The last couple of days have been a total whirlwind (not that the others haven't!)
We left the island of Paros today (Tuesday) to go to Santorini to meet up with the mayor...then we will travel by boat tonight to the island of Rhodes.
Here is a really brief update on the last few days;
On Saturday we arrived at 5 30 am by boat to Sifnos where we met the Mayor and went to 3 villages. Then on Sunday we were taken to the Acropolis of Agios Andreas - it is the oldest evidence of European civilization and then to a church believed to have been built in the 1500's - it was amazing to see!
On Monday We took a small ferry across to Anti Paros. As we were leaving for our 20 minute journey we could see several small boats hovering nearby. Well you wouldn't believe it - they traveled along side us lighting flares and honking their horns. On the other side about 200 people were waiting on shore, cheering us on. We disembarked and then ran through their small streets and sidewalks with several small children joining us. As we ran along I felt a small hand grab mine and instantly I had a new friend - a 6 year old girl ran/walked with me as we arrived to the small plaza. She was beautiful!
Then we were greeted with a short ceremony and some of their homemade bakery items.
I am getting excited about arriving to Rhodes because I am hoping to meet up with our athlete Stacey... this is going to be such a great experience for her.
I hope everyone at home is doing well!
Staff Sgt Debbie McLeod of Delta Police Department is representing BC as the law enforcement officer to run with 90 other law enforcement officials from around the world, for three weeks through various communities in Greece (including the Greek islands and Cyprus). The Torch Run will conclude on June 25 at the opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics World Summer Games at the Panathenaic Stadium in Athens.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Friday, June 17, 2011
My speech
Here is what I said when it was my turn to speak:
Yasas,(hello in Greek). My name is Debbie McLeod, I am from Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. I am a police officer with the Delta Police Dept, just outside of Vancouver (some cheers from the crowd).
I first became involved in LETR in 1999 and have been have been hooked ever since. Each year I coordinate with other police officers to promote the message of hope in a 4 day 100 kilometer LETR through several communities.
Tonight I am truly honored to be here with the Final Leg Team of law enforcement officer from around the world along with our three athletes;
Panos from Greece, Stephane Smith from Ontario Canada, and Adam Hayes from Maryland USA. (I point to him on stage) They keep us strong. (The crowd cheers and I knew then I could get through this…)
As guardians of the flame we deliver the message of hope to many communities in Greece until we reach our final destination in Athens, where we will safely deliver the flame of hope to open the 2011 world summer games on June 25. (More cheers from the crowd..)
The games will host 7000 athletes from 180 countries, 2,500 coaches, 25,000 volunteers and family and friends. I am especially proud of one Canadian athlete, who is from my community, Stacey Kohler. She will be competing in several track and field events. She runs every year with me in our local torch run and has won 3 gold metals in the National Games in Canada.
She holds a special place in my heart. This is a flame of hope. (I point to the large caldron on the stage) It stands for hope, courage, opportunity, inspiration and equality for all our athletes. And I am in. Imemesa!!! (Greek for I am in the slogan).
Thank you very much for the privilege here today.
Yasas,(hello in Greek). My name is Debbie McLeod, I am from Vancouver British Columbia, Canada. I am a police officer with the Delta Police Dept, just outside of Vancouver (some cheers from the crowd).
I first became involved in LETR in 1999 and have been have been hooked ever since. Each year I coordinate with other police officers to promote the message of hope in a 4 day 100 kilometer LETR through several communities.
Tonight I am truly honored to be here with the Final Leg Team of law enforcement officer from around the world along with our three athletes;
Panos from Greece, Stephane Smith from Ontario Canada, and Adam Hayes from Maryland USA. (I point to him on stage) They keep us strong. (The crowd cheers and I knew then I could get through this…)
As guardians of the flame we deliver the message of hope to many communities in Greece until we reach our final destination in Athens, where we will safely deliver the flame of hope to open the 2011 world summer games on June 25. (More cheers from the crowd..)
The games will host 7000 athletes from 180 countries, 2,500 coaches, 25,000 volunteers and family and friends. I am especially proud of one Canadian athlete, who is from my community, Stacey Kohler. She will be competing in several track and field events. She runs every year with me in our local torch run and has won 3 gold metals in the National Games in Canada.
