I am a rabid Olympics fan – it’s something that I have been following ever since I was a kid. Went to the London Olympics four years ago and had an amazing time. So back then I made a promise to myself: I’ll be in Rio.
Sure I had second thoughts and a bout or two of cold feet about attending; what with terrorism attacks all over the world, the outbreak of Zika, bacteria in the water, the high crime rate and all of the political unrest in Brazil, I was more than a bit scared. But the minute I landed four days ago, it has been a blast of unremitting fun, and I mean Non-Stop.
Unlike the London Olympics, it’s been so much less hassle to get tickets to the events I most wanted to experience. So far, I’ve been able to land tickets to about 90% of the events without a single problem (other than the fact that getting into matches where the USA is playing basketball is like trying to get a seat on the space shuttle).
We have passes to a wide variety of different competitions, including volleyball, diving,
field hockey, cycling, rugby, basketball, handball and gymnastics. I could actually score even more tickets if I wanted to, but everybody’s got to sleep sometime.
The Barra Olympic Park has been our second home for the past four days. It’s a cluster of nine sporting venues in Barra da Tijuca. The sporting venues here are simply amazing, and the Brazilians have done a phenomenal job of designing each of the venues. Every one is stunning in its majesty and beautiful in its execution.
Enjoy new highlights of travel photographer Edwin Santiago’s journeys each week.
Last modified: August 22, 2017
