I’m in Rio for a few days, in my role as “accompanying person. ” One of my responsibilities is to take tours, so today I went to the historic center of town.

The whole place is torn up. They are getting ready for the Olympics, which is just a few months from now. Honestly,  I don’t know how they will get everything done.  Good luck to them.

I wish I had been able to spend some time just taking pictures. As it was, every photo had to be taken on the run. Downtown is fabulous for street photography. I think this is partly due to the lack of air conditioning. People live on the street, sometimes literally but more generally just because there are many little stands on the sidewalks. People dress for comfort, more than style, so the clothes are quite individual. Folks are hot and tired, so some American with a camera is of no interest to them at all — a street photographer’s dream.

The city is chaotic and has seen better days but you never know. There may also be better days to come. If they can cobble together a city to match its spectacular setting, this will certainly be the case.