We got another B-men soundtrack for dis report 'cause even though it be winter, we definitely were sweatin’ and gettin’ hotter on da trail wit’ all dat hard hikin’ through da deep snow!
get our country table decorations set out,
stamp de EXCELLENT event stamp into our books, and study some of da preliminary info dat da host family distributed. We learned dat dey had organized de area into 5 loops, each identified by one of de Olympic ring colors. Each team country was assigned a color for their starting route, but after dat we could explore all de other venues. Although all da teams could participate in each event, there were only 3 medals – gold, silver & bronze to be won. Each team could only take one medal from a box, unless they had other special cards.
Since we get there early, da Mr. Olympic Committee man tell us we be the “terrorist” and gave us a bomb to plant in any of da boxes dat we might find when we were out on da course. We be a little scared of dat bomb, but since we would get 10 extra points for undertaking da dangerous mission, we say OK!
There was lots of excitement in da Lion’s Den arena as de other teams arrived to also prepare for da competition. Da Fo6 host family was well organized, and even had some Olympic music playin’ for inspiration. Here's a view of da smilin' Canucks:
Of course we try to sneak in another song – “Who Let the Dogs Out?” to get pumped up for hittin’ da trail.
We just had a flag, some shells and a (sadly empty) Rum Jumbie bottle for our Bahamas display, but some of dem other countries went all out. Portugal had an elaborate display which also included tasty wine and cheese.
and de Indians be funny wit’ their call center!
The Austrians had a mountain scene
and Team USA went patriotic.
Da New Zealand team had very snazzy logos on hats, shirts and gloves and an impressive display dat even included LIVE fishies! Sadly the female team member had suffered a recent injury and announced she would be unable to compete.
Da Swedish team also have fishies, but dey have de edible kind dat were popular wit de other athletes.
Those Swedes also be decked out in official gear (not naked) and we laugh hard to see all dat blond hair flowin beneath their hats!!
Some other teams also have hats – the English team had crowns and our Jamaican neighbors be sportin’ some cool Rasta tams.
We had acquired a special clue which we were surprised to discover turned out to be da Ski Cross event. An easy first event and our first gold!! After meetin’ & greetin’ it was getting near 10 am and da startin’ time. Although a few teams had to make last minute cancellations, we still had 15 countries competin’. Like us, many of da teams were ready to hit da course right at 10.
We figured we’d do well on our first events, but then expected de other participants to have excelled in their areas, leaving no medals for us by the time we reached de other venues. Therefore we hurried out for da first box on da Red ring, but quickly got confuddled. Dat Vancouver Man seemed to be an elusive guy, so we agree to forfeit dis box for now and move on to da Biathlon. As we be sloggin’ through da snow, we saw another team runnin’ in da prairie near us, so know da competition would be hot dat day! We be happy to see dat de other team seem to be on blue course, so we still in da lead on da red. YES!! A gold in da Biathlon quickly followed by a gold in Speed Skating!!
We looked around for a silo but we see nothin’. Looks like we would need to forfeit another box an’ just hope to find those Olympic Rings later in da day.
So we set our sights on meetin’ the Torch Carrier instead. We had put our code solving skills to work to decipher da clues, but now we had to put our feet to work. Hmm… dis fence? Oh mon, dis snow be WAY DEEP! We be in a pucketery situation – which way do we go? There don’t seem to be no path anywhere ‘roun dis area. Well, maybe we just try to find dat river… Long slow zig-zaggin’ slog through trees and snow an’ den we see da water and a glimpse of a fence and m..a..y..b..e.. da right tree??? Yes!! Dis be a lucky find, since we snag 50 bonus points for our hard work.
We make our way back to look for some trails an catch a glimpse of another team. We go “baha” up and down ravines to see who it might be. Turns out it was da Swiss team who were already looking a bit wet after plowing through da snow. After some friendly conversation and findin’ some trail markers we moved ahead, only to do a turnabout after a minute. We realized we were confuddled again an’ headin’ in da wrong direction for our next event – da Bobsleigh. When we got to da right spot it was a fun ride, but no medal for us Bahamanians.
This be da same namesake intersection dat da Cherry Netherlands be posin’ at durin’ da day.
After finishing up the Bobsleigh, we caught up again with da Swiss and joined them in competition for da Freestyle Skiing. The Swiss beat us here, and we got no medal in dis event either.
Next up was the Skeleton and the track was VERY crowded when we arrived. There be a jam-up on da course and when we arrive we find out dat da blonde Swedes had covered themselves in glory followed closely by da Jamaicans and da Swiss.
We decided dis large group would be too much competition for us, so we took another route to hopefully head for a less busy course. We consult da map and clues and decide on da sunny yellow course.