She holds a special place in my heart. This is a flame of hope. (I point to the large caldron on the stage) It stands for hope, courage, opportunity, inspiration and equality for all our athletes. And I am in. Imemesa!!! (Greek for I am in the slogan).
Thank you very much for the privilege here today.
Last days in Crete
We have run through many parts of Crete and leave here tonight by boat to go to island of Sifnos. Thursday we had 6-7 stops, which are referred to as ceremonies and each village and some larger towns put on ceremonial dances and tables of food etc. I’m not sure if I mentioned it but our group is Route 3 which consists of 3 teams of ten of us. We also have 3 Special Olympic athletes who are part of our team…it is a way of including them as they are not competing in the Games. All of us (including the athletes) are tasked with doing speeches at the various stops.
At the end of the day (10 pm last night)it was my turn with Special Olympic athlete Adam Hayes from Maryland USA. He is a very good speaker so I knew I had to be up for the challenge. The town, Agios Nikolaos is a tourist town with a lot of British influence.
As the bus dropped our team off, we mustered in threes and began our short 1 kilometer run through the cobble stoned streets. Some local athletes joined in and many people cheered us on from shop fronts, restaurant patios etc. As Adam and I approached the large plaza the crowds became larger and I could here the band playing the theme song for Special Olympics. The crowd became bigger and bigger as Adam and I led our 3 teams into the plaza - I couldn’t believe how enthusiastic and outwardly gracious these people were. This is bigger than I ever imagined.
We ran up on stage and then as the music continued many local athletes joined us shaking our hands hugging us, wanting just to touch us like we could really change their lives.
The mayor did his welcome speech followed by a few other speeches and then it was Adams turn. He was incredible (wow talk about pressure for me)! As they introduced me I thought to myself…if Adam can do it so can I. By the way the crowd estimated at approx 1000 people.
Keep in mind the majority are Greek so we need an interpreter. So after a few lines I had to stop so our so rep could repeat in Greek.
As I approached I leaned over to Adam and said “hey no big deal right just a small family gathering…” he laughs “oh yeah sure!”
I’ll post my speech in a separate blog in a bit.
After I was done, there was incredible dance performance on the stage. After about an hour Adam and I lit the torch from the caldron and led the teams back out with the 1000+ crowd cheering us on.
After all of this we hopped back on a bus for more travel time. Most of us cat nap to catch up on sleep. But also we get our Greek officers Marita or Panos to get the radio turned up with great Greek music. Panos made us instant Greek coffees in to-go cups. I have helped Gonzalo from Portugal translate his speech into English - although he is quite fluent in both speaking and writing we have all had many laughs with some of the translations.
Our team leader, Bill Buford from Arkansas is an old hat at this and there is too much in his bio to go into but he served in Vietnam, and at 66, only recently retired from policing. He wears a cowboy hat and often has an unlit cigar. Lots of us posed with his hat and at his request we all signed it. We are known as the roadkill team. He is one of those once in a life time kind of guys and I am so lucky I was picked for his team.
We are pool-side today and it is a nice break after lots of long days. I think it was after 2 am before I hit the pillow. I caught up on what happened with the Canucks. It sounds very disappointing and really embarrassing for our city. I hope everyone that had to work it came out unscathed.
At the end of the day (10 pm last night)it was my turn with Special Olympic athlete Adam Hayes from Maryland USA. He is a very good speaker so I knew I had to be up for the challenge. The town, Agios Nikolaos is a tourist town with a lot of British influence.
As the bus dropped our team off, we mustered in threes and began our short 1 kilometer run through the cobble stoned streets. Some local athletes joined in and many people cheered us on from shop fronts, restaurant patios etc. As Adam and I approached the large plaza the crowds became larger and I could here the band playing the theme song for Special Olympics. The crowd became bigger and bigger as Adam and I led our 3 teams into the plaza - I couldn’t believe how enthusiastic and outwardly gracious these people were. This is bigger than I ever imagined.
We ran up on stage and then as the music continued many local athletes joined us shaking our hands hugging us, wanting just to touch us like we could really change their lives.
The mayor did his welcome speech followed by a few other speeches and then it was Adams turn. He was incredible (wow talk about pressure for me)! As they introduced me I thought to myself…if Adam can do it so can I. By the way the crowd estimated at approx 1000 people.
