Journalled on Saturday, 3 August 2024 | Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: 27 degrees, hot, sunny, and slightly overcast.

It is a beautiful day, sunny, with not a cloud in the sky and not too hot.

The perfect day for a good walk, the kind I used to take in Rio before going to England, where I would walk from one neighbourhood to another.

I got up early, even though it was a Saturday, because there was a lot to do. I waited for the bakery to open at 6:00 a.m., raring to get in, sit down and write. Before leaving, I bought bread, cheese, ham and butter. As before, Yasmin was still asleep when I got back, and Nalva had gone to work.

I changed my clothes and went to the park to exercise. Instead of going straight to the park, I preferred to take the long way round so I could clock up at least 4,000 steps before beginning to exercise.

The round route I usually take takes me up and through Flamengo, then on to the beach as I come back on myself. The park is literally a stop on the return. There, I lit some incense sticks and stuck them in the ground next to where I was working out. Nobody had complained so far, so no problem.

When I got back, Yasmin was up. I asked her if she wanted breakfast from the bakery, and of course, she did. She had the usual toasted bread and orange juice.

We talked, and I told her I would go to Copacabana to have her glasses repaired at Dona Vera’s optician’s.

They had broken the day before; one of the tiny supports that holds the glasses on the side of the nose came off. These are the glasses she likes most: the Harry Potter style, with two perfectly round lenses. At home, I showered and then took them to Copacabana.

I felt a little slow and lazy after the exercises, but I have done them so many times before that they are just the norm for me nowadays. Walking from Flamengo to Copacabana, or vice versa, while stopping at shops and places of interest along the way, is also very common for me.

The idea was to pass by some motorcycle dealers on the way to see the bikes, and I ended up visiting Honda, Kawasaki, and Royal Enfield. Of these, I think Royal Enfield is the most interesting to me, and I’m thinking of buying one in the near future, probably more for England than for Brazil, but let’s see.

When I walk like this, I like to see, notice, observe, absorb, and appreciate everything happening on the streets around me, and, for sure, it is impossible for me not to compare it with what was before.

Rio is still wonderful, and the people are as happy as before. However, the streets are dirtier and more disorganised; the homeless population has increased exponentially over the last year; and the number of commercial premises, shops, and other establishments has also declined.

In commercial establishments, I saw the same trend, but to a more advanced level in England. Traditional traders have finished. Amazon and the internet have put a stop to the reputable small sole trader and the family business.

Now, along the high streets in England, all you have are impersonal chain stores for homes, and in smaller towns, charity shops and vape stores are of very little use to the general public. I see the same beginning to happen in Brazil.

I arrived in Copacabana, dropped off Yasmin’s glasses at Dona Vera’s Optician’s, took a little walk around, and came back on the bus in the afternoon and worked a little.

Nalva’s sisters arrived in the evening, as Sunday was the Sinha’s graduation photoshoot at Aterro, in front of the bay and Sugar Loaf Mountain. It is a full house of lovely, hysterical women who eat, drink, speak, and listen at once, and are drowned out by laughter. I think I got at most 3 hours’ sleep that night.