Monday, June 16 (Game Day: Ghana vs USA)
0930: I'm up and boiling some water to make some coffee which we hope will be a part of our morning routine and a very enjoyable way to start the day. Itinerary today is to get out to the beach during low tide (the only way out to this special beach). The special think about this beach in Pipa is that the dolphins swim into this bay and the access is blocked from our walking there by high tide. After some time on the beach we will drive the hour plus back to Natal for the first USA game versus Ghana.
1030: we're finishing up our morning logistics, applying sunscreen and are out the door and heading for the beach. A ten minute walk takes us down the beach and across a scramble of rocks to the 'dolphin bay'. It's a beautiful day with sunshine and some high clouds.
The beach here in Pipa is fantastic. A very long shallow slope with fine sand. There are some decent swells coming in and I'm surely going to do some body surfing. Hopefully the dolphins will make their appearance as anticipated and advertised. The crescent shaped bay here is lined with dozens of umbrellas, and there are a couple vendors walking the beach selling frozen treats, drinks and such.
We settle down in the middle of the beach and there are a couple of dozen people spread out over the quarter to half mile. There were several motorboats soliciting tourists as we left the main Pipa beach, and several of them have come into the small bay and departed without seeing any of the dolphins. There are three bouys in the bay to keep the boats a good distance out and away from the swimmers and paddle boarders. After a few minutes of grilling in the sun, a couple of us go in to test the waters - it's nice. Maybe three to four foot swells make for some difficult body surfing, and the shallow beach lands one right on the bottom after a good ride. We take a couple of turns in the water with one playing sentry over our belongings, and eventually we do see a couple of dolphins near the edge of where some are swimming. AJ, Charlie and Bill are in the water not too far away, they say they got a pretty good look at 'em. Just after noon, we decide we must depart for the next phase of our game day - which is to grab a bite to eat and drive to Natal for the match.
1215: we've gone back to the cabin and done most of our preparation for game day, and head out to one of the restaurants on the main street that are showing the Germany vs Portugal game. We are excited to see how our Group of Death opponents will fare, and I am looking forward to one of my first adventures with the local cuisine. I select shrimp curry with rice and salad. R$22. (US$10.34). The meal is fantastic, as is the game. Germany win, which is a good result for USA. Portugal have a player red carded (will miss USA game) and another injured, which will certainly help our chances next game.
1500: we're on our way to Natal, driving back thru the roads that we only saw in the darkness last night. There are fields of sugar cane and cattle. Several small villages are active, and we pass by a few jackasses - which we find quite appropriate and amusing. In our soccer circle a jackass is an affectionate term - not at all like an asshole. Halfway to Natal we stop at a Petrobras and fill the tank R$82. (US$39.). The gas here is about R$3. per liter (US5.35/gallon). There are several service attendants who jump into action to grab the key to locking gas cap, fill the tank and wash the windscreen. We don't know custom, but we give the guy a small tip. We also purchase a twelve pack of Kaiser beer and a bag of ice R$28. (US$13.). We put the beer in plastic bags and cover with ice, and continue on our way. All of the cars are very small and most of them are the most basic models. Our Fiat UNO for example has manual transmission, steering and window regulators, and of course, the car has no air conditioning. The radio is blocked, so we must resort to entertaining ourselves. We're heading back north on the BR101 at about 700 km/hr (45 mph) when all of a sudden we hit a sleeping policeman (speed bump). What a startling surprise, luckily the car survived at the guys in the back seat were strapped in or they would have hit the roof.
1630: we've arrived at a special parking lot near UFRN, which is a university campus. We find the lot busy with luxury motorcoaches filled with Ghana fans, and a few USA tour groups. They have said that the flight over to Natal was only four hours. They are in great numbers and high spirits determined to make the 'hat trick' or 3-nil, which represents both the most recent results versus USA and the scoring prowess of their main striker in one of their last qualifiers. We've taken out a dozen or so scarves and try to sell to the trickle of USA fans who pass thru the lot. Eventually we are mobbed with Ghana fans wanting to take pictures with us. Pre-game with opposing supporters is really a party atmosphere, and everyone is in high spirits on the outside, but very anxious for the match.
