On Sundays, a walk just two blocks away from Ipanema beach reveals a bustling bazaar, where independent crafts-people selling an array of clothes, jewelry, hand-made artifacts and original artwork assemble to form the Feira Hippie, or Hippy Fair. Every stall boasts a variation of Brazillian inspired artistry, from canvases depicting abstract renditions of patchwork favela neighborhoods to clothes hand printed with the traditional patterns of Brazil’s indigenous tribes, with their creators (many of them distinctly hippy) manning their posts with laid back smiles and a mood for bargaining. An American buck goes a long way here, and it effectively beats out any tourist shop found anywhere between Leme and Flamengo.
