M/W Speed skating team pursuit

A group of Georgians tried to kill us. Not with violence though, but with love. Vodka love. Yesterday was a bit of a slow day for sports, so Sean and I took a stroll through the small town of Adler. Adler is actually where most of the Olympics is taking place. The gigantic Olympic Park is in Adler, the airport is in Adler, the main train station is in Adler. Absolutely zero % of the Sochi Olympics is happening in Sochi – it’s all going down in Adler.

We nestled into a seaside cafe to have a beer. There were about a dozen people in this cafe, and we were clearly outsiders. Not because we were Canadian, but because we were not drinking hard alcohol in mass quantities like everyone else. And they noticed. And they corrected this “issue” by sending double shots of vodka our way. We were overwhelmed by the generosity and kindness by this fun-loving group of Georgians and Russians. Sean and I are not really big drinkers, so we had a conundrum on our hands. If we shot the vodka drinks like the locals, then they would immediately refill our glasses. How do we pace ourselves and not be rude? It was a futile battle that we lost, big time.

Several hours later we were in a taxi driving rapidly towards Olympic Park trying to reach our speed skating event. The cab ride and the rest of the night was a blur.

No medals, but a few new friends.

– Nick