Too Much Light(ning)

Remember when I said that when it rains it pours in Argentina? Turns out it's true in Brazil too.

So I leave the house yesterday evening to walk to a church about 30 minutes down the road in my neighborhood of Santa Teresa. As I walk, faint overhead flashes and far-off rumbles of thunder begin to disquiet my evening stroll. As I look out over the [spectacular, unrelatedly] view of the city, I see dark clouds ploughing across the sky. Knowing some, but not quite enough, about how lighting/electricity works, I begin to feel sheer terror about walking next to metal tram tracks under sketchy power lines with an umbrella at one of the highest points in Rio de Janeiro. Having no idea how much farther I need to go, I stop under a tent where a woman dressed completely in white wearing a turban and a lot of jewelry sells some kind of banana-cakes to ask a young man directions to the street with the church. He tells me I'm only about five more minutes walk, and just as he finishes explaining how to get there, the sky opens up and it POURS. In the ensuing shitshow, I get completely drenched (even with my umbrella as a shield under the shelter), the turban woman's hot pan of banana-cakes gets knocked over, and about 6 passing motorbikes send huge waves of water up to splash everyone's faces. I move to a nearby bar to experience power outs 1 and 2 of the evening (5 total) before trying again to walk the last five minutes. My fear/the downpour are faaaaaaaaaaaaar too great, however, and I run back to the bar, where the owner invites me to "dry myself off" in the bathroom (aka pat down my head and exposed skin with paper towels, knowing that there's absolutely no point when I'm just going to have to go back out in it. I miss my car more than ever).

After 10 more minutes of watching the rua turn into a rio, I give up the goal of Mass (figuring God might understand) and look instead for a combi (Volkswagon van that's cheaper than a bus and functions as a large, multiperson, multistop taxi) to take me home. I don't have enough to pay him, however (I didn't take any money to church in fear of getting robbed on the walk), and get out promising to grab money from my house. Set on this goal, I run into the road through an enormous puddle of water and avoid by inches getting hit by a taxi with low visibility. The combi driver, perhaps taking pity on the drenched, frightened gringa, drives away without giving me an opportunity to pay.

Please watch this video to understand the magnitude of the rain -- it gets good at about 2:00, when the power goes out and the game gets delayed for 18 minutes while the field becomes a wading pool. So good.

Next time there's a storm, I'll try to take some pics/video from my house. Huge bolts of lightning are way more fun to watch epically illuminating Pao de Acucar and Cristo Redentor when one is safe and dry inside.