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………………………..It was February of 1970, and three best friends, all 22, were going to Rio for Carnival Mardi Gras. Bobby and Kenny were on Spring break, and I took time off from work. I was an assistant designer at a company named Teal Traina. It was my very first design job….I went on this trip with my best friend Bobby who is with me in the pictures above. One of Bobby’s best buddies from Wisconsin U, came with us and took all the pictures above…..Kenny lived in NYC so I already knew Ken pretty well. For the first leg of the trip Kenny and I went to Peru to see Machu Picchu. Bobby didn’t want to go!!!! It was an incredible trip….one I will never forget. During Kenny’s life he became a world traveler, and loved to travel by himself and meet people along the way. He had one of the most out going personalities of anyone I ever knew. He loved to travel and meet knew people all over the world….Sorry, I couldn’t find any pictures of Kenny , but I know I have them somewhere……Kenny and I were allowed to roam all over the grounds of Machu Pichu. There were no restrictions. At the time people even camped out to spend the night there. We were so high up in altitude that you felt you could touch the stars. We were very lucky in that we had perfect weather. Years later they stopped the tourists from camping and roaming free. Tourists had damaged the property by taking stones from the buildings as souvenirs. For visitors now, I understand it is a very organized tour where only certain areas are avail to see with a guide.  We spent four days in Peru and Cuzco, the the ancient city we took off from on our way to spend the day at Machu Pichu. I remember the air flight from Peru, which is at sea level, was totally VERTICAL the entire time until we leveled off to land at Cuzco! It was scary and we were high in the Andes Mountains……..After our wonderful time in Peru, Kenny and I boarded another flight to Brazil, and landed in the wonderful city of Rio de Janeiro. Bobby was already there and was staying with a Brazilian boy who was also a good friend of Bobby and Kenny’s from Wisconsin University. His name was Carlos….a very handsome and very rich young man. Carlos’ father was a well known politician in Rio. He had his own house and three servants who treated Carlos like their own son……What a privileged life for a 22 year old! In Rio you were either rich or poor or worked for the rich, hotels, restaurants, clubs and shops. When Kenny and I arrived the three of us moved into the Palace Hotel right on the beach! WOW, what a dream. I have never in my life seen anything like Carnival…..It was unbelievable. I have never seen so many beautiful, almost completely nude people in my life. The “String Bathing Suit” came from Rio….. Most of the women on the beach were topless and the “string” covered very little. Men also wore “string” bathing suits or suits that were very very little. Our suits were very conservative! For the most part the people had great toned and tanned bodies…..What a place!…Paradise for a 22 year old!! Carlos invited us to parties every night and they were wild. There were parties in old wooden buildings packed with people dancing like crazy to samba music. At one place the floor was bouncing up and down. I swear I don’t know how it didn’t collapse. Carlos had many rich friends, and we went to incredible multi level homes built into the sides of the hills, all with pools!……..Let me just say the booze was flowing and everyone always ended up in the pool in all states of dress, or I should say undress….Hey we were 22! When it was PARADE time we all went to see this spectacle. It went on for 24 hours straight with many “Schools Of Samba” dancing down the 2 mile parade route. There were about 200 people in each of these “Schools”, and they were competing against one another. These schools practiced for a whole year planing the dancing the music and the costumes. When Carnival was over they started to plan for the next year….Along the route there were “Blue Sections” where the judges sat. As each school passed the judges the Schools really put it on! The music got louder and the dancing was wild. The costumes basically consisted of feathers and jewels, and the dancers wearing them in the street and on floats, were amazing. We were warned at the hotel not to wear any jewelry and to keep our money in our shoes. Crime, especially during Carnival was rampant. Pick pockets worked in teams, and it could be very dangerous. After three or so hours Bobby and Kenny had enough, but I wanted to stay. I could never get enough of this spectacle. After seeing 2 or 3 more schools pass by I too left and met them at a party I knew they would be at. I think we only went to our hotel room to shower! I don’t remember sleeping there, actually, I don’t remember sleeping at all. We probably slept on the Ipanema Beach where we went every day. In the picture at the lower right, you can see the two peaks in the back ground which are famous landmarks of Ipanema. When carnival ended on Ash Wednesday the entire attitude of the city changed. This was a very religious Catholic country, and the revelry was OVER. No more topless, no more dancing in the streets…..everything went back to the way it was…..It was still paradise but it was clear hedonism was over……..Bobby and Kenny have both passed, but my memories of these three young and crazy guys will stay with me forever………….This was a trip of a life time.