Total Turmoil Today....

....caused by truant turtles!! You won't want to miss this breaking news, so follow along with the pictures from left to right! 
The Turtle Teams were to assemble at the Olympic Pond by 10:00 a.m. for the relay races that were to start promptly at 11:00. Eleven O'Clock came and there was only one turtle from one team that was on the starting blocks log, ready to go. The officials went out to find the other teams, and two members of the U.S. team were found sunning themselves on the lily pads. When asked why they weren't lined up and ready to race, one of them replied: "Eleven O'Clock is too early for us to swim a race. It's our constitutional right to choose a time that's convenient for us, not everyone else"! They were promptly disqualified, & rightfully so! The South American team was ALSO disqualified when the judges noticed it's first swimmer was already in the water, trying to get a head start! Their swimmer looked totally lost and perplexed when told his team was out of the competition. Oh, the drama!! Finally, by 1:00, there were three teams lined up for the start of the race. (The judges gave them some leeway, knowing the turtles aren't very fast on dry land). Now, at last, the excitement & anticipation could start to build among the crowd of spectators! The starting gun went off, and........nothing happened........until a good 10 seconds later when each turtle slowly lowered itself into the water & disappeared. Initially the crowd was cheering loudly, but they soon lost sight (& interest) in the swimmers when they were gone for 10 minutes........then 20 minutes.......then 30..........    Just as the judges were ready to declare the race a disaster & disqualify everyone, up popped the anchor swimmer for the Southern Hemisphere's team! Now the crowd (well, the two of us who were still there) went wild as he swam the last 20 inches to touch the log. At last! A winner! Persistence pays off, and better late than never, I guess, but this Olympic reporter/photographer feels the need for a great big glass of Chardonnay! :)))