1700: t-minus two hours to kickoff, and we are a short walking distance from the stadium. We decide to each grab several scarves and Charlie puts a bag of five in his cinch sack, and we head out for the game. The short walk takes us along the frontage road of BR101, and the roadside is lined with locals and several small shops selling drinks and snacks. The Ghana fans are singing and dancing. We are held at the bottom of a pedestrian overpass by security forces as a VIP convoy passes thru. We are released to cross the major road with the stadium just a few hundred yards away now.
The anticipation is building as the sun has set. We begin hawking our scarves, and it's a tough sell, but we are able to move them all. We are approached by some older English guy who inquires about buy a large quantity from us. AJ passes along his contact info and we hope we can dump the entire load, so we don't have to carry across the remaining 9,000 miles of our journey. We're in the stadium an hour before kickoff, and we find our seats high in the second deck behind where the US are warming up. Andy and my seats are just six rows apart, so I join him and keep an eye out for Pam, so we might be able to switch and the two of us watch the game together.
With thirty minutes to kickoff, we decide to venture down to the concourse and get something to eat and a beer. We find cheeseburgers R$13. (US$6.) and a Brahma beer R$10.(US$4.75) and return to our seats as the teams are preparing to enter the field. Charlie and Bill are just one section to our right, and there are plenty of extra seats in our row, so I stay there for the game. Next to me is a Brasilian family, mother, daughter and a little boy. Mother tells me that her son is learning English, but he is a little shy. I am writing in my little black book during the game, and they are curious as to what I am taking notes about. I tell them, that as a former referee, I like to take notes on the game which helps me to focus on the game and look back at things like injuries and substitutions.
By now you will know the result and there will be far better sources for game analysis. My only comments on the match would be: our play was not that good in the middle of the match; where did the referee get five minutes of stoppage time in second half (I had two in my book). Despite this, the celebrations in the USA supporters section upon scoring the winning goal was fantastic, and such joy after the previous gutting defeats experienced at the feet of the Ghanain team.
2100: there is a great party atmosphere among the US supporters as we begin our walk back thru the security perimeter which is many blocks around the stadium in all directions. We reach the pedestrian crossing and note that the main route BR101 has been closed in the southbound direction. I know that this can mean only one thing ... Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade will soon be screaming thru and on it's way to the toward the old airport and Air Force base where I had seen the distinctive tail of a US Air Force C-17 transport airplane. The fleet of US Diplomatic Service vehicles will be flown on to their next point of call.
2200: we are back in the parking lot and ready to hit the road, when Charlie dashes from the car toward a Ghana motor coach. I'm thinking, sorry Charlie, we'll never see you again as he disappears around the front of the bus and into the crowd. He returns momentarily, gleefully displaying the fruits of his trade - a Ghana scarf, in exchange for one of his. I am a bit jealous, for I had tried to obtain one in Germany, South Africa and again today to no avail. Good on ya, Charlie.
2330: and we're back in Pipa after relatively easy navigation off the BR101 and thru the small town to find the road to Pipa. The downtown intersection is jumping, so we park the car and head into the mix for a nice cold celebratory beer. We grab a cold beer R$5 (US$2.35) from a guy on the corner with a Styrofoam\ cooler. We wander a little down the road to check out the scene and pass an old man grilling beef kabobs from a little cart. The party is limited to a single street corner of this sleepy tourist town, so we turn aroun\\d toward the action. I decide that I am hungry, and want to try one of the kabobs, so I approach the old ma\n who is seated in his chair next to his portable grill stand kiosk. He is asleep, so I get a little closer and mumble something to awaken him and indicate that I would like to buy kabob R$3 (US$1.40). Andy and Charlie do so as well. There are no kabobs on the small charcoal grill, so I want to be sure they are cooked well. He opens up a drawer of some sort and pulls out three pre-cooked kabobs and places them on the g\rill to reheat and spread some type of marinade upon them. They get up to a pretty good temperature, so I am hopefully that I did not make a bad decision. Much of the meat is really pretty good, but as usual there are a few grisly bits. We carry on down the street with beer and kabob in hand.
