[twitter]Close your eyes and imagine Rio de Janeiro.

Visions of sexy beaches, tight bodies and sun run wild in your mind. Beach soccer, string bikinis and cold drinks on the sand flood your mind. Corcovado, Copacabana and Ipanema are words that are instantly familiar.

Even the lyrics from a Duran Duran song help paint an image “.. her name is Rio and she dances on the sand ..”

That is the Rio I had expected to see. Instead, in the heart of winter, I am in Rio and I’m dancing in the rain.

What are you going to do?

Today, with our jungle jeep through the Tijuca rainforest cancelled because of rain, we decided to take a car from the hotel to the other side of town and walk back, dancing from the beaches to the busy streets inside the city. We hunted for Havaianas, sipped on cervejas and snacked on street food.

Oh yeah, and we got wet.

Thank god I brought along my emergency ponchos. I’ve been carrying these dollar store goodies in my knapsack for every overseas vacation since a trek to Peru in 2003. They’ve been a great good luck charm to keep the rain away. Until now.

Oh well, here’s some pictures of Rio in the rain.

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