Randy Bueller's Day Off

My last full day in Brazil was also a day off so I booked, with Deen's help in making the selection, a day trip to Angra dos Reis. This is a resort area about 150 km to the west of Brazil. Angra dos Reis ( Bay of Kings) has 365 islands or islets with the biggest one appropriately called Isla Grande.

The tour consisted of a 3 hour or so bus ride to the town, a 5 hour boat trip among the islands , mostly to Isla Grande, then a marathon bus ride in traffic back to Rio. It is a beautiful and popular location and there were several hundred people on a bunch of boats doing the tour. In one spot we swam with some local fish, another spot we walked the beach having climbed down from the boat into the waist deep water, and the final stop was at a pier where we again walked a beach and saw some of the local scenery. There was a nice lunch on board and a small band provided some entertainment.

The Brazilians on the tour seem to love selfies. They were taking them everywhere and posing frequently with both from and rear views. Quite amusing. The one picture of me below isn't a selfie as someone else took it!



















It was a great, albeit long day, and I'm happy I did it.

This post also brings my blog to an end. I am glad my son persuaded me to do it as it provides a way to organize all I've experienced that I would otherwise forget. Hopefully you too have enjoyed it.

Monday is a travel day home with flights from Rio to São Paulo, then overnight to Toronto and Tuesday morning to Ottawa.

One last thing for my male audience. I saw this T shirt at the beach today and thought it most applicable:




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Location:Angra doe Reis

Last Day in the Salt Mines

Before I went to the Olympic Stadium for my last shift at Athletics I spent the morning and early afternoon with my Brazilian friend Renaldo. We went along the Boulevarde Olympico beside Guanabara Bay. There were many people out strolling and looking at the sights including the Olympic Flame. During the day the picture is dull but I have a more interesting night shot:



The area also has a big bandstand that features a variety of entertainment.

After that we went to the Columbus Cafeteria. It too was crowded with lunch time diners and is an interesting spot and quite historical in Rio. Deen asked if I had the famous pastry. As I did not , it must not be all that famous.




After lunch I left Renaldo and headed out to the Olympic Stadium. Saturday evening was the last of the Athletics events and there was a big crowd there to view the competitions, all finals. We were quite busy with the testing of Gold medal winners and in some cases of visually impaired athletes, their guides. Watching a runner with a guide like that is very impressive.

When it was all done the group celebrated. This group was an international cast of characters featuring people from Brazil, Columbia, Serbia, Germany, Australia, and Canada. We got along amazingly well and the common language of work was English. You can see us all enjoying a post game cup of beer that one of the Brazilians brought in.



It was another late night getting back to the hotel but overall it was a very satisfying experience.

Communicating in Rio

As you are all no doubt aware Brazilians speak Portuguese and only some speak Ingles. So it can be a challenge making yourself understood and understanding them. Fortunately elementary sign language and Google Translate help a lot. Because I have a good capacity in French I can read a lot of the Portuguese- sure it's not perfect but it's enough to basically understand. Writing it of course is out of the question as is understanding it other than the most rudimentary of phrases like "Obrigado" - thank you. When I try to say some things from Google Translate I'm met with blank stares until I show the person the translation. It would seem the way we say certain letters of the alphabet and the way they do is very different.

The bilingual Brazilians at the Games all wear a small plaque on their ID that says " I Speak English ". They gave me one as well but then I stopped wearing it as people assumed I also spoke Portuguese. A young bilingual DCO said I didn't need the plaque as the fact I am English is "written on my forehead". This young lady Thais is also a PhD student in neuroscience.

This was my last day at Archery. Compared to Athletics, where I return Saturday for my final day of work, it is a quiet venue. However the equipment the archers use and the skill they show is astounding. Below is a picture of a compound bow that shoots an arrow of speeds around 250km/hour. You can buy one of these with scope, support arms, etc for a mere $US2000 plus 13% HST in Ontario.




The station manager at this venue is an MD from Serbia who is head of their anti-doping agency. Tonight he was pressed into service as the Chinese team official photographer. Nenda is the tall thin guy with longish hair.



A little while later I became the official photographer for Great Britain when I was asked to take some shots of the gold medal winner. I don't have any on my camera in case you're wondering.

