I am staying at Margaret's uncles farm in Pifo Ecuador. I have no plans other than attempting the 700 steps daily so i can loose the copious amounts of weight i have gained from drinking massive amounts of Brahma and Caperinas in Brasil the past month. Also, they have llamas at the very top and many, many Pilsners to be drank.
There are more dogs in this town than there are people. One dog, a small poodle, once bit margaret in the leg a few years back and now she has panic attacks every time she walks past the dog. in fact, she actually refused to walk past the poodle by herself so she will stand at the top of the hill and scream for her Uncle Matt or her cousin Alex to accompany her down the hill to the house.
i was doing some business on the toilet last night before bed when in the corner of my blue eyeball i saw the biggest spider of my life. a freaking terranchala. It was mid-business so there was nothing that i could do but hang tight and hope for the best. Me and the terranchala had a stare down contest and im pretty sure he won because i couldnt handle being so close to it so i cut my session short and ran to the other house to get Uncle Matt's help. He began to reassure me that it wouldnt harm me and that they aren't poisonous but i didnt believe him so i googled it and caught him in his own lie. Early this morning, I woke up from a spider dream and i caught a spider crawling off my chest and onto the shelf thing next to my bed. Im pretty sure that because I had Uncle Matt 'take care of the terranchala' last night, that i had unfortunately, unintentionally declared a war against the 8 legged insects... i am now incredibly paranoid....
Friday, December 18, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Day 31
Good Advice that I got from a taxi driver in Salvador about my deaf ear:
DAY 31:
1. Margaret and I slept in the Rio airport before heading to Lima Peru. I woke up around 4am and went to get 2 cups of cafè, a pizza pocket type thing for me and 2 balls of fluffy fried bread for Margaret (shes a vegetarian). I walked back to our camping spot right in front of the airport check in stand and woke maggie up by handing her two fresh baked balls and some coffee. shes really the only person i know that could handle such an epic wake-up call.
2. Whats the point of soap dispensers if there isn`t any soap to dispense??
3. We flew over Titi Caca Lake which is between Bolivia and Peru. It was beautiful!
4. Thank the Lord for airlines such as Taka who give you free alcoholic beverages all flight long!!
5. Sat at the Lima, Peru airport for 12 hours and drank beer after beer after beer after beer after beer, etc. 16 total to be exact.....
6. Taka airlines also gave me free crayons
7. I learned that i am subconsciously obsessed with the color green... and bulky touristy hiking boots annoy me.
8. A 4 year old Peruvian boy came and sat at out table during our beer meeting and wanted to get in on my Taka colored crayons. He said his name was Diego and that Michael Jackson had a black jacket and wore a star on his head.
9. Margaret and I are cooler than most people. (is that being humble?)
10.
11. I hit 3 countries in 2 days. Now, Lets talk about SUCCESS.
12. The guy behind me in the airport had a baby upside down in a shopping bag. This is clearly a culture difference.
13. I spilled the salt shaker 9 beers into the beer meeting and Margaret freaked out and had a minor panic attack. She made me throw salt over my left shoulder while at the same time, wiping the spilled salt off the table.
14. This is our poem to Paula and Fransisco from Recife Brasil:
There once were 2 girls on a quest,
they put their portugese to the test
they went to brasil and drank cachaça until
they found Chico and Paula the best.
The 4 of them had a great time
with Pitù, sugar, and green limes
Chiclete and Skol and eating crab in the sol
And we even committed a crime
Brasilian primas- thank you so much
and we better all keep in touch
we`ll see you soon
dancing under the moon
at your wedding, carnival and the such.
Goodbye Brasil!
Hello ECUADOR!
If you have ear problems, warm the breast milk of a mother with twins and dribble it into the problematic ear......noted..... the same taxi driver also gave me a branch with many leaves still attached and said to boil the leaves into a tea to cure any indigestion problem that may occur. The entire trip, I had no stomach issues until i touched that stupid plant and then for the next day, i really wasnt feeling up to taking over the world so much.....
DAY 31:
tasty balls
1. Margaret and I slept in the Rio airport before heading to Lima Peru. I woke up around 4am and went to get 2 cups of cafè, a pizza pocket type thing for me and 2 balls of fluffy fried bread for Margaret (shes a vegetarian). I walked back to our camping spot right in front of the airport check in stand and woke maggie up by handing her two fresh baked balls and some coffee. shes really the only person i know that could handle such an epic wake-up call.