Keep in mind the majority are Greek so we need an interpreter. So after a few lines I had to stop so our so rep could repeat in Greek.
As I approached I leaned over to Adam and said “hey no big deal right just a small family gathering…” he laughs “oh yeah sure!”
I’ll post my speech in a separate blog in a bit.
After I was done, there was incredible dance performance on the stage. After about an hour Adam and I lit the torch from the caldron and led the teams back out with the 1000+ crowd cheering us on.
After all of this we hopped back on a bus for more travel time. Most of us cat nap to catch up on sleep. But also we get our Greek officers Marita or Panos to get the radio turned up with great Greek music. Panos made us instant Greek coffees in to-go cups. I have helped Gonzalo from Portugal translate his speech into English - although he is quite fluent in both speaking and writing we have all had many laughs with some of the translations.
Our team leader, Bill Buford from Arkansas is an old hat at this and there is too much in his bio to go into but he served in Vietnam, and at 66, only recently retired from policing. He wears a cowboy hat and often has an unlit cigar. Lots of us posed with his hat and at his request we all signed it. We are known as the roadkill team. He is one of those once in a life time kind of guys and I am so lucky I was picked for his team.
We are pool-side today and it is a nice break after lots of long days. I think it was after 2 am before I hit the pillow. I caught up on what happened with the Canucks. It sounds very disappointing and really embarrassing for our city. I hope everyone that had to work it came out unscathed.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Crete
Tuesday was our longest day; pulled into a new hotel at 1am. We are traveling to at least 5 to 7 villages a day. Some are really like traveling back into time, others more modern. We are treated like royalty and given gifts each time.
One town ceremony was held in front of an olive tree that was 3000 yrs old. I was a little worried with our torch. Don't think that would have gone very good for us if it had caught fire. At another town we were given olive branch wreaths to wear.
We also visited the Moni Arkadiou Monastery up in the hills. Beautiful.
Last night we ran into the large town, city of Rethimno. Unbelievable - the cobblestone streets were lined for 1 - 2 km, then into a large plaza for ceremonies.
Got to go, bus is leaving.
One town ceremony was held in front of an olive tree that was 3000 yrs old. I was a little worried with our torch. Don't think that would have gone very good for us if it had caught fire. At another town we were given olive branch wreaths to wear.
We also visited the Moni Arkadiou Monastery up in the hills. Beautiful.
Last night we ran into the large town, city of Rethimno. Unbelievable - the cobblestone streets were lined for 1 - 2 km, then into a large plaza for ceremonies.
Got to go, bus is leaving.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Cyprus and Crete
It's Tuesday 7:40 am, just trying to do a quick update. Everyone is very friendly in every town we run through. Some are small villages and other bigger tourist centers; the crowds are quite something. There has been lots of media coverage too which helps. In each town the Mayors give speeches of thanks and there are stage dances in traditional ceremonial dress by the youth. Some offer huge lunch and dinners to us to support us.
Sunday was a travel day—bus, then plane, then overnight ferry to Crete. The ferry was just like a cruise ship, quite spectacular. We slept in berths of 4 beds, woke up at 4:45 am then checked in at hotel and on the road quickly.
I am so glad to hear the Delta run went well And thanks to everyone for that. Can't wait to see Stacey on Rhodes.
We are traveling throughout Crete until Friday.
Something interesting for you—the Flame of Hope. When it was lit each of the athletes that were selected to run with our teams lit small 500 ml lanterns. When we were on the plane I was seated by two Greek police officers from our support staff. They each had lanterns on the floor that they were guarding, with small flames glowing in each. So the flame never goes out!!
As we travel through the beautiful country on our bus I look ahead sometimes and see our motorcade of support vehicles and motorcycles, it is quite amazing. We are now all listening to Greek music on the bus and trading stories. My vocabulary consists of Greek, English and Spanish.
Our last stop on Monday was the beautiful resort of Chania. Absolutely spectacular. A very large crowd was waiting in the square as we ran in.
Bus is loading, we have about 4 or 5 ceremonies today.
» See photos on Flickr (there is an option to view as a slideshow).
Sunday was a travel day—bus, then plane, then overnight ferry to Crete. The ferry was just like a cruise ship, quite spectacular. We slept in berths of 4 beds, woke up at 4:45 am then checked in at hotel and on the road quickly.