However the most surprising moment of the evening came when one of the medalists asked for a microphone and proposed on stage to his girlfriend . This was shortly after the medal ceremony. I believe she said yes. Of course the happy moment got interrupted a few minutes later by the guy getting dragged away to doping control.

Sidewalk Repairs and Other Stuff

I showed the other day some of the designs in Rio sidewalks made from small stones. They are all like this. Today I captured a picture of a local guy repairing the sidewalk. It is a very labour intensive job.


I thought I would also add a picture of my hotel's neighbourhood and my local bar/restaurant. It's a nice safe area and an easy walk to the two beaches and the Metro.






It's about a 10 minute walk to the Metro station that I use to get many places. The organizers gave us each a pass that is free transit on the subway and the buses. The station I use ( General Osorio is the name ) has one brand new line built for the Olympics that heads west to various Olympic facilities and the other two lines head north into various parts of the city. There is even a square named after the General who apparently lead the Brazilian army in a war with Uruguay.
The square is pictured below.



The metro can be a very busy place especially at rush hours. Even so , if a senior (that includes me) or a disabled person comes along , people regularly offer their seats to them. There is also preferential seating. All the announcements are in both Portuguese and English. Carioca ( the people of Rio) are typically friendly and helpful even if you can't speak their language.

Before I went to work late in the afternoon I took a tour of Fort Copacabana . It's an original military installation on a point beside the beach and was built in the 1800's to defend Rio.There is a museum there and it's very interesting. The large gun shown below swivels but right now is pointed at Visa Olympics Superstore ( the white tent like structure across the water) . Probably a commentary on the prices there!






I did go to my venue today to actually put in some work. When the gold medal match was over and before the medal ceremony they had some entertainment:


Final thoughts for this post . Because I work all evening shifts I have little or no opportunity to go out with my Canadian and international colleagues. At least it saves my liver from punishment. Some of them were out this evening having a good time without me ! Some of my fellow Canadians.



Tomorrow is going to be a long day at the venue so there may not be much to write about.

Archery Day 2

This morning I went with another Canadian who wanted to see the Escardia Selaron as she had not seem them yet. This time I went all the way to the top. From the bottom you see what you think is the top but it's not. There is another section that takes you further. The view from the top is nothing special as the top of the steps is just concrete. The tiles placed by Selaron are all on the front of the steps.

I then walked the beach at Ipanema again and was struck by the very good soccer skills I saw there. There were many groups of 4-6 people (mostly young guys) in a circle trying to keep the ball in the air with their feet, heads, or chest. There were many of them along the beach and I hope this picture captures some of it.


Later I went to Sambodromo for the evening matches. The Sambodromo is an interesting place as it's the epicentre of the Carnaval. There are big parades down the middle featuring elaborate floats, dancers, and drum corps. You can only imagine how crazy it is during Carnaval. The archery competition takes place at one end of it sectioned off from the rest.




One thing I forgot to mention in yesterday's post was that the archers being tested also have a breathalyzer test. A Doctor from the International Federation comes in to administer the test just like a road side test by the police. The limit is Zero but due to variations in the machine .01 is acceptable.

At little bit more about life here. Rio has a population of 6-7 million and is a sprawling place. São Paulo is the biggest city in Brazil with 16-17 million people. I only get to see São Paulo from the airport arriving and departing.

Things are relatively inexpensive. For lunch today with a chicken sandwich and an adult beverage I paid 16 reals. About what I would pay in dollars at home . The exchange rate is 2.5 reals = 1 Canadian dollar. For the US dollar it's about 3.5 reals. They show costs as R$... The portions are plentiful and I'm getting lots of rice and black beans with whatever main course I have. Gasoline is about R$4.20 so approximately $C1.60 per litre.

On my way down the road to my hotel this evening the various bars were all packed with people in red and black- the colours of the local soccer team Flamengo as they were playing a Brazilian rival. I was tempted to put on my new Flamengo T and join them but common sense got the better of me. Anyway there was nowhere to sit. They are vocal in their support ,like hockey fans at home.

BTW I'm using a different iPad software for this entry. I'm not sure you'll see the difference but it's a lot easier to use than the other one.

Location:Rio de Janeiro

Archery Day 1

It was a late afternoon start at Archery so I had the morning to complete my shopping. I don't know how I managed to do all this without Deen at my side so we'll see how successful I was in my choices when I get home.