2. Whats the point of soap dispensers if there isn`t any soap to dispense??
3. We flew over Titi Caca Lake which is between Bolivia and Peru. It was beautiful!
4. Thank the Lord for airlines such as Taka who give you free alcoholic beverages all flight long!!
5. Sat at the Lima, Peru airport for 12 hours and drank beer after beer after beer after beer after beer, etc. 16 total to be exact.....
6. Taka airlines also gave me free crayons
7. I learned that i am subconsciously obsessed with the color green... and bulky touristy hiking boots annoy me.
8. A 4 year old Peruvian boy came and sat at out table during our beer meeting and wanted to get in on my Taka colored crayons. He said his name was Diego and that Michael Jackson had a black jacket and wore a star on his head.
9. Margaret and I are cooler than most people. (is that being humble?)
10.
Im not picky, I just know what I like.
11. I hit 3 countries in 2 days. Now, Lets talk about SUCCESS.
12. The guy behind me in the airport had a baby upside down in a shopping bag. This is clearly a culture difference.
13. I spilled the salt shaker 9 beers into the beer meeting and Margaret freaked out and had a minor panic attack. She made me throw salt over my left shoulder while at the same time, wiping the spilled salt off the table.
14. This is our poem to Paula and Fransisco from Recife Brasil:
There once were 2 girls on a quest,
they put their portugese to the test
they went to brasil and drank cachaça until
they found Chico and Paula the best.
The 4 of them had a great time
with Pitù, sugar, and green limes
Chiclete and Skol and eating crab in the sol
And we even committed a crime
Brasilian primas- thank you so much
and we better all keep in touch
we`ll see you soon
dancing under the moon
at your wedding, carnival and the such.
Goodbye Brasil!
Hello ECUADOR!
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
things i adore about brasil
in no particular order and always more to come....
1. colorful buildings
2. Flavia, Celline, Paula, Chicão and all of the family members in between
3. world class beaches
4. cachaça
5. capieora (crazy fighting dance)
6. cobble stone streets
7. monkeys and lizards
8. people honking horns for no reason (this amuses me)
9. the rules of the road (there arent any)
10. the heels woman where (especially when they are walking in heels on cobble stone streets. this also amuses me)
11. fruit falling off trees and then i get to eat it
12. meat on a stick
13. barbacue cheese on a stick
14. surfing
15. samba
16. brasilian music (more specifically CHICLETE COM BANANA... i saw them in concert and he touched my hand)
17. the creative architecture
18. Brahma, Skol, Chopp, Bohemian. (These are all Brasilian brewed beers)
19. Portugese (its a incredibly complex language)
20. graffiti
21. rinding horses in the country
22. all of the lights. this country is blanketed in sparkling, white, blinking, colorful lights
23. the sound of birds chirping constantly
24. the Delta Experience
25. the money looks like monopoly money
26. yellow brasilian jerseys
27. the colorful clothes people wear
28. hanging clothes up to dry in the sun
29. having maids
30. living in mansions and penthouses
31. restaraunts that charge by the kilo (paying for what you eat? what a concept!!)
32. not having a cell phone
33. there is music on every single street corner
34. everyone is always smiling because there are literally "no problem"s here
Things I dont think I will be missing so much:
1. passing out on crowded bus rides
2. Toilet Paper that is really wax paper. (whats the point?)
3. ketchup that is really raspberry jam....?
4. French fries cost me 10 reaies down here!!
5. the smell of some of the rivers... makes me gag. seriously.
6. trash and litter
7. Germans (margaret and ashley not included as we are also germans)
8. mosquitos (margeret and i counted 50 bites on my right arm alone)
9. crack and crackheads
10. phone cards and pay phones (unless the payphone looks like a sombrero)
11. ANTS
so, im about to take off from brasil. its sad. i love it here. the culture is incredible. Im pretty sure my $300 visa was worth it but i still want to come back for more.
the people we met along the way have been incredible. more than hospitable. its been an amazing time and i will forever miss this place but i'll be back. i mean, lets face it. i do have a 5 year visa now and ther World Cup is in 2014. Im just saying. Plus, theres Carnival, The Olympics and much, much more Brahma and Cachaça to be had.
Ciao for now my giant amighina.
Hello Ecuador.
