Meet 'King Marcio': he's lived in a sand castle on the beach for over 20 years
44-year-old Marcio Mizael Matolias is king of the beach in Rio De Janerio. Literally.
For
22 years, Matolias has lived on the beach at Barra da Tijuca, rent
free, in a giant sandcastle. He’s become such a fixture he’s earned the
name of “King Marcio” and is happy to pose for photos on a throne, a
crown on his head and a scepter in his hand.
“I
grew up in the Bay of Guanabara, I always lived on the beach. People
pay exorbitant rents to live in front of the sea, I do not have bills
and here I have a good life,” he told the Daily Mirror.
But
despite the regal digs, Matolias doesn’t have legions of servants to
tend to him. He himself maintains the castle and does repairs daily. To
prevent the whole thing from collapsing, the sand must be constantly
watered.
Matolias
is childless, unmarried and doesn’t work. When he isn’t maintaining his
estate he likes to read, play golf, and lounge on the beach.
The
only drawback he can think of is sometimes not being able to sleep at
night. “The sand holds all the heat, so sometimes at night I can not
sleep here, I’ll spend the night at a friend’s house, but I prefer it
here even if I have to lie outside by the sea,” he said.
Marcio had something of a parallel in the U.S. in the form of a three-story house made entirely of scrap wood.
Ex-pro
boxer Bob Anderson built the home on a small peninsula in the San
Francisco bay. The structure however was torn down after it was found
not to meet safety standards.
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