Today is a rest day for all teams.  A portion of the US contingent used the time to visit Guanajuato, one of the most beautiful urban tapestries I have ever seen.  I have a 21 image stitched panorama of the entire city of which the above photo is but a single panel.  It may be my favorite pano of all time.

After viewing the city from above we went on a short walking tour of the main open air market where we had lunch and later visited the Parroquia de Basílica Colegiata de Nuestra Señora de Guanajuato and the Teatro Principal.

We then re-boarded our tour van which took us to the Museo de las Momias de Guanajuato, a most appropriate destination on this first Day of the Dead (Día de Muertos). On display here are 59 mummies of a collection that totals 111. The naturally mummified bodies interred during a cholera outbreak in 1833 were later disinterred when a local tax was imposed for “perpetual” burial. Bodies for which the tax was not paid were exhumed and those in the best condition were stored and are now a major attraction for the city.

Continuing on our tour of truly haunting stuff, we next stopped at the Galeras de la Inquisicion, the most horrifying place I have ever visited. Here, in the name of the Catholic religion, indigenous people who failed to renounce their traditional beliefs were tortured to death in the most gruesome and drawn-out ways imaginable. For all the importance and meaning it has for so many, it never ceases to amaze me how much killing has been and continues to be done in the name of religion. Some victims were locked into the chamber pictured below until they bled to death or died of thirst. This was one of the more benign methods used.  I will not describe the more heinous ones.

Our final destination was distinctly more uplifting, to the tune of 8,900 feet. The Cristo Rey (Shrine of Christ the King) stands 75 feet tall atop the summit of Cerro del Cubilete (Dice Cup Hill) and was completed in 1950 after a smaller statue was destroyed in 1928 by the anti-religious (and particularly anti-Catholic) regime of President Plutarco Elías Calles.

When we returned to San Juan de los Lagos we rejoined the rest of the team for a formal dinner in honor of all the World Cup athletes, their delegations and the referees, some 500 people. We were treated to more musical and dance performances as well as a lovely dinner.  Pictured below are a couple of the 40 odd tables located in the open air court yard of a local school.  Nicolai can be seen on stage, where team captains from all countries were invited to try a Mexican game of dexterity called Barrel on a Stick.  Not a single one could catch the barrel, including the Mexican captain who, no doubt, was both familiar with the game and had plenty of time to practice.

This evening the US faced Turkey, the third ranked team in the world. With little chance of winning, the US objective was to limit the goal differential so as to maximize our chances of qualifying for the elimination rounds.  Turkey took little time to demonstrate why they are so highly ranked with a goal in the first minute and then a second before the end of the first half.  They started the second half with another before Nico provided the first US goal, a beautiful header off a corner kick (see full sequence below).  Turkey responded twice more to deliver the final 5-1 result.

The outcome was not unexpected but the goal margin placed us in a tie break situation (prioritization criteria: goal differential, goals against, card points, flip of a coin) for advancing to the elimination round.  Unfortunately, we had two yellow cards to Ireland’s one which allowed them to advance and us to enter the consolation bracket. Truly heartbreaking.

I don’t believe you will find a more friendly and welcoming people than Mexicans. They have treated us like family from the moment we arrived. This morning the team visited a local kindergarten school to meet with the students and deliver presents purchased with donations collected in the US.  As has been my habit all week, I elected to walk rather than take the bus.  Unfortunately, Google Maps directed me to the wrong school, three miles in the opposite direction. The guard there let me in and the school’s Director explained I was at the wrong place.  I apologized for the interruption and told them I would simply walk back to my hotel.  Fifteen minutes into my journey, a van pulled up with the Director and a driver she had located to take me to the correct school.  There, I captured some of my favorite portraits as well as many of the team interacting with the students.

After four days in country, the US team was excited to take the pitch for their first match, facing a strong team from Kenya.  Nicolai got things off to a good start with a goal about ten minutes in.

Unfortunately, Kenya was able to equalize and then pull ahead with a second goal.  With less than a minute left in the game, Nicolai received a nice pass which he trapped from his knee to his head and then flicked over his defender to set up a shot directly in front of the keeper.  As the photo below illustrates, his defender used his arm and crutch to hold Nicolai preventing him from turning to kick the ball.  The referee’s failure to award a penalty kick for this clear infraction was a game-changer that would cost the US dearly.

Earlier in the day I went for a four-mile walk along the river which flows through the city.  I encountered a great number of herons and a flock of parakeets which were too far away to photograph well.  

Later I did a little street photography focusing on two of my favorite subjects, families on motorcycles and kids.

As the sun set this evening, there were hundreds of birds flying in squadrons over the field and hundreds of fans in the stands where the US was set to take on Liberia in the first match of group play. Unfortunately, there were no Liberians to be found anywhere.  They were stranded in Ghana.  It is not clear whether it is a problem with flights or with visas but the US won by forfeit when Liberia failed to field a team at the appointed hour.  

Earlier and later in the day, I visited the Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos which houses the image of Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos which is believed to have miraculous powers.

After practicing in the morning, Team USA participated in the 2018 Amputee Soccer World Cup opening ceremony.  Held at the main soccer stadium there was a standing room only crowd.

The competitors were treated to song, dance and traditional reenactments. 

The president of the World Amputee Football Federation (also the president of the American Amputee Soccer Association) received a key to the city.  While only symbolic, I can tell you that the reality is even better.  The city has offered us their hearts.  We feel so welcomed by everyone we encounter. The evening was capped with fireworks and the team left totally energized for the coming competition.