However when we arrived at the Figure Skating venue, it was a similar scene – another jam-up. Other teams were on da ice at the same time, everyone circlin’ and doin’ lots of slippin’ and pokin’ around in the walls surroundin’ the rink. Our luck was with us since even though we were late arrivals, we were able to skate to da right location (after a lengthy routine) and eventually snagged da gold medal. The two other teams on da rink (USA and Iceland) were then able to claim the silver and bronze.
We moved on, up & down the Alpine Skiing course. We didn’t find any medals so moved on to da next event. After a steep downhill we arrived at de Ice Hockey arena. It was a difficult event for us and took us into overtime. However we were happy at de end since we were rewarded with a bronze medal! We moved along and crossed paths wit’ de Australian team. After some conversation about de events we had competed in, we each went our separate ways.
After we made an exhilarating Ski Jump (but no medal) we decided to return to da nearby black course. We knew da Swedes, Jamaicans & Swiss teams had preceded us in starting this course, so we weren’t expecting to do too well. We were therefore very surprised to see virgin snow on da slippery Snowboard slope. Woo hoo!! A very unexpected gold in dis event! As we were finishing up, de Australian Bears arrived to claim da silver.
Those bears were hot on our heels as we headed to Vancouver Mountain. Seems like dey musta had plenty of dat Atomic Coffee in da mornin’! We again traveled through untrammeled snow and arrived at the summit first, but those bears rushed up da mountain to join us and were able to find da prize before we did. Luckily for us there were no medals here. It wasn’t until den dat we realized dat only de sports event boxes had medals!
We parted ways wit’ de Australians and headed back for da final event on da black course. We set no time records at the Luge, but ultimately finished the run without mishap.
Since da blue course had overlapped wit’ da red, we knew we only had da green course left. As we headed dat direction, we realized dat we would be passin’ by de one yellow event we had missed before. Well, we made LOTS of tracks on da Short Track course, but at the finish line we again be surprised and discovered we had managed to snag da silver!!
After dat it was another long trek to da Nordic Combined event. We again be confuddled wit’ da many letters X an’ Y on da course and finally resigned ourselves to taking a bye for da time bein’.
We moved on to the easier Curling event, but then initially headed off in the wrong direction for da Cross Country Skiing venue. After we corrected our course we completed dat event and decided to give the Nordic Combined event one more try. On da way back, Martini Mon talk wit da Greeks and their friends who advised us to concentrate on X. Yah! Dis time we do better!
Now we be on da home stretch!! As we headed back towards da Lion’s Den stadium we stopped to look for some Mascots. We be scared of all dat high powered equipment, but luckily some of da crafty Jamaicans arrived while we still be there and they discovered da hiding spot.
We den ended where we began, lookin’ for da Man. By dis time a tourist path was quite visible so we traveled into the pines to pay a visit to Mr. Vancouver. Da Man had da last laugh though, since he shake a BIG bunch of snow down on Martini Mon as we be stampin’ in.
We finally return to da Lion’s Den with some time to spare before de awards ceremony. So we relax with some drinks and some of dat tasty potluck food.
It was durin’ dis time dat we find out we have a new nickname – da “Bahamamaniacs”. We guess some of de other players didn’t know we really DO like to hike!
We also find out some teams decide dat da ski slopes were just too rigorous, so dey play indoors, rather than attempt da snowy trails.
Da Awards Ceremony began and da first was a special award - we all contributed some little togas for da bottom of da new member da Greek team is expectin’ soon. In addition to da togas, de Iceland team awarded da Greeks with an impressive afghan.
Woo-hoo! It turned out we did very good, ‘specially since it be da first time da Bahamas enter de Olympics. Next up were those not-so-sleepy-today Australian Bears, followed closely by Team USA. Most importantly, ALL de teams had a lot of fun and were very grateful to Team Canada for hostin’ de event!
Da top three teams got to choose some prizes and den da rest of da teams also got some goodies. We scored some Swedish slipper socks and Swedish fish as well as some nice containers, ink, markers and a variety of carving media (including what looks like da now rare PZ-Kut)!
After we get back home we realize dat we didn’t find one box (da Dopin’ box) since we never found da mystery clues for it. No matter though, since those friendly Jamaicans left a little somethin’ in our camera case to put a smile on our faces!
We still have enough time to look for da two boxes we forfeited early in da day, so we make a big loop ‘round da prairie to find de Olympic Rings, where we run into the dog members of Team Portugal. Here's a photo of da Swedish Igor trying to bribe dem earlier in da day.
Then it was time for the sportin’ awards. However before dat happen’ I tell Mr. Do-Right Olympics Man dat we think some of da teams be usin’ illegal substances. He tells us we all need to check our packets to see if we tested negative or positive for drugs. Whew! – we be negative. However dat Portugal team be positive (maybe ‘cause of dat wine?), which meant she actually end up wit’ a NEGATIVE score!
After dat last scare, we find out dat each Gold be worth 25 points, each Silver 10 points, and a Bronze 5 points. In addition, teams could submit any bonus points dey had earned throughout da day to add to their score. The crowd awaited the final results...
