RIO DE JANEIRO // Copacabana is mostly known for its beach. Yet it should also have a reputation for encouraging creative panhandling.
Yesterday, with Brazil’s match with Colombia taking place 2,500 kilometres up the coast in Fortaleza, all manner of entrepreneurs flocked to the famous beachfront trying to earn a buck before kick off.
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First, there was a man dressed as the leader of the Catholic church. The majority of travelling Argentina fans have already departed (they hope, temporarily) for Brasilia, where their country face Belgium on Saturday in the quarter-finals, but the Pope remains in Rio. Under the giant Christ the Redeemer statue, a Pope Francis lookalike posed for photos with sun-scorched tourists and Brazilian locals.
Farther along the beachfront were a pair of Spidermen. Close enough to eye each other up competitively, but evidently far enough apart to be out of reach of their web shooters. One, dressed in the traditional red and blue suit (complete with full headgear), was doing impressive tricks with a football; the other, looking a little less appealing, simply stood stationary, dressed in a custom-made yellow-and-green “Spidey” suit.
Indigenous (and possibly disingenuous) tribesmen posed with spears and smeared face paint and bags made of animal skins, while a man dressed as Captain Jack Sparrow offered to cut your throat with a machete for a small fee.
A few days earlier, a Colombian woman had been seen challenging anybody to do more keepie-ups than her. She had arrived in Brazil with no hostel, no food and no transport – but with a football and clearly enough skill to win more contests than she lost. She was yesterday spotted in Fortaleza, having somehow afforded the 2,500km trip up the coast.
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
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England 353
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Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
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