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.