I looked everywhere. No where, could the item I desired to collect, be found. One by one I scoured the hippie fair for a pair of well-made, fashionable flip-flops. They eluded me. Like the Sun and Moon which can never touch. Rotating on opposite ends of an invisible string that somehow, keeps them from drifting too far. Tent after tent, there was hand-crafted leather belts, hand-woven bracelets in a rainbow of colors. Green, Red, Blue, Purple, Black. Mixtures of some, mixtures of the others. I wandered by shops full of paintings on canvases of landscapes, architecture, favelas, the glorious human body in female and male forms. There were nick-knack stores filled to the edge with Christ the Redeemer carvings, key chains. More and more key chains. And when I thought there no more key chains to see, My expectations were shattered. More key chains. There were bird carvings, music CDs, coconut water kiosks, large sculptures of birds, elephants, people, etc…. The search went on.
Finally, I found them. A tent that specialized in leather work, and even more specifically, flip-flops. I gazed across the spectrum of styles and sizes. “Quento Custa?” I asked. The man standing behind the rows of leather feet liberators typed into his calculator. He held it up, the number showing was 75. 75 Reais. They wouldn’t even cost me 30 US dollars. What a bargain. I didn’t even want to haggle, I already felt like I was robbing the Carioca senior.
I picked my style, and the man asked me to sit so I could find the right size. I took off my current footwear and continued to size up the flip-flops. After two or three pairs that were a size or so too small, the perfect fit was found. I was the male version of Cinderella, and this flip-flip was my glass shoe. Perfect.
I had a very different experience at the hippie fair. I came into the trip knowing I would want more unique souvenirs and gifts rather than the typical tourist trinkets, so the hippie fair was perfect. Because I didn’t have anything specific in mind, it was hard to decide what to get. The hand tooled and painted leather canvases were gorgeous, but outside of my budget unfortunately. Everything that was handmade at the fair was fantastic. Like Jay, I too didn’t feel right haggling with the artists. I wouldn’t mind haggling with the people that didn’t make the goods themselves, but I wasn’t interested in what they had anyways. Because it was all so great, I had to just wait for something to “speak to me.” I found some very comfortable leather shoes made by a sweet older woman. There were countless leatherwork stands with stunning bags, but I came across one that especially my eye and the woman was willing to come down on the price. There were a few smaller items I bought as well, but my favorite purchase was a colorful painting of the favelas and sugarloaf mountain. I even got a selfie with the artist and he was a very happy man. He was overjoyed I liked his art and it was clear through his art that he was glad to be a Carioca.