8/5/16, “I’m
Home”
Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil
I’m
home. How many times have I said that
after I have flown halfway across the world with the goal of setting foot
inside some abandoned Olympic Stadium?
They were the words that opened my Athens entry, after I somehow managed
to talk my way inside to take a picture (and stayed to write most of an
entry). They are words that embody the
feeling when go to a Stadium that brings back all the happy memoires from a
Games that I remember watching. Now,
reader, if setting foot inside a Stadium that hosted a Games 12 years ago,
imagine what I’ll feel when I set foot inside Maracana Stadium tonight for the
Opening Ceremonies. Imagine what I felt
when I stepped off the plane this morning, into a city hosting the Games. Imagine what I felt as I walked from the gate
to border control, though an airport emblazoned with Olympic Rings and adverts
from the sponsors.
Needless to say, I
cried the whole walk, and it was a long walk, until I got to border
control. I was home. There were no other words. For the next 9 Days, as I watch the Games and
get caught up in the excitement of being there, rather than watching from my
actual home, having five or six screens up at a time to watch every event,
instead just going to the events in person, I’ll be home. Watching pickup games of volleyball on the
beach, I’m home. Seeing the special
preparations Rio has made for the Games, I’m home. There is no question this will be one of my
top five trips of all time. The only
question is, will it be number one? Will
it unseat the great road trip I took with my parents to see the National Parks
of the American West so many years ago?
Will it beat out the epic Eurotrip I took three years ago, which brought
me to no fewer than six Olympic Stadiums and 10 countries?
This trip is about one thing, seeing the
Olympics. To that end, I will be in one
country, one city, one hotel room the entire time, such sharp contrast to that
epic Eurotrip. However, while I am in
Rio for the Games, there are two other must-see sites for me, two sites that
would have caused me to come to Rio even if they weren’t hosting the
Games. One site is behind me, and I can
see it from my hotel window. That is the
statue of Christ the Redeemer, a New7 Wonder of the World. I will visit that this weekend.
The other is the great Harbor of Rio de Janeiro,
a Natural Wonder of the World. That is
where I am now. I am at Flamingo Beach,
overlooking the Harbor, with the mountains in the background. This is truly deserving its designation. The mountainous harbor is unlike anything
else in the world. It was a great place
to build a city, and what a city it’s become.
It is definitely one of the most beautiful vista I have ever seen in my
life. NBC’s coverage of the Olympics will
make vistas such as this even more iconic than they already are, just as they
did with the Great Wall 8 years ago and the Sydney Opera House 16 years
ago.
Alright, so I suppose I should
recount what brought me from Kennedy to this vista. After I closed, I went to the newsstand to
get some chips and a Hershey’s bar, along with the new Harry Potter book, in
case I needed something to read on the plane.
We were delayed on the ground for well over an hour. I didn’t care. I started watching The Little Mermaid, which,
if I’m not sure I ever saw before. If I
did, it was ages ago. I loved it, and
the end credits started just as we were taking off. I had paid extra to get the bulkhead seat
with extra legroom. Oh, I forgot to
mention the most important part. I was
sitting next to a Japanese judoka. They
are always favorites, and he was in the heavyweight division. If I go to the finals, I might actually see
him there. I was completely fanboying
over that.
Okay, so extra money for
extra legroom. Today was such an
important day, I wanted to make sure I slept well on the plane. As soon as we took off, I leaned back, I
leaned my seat back so that I could go to sleep. Next thing I knew, the woman behind me was
poking my shoulder complaining that I was leaning back when I had so much leg
room and they had so little. I explained
that I can’t sleep upright and that the legroom didn’t matter for that. She said they weren’t planning on leaning
back and again pointed out how much legroom I had, poking my shoulder again. I explained, sharply, that the seats were
designed like that for a reason, and made it clear that I would be utilizing
that function. I went to sleep as she
mouthed off at me, promising that Karma would come back for me. If I believed in Karma, I might have
listened. I woke up in time for dinner,
beef with rice, and went back to sleep.
Next thing I knew, we were making our descent. I had slept the whole way through.
We disembarked, and as soon as I saw the
Rings all over the corridor, I started crying.
I was home. What really did me in
was the Coca-Cola stand. Only my readers
who know me best will understand why being handed a Coke bottle would turn me
into a sobbing mess. Why that, more than
anything, meant that I was home. For my
readers who have never endured an Olympics with me, I will explain. During the Olympics, and for a buffer period
before and after, I show absolute loyalty to the corporate sponsors of the
Games. For example, I will not buy
Burger King or Pepsi for a six-month period leading up to the Games, or for a
one-month period following the Games.
During the Games themselves, all of my soft drinks must be Coke
products, and I get all my meals (in the US, a local exception will be made
since I’m now in the host city) from McDonald’s.
I have done this every Olympics going back to
Athens 2004. I save all the collectible
packaging. I still have all of
that. Coca-Cola is the oldest corporate
sponsor of the Games, and their packaging is the most iconic. Now that my reader understands the
background, imagine what I felt when I saw a Coca-Cola stand, emblazoned with
the Olympic Rings, at the airport, and one of the workers handed me a Coca-Cola
bottle with the Olympic Rings and the words “WORLDWIDE PARTNER” on the
bottle. That bottle will the centerpiece
of my collection of Olympic Coca-Cola packaging. The centerpiece.
