I've never experienced this before

My feet landed in Rio exactly when Air Canada said they would. Long direct flight with a bulkhead seat allowed me to have more leg room and nobody leaning their backrest on my lap. Not the cushy "pods", Air Canada calls them "suites", up in business class but as best I could  muster. Leaving at 11:20 pm has one making the decision:movies, sleep, work....I ate a bit, as we get a meal, then part of a movie then attempted to sleep. Didn't do too badly and logged a few hours of sleep. When I checked my watch it was 8:30 Rio time so I got up , walked around top get the kinks to loosen up and the blood to flow and got some work done until breakfast was served.
Landed at 10:30ish and felt generally not bad. Unfortunately I couldn't wait for the basketball teams to unload as I was heading to a different area and the shuttle couldn't wait. It takes a long time to unload over 20 athletes using wheelchairs out of a plane. As the Village isn't opened to athletes, entitle 31st, Wheelchair Basketball Canada made the great decision to get both teams here a day early so they can be at the opening gates at 8 am in front of all the masses of international athletes coming in. They are staying at a naval base near Rio where they came a few months ago to train. It allows them to relax, train a bit today, get a private tour of an aircraft carrier then be ready to get to work in the morning. I will see them tomorrow.
As we have too many Canadian team support staff, many cannot get accredited. It means get full access to the Paralympic Village and venues. We house the overflow in residential apartment complexes across the road and close to Olympic Park, or now called Paralympic Park, where most competition venues are located ( https://www.rio2016.com/en/venues ). I am staying here tonight then tomorrow I move in the Village in the Canadian Team Residence.

What I refer to in today's blog title is with the last many events I took part in, I was the Chief Medical Officer (CMO). The responsibility requires to be one of the first on the ground to set up the clinic. Enter empty apartments and clean whatever leftover and mess the Olympic teams and delegations left behind and start unloading infinite amounts of boxes, bins and containers of medical equipment and supplies and create what will look like a fully functional medical clinic... in about 2-3 days.
As this year I was offered the position of Assistant / CMO, I don't have to do those tasks. Andy Marshall, these Games' CMO, has been here with Nancy Botting, our Chief Therapist (CT), for the last few days. They have been fixing and repairing, c;meaning and scrubbing, unpacking and carrying, storing and preparing the whole clinic. I assumed I was arriving today , getting off the plane and helping them but Village access is restricted to certain numbers and we have already enough Canadian team members in there so I simply cannot get access. As I mentioned above :"I've never experienced this before". It is almost uncomfortable resting and relaxing when I know from much experience there is a lot of work to be done. I guess I can look at it with the view that I have don my share and, as far as I am concerned, did it very well and offered a great clinic set up for my colleagues to work in when they arrived.

There's always something we can help with. Helen Haworth, our Clinic Manager (CM), was on my flight and at the same residence I am tonight before moving in the Village tomorrow as well. She and I went on a scrambling mission to find a few supplies Andy needed: drano, anti-ant spray, multiple small tupperware containers and stick-on hooks for the door. Great variety. So we cabbed it in rush hour and got our supplies at what I call the "Brazilian Tire", the equivalent of Canadian Tire.

One never knows when a good sledge hammer may be needed....

Super hero tupperware for our supplies

Driving back we saw a bunch of large capibaras on the roadside. They are huge! At home we wouldn't blink to see squirrels on the side of the road...but a bunch of the world's largest rodents?Couldn't get a picture from the taxi.

So now, back in my room, I can relax as I am finally starting to get the feel of the overnight travel and less than optimal rest and sleep. I hear it will rain the next few days....

I know these blogs are not visually exciting. Many of my past readers know that eventually, pictures are going to be part of these blogs. Thanks for being patient.