Notes from Rio: Lines gone in dining hall, buses, McDonald’s

RIO DE JANEIRO – With action in the Rio Olympics done and over with, very few remain of the thousands that packed the Athletes Village the past couple of weeks here.

Most of them have flown out, and the condominium buildings, one by one, have been abandoned. Lights are out at night.

The main dining hall the size of a football field is as quiet as the days before the Games started. The west wing had been cordoned off due to lack of diners.

The long lines are gone at the McDonald’s outlet inside the Village. When one needed an hour to get an order the past days, now it takes just a few minutes or less.

The buses circling the Village for the athletes, officials and volunteers are almost empty now. Most are parked at the transport center.

Each day, you see delegates checking out.

The casual dining area near the athletes’ entrance to the Village, for those too tired to get to the main hall some 200 meters away, is now closed.

Somehow, there’s a feeling of emptiness inside.

“It can make you feel sad sometimes, looking at the places people used to flock, and now it’s empty. We’re done here,” said Filipino chef-de-mission Jose Romasanta.

“We will miss this place. It’s been our home the past thirty days,” he said.

Except for what looked like an exercise for Rio’s bomb disposal unit, it was all quiet at the Village the day after the closing ceremony.

Very few Filipinos remain here, including taekwondo athlete Kirstie Elaine Alora and her coach, Kitoy Cruz, POC treasurer Juan Camacho, and admin officers Liza Ner and Merly Ibay.

The others have left, including POC president Jose Cojuangco, Steve Hontiveros and Benjamin Espiritu.