South America and Antarctica 4 - We continue walking along the Rio de Janeiro beaches.

Copacabana beach was very similar to Ipanema beach in that there was a lot going on all the time.

Here, someone set up shop selling bikinis, but down the way serious volley ball games were in progress.  Here you can also see the curve of the beach lined with wall to wall hotels and the small mountain or large hill in the background.  Behind that hill is the huge cemetery that we saw in a previous post.

These guys were playing volleyball with such enthusiasm and skill that we just had to stop and watch.

Here's another snack stand with a better view of the green coconuts for sale. Immediately behind me when the above frame was taken, was another cow...

...the guitar hero.  How could I not take a picture of this?  As I raised my camera, two little kids ran up to the guitar hero.  They were only there for a few seconds as their dad focused his camera and pressed his shutter button. But in those few seconds, they really got into the guitar hero spirit. They jumped through probably ten different poses, one right after another.  In those few seconds, I got my shot, too.

This young woman is playing another game similar to volleyball, except the ball is smaller and they use paddles to hit the ball.  This is not a form of tennis as the net is high as it is in volleyball, and the court a similar size.  We saw large numbers of these games in progress, mostly played by women.  This outfit is typical of what they wore.

Here is another shower set up by a vender, who dissembles it nightly, carts the equipment off the beach, and then reassembles it again the next day.  It would be nice to know how the different "territories" along the beach are carved up among the different venders.  I'm not thinking that folks wishing to break into this business are welcomed with open arms.

It was beginning to get late so we walked off the beach, found this little store and, since we had eaten a full midday meal, purchased some snacks for dinner.

Two days before we left on our trip, we ended up purchasing a little Nikon Coolpix camera for just over a hundred bucks. For the most part, that little camera did a fabulous job for us.  I had it in my pocket when we walked out of this store.  And, rather than drag the large camera out of my bag, I whipped the little guy out of my pocket and snapped this image.  It was actually quite dark out, but it made the scene look like late afternoon.

Next door, to the immediate right of the market above, another store had already closed for the day.  I don't know who painted the garage door they pulled down to protect their shop, but whoever it was clearly had a lot of fun.  We saw several more examples of this type of art of the shuttered shops we encountered, but this was my favorite.

Back on the beach near our hotel it was getting dark.  I snapped this image with the little Coolpix as well.  Not bad for a little guy.

Melony wanted me to take a picture of this gas station in the middle of the road.  The ocean is off to the right.  We don't see gas stations in the middle of the road like this very often in the states.

After eating dinner in our room, I brought my big camera up to the top floor of our hotel, which is an open terrace containing the swimming pool, deck chairs for sunning and, of course, a bar.

It was the last night of our stay. The temperature was warm, the wind calm, the view, well, it was breathtaking--perfect for creating some memories.  I braced my camera on the railing and recorded this time exposure of Copacabana beach curving around to the south as it rested for the evening.

Changing direction and looking off to the right from the previous frame, one gets a glimpse the city around our hotel.  The mountain in front of the cemetery is off to the right.  The bright white spot in the distance is Christ the Redeemer statue all lit up on the top of Corcovado mountain.

Continue on to Post 5: We arrive at Iguazu Falls, by clicking here.