Sea view

It was already hot at 8 am, when we walked along the beach this morning. Hoping to be ahead of the crowds, returned via the supermarket to get some Prosecco for NYE - fat chance, the place was seething.

After that, spent a relaxed Saturday looking at people's blips, asked Leonine for advice on a good point-and-shoot to carry around with me, even got a proper lunch for HH and myself. Gave in and did a little work in the afternoon, but had the delightful prospect of a drinks party by the sea wall in Urca, the charming district under the Sugar Loaf, to look forward to, from 5 o'clock on. Lovely view across Botafogo Bay towards the Corcovado mountain and the Christ the Redeemer Statue, though the Redeemer himself only appeared from behind the clouds after dark. Our friend had put tables and chairs out on the pavement and regaled us with food and drink. People came and went, but mostly stayed and it was the perfect way to spend the evening.

Walking back by the wall and vying for a taxi, we passed large groups of people performing Umbanda rituals. Their offerings - model boats, candles, food and drink - would mostly be dedicated, I think, to Iemanja, the Queen of the Sea and patron deity of fishermen. On New Year's Eve, hundreds of candles and white gladioli will be offered to her, and model wooden boats will be pushed out into the sea, in the hopes that she will accept them and not allow the waves to throw them back.

P.S. One of the guests, visiting with his charming wife and family, is working in China. 'Conversa via, conversa vem' (comes and goes), as they say here, and I discover first, that he's a diplomat, and later that he's the British Ambassador to China. It's one thing when the policemen start looking young, but when a senior Ambassador does, it's a sure sign that one's way way over the hill.