Rio de Janeiro (CNN)As tourists from around the world descend on Rio for the Olympics, we were curious: What is it like to make your way around Rio when you speak very little Portuguese?
Short answer: It"s hard. Prepare in advance.
Three journalists at CNN had the morning off, so we decided to be tourists. We stood in long lines, got swept up with chanting crowds for Brazil"s men"s gymnastics team, and then we tried to get home using the subway and bus ... and we got lost.
Getting there:
Arriving was the easy part. We had tickets in hand and a driver with an "Olympic lane pass" allowing us to take some preferential roads throughout our journey. Total time in the car: 45 minutes.
Getting home:
The gymnastics were fun, but navigating Rio"s public transport system was the real adventure for us.
The route: From the Olympic Park in Barra to Copacabana.
The Google Maps estimate: 30 km; 1 hour, 2 minutes using public transportation.
Our preparation: Minimal. We had sketchy directions that one of our interns had handwritten for us, we knew we had to take a bus and a subway and we knew where we were going.
Linguistic ability: One Portuguese speaker, two English speakers.
What it was like:
When we left the Olympic Park, there were a handful of signs and directions, none of which was very helpful. So we wandered about for a few minutes until we found what looked like a bus stop. Victory!
Takeaways:
There are few signs in English and few locals speak English, so do your homework and prepare ahead -- and be ready for an adventure.
Read more: <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2016/08/06/travel/rio-olympics-navigating-public-transportation-irpt/index.html">http://edition.cnn.com/</a>
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