There was almost no line at border
control. It was so fully staffed that
they had cleared everyone as quickly as they got off the plane. Next was Duty-Free, where I got some cigars,
a box of Partagas to serve as the Cigar of the Trip, a three-pack of
Montecristos, and a three-pack of Brazilian cigars. I also got a bottle of Cachacha, the best one
they had. That was that. Time to leave the airport. Once I walked out of Duty-Free, there was a
huge media presence awaiting the athletes’ arrivals. My greeter was awaiting me and got me to my
car. It was a short drive to the hotel,
but long enough to smoke my first Partagas.
I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t see the harbor from my hotel
room, but I could see Christ the Redeemer.
That was good enough. I got
settled in and relaxed a bit before changing and heading out. I got supplies for an afternoon out. My first stop was an ATM, which had a
relatively low withdrawal limit. Next
was a metro card, a special edition Olympic one, which should have been free,
but the Organizing Committee had run out of money and had to charge for
them. It was not cheap. When I say that, I mean it was NYC MetroCard
prices.
Then it was time for my first
Official meal. I had found an iconic
steakhouse dating back to 1874. The
filet mignon was their specialty. The
waiter spoke no English, and I speak no Portuguese. We were able to communicate successfully in
Spanish. I got their filet mignon,
prepared in their signature fashion, bread and butter, and two beers. It was a delicious meal, all the better with
chopsticks, as is my tradition for my first Official meal in a new
country. That was my 64th
country. After my meal, which was not
cheap either, but it was worth it, I went to the beach.
Oh, so I had brought three cigars with me
from home, knowing that two of them I could not really smoke after Opening
Ceremonies, wanting instead to buy all my consumables locally. I had forgotten that they were a Montecristo
and a Partagas, the exact same two brands I had gotten at Duty-Free. Oh well.
I lit up a Montecristo when I got to the beach so that I could take my
ceremonial picture. I was here. This was it.
The Harbor of Rio de Janeiro, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the
World. “Five down, two to go.”
My astute readers will know the two that
remain. I am going to Nepal in November,
Australia in December. Australia will
bring me three Completes: Continents, Natural Wonders, and Olympic
Stadiums. Those will both be trips for
the record books, two more potential top five trips. I payed proper homage to the Wonder and then
headed back to the hotel to get my laptop so that I could come back to write my
entry.
When I got to the hotel lobby, I
tried to add Raymond’s name to the reservation.
They said it was a single room. I
feigned confusion, saying it had two beds (which I had requested in
advance). The ruse worked, and they said
they would give him a key when he arrived.
I headed back to the beach and sat down in view of the harbor, where I
lit up a Partagas (the one I brought from home, not the Cigar of the Trip) and
proceeded to write this entry, which I will now close so that I can head back
to the hotel and get ready to head to the Opening Ceremonies.
I’m not
going to write another entry tonight after the Opening Ceremonies, for a
multitude of reasons. The main reason is
that I want to publish this before Opening Ceremonies begin, rather than
publishing it overnight after everyone back home has gone to sleep. Also, since this is my Day 0 entry, I’d
rather it solely be about final preparations and then recount the Opening
Ceremonies in a Day 1 entry. To that
end, I would like to introduce this spot, which will likely be my main entry-writing
spot for this trip, just as the bench on the stern of the Corinthian was my
main entry-writing spot for my Antartica trip.
The difference is, the view of Christ the Redeemer will remain
unchanged, other than lighting differences, for the entire trip, as will the
Rio de Janeiro dateline, unlike the multiple of vistas and datelines I
experienced as I wrote from the Corinthian.
That’s another thing about this trip that’s different. I was thinking the last time I had a similar
experience was at Comic Con, when I stayed in the same hotel for close to a
week and learned all the best spots to eat and smoke and got familiar with the
area. It will be like this for this trip
as well. That place I had lunch today,
I’ll eat there again I’m sure, as will I revisit the coffee shop where I got
some coffee on my walk back, and I know I’ll be back to that beach. Just like the words that were sung in the
song so heavily featured on the soundtrack for our Gymnastics Team last year,
I’m going to make this place my home. I
suppose I should also make a “Call Me Maybe” joke, too, but I think any attempt
would diminish what was one of the greatest Olympic moments of all time.
London was filled with memories that last me
a lifetime, and that was just from watching in my apartment. “The Fab Five is Going Gold.” Those words can still bring tears to my
eyes. What will happen this year, when I
see the new Fab Five in person? That
will be even more memorable. I will see
them twice, and I will see four nights of swimming. This will be a Games to remember, and I’m
absolutely going to make this place my home.
So just to finalize today’s entry, after I closed at the beach, I headed
back towards the hotel, getting less lost this time, and stopping for a
Brazilian version of a corn dog, along with a Coke Zero. I also stopped at a coffee shop for some
coffee, and I realized that would be a regular spot for the trip. I headed up to the room and deposited some
stuff before going up to the roof, where I picked out the best spot with a view
of Christ the Redeemer. I chose that as
my regular entry-writing spot. I then
sat down, it up my Ardor, which can now add Rio de Janeiro to all the iconic
places where it’s been smoked, and proceeded to write this entry, which I will
now close so that I can publish and get ready and head to the Stadium.
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