We arrived in Brazil a day before the world ends, but unlike the great book I read 20 years ago, we are truly on the beach with no major apocalypse in Rio de Janeiro.  (I think they made a black and white movie in the 50s, but I am not sure any more, it has been a long time…)

We are literally 25 meters away from the famous Copacabana beach.

This is a great location, although we are not at the best hotel in the area (Othon Palace).  Three star at best, but we are truly balanced between the tourist area and being part of the local scene. We are eating side by side with the local population in their favorite cafes and eating spots and shopping for fruit, water, Gatorade, wine and snacks at the same supermarket down the street.

Yesterday morning we went for a great early morning run around the “lagoon” which is a 15 minute walk west from the beach and ocean. This is where he local running clubs, bikers, walkers, boaters, kayakers, etc. all gather and work out early in the morning.

It is a gorgeous park with approximately a 5 mile loop for running. It was hot – at 7 AM, it was already 80 degrees and Gatorade was mandatory. Very friendly and fun way to start the day on the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean.  The evening kicked off with a nice long walk along the boardwalk to join in the festive atmosphere of Brazil.

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Later, after some dinner, we went back to the Lagoon where they have the “world’s largest Christmas tree”.  It is a floating island that floats around the lagoon at random. We took a few shots were not easy without walking a few miles to the other side…

Running around the world is always fun.  Some of my other favorite spots:

• Zambia
• Cuba
• Antarctica
• Greenland
• Oslo
• Vienna
• London
• Suzhou China
• Grenada
• Singapore
• Zurich
• Budapest
• Karkow
• Warsaw
• Dominican Republic
• St. Lucia
• Seville
• Madrid
• Casearea, Israel
• Hanoi, Vietnam
• Hakone, Japan
• Dublin