I got up very early to do my morning workout in the park. Some trx and some sprints in the grass. The park wasn't as busy as the Sunday but probably more so than any Scottish park at 7am. I struggled a little but with the Mosquitos but also the work out. It was back to house and then a walk to Noum Plaza Hotel where I met the team for breakfast. Woah. So much food and my first omelette of the trip. Woohoo. After that, the non starters were having a workout and of course I wanted to join them. We did a circuit and some runs. It was so nice not having to think about what I was going to do and only have my own motivation. As much as I love outdoor gyms, more so than indoor, it was just nice to have some familiarity. I then took a shower and my goodness what a power machine it was. Lunch followed and again I was so impressed with the spread of food. Definately not the usual backpackers dining. Thank you national squad :) I was then fortunate to join the team activity. We went out on the lake and did some paddle boarding. That was so much fun but very difficult. I persuaded one of the players to do it and said 'don't worry, I will look after you'. But the time she got in the water I was already half way across and floating down stream towards the bridge. The Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge also known as the President JK Bridge or just the JK Bridge, is a steel and concrete bridge that crosses Lake Paranoá in Brasília. It links the southern part of the lake, and St. Sebastian Paranoá the Pilot Plan (or the central and original part of the city), through the Monumental Axis. In a panic I tried to get back and turn round but it was a constant battle against the waves. After a lot of paddling, and what seemed like a long time, I finally made it back. Anna Signeul was first to take up the windsurfing challenge and my goodness was she good. Off she went across the water with no trouble and everyone waited in anticipation to when she was going to fall in. They waited quite a long time and when she did fall, she just bounced back up and started again. Hat off to you Anna. A few others tried and that was so fun to watch. We headed back and I was able to enjoy meal number three of the day with the team before heading back to my hosts. It wasn't dark yet so I chanced my luck with a walk through the park but with many walkers and runners I felt safe. It was actually so nice. When I got back to the area of their house, I thought about grabbing a drink and checking wifi for my buses but in passing one resturant, one man shouted, "hey you are from scotland right?" So confused to how he would know this, I went to speak to him. Silly me, I was wearing a Scotland rugby bag so he wasn't psychic nor was I famous haha! Anyway, this turned out to be a very nice and random encounter. He owned the restuarant and also worked for the government. He was there with two friends and we spoke about many different things but a big topic was horoscopes. He was extremely knowledgable and I listened carefully to his insight. Braga was extremely nice; telling me about his family, his life, offering me food and drink and because I wasn't hungry he even wrote out a voucher for me and my two friends to go there for dinner. When I told him my next stop was Belo, he told me his neice lived there and had a tv show, 'top show'. He showed me clips of her on the Internet and then proceeded to call her to tell her I was coming to town. The next minute I know I am on the phone to this tv presenter trying my hardest to make conversation in Portuguese haha. So random. He then allowed me to phone my mum in Scotland so I was able to catch up with her quickly. Anyway, before I knew it I had been there for ages and figured I should return. When I got back to the apartment, Carlos and Zusanna and I laughed so hard at my random meeting and the things I learned. Also parabens to Zusanna who passed her Portuguese test and gained a certificate :) she is extremely intelligent and seems like a language guru as she can speak so many. If only it was that easy for me to learn. My night ended with lots of chat and laughs with them. They truly did make you feel at ease. Thank you.
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AuthorTracy Donachie, MSc in Performance Psychology. Archives
May 2019
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