The music from the corner music club is blasting, and there must be a hundred people dancing in the adjacent streets. Our legs are a little tired after standing and cheering for 90 minutes at the game, so we go up into an adjacent bar / cafe for another nightcap. I decide that now is the time for me to experience my first Caipirinha. I order the special Brasilian cocktail, which is made from a rum like liquor with lime and sugar . I decide upon the premium version for R$7 (US$3.29).
Lo and behold on the street below, we see our long time friend in futbol, Tanya Keith and her husband, Doug Jotske. They come and join us. We had recently seen them when our Minnesota United FC traveled to Des Moines to play their Menace (USL-PDL) in the US Open Cup. Tanya has just published her book: Passionate Soccer Love; a chronicle of her (and Doug's) journey thru twenty years of marriage and travel to World Cup Qualifiers and Finals. Now they are here celebrating their marriage, and the book with their two kids Aviva and Raphael. We enjoy some great conversations and are joined a short time later by any old friend of Charlie and Andy, Monty Rodriguez. They know him from the late 1990's and the heyday of Sam's Army (the first organized supporters group). I understand that there may be some news regarding a reorganization of this group version 2.0 in the weeks to follow the Finals here in Brasil. I hope so, and look forward to this development for the good of the game in the United States. We retire after another round of cocktails. Tomorrow, Charlie and Bill depart Pipa by local bus transport to Natal and then on to the airport for their flight to Rio where they will spend a couple of days. Andy and I will stay a little longer thru mid-day, check out of our wonderful Airbnb place, and make our way on to the Amazon where a jungle tour and match versus Portugal await. We are finally settling in to bed at 0215.
CHECK BACK LATER FOR SOME IMAGES
0930: I'm up and boiling some water to make some coffee which we hope will be a part of our morning routine and a very enjoyable way to start the day. Itinerary today is to get out to the beach during low tide (the only way out to this special beach). The special think about this beach in Pipa is that the dolphins swim into this bay and the access is blocked from our walking there by high tide. After some time on the beach we will drive the hour plus back to Natal for the first USA game versus Ghana.
1030: we're finishing up our morning logistics, applying sunscreen and are out the door and heading for the beach. A ten minute walk takes us down the beach and across a scramble of rocks to the 'dolphin bay'. It's a beautiful day with sunshine and some high clouds.
The beach here in Pipa is fantastic. A very long shallow slope with fine sand. There are some decent swells coming in and I'm surely going to do some body surfing. Hopefully the dolphins will make their appearance as anticipated and advertised. The crescent shaped bay here is lined with dozens of umbrellas, and there are a couple vendors walking the beach selling frozen treats, drinks and such.
We settle down in the middle of the beach and there are a couple of dozen people spread out over the quarter to half mile. There were several motorboats soliciting tourists as we left the main Pipa beach, and several of them have come into the small bay and departed without seeing any of the dolphins. There are three bouys in the bay to keep the boats a good distance out and away from the swimmers and paddle boarders. After a few minutes of grilling in the sun, a couple of us go in to test the waters - it's nice. Maybe three to four foot swells make for some difficult body surfing, and the shallow beach lands one right on the bottom after a good ride. We take a couple of turns in the water with one playing sentry over our belongings, and eventually we do see a couple of dolphins near the edge of where some are swimming. AJ, Charlie and Bill are in the water not too far away, they say they got a pretty good look at 'em. Just after noon, we decide we must depart for the next phase of our game day - which is to grab a bite to eat and drive to Natal for the match.
