats and dances that interpret the theme. There are points given to each School based on many factors, and they all take the results very seriously! The day after we saw the first evening’s procession (evening being from 9pm through to 6am!), we were already rooting for our favourites. The television is on in every bar and café and hearing the reports among the locals is like listening to the scores of a football match. Groans when some are awarded points people don’t agree with, and cheers when your “team” wins. Elsewhere in Rio, there are events everywhere and music throbs from each corner of the place. It’s one of the most special events I’ve ever attended.
Nice to remember some of these past events as we continue with lockdown and virus and await vaccinations! Enjoy and stay safe.
With love,
Kathy x