Rio de Janeiro Day 3

Today we went shopping for souvenirs and gifts at the markets around the Uruguaiana metro stop before hanging out for a few hours at Jabanga Hostel.

We awoke at 9:30am and had the included breakfast at the hostel.  JT could not stomach eating anything besides bananas.  Katie had some toast, cereal, and grilled cheese, as well as some fruit juice and coffee.  Then we packed up our bags by the 11am checkout time.  We used a locker downstairs in the hall to store our valuables for the day, and we left our larger bags in the manager/owner’s bedroom at the hostel (room I, by reception).
Then we walked to the Botafogo metro station and took the metro north to the Uruguaiana metro station which is surrounded by markets with everything for tourist trinkets to electronics to household goods to clothing.  We wandered around the market browsing and scouting prices before buying various items including Neymar Jr Brazilian soccer jerseys, Havaianas (Brazilian sandals that lots of Brazilians actually seem to wear all the time), a Cristo Redentor figurine, sarongs (cloth that Brazilian women use as wraps to cover up when coming to and going from the beach, towels, beach blankets, shoulder covers, and more), a picture magnet, a world cup key ring, and a cute bottle of cachaca (Brazilian liquor).  We stopped in the middle of shopping and ate lunch at a ‘per kilo’ restaurant where each 100 grams cost R$2.84.  JT managed to eat some pasta, fries, and mashed potatoes.
We returned to the hostel around 4pm to relax until our 10:05pm flight from GIG, Rio de Janeiro’s international airport.

Jabaga Hostel (R$440.50 for a private double with shared bathroom for three nights on Booking.com) felt like our own personal hostel, and it really was since there were no other guests during our entire stay!  It felt a bit strange at times.  There was always someone working for the hostel around, and at times it felt busy because many people that were friends or family of those working at the hostel would hang out in the common TV and dining area downstairs.  We are not sure why it was so incredibly empty during our stay, as we would recommend it.

It was located 800 meters from the Botafogo metro station, and the walk was fine during day and night despite lots of the surrounding houses having electric wire fences.  There was a club across the street and generally busy streets around, so Katie wore earplugs in our double room in order to sleep well.  However, our bed was great, our room had a locking cabinet, and everything was new and clean.  The kitchen was well equipped and large.  The locking system on the room doors was a bit strange and took some getting used to, but was not a problem.  The dining area was a good area to sit and do light work on a laptop – but nothing serious as someone was usually listening to music or watching the TV loudly.  The men’s and women’s bathrooms were separated upstairs, and each had three shower stalls, three bathroom stalls, and two sinks.  The men’s bathroom had no showers that would get hot water one night, and a sink that would not always work.  The second shower stall in the women’s bathroom leaked water out onto the floor whenever someone showered in it.  Both bathrooms didn’t really leave enough room for your legs when you sat on the toilet.  There were felt pouches at each bed (including dorm beds) to hold various things (like glasses, phone) and the dorms had lockers for each bed, but you needed to bring your own lock.

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