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