1. colorful buildings
2. Flavia, Celline, Paula, Chicão and all of the family members in between
3. world class beaches
4. cachaça
5. capieora (crazy fighting dance)
6. cobble stone streets
7. monkeys and lizards
8. people honking horns for no reason (this amuses me)
9. the rules of the road (there arent any)
10. the heels woman where (especially when they are walking in heels on cobble stone streets. this also amuses me)
11. fruit falling off trees and then i get to eat it
12. meat on a stick
13. barbacue cheese on a stick
14. surfing
15. samba
16. brasilian music (more specifically CHICLETE COM BANANA... i saw them in concert and he touched my hand)
17. the creative architecture
18. Brahma, Skol, Chopp, Bohemian. (These are all Brasilian brewed beers)
19. Portugese (its a incredibly complex language)
20. graffiti
21. rinding horses in the country
22. all of the lights. this country is blanketed in sparkling, white, blinking, colorful lights
23. the sound of birds chirping constantly
24. the Delta Experience
25. the money looks like monopoly money
26. yellow brasilian jerseys
27. the colorful clothes people wear
28. hanging clothes up to dry in the sun
29. having maids
30. living in mansions and penthouses
31. restaraunts that charge by the kilo (paying for what you eat? what a concept!!)
32. not having a cell phone
33. there is music on every single street corner
34. everyone is always smiling because there are literally "no problem"s here
Things I dont think I will be missing so much:
1. passing out on crowded bus rides
2. Toilet Paper that is really wax paper. (whats the point?)
3. ketchup that is really raspberry jam....?
4. French fries cost me 10 reaies down here!!
5. the smell of some of the rivers... makes me gag. seriously.
6. trash and litter
7. Germans (margaret and ashley not included as we are also germans)
8. mosquitos (margeret and i counted 50 bites on my right arm alone)
9. crack and crackheads
10. phone cards and pay phones (unless the payphone looks like a sombrero)
11. ANTS
so, im about to take off from brasil. its sad. i love it here. the culture is incredible. Im pretty sure my $300 visa was worth it but i still want to come back for more.
the people we met along the way have been incredible. more than hospitable. its been an amazing time and i will forever miss this place but i'll be back. i mean, lets face it. i do have a 5 year visa now and ther World Cup is in 2014. Im just saying. Plus, theres Carnival, The Olympics and much, much more Brahma and Cachaça to be had.
Ciao for now my giant amighina.
Hello Ecuador.
Monday, December 14, 2009
I've conquered the city of Recife
So far i've drivien 3 cars, a ferry from Arraial D´Ajuda to Porto Seguro, i´ve stolen a motorcycle, and i rode a horse.
Ashley: 6 ..... Brasilian Modes of Transportion: 0
A met Paula and Fransisco who are nothing less than a big deal.
I've been living in a penthouse.
I drink free Pitú Casaça every day.
I had my first "clubbin" experience which was WAY beyond extravagant in every single aspect.
I had VIP passes to the Requebra Brasil Music Festival where I could touch the stage and get free drinks all night. I did just this.
At the festival I got to see Chiclete Com Banana who is the MOST famous brasilian band.
The concert was killer. I have NEVER been to such a huge event in my life. Or have ever seen something so intense even on TV. There were thousands upon thousands of people there. About 50,000 heads. We had to get tickets to go and when you showed up at the door with your ticket, they would give you a t-shirt. the VIP shirts were white. so we go inside and there is a booth there that customizes your shirt if you want. So they cut mine all up and made it fit me WAY better and made my v neck into a c neck and now its a tank-top instead of a t-shirt. that was rad. get this. they also had a plethra of badazzles there so i hot glued the 8 stars of gold on the front right on top of the yellow country of brasil that was already on the shirt when i got it and rocked some Alaskan pride.
I was up next to the stage and I just want to make one thing clear. I touched the lead singers hand. Well.... really, he touched my hand. But I just really want to rub that in Chicão's face because he just happens to be in love with the lead singer.
there was so much trash at the festival. it was everywhere. i was appauled. also, everyone was making out. seriously. brasilians LOVE to freaking make out. they make out under trees, on benches, leaning up against the railing, in the middle of a crowd, in the middle of DANCE FLOOR, in front of the line to get free booze, seriously. everywhere. and if you werent making out, they were peeing. anywhere and everywhere. they would just whip their naughties out and potty right next to you for all they cared. it was gross. i mean, think if 1983 people peed in the middle of the street at the festival. that street would smell like a dirty toilet.
anyway. so we danced the night away at the festival with beers on our heads and in our hands. We ALWAYS made sure we were packing at least two beers at every moment of the concert.