I am so glad to hear the Delta run went well And thanks to everyone for that. Can't wait to see Stacey on Rhodes.
We are traveling throughout Crete until Friday.
Something interesting for you—the Flame of Hope. When it was lit each of the athletes that were selected to run with our teams lit small 500 ml lanterns. When we were on the plane I was seated by two Greek police officers from our support staff. They each had lanterns on the floor that they were guarding, with small flames glowing in each. So the flame never goes out!!
As we travel through the beautiful country on our bus I look ahead sometimes and see our motorcade of support vehicles and motorcycles, it is quite amazing. We are now all listening to Greek music on the bus and trading stories. My vocabulary consists of Greek, English and Spanish.
Our last stop on Monday was the beautiful resort of Chania. Absolutely spectacular. A very large crowd was waiting in the square as we ran in.
Bus is loading, we have about 4 or 5 ceremonies today.
» See photos on Flickr (there is an option to view as a slideshow).
Friday, June 10, 2011
Off to Cyprus
Friday June 10th....Sorry this one is a little long but so much is happening!
The teams split up today, to travel to three different routes. Basically there are 3 routes: my team is running in the Greek Islands, and the other two are on the mainland. There are 30 of us, police, and 3 Special Olympic Athletes, who stay with us the whole time; they are not competing in the games, so this way of including both them and numerous support staff in the experience. First stop Cyprus until Sunday. Today we got to the Athens Airport and were greeted by many media people and the Airport Manager did a speech. From there a 1 hour flight to Cyprus, the Captain did a special announcement on the plane, which had approximately 80 to 100 people on board. Upon arrival we were met once again with more media cameras, etc... We then waited a long time to proceed into the airport and were greeted by several officials, Special Olympic Athletes and a big police band playing in the back ground. At each of these ceremonies one of us is designated to give a speech along with one of our athletes. At the airport it was our officer from Cypress and our athlete Adam Hays from USA. The Cyprus police chief gave a speech.
Then we embarked on a 40 minute bus ride to a resort area of Larnaka, Cyprus. We all ran for about 1.5 kms, into an outdoor plaza, called Europis Square, where there were several media and lots of people. More speeches (noticing a trend? J) and then a performance on stage by the locals in a cultural dance.
After that, we went on another long bus ride over 2 hours, but my team entertained themselves by taking photos of each other sleeping, I am with some very crazy and fun guys and girls! From there we went to another resort town, called Pafos, it is a beautiful resort, a lot of English-speaking tourists must come here as everything is in English. There was a giant board walk 3x the size of the White Rock one. We ran through it while many people were seated in outdoor restaurant patios along the water, Spectacular!! Everyone was cheering us on and clapping, quite moving.
We then arrived to something that I don't think I can really explain....
We arrived to a venue with over 200 people seated outside in front of a giant stage, beside it was an old army fortress, with several stage actors made up. After welcoming speeches, our athletes lit a giant cauldron flame, which continued burning the whole time we were there…speeches and more speeches…Then there was a special performance of music and dance and some kind of poetry. It was apparently the story of Odysseus; he travelled for over 10 years and was tortured before he finally came home... After that many people began clapping and cheering us on as we walked slowly out.
Now we are at resort hotel called the Paphos Gardens Hotel. We checked in and had 10 minutes to shower and show up for dinner (well after 10 pm). What happened next was amazing… each of us were given 3 separate gift bags, containing special chocolates, carvings, hats, etc... then a welcoming speech and an unbelievable buffet dinner. This place is something out of a fairy tale...
Enough about me….we have another early start and travel day lots of running and more speeches on Saturday... I do mine next week...
If my jet lag and acclimatizing aren’t making me too foggy, I think today was the completion of the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run in Delta. We’re all running for the same amazing cause - there will be over 7,000 Special Olympic Athletes competing after we open the ceremonies on June 25. Support from police officers across the region, province, country and world help to make this event so amazing and we should all be so proud… so thanks to all of you that ran and those of you that supported the run… you are in the hearts of every athlete here.
