What I learned from the dogs of Praia do Diabo
Posted in Activities, Random Musings, Rio de Janeiro on 15. Sep, 2010
Grunting through just one more sit up, I collapse back onto the concrete slab. Sand sticks to me, but I’m too exhausted to care. With an effort I roll onto my right side, swing my legs over, and sit up.
Gauzy clouds stretch across a beautiful pale blue sky.
To my left, a handful of surfers sit patiently astraddle their boards, watchful as the rocks funnel and concentrate the rolling waves of the South Atlantic into breakers.
Before me, across the small expanse of beach in the corner below the rocks, frescoball players coordinate their swats and returns, the thwacks of their strokes reaching my ears a split second after I see the ball leave the paddle.
A young couple is already sunning on the rocks above the frescoball players.
It’s a bit after 9:00 on Wednesday morning at Praia do Diabo, or Devil’s Beach, in Arpoador. The beginning of another day in paradise.
Praia do Diabo beach in Arpoador, Rio de Janeiro
Wedged between world-famous Copacabana and Ipanama beaches, tiny Arpoador is almost unknown among tourists. But it has its fans among the locals. Currents are funneled by the vagaries of the rocky coast, gifting Arpoador with the best waves in the area. The surf set, especially the younger ones, are here almost every morning.
Praia do Diabo is home to a rustic outdoor gym, known to my friends and I as “The Flintstones Gym”. One look at the rough concrete dumbbells explains the name.
And Diabo is the only municipal beach on which dogs are permitted.* Here Rio’s dogs congregate, and, my workout over, I take a few minutes to study their society. Carioca dogs, like the two-legged Cariocas, tend to be easy-going and sociable. In contrast to the US, you almost never hear a dog growl here.
Today I learned the following lessons from my four-legged friends:
- Every new arrival, large or small, is a potential friend and is welcome to join in the fun.
- Live life in the moment. It’s a beautiful day, and you are with your friends. Be here now. Be happy.
- Pursue your dreams. Chase that bird. Who knows? Today might be the day you actually catch it!
- Forget past failures. Though the bird has flown away, keep running as if you weren’t really after it anyway. Turn failure into play.
We should all strive to be as happy as dogs on a beach.
*Ed. Note: Dogs are no longer allowed on Praia do Diabo, as Rio seeks to impose order on a resistant public.
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John—you postings are very informative and amusing at times…great job! It would be interesting to hear about your first trip to Brazil (Vitoria, ES?)…the why, how, what, and where of it all…in comparision to how you react to Brazil today. My first trip to Brazil was also to Vitoria, Cachoeiro de Itapemirim, and the beaches of Guarapari and Marataizes….many years ago. It might be interesting for you to also write about the ‘stereotypes’ that the Cariocas and the Paulistas have of one another…and the great variety in Brazil of topography, accents, customs, etc.
Thanks John and keep up the good work on reporting on Rio et.al. (PS I am sure you have heard the stories of the ‘Confederados’—people from North and South Carolina who immigrated to sounthern Brazil after the Civil War. What a lot of people don’t realize is that there have been many North Americans who have landed in all parts of Brazil between 1880 and 1945…and stayed. If you are ever in Fortaleza, ask about the ‘Coca-Cola girls’ during WWII when the US Navy had a base there. In the last 20 years, there are a lot of Brazilian kids in small coastal communities with Italian and French names…fathers were tourists or immigrants starting small businesses.
Cool! Nice metaphors.