Flugtag

On Sunday, the Marina Park Hotel hosted the Red Bull Flugtag, which can be loosely translated into "people doing stupid things for the chance at money."  Setup for the event began a few weeks before we arrived in the country, including an enormous temporary shelter to house the vehicles and the ramp pictured to the right.  The estimated attendance for the event was over 20,000 people and it was the talk of the city this weekend.

Thousands of people enjoying Flugtag outside the hotel

We awoke to familiar music filling up the air at 8:30 in the morning priming mostly just the working crews and Flugtag "flight" competitors for the day's activities.  However, by the time the event started two hours later, the place had been packed shoulder to shoulder and the overflow seating filled up as shown to the right.

We have a tendency to find the only people where we go that also speak English as the day before Flugtag, we found three yachts worth of men enjoying the company of a certain "Captain."  Somehow fresh fruit kept appearing from a mysterious black backpack and was carried via blender to the pool bar area (to spare confusion, I am considering rum to be part of the fruit section of the food pyramid).  Smoothies aren't my cup of tea (or is that smoothie?) so I didn't partake but my traveling companions can attest to the heavy handed nature of these sailors.  Most of these men were crew members of ongoing projects at INACE, with the captain of one yacht having been in Fortaleza for a while, supervising the construction of his respective owner's vessel.  However, of these new faces,  two were successful Dutch businessmen taking their newly purchased yacht on a year hiatus from work.  To their displeasure but our enjoyment, they have been trapped in Fortaleza for a month as their replacement sail pays tribute to the Brazilian customs agency.  Convenient timing had us invited aboard the 60 foot, twin masted sailing yacht, "Marcia" to watch the Red Bull event in unique company and comfort.

Enjoying canine company aboard "Marcia"

Flugtag lasted for hours, with speakers projecting Portuguese toward the hotel and away from our yacht, adding to the bliss of being aboard.  We watched several of the contraptions crash to the water, but the real memories came from the company and the experience aboard "Marcia."  For the first time in about a week, we enjoyed a very different and fresh meal.  As typical college students, we ate up all of the different culture presented in food form for lunch.  Between uncooked fresh fish and an interpretation of ceviche to the backdrop of people jumping after their planes 40 feet into the water, our palettes were satisfied until dinner.

While aboard, we made a new friend in the dog that the two Dutch men bought when they picked up the yacht.  The ironic part is that they picked the two up in Portugal, which means that the dog "spoke" Portuguese.  This meant that the only person who could regularly test her tricks was our Brazilian friend who came to see Flugtag at the hotel with us.  We heard about the dog becoming accustomed to traveling aboard and how she has gotten less nervous throughout the months of sea-based travel.  At one point we looked over to see her laying down in one of the built-in cubbies for storing gear below the seats in the helm, through an opening barely large enough to fit her small body.  The water has a way of mellowing people out, and the same must hold true for dogs.

Flugtag is a dangerous activity, and Red Bull requires all of those involved to sign liability waivers.  That was a wise business decision as there were two notable injuries during the competition.  One was a case where a man walked out of the boat but was taken away on a stretcher as a precaution.  Another more serious case was someone whose plane flipped on him and landed on top.  He was later taken to the hospital where he received 70 stitches in his head.  I can't imagine I will ever be crazy enough to take that kind of risk with my life.


Oh, and today Brady earned a new rating.  He shall henceforth be known as "Brady the Underground-Airport-Terminal-Train-Riding, Portuguese-Translating, Ladies'-Man, Flugtag-Piloting, Traveling Wolverbear."

Until next time,

-David Rood