Moving on to some other incredible Recife moments in time:
I've eaten crab in every single shape and form you could possibly imagine eating it. Its true. Ask Margaret. She knows about the 84934723847 different ways to taste those tasty morsels who gave their lives for the suppression of my appetite.
So we spent an afternoon meeting and mingling with Chicão's family in the country. A couple hours go by and all of a sudden we happen to find out that his uncle has a horse around the corner. And he didnt tell us this 4 days ago because....? (right, we havent figured that one out either). Needless to say, I rode that horse like its never been ridden before and me and the horse bonded. We had multiple moments. Seriously. The pasture was huge and the sun was setting and the smell of the wildflowers, and the sound of the calm wind blowing through the mango and banana trees. The way the horse gallopped across the fields with such pride and finess. .... I love horses. We spent the rest of the afternoon eating homecooked meals, sipping on whiskey, and laughing with one of the most adorable grandmas I've ever met. Shes my new amighina.
I went to jail today. its true. they have this place called Casa Cultura which is a super super old jail that is now a market and every cell is a different little store you walk into and buy touristy trinkets. I imagined what type of people were locked away in those same cells many years ago.
Then, we went to the pier and hopped in a tiny skiff and cruised around the Atlantic Ocean for a couple hours. We went across the channel at one point and got out and walked on this island type thing that holds 33 monuments for the same guy. The sun was setting when we were out there and then as soon as it began to get dark, all of the monuments were lit up with all different colors!! One thing about Brasil is they definetly like lights. EVERYTHING is lit up at night! Its incredible!
So, this is my partial story of why I have conquered the town.
Now, for those of you who have expressed concern about our health, I want to show you a little something Margaret calls the food pyramid:
6-11 servings of grains: beer
2-4 servings of fruit: wine, limes in caipirinhas, and exotic fruity caipivoshkas
3-5 servings of veggies: vodka is made of potatoes
2-3 servings of proteins: the little ants that crawl into my kool-aid-vodkas
2-3 servings of dairy: capetas have cream in them
use sparingly-fats and sweets: caipirinhas have sugar in them, but let's face it, this category isn't healthy, so let's not worry about it.
Ashley: 6 ..... Brasilian Modes of Transportion: 0
A met Paula and Fransisco who are nothing less than a big deal.
I've been living in a penthouse.
I drink free Pitú Casaça every day.
I had my first "clubbin" experience which was WAY beyond extravagant in every single aspect.
I had VIP passes to the Requebra Brasil Music Festival where I could touch the stage and get free drinks all night. I did just this.
At the festival I got to see Chiclete Com Banana who is the MOST famous brasilian band.
The concert was killer. I have NEVER been to such a huge event in my life. Or have ever seen something so intense even on TV. There were thousands upon thousands of people there. About 50,000 heads. We had to get tickets to go and when you showed up at the door with your ticket, they would give you a t-shirt. the VIP shirts were white. so we go inside and there is a booth there that customizes your shirt if you want. So they cut mine all up and made it fit me WAY better and made my v neck into a c neck and now its a tank-top instead of a t-shirt. that was rad. get this. they also had a plethra of badazzles there so i hot glued the 8 stars of gold on the front right on top of the yellow country of brasil that was already on the shirt when i got it and rocked some Alaskan pride.
I was up next to the stage and I just want to make one thing clear. I touched the lead singers hand. Well.... really, he touched my hand. But I just really want to rub that in Chicão's face because he just happens to be in love with the lead singer.
there was so much trash at the festival. it was everywhere. i was appauled. also, everyone was making out. seriously. brasilians LOVE to freaking make out. they make out under trees, on benches, leaning up against the railing, in the middle of a crowd, in the middle of DANCE FLOOR, in front of the line to get free booze, seriously. everywhere. and if you werent making out, they were peeing. anywhere and everywhere. they would just whip their naughties out and potty right next to you for all they cared. it was gross. i mean, think if 1983 people peed in the middle of the street at the festival. that street would smell like a dirty toilet.
anyway. so we danced the night away at the festival with beers on our heads and in our hands. We ALWAYS made sure we were packing at least two beers at every moment of the concert.
