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RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Daybreak's glow silhouettes the rainforest-covered mountains nearby while the Atlantic's waters lap at cramped wooden fishing boats.
It's another day at sea for the men who sail out six days a week to try their luck.
But this isn't your average fishermen's port. It's Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana beach, its sands forming a golden crescent at the edge of a densely populated neighborhood.
For as long as anybody can remember, the humble fishing boats have left almost every morning from one end of the sands, where they share space with scantily clad tourists on land and surfers on water.
Marcelo Botafogo has spent nearly three decades heading out from Copacabana beach, picking up his boat with the help of seven other men and tossing it into the water before most people have stirred from bed.
He says the fishing isn't so good anymore. He doesn't know exactly why. He tries not to think much about the fuller nets of yesteryear: "It makes me depressed."
But Botafogo and dozens of others still head out at 5:30 a.m. and bring in their catch. It's sold right where the boats land on a beachside stand, where residents buy the freshest fish in town and tourists stroll by, pausing to take snapshots.
Here's a gallery of images of fishermen practicing their timeless tradition on Copacabana beach.
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