Rio is a city of contrasts . I'm staying in a clean and safe area with lots of people and activity all about. I've yet to feel unsafe or threatened. No litter on the streets or sidewalks and garbage containers are abundant. It is apparently against the law to throw cigarette butts on the street or sidewalks. Lots of people with dogs, but unlike Paris, they stoop and scoop. There is no dog ... anywhere. There are also lots of one way streets and the traffic seems to be speed along nicely. Even in areas where there is more congestion they weave in and out like water bugs. Jaywalking doesn't appear to be a crime and people do it regularly. You just have to have your wits about you.

At the Archery venue called the Sambodromo (more about that tomorrow) it was interesting. When I eventually found the doping control station after a lot of wandering the venue , an IPC official was there. He's a former senior guy from my Ottawa organization and I had met him once a few years ago at a conference. We are the first picture below.

The archery competition -the field is shown in the second picture- was worthwhile watching and I had never seen one before. They shoot from a distance of 70 metres and shoot 3 arrows in a set. The winner of the set gets 2 points , and 1 point if tied. To win the match you must get at least 6 points so there is a minimum of 3 sets. The score of each shot is announced and shown on a big board so you can easily follow. The action. A perfect shot is 10, then 9 etc... In one set for the gold medal match both competitors shot 3 perfect 10s. The set was a tie. I had the winner who was from Iran. He was forever with the Iranian media and everybody and their brother wanting a picture with him. He was very friendly and eventually Inwas able to extract him from the crowds around him. Tomorrow the competition will feature slightly different bows.

SugarLoaf Mountain and Christ the Redeemer

I had Monday off work and spent the day touristing about. It was a hot beautiful clear day. I went with a Canadian friend Cathy to Sugarloaf  for the morning then over to Cristo Redentor by myself in the afternoon. As the pictures below will show it was absolutely stunning scenery. You can also see one mountain from the other. The Brazilian names are pao do acucar for sugarloaf and the Christ the  Redeemer is also known as the monumento do Corcovado. I took so many pictures it was difficult to select just a few and they do not do justice to the fantastic views. Tomorrow I start a few days at the archery competitions so that should be interesting.

Sunday in Rio

Like many places in the world Sunday can be a quiet day with stores closed and less traffic. This is true in Rio although we did get to a flea market near our hotel. There was the usual assortment of stuff and you can negotiate a bit with the vendors .  They all have credit/debit card machines which reduces somewhat the need for cash. I did manage to pick up a few things for family at home.

My Bajan friend Jasper and I headed to an area called Saara which he thought would be a good shopping area. It turns out all the stores were closed so we headed to an area called Lara. Many of my Canadian colleagues stayed there during the Olympics and had a mixed experience. It was party central with lots of entertainment and noise and dodgy hotels.

One of the fascinating things about Rio ( at least to me ) is the sidewalks. They are all made of these small stones in various patterns. Very labour intensive to do but very interesting to experience.

We also saw the famous steps called Escadaria Selaron with colourful mosaics over 215 steps. I did not run up them as sometimes seen in a Visa commercial. While there we got talking to a guy who is an Observer for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. I advised him to hire Jasper for views and advice on how to organize things there

Another day at Athletics

I went walkabout with Jasper in the morning and wandered up Copacabana Beach. While there ,enjoying a caipirinha, we met 4 Canadians from Sydney, Nova Scotia. We had lots to yak about. One couple their  daughter is competing Monday in shotput at Athletics. I won't be there for it -too bad as it would have been a good opportunity to connect with a Canadian athlete. Keep a look out for Pam Lejean. The other lady there said her daughter just graduated in engineering from Dalhousie and I was able to tell her about one of the young men on our street who had the same.

Whenever I go somewhere I often like to get a soccer sweater for the local team. So I bought a nice shirt for a Rio team called Flamengo- the colours are red black and white like our Ottawa teams. I received all sorts of interesting reactions. Positives from Flamengo fans and negatives from Flumenese fans who appear to be just as numerous. I met the Flumenese team doctor and he promised to get me a Flumenese T. Here I am in my new Flamengo T:

There are some amazing sand sculptures on the beach.

Second Day at Athletics

On our way to The Big Owe , Jasper took a bag of laundry into a place called Wash Club where for $R45 ( about $C18) they would do his laundry. Some of our colleagues who were here for the Olympics complained about the lack of laundry facilities.