San Juan de los Lagos is a city of 66,000 residents located in the northeast corner of the state of Jalisco, Mexico, in a region known as Los Altos at an altitude of 5741 feet. It is best known as the home of a small image of the Virgin Mary called Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos. Since the first major miracle ascribed to her in 1632, she has been venerated especially for cases involving mortal danger. The miracles ascribed to her have made the basilica in which she is found a major tourist attraction, attracting between seven and nine million people per year.  The city with sponsorship from Proan, one of the leading egg producers in Mexico, stepped up to host the Amputee World Cup when the Guadalajara organizing committee began to drop the ball.  The reception and hospitality we have received is exceptional.  The four competition fields are all first-rate and located on or overlooking the banks of the San Juan River.

Most of the day was devoted to the World Amputee Football Federation Congress meeting which precedes the tournament.  The team had plenty of time to adjust to the altitude and explore the city before a late afternoon training session.

Jeanine was kind enough to wake up at 4 am to drive me to the airport for my flight to Guadalajara via Dallas.  The first leg was delayed by 30m and I found myself running between terminals to make the second where I connected with Nicolai and the rest of the US National Amputee Soccer Team.  After arriving in Mexico and collecting our baggage the entire squad was bused to the city of San Juan de los Lagos some 2.5 hours away.  We enjoyed a three-motorcycle police escort and a greeting committee when we arrived at our hotel.  By 7 pm we were on the bus again for a brief trip to the dining venue where we will be taking our meals for the rest of our stay.  There, the team enjoyed reconnecting with fellow soccer players from around the world and entertainment put on by the tournament organizers.  Mexico sure knows how to host a World Cup.

February 02, 1917 – October 08, 2018

Vincent Circhio was my father’s second cousin and a close friend of the family. We learned only this week of his passing earlier this month at the age of 101.  My dad and Vinny both grew up in Brooklyn, NY, and were very close despite their seven-year age difference.  Reading his obituary, I was embarrassed by how little I knew of his incredible life story. What I knew is that he shared a passion for ballroom dancing and fitness with my father and that my father looked up to him as one would an older brother. I remember a man who always seemed to have a twinkle in his eye and a genuine interest in what I was up to.  I don’t believe in an afterlife but am convinced Vinny and my dad’s souls are swapping stories as I type.

I spent the evening replacing this leaking control valve for one of our upstairs showers.  In order to gain access, I had to climb a ladder and then down into a small hidden chamber behind the shower wall.  The space was barely shoulder-width wide and my first task was to fashion a set of built-in stair rungs so I could climb in and out.  The project took several hours and I had to battle claustrophobia the entire time. Jeanine was close at hand to lower parts and tools in and out from the top.  Despite the very cramped working conditions, I managed some very nice soldering without starting the house on fire or burning myself.  In addition to replacing the control valve, I added two cut-off valves, a new shower head, and a tub downspout.

The Head of the Charles Regatta is the largest 2-day regatta in the world, with 11,000 athletes rowing in over 1,900 boats in 61 events. I was a spectator for the first time in 2009 when the daughter of good friends Cindy and Rob Shurtleff was a participant. Since then, I have been attending roughly every other year. Independent of the tremendous athleticism on display it is a beautiful fall spectacle. This afternoon Jeanine joined me for her first experience of the regatta. I was tempted to use my drone for some perspectives that cannot be obtained from the shore or bridges but decided against it for fear of distracting the athletes or spectators. In retrospect, I believe this was a mistaken decision. I could see a number of shooting locations and angles that would have been entirely non-intrusive. I will just have to wait until next year. Jeanine spent her morning participating in the sermon at Concord’s Tricon Church where she gave a speech on food insecurity to the congregation. I was back on the soccer pitch for all of about ten minute, just long enough to realize that my hamstring was still not ready for prime time. My team managed a 2-0 win over the entirely Russian team from South Newton.

The tiny house has returned to its birthplace where it will remain until work on the interior can be completed.  I rented a 3/4 ton pick-up truck this morning and with Jeanine serving as my spotter we moved it from its summer home to our backyard.  Positioned here, I will have walk-out access from my wood shop which will make working on it that much easier.  We had hoped that Olin would allow Maya to work on it as an independent study project but so far their facilities people have not agreed to this plan.  I am expecting my work schedule to become increasingly demanding and will try and nibble away at the work over weekends during the winter months.

Warners Pond is fed and drained by Nashoba Brook which flows into the Assabet River which then joins the Sudbury River to form the Concord River.  It is located adjacent to West Concord just a few minutes from our house.  I was in town to interview a candidate at the Nashoba Brook Bakery and grabbed this shot while waiting for him to arrive.

I like squirrels as much as the next guy but I am not comfortable with the level of intimacy on display above.  This one has been fed so often by humans that it no longer has any fear of them.  I did my part to re-establish appropriate boundaries when his attempt to climb my leg earned him a short flight into the pond.

I interrupted my morning commute for a drone photo of the Sudbury River (I cross the pictured bridge every day).  Once I had flown into position, I noticed an approaching canoe and timed my shot to include the rower as a foreground element.  It wasn’t until I could review the image on my computer that I noticed she was also a photographer and interested in my drone as a foreground element.  I hope to one day meet this person so we can exchange photos.