The teams split up today, to travel to three different routes. Basically there are 3 routes: my team is running in the Greek Islands, and the other two are on the mainland. There are 30 of us, police, and 3 Special Olympic Athletes, who stay with us the whole time; they are not competing in the games, so this way of including both them and numerous support staff in the experience. First stop Cyprus until Sunday. Today we got to the Athens Airport and were greeted by many media people and the Airport Manager did a speech. From there a 1 hour flight to Cyprus, the Captain did a special announcement on the plane, which had approximately 80 to 100 people on board. Upon arrival we were met once again with more media cameras, etc... We then waited a long time to proceed into the airport and were greeted by several officials, Special Olympic Athletes and a big police band playing in the back ground. At each of these ceremonies one of us is designated to give a speech along with one of our athletes. At the airport it was our officer from Cypress and our athlete Adam Hays from USA. The Cyprus police chief gave a speech.
Then we embarked on a 40 minute bus ride to a resort area of Larnaka, Cyprus. We all ran for about 1.5 kms, into an outdoor plaza, called Europis Square, where there were several media and lots of people. More speeches (noticing a trend? J) and then a performance on stage by the locals in a cultural dance.
After that, we went on another long bus ride over 2 hours, but my team entertained themselves by taking photos of each other sleeping, I am with some very crazy and fun guys and girls! From there we went to another resort town, called Pafos, it is a beautiful resort, a lot of English-speaking tourists must come here as everything is in English. There was a giant board walk 3x the size of the White Rock one. We ran through it while many people were seated in outdoor restaurant patios along the water, Spectacular!! Everyone was cheering us on and clapping, quite moving.
We then arrived to something that I don't think I can really explain....
We arrived to a venue with over 200 people seated outside in front of a giant stage, beside it was an old army fortress, with several stage actors made up. After welcoming speeches, our athletes lit a giant cauldron flame, which continued burning the whole time we were there…speeches and more speeches…Then there was a special performance of music and dance and some kind of poetry. It was apparently the story of Odysseus; he travelled for over 10 years and was tortured before he finally came home... After that many people began clapping and cheering us on as we walked slowly out.
Now we are at resort hotel called the Paphos Gardens Hotel. We checked in and had 10 minutes to shower and show up for dinner (well after 10 pm). What happened next was amazing… each of us were given 3 separate gift bags, containing special chocolates, carvings, hats, etc... then a welcoming speech and an unbelievable buffet dinner. This place is something out of a fairy tale...
Enough about me….we have another early start and travel day lots of running and more speeches on Saturday... I do mine next week...
If my jet lag and acclimatizing aren’t making me too foggy, I think today was the completion of the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run in Delta. We’re all running for the same amazing cause - there will be over 7,000 Special Olympic Athletes competing after we open the ceremonies on June 25. Support from police officers across the region, province, country and world help to make this event so amazing and we should all be so proud… so thanks to all of you that ran and those of you that supported the run… you are in the hearts of every athlete here.
Thursday, June 09, 2011
The first couple of days...
Wow…so far Greece
Our hotel in Athens is the Stanley
It took me a couple days to adjust to the time change, basically arrived on Tuesday and was up all that day, so lost a day somewhere.
We hit the ground with a tour of the Acropolis and then to the Pnyx for a rehearsal on Wednesday.
Today Thursday, we were bused out again to the Pnyx for the special lighting of the Flame of Hope. This was absolutely incredible, lots of media…we all stood for about 2 hours while the ceremony took place, all in 30 degrees. There were all kinds of dignitaries, military officials, the Mayor, several political officials that I can not even begin to name, and finally the world spokesperson for Special Olympics, Timothy Shriver. He is very passionate and a dynamic speaker. All of the Greek Special Olympic Athletes (about 200 of them) were seated, watching.
It was a very moving ceremony, a few watery eyes. Once one of Athletes lit the Flame, we began our run with several of the athletes with us.
As we ran through the streets, there were lots of crowds of people cheering us on. Although it was so hot and we had to stand so long waiting, it was worth it. From there we then went to the stadium for another rehearsal more standing and waiting in the sun, nobody moves too quick here because of the heat!
My team consists of 10 runners. We are from all over - Paraguay, Ecuador, USA, Portugal, Spain, Greece and of course Canada :) Needless to say, translation has been interesting, but within a few short days we have all started to gel.
It has been like going to summer camp, we are all thrown together waiting in line ups and given instructions, but now starting to form friendships. What a great experience already…
Tomorrow the teams split up and we begin our treks, my team flies to Cyprus
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