I had the privilege to notify a couple of gold medal winning female Chinese athletes, neither of whom spoke a syllable of English. A young Chinese student going to UCLA in California served as our interpreter and did a great job.

The medal ceremonies are really something to see live and all activity on the field stops when these take place.  I was in the area where the athletes gather prior to the ceremony an watched how all that gets organized. While there I heard the Canadian anthem being played for a wheelchair athlete who had won his race. I had an opportunity to congratulate both him and another Canadian who won a silver medal in javelin. For non-Canadians reading this you will have to put up with a bit of Canadian rah-rah.

One thing I forgot to mention earlier was the sign I saw in a metro car today on our way to the stadium. It was outside the proscribed hours so we were allowed to be there.

First Day at Athletics

Wednesday morning started off by meeting an old Aussie friend from my 2010 Whistler Olympic days. It was great to catch up with him and then discover he would be my "boss" for the next few days. While at breakfast another guy joined us and it turns out he's from Barbados and actually lives very close to our hotel there. Jasper, the Bajan, and I have become good friends especially when I told him Barbados was second favourite country after Canada. Each of them called me "their brother from a different mother".

The three left after lunch for our trip to the Olympic Stadium, or as I call it The Big Owe. Sorry Montrealers. It took us a long metro ride then a train. The surprising thing about the trains are all the vendors wandering up and down the aisles selling food and other stuff. They are very loud but don't get in your face. The trip was aboutv1.5 hours. The people working in our station were a real international mix including Brazilians, Columbians, a Greman and a Serb. Olympic watchers will recognize this place:

I should also add we were our spiffy uniforms and here I am with a sort of selfie:

It wasn't a busy evening but long. We had rides back to the hotel which took about a 1/2 hour.

Wednesday gets Busier

Today was a national holiday in Brazil and the beaches were crowded. I went for a walk on Ipanema in the morning and enjoyed the sights and sounds . Fabulous views too.

In the afternoon Tony and I had to go for a briefing at theathletes's village where our anti-doping command centre is located. Again promised transport wasn't there for us so we used our transit passes  to head west. One subway and three rapid transit buses later we arrived at the Village. Luckily a few volunteers took pity on us  and we were able to get there after 2+ hours of travelling. As we walked into the briefing only 30 minutes late the guy in charge said we were early for Brazilians.

The Village is a series of huge apartment blocks and extra facilities set up for the athletes. You can see the many country flags but I'm not sure if you can see the Canadian flag in this picture.

I now have my work schedule and I'll be spending the next four days from 3:30 to 10:30pm at the Olympic Stadium ( I wonder if they also call it The Big Owe as Montrealers call their Olymic Stadium). The sport there is Athletics, also known as Track and Field so that should be interesting. No para Usain Bolts however.

Tuesday on Copacabana

Tuesday was a day with only a little official business in the afternoon . In the morning I went for a walk along Copacabana Beach. It's over 4km in length so I didn't make it the whole way but I did enjoy walking in the sand and having the waves run over my feet. Lots of people swimming and surfing. I knew had to get to the Accreditation and Uniform Centre today so that occupied my afternoon.

While I had asked the central anti-doping office for assistance to get there, nothing happened so I took my first ever Uber ride. It worked out really well and the driver got me there in one piece. The whole Uber thing is very easy to use( even in Brazil ) and offers price certainty.

As I was standing at a check-in counter I saw an Ottawa colleague Tony and connected with him. He was being looked after by a very friendly Brazilian named Renaldo. Renaldo zipped us through the Accreditation process and the uniforms (maybe I'll post a picture within the next day or two of me in this very colourful set of clothes). He then guided us the public transit back to my hotel; we met up with a couple from Qatar; went to Renaldo's vacation apartment overlooking Copacabana Beach ; then dinner at an excellent chicken BBQ place. Renaldo left us and the four of us walked back along the beach but enjoyed the local Carioca drink called caipirinha. It's like a mohito only sweeter. I had to have a second one to make sure I enjoyed it.

Ipanema Beach

A few photos from my arrival yesterday mostly of Ipanema Beach. The first one however, is my first view getting off the airplane at the downtown airport.

The next three are looking up and down the beach and the islands visible off shore.