1215: we've gone back to the cabin and done most of our preparation for game day, and head out to one of the restaurants on the main street that are showing the Germany vs Portugal game. We are excited to see how our Group of Death opponents will fare, and I am looking forward to one of my first adventures with the local cuisine. I select shrimp curry with rice and salad. R$22. (US$10.34). The meal is fantastic, as is the game. Germany win, which is a good result for USA. Portugal have a player red carded (will miss USA game) and another injured, which will certainly help our chances next game.
1500: we're on our way to Natal, driving back thru the roads that we only saw in the darkness last night. There are fields of sugar cane and cattle. Several small villages are active, and we pass by a few jackasses - which we find quite appropriate and amusing. In our soccer circle a jackass is an affectionate term - not at all like an asshole. Halfway to Natal we stop at a Petrobras and fill the tank R$82. (US$39.). The gas here is about R$3. per liter (US5.35/gallon). There are several service attendants who jump into action to grab the key to locking gas cap, fill the tank and wash the windscreen. We don't know custom, but we give the guy a small tip. We also purchase a twelve pack of Kaiser beer and a bag of ice R$28. (US$13.). We put the beer in plastic bags and cover with ice, and continue on our way. All of the cars are very small and most of them are the most basic models. Our Fiat UNO for example has manual transmission, steering and window regulators, and of course, the car has no air conditioning. The radio is blocked, so we must resort to entertaining ourselves. We're heading back north on the BR101 at about 700 km/hr (45 mph) when all of a sudden we hit a sleeping policeman (speed bump). What a startling surprise, luckily the car survived at the guys in the back seat were strapped in or they would have hit the roof.
1630: we've arrived at a special parking lot near UFRN, which is a university campus. We find the lot busy with luxury motorcoaches filled with Ghana fans, and a few USA tour groups. They have said that the flight over to Natal was only four hours. They are in great numbers and high spirits determined to make the 'hat trick' or 3-nil, which represents both the most recent results versus USA and the scoring prowess of their main striker in one of their last qualifiers. We've taken out a dozen or so scarves and try to sell to the trickle of USA fans who pass thru the lot. Eventually we are mobbed with Ghana fans wanting to take pictures with us. Pre-game with opposing supporters is really a party atmosphere, and everyone is in high spirits on the outside, but very anxious for the match.
1700: t-minus two hours to kickoff, and we are a short walking distance from the stadium. We decide to each grab several scarves and Charlie puts a bag of five in his cinch sack, and we head out for the game. The short walk takes us along the frontage road of BR101, and the roadside is lined with locals and several small shops selling drinks and snacks. The Ghana fans are singing and dancing. We are held at the bottom of a pedestrian overpass by security forces as a VIP convoy passes thru. We are released to cross the major road with the stadium just a few hundred yards away now.
The anticipation is building as the sun has set. We begin hawking our scarves, and it's a tough sell, but we are able to move them all. We are approached by some older English guy who inquires about buy a large quantity from us. AJ passes along his contact info and we hope we can dump the entire load, so we don't have to carry across the remaining 9,000 miles of our journey. We're in the stadium an hour before kickoff, and we find our seats high in the second deck behind where the US are warming up. Andy and my seats are just six rows apart, so I join him and keep an eye out for Pam, so we might be able to switch and the two of us watch the game together.
With thirty minutes to kickoff, we decide to venture down to the concourse and get something to eat and a beer. We find cheeseburgers R$13. (US$6.) and a Brahma beer R$10.(US$4.75) and return to our seats as the teams are preparing to enter the field. Charlie and Bill are just one section to our right, and there are plenty of extra seats in our row, so I stay there for the game. Next to me is a Brasilian family, mother, daughter and a little boy. Mother tells me that her son is learning English, but he is a little shy. I am writing in my little black book during the game, and they are curious as to what I am taking notes about. I tell them, that as a former referee, I like to take notes on the game which helps me to focus on the game and look back at things like injuries and substitutions.
By now you will know the result and there will be far better sources for game analysis. My only comments on the match would be: our play was not that good in the middle of the match; where did the referee get five minutes of stoppage time in second half (I had two in my book). Despite this, the celebrations in the USA supporters section upon scoring the winning goal was fantastic, and such joy after the previous gutting defeats experienced at the feet of the Ghanain team.
