Floating...

My knee went on strike walking along Copa beach front in the morning, had to dispatch HH to walk further on his own. Was amused and amazed at the number of people, mostly not so very young or fit, who found the energy to run in temperatures of around 36 degrees C - some 100 F. The amusement came from the running style, stiff trunks sort of toppling forward with each step, a sharp contrast to the occasional lean and fit person that flowed past.

Hobbled back home and managed to avoid doing most of the more pressing tasks - as usual, this involved looking through lots of blip photos. This endless weekend feeling that has set in is going to be difficult to shake off. Our permanent house guest returned from the beach with tales of how delicious the water was - felt decidedly envious, but far too hot by this time to venture down there myself. Toyed with the idea of combining an evening swim with watching (and clicking) the always superb sunset from Arpoador, the rocky point between Copa and Ipanema, but settled in the end for meeting up with friends elsewhere and later.

We asked the taxi to go round the lake so I could get a shot of the massive tree that's erected every year now. Some light rain by this time (very - probably disastrously, heavy in other areas), but still very warm. Disappointed to see that the tree has been moved much further away from the Ipanema side, but kept hopping out of the taxi to try and get a shot, and catching up with it further on in the traffic jam (once nearly climbed into the wrong taxi). Hundreds of families gathered to gaze at the tree, and as always, cyclists, runners and walkers circling the lagoa. No tripod or handy shoulder to rest the camera on, so this fuzzy image is the best I could manage.

There's nothing to beat meeting up with very old friends. Wreathed in smiles, we celebrated with ice-cold beer and a sizzling picanha steak.