Frescoball.

I attempted frescoball yesterday on the beach, a sport that is unique to the sands of Rio. It originated in Copacabana in the late 1940's, but it remains a pretty big hit among the locals. The sports people play on the beach are incredible, from beach volley to foot volley to soccer (true football)... but frescoball is something that I think everyone can do. I think the American sport closest to it is ping pong or tennis, but rather than having a table to hit the ball down onto, you hit the ball with your racket towards the other person. I believe the point of the game is to hit the ball every time it comes on your side, but I think the first few times you play you have to get used to the idea that you really need to move(!) in the sand if you want to be able to actually have a decent volley with the other person. I played with just one other girl, but it's common for people to play in larger groups.

It's fantastic how people can manage to play these sports underneath the boiling sun. I can hardly get out from under my guarda-sol (sun umbrella) until 6 PM, but people play footvolley and other sports even around 1 PM. What's more incredible is that some people don't even USE an umbrella-- they bask in the 37 degree (celcius!) heat, applying bronzing oil every 15 minutes to their already incredibly-dark bodies. I don't know what to think-- whether I'm concerned for their health or whether I'm impressed by their resilience and ability to stay in the sun; I think it's a mix of both.