2100: there is a great party atmosphere among the US supporters as we begin our walk back thru the security perimeter which is many blocks around the stadium in all directions. We reach the pedestrian crossing and note that the main route BR101 has been closed in the southbound direction. I know that this can mean only one thing ... Vice President Joe Biden's motorcade will soon be screaming thru and on it's way to the toward the old airport and Air Force base where I had seen the distinctive tail of a US Air Force C-17 transport airplane. The fleet of US Diplomatic Service vehicles will be flown on to their next point of call.
2200: we are back in the parking lot and ready to hit the road, when Charlie dashes from the car toward a Ghana motor coach. I'm thinking, sorry Charlie, we'll never see you again as he disappears around the front of the bus and into the crowd. He returns momentarily, gleefully displaying the fruits of his trade - a Ghana scarf, in exchange for one of his. I am a bit jealous, for I had tried to obtain one in Germany, South Africa and again today to no avail. Good on ya, Charlie.
2330: and we're back in Pipa after relatively easy navigation off the BR101 and thru the small town to find the road to Pipa. The downtown intersection is jumping, so we park the car and head into the mix for a nice cold celebratory beer. We grab a cold beer R$5 (US$2.35) from a guy on the corner with a Styrofoam\ cooler. We wander a little down the road to check out the scene and pass an old man grilling beef kabobs from a little cart. The party is limited to a single street corner of this sleepy tourist town, so we turn aroun\\d toward the action. I decide that I am hungry, and want to try one of the kabobs, so I approach the old ma\n who is seated in his chair next to his portable grill stand kiosk. He is asleep, so I get a little closer and mumble something to awaken him and indicate that I would like to buy kabob R$3 (US$1.40). Andy and Charlie do so as well. There are no kabobs on the small charcoal grill, so I want to be sure they are cooked well. He opens up a drawer of some sort and pulls out three pre-cooked kabobs and places them on the g\rill to reheat and spread some type of marinade upon them. They get up to a pretty good temperature, so I am hopefully that I did not make a bad decision. Much of the meat is really pretty good, but as usual there are a few grisly bits. We carry on down the street with beer and kabob in hand.
The music from the corner music club is blasting, and there must be a hundred people dancing in the adjacent streets. Our legs are a little tired after standing and cheering for 90 minutes at the game, so we go up into an adjacent bar / cafe for another nightcap. I decide that now is the time for me to experience my first Caipirinha. I order the special Brasilian cocktail, which is made from a rum like liquor with lime and sugar . I decide upon the premium version for R$7 (US$3.29).
Lo and behold on the street below, we see our long time friend in futbol, Tanya Keith and her husband, Doug Jotske. They come and join us. We had recently seen them when our Minnesota United FC traveled to Des Moines to play their Menace (USL-PDL) in the US Open Cup. Tanya has just published her book: Passionate Soccer Love; a chronicle of her (and Doug's) journey thru twenty years of marriage and travel to World Cup Qualifiers and Finals. Now they are here celebrating their marriage, and the book with their two kids Aviva and Raphael. We enjoy some great conversations and are joined a short time later by any old friend of Charlie and Andy, Monty Rodriguez. They know him from the late 1990's and the heyday of Sam's Army (the first organized supporters group). I understand that there may be some news regarding a reorganization of this group version 2.0 in the weeks to follow the Finals here in Brasil. I hope so, and look forward to this development for the good of the game in the United States. We retire after another round of cocktails. Tomorrow, Charlie and Bill depart Pipa by local bus transport to Natal and then on to the airport for their flight to Rio where they will spend a couple of days. Andy and I will stay a little longer thru mid-day, check out of our wonderful Airbnb place, and make our way on to the Amazon where a jungle tour and match versus Portugal await. We are finally settling in to bed at 0215.
CHECK BACK LATER FOR SOME IMAGES
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