Moving on to some other incredible Recife moments in time:
I've eaten crab in every single shape and form you could possibly imagine eating it. Its true. Ask Margaret. She knows about the 84934723847 different ways to taste those tasty morsels who gave their lives for the suppression of my appetite.
So we spent an afternoon meeting and mingling with Chicão's family in the country. A couple hours go by and all of a sudden we happen to find out that his uncle has a horse around the corner. And he didnt tell us this 4 days ago because....? (right, we havent figured that one out either). Needless to say, I rode that horse like its never been ridden before and me and the horse bonded. We had multiple moments. Seriously. The pasture was huge and the sun was setting and the smell of the wildflowers, and the sound of the calm wind blowing through the mango and banana trees. The way the horse gallopped across the fields with such pride and finess. .... I love horses. We spent the rest of the afternoon eating homecooked meals, sipping on whiskey, and laughing with one of the most adorable grandmas I've ever met. Shes my new amighina.
I went to jail today. its true. they have this place called Casa Cultura which is a super super old jail that is now a market and every cell is a different little store you walk into and buy touristy trinkets. I imagined what type of people were locked away in those same cells many years ago.
Then, we went to the pier and hopped in a tiny skiff and cruised around the Atlantic Ocean for a couple hours. We went across the channel at one point and got out and walked on this island type thing that holds 33 monuments for the same guy. The sun was setting when we were out there and then as soon as it began to get dark, all of the monuments were lit up with all different colors!! One thing about Brasil is they definetly like lights. EVERYTHING is lit up at night! Its incredible!
So, this is my partial story of why I have conquered the town.
Now, for those of you who have expressed concern about our health, I want to show you a little something Margaret calls the food pyramid:
6-11 servings of grains: beer
2-4 servings of fruit: wine, limes in caipirinhas, and exotic fruity caipivoshkas
3-5 servings of veggies: vodka is made of potatoes
2-3 servings of proteins: the little ants that crawl into my kool-aid-vodkas
2-3 servings of dairy: capetas have cream in them
use sparingly-fats and sweets: caipirinhas have sugar in them, but let's face it, this category isn't healthy, so let's not worry about it.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Im browning nicely.
Being in a poor country... its sad to see. Brasil isnt as 3rd world as i thought but there is an intense dichotomy of classes here. you´re either poor, or filthy rich... really. its crazy. Children younger than 10 are selling individual cigs, pirated dvds, and drugs in the streets to tourists here. its so sad. someone told me the parents have their youngest child do those types of jobs because the tourists feel bad and are more likely to give money.
but its a wierd feeling because there are thousands of little kids sleeping in doorways here with no shoes and they´re covered in dirt and then there is me. this little white american who sightsees all of the horrible attributes of the country and then when im done here, i fly back to my cozy bed (actually i dont have a bed or a home when i fly home but there is still a big difference). i wish i could do more instead of just walk by and stare.
on another note:
i went to salvador the other day. my bus arrived from illeús around 6am and i took a city bus into town where i was dropped at the center. i strutted across the street to the elevetor which takes you up to old town salvador. in old town, i went to the historic center which is full of HUGE buildings with incredibly old old old architecture and beauitful churches and colorful buildings. i kept walking to a part of old town called Pelourino and in the center i found a bunch of people doing copaeira which is like a type of dance that looks like their fighting. those guys are ripped and they can do one arm hand stands for minutes at a time. then i went down to the huge indoor market which was cool but really everything looks the same and im pretty sure i saw all that stuff in another indoor market when i was in barbados.
around 7pm. i hopped on another bus to head to recife. 14 hours later....... i made it.
margarets friend francsico had his incredible girlfriend scoop us up from the bus station and she took us to probably the best restraunt i have ever been too and i ate like a champion and she kept ordering capirinas and of course i kept drinking them so by the time lunch was done with, i was way too drunk for me own good. i started talking like a pirate.
then she took us to olinda. north of recife. they have shark signs everywhere. she plopped us at a gay bar on the beach and ordered us a skol while she worked distributing Pitú (a brand of caçasa) and then drank with us when she was done (but still working). she loves her job.
then, being drunk, paula showed us the town of Olinda. the streets here in olinda are beautiful. they´re tiny little cobble stone streets so narrow only one car can squeeze through at a time and all of the houses on each side are connected and lined up together but look so different. they each have their own character painted either yellow, pink, lime green, sea green, blue, orange... every color you can think of there is a building painted that color in the streets of olinda. the architecture is amazing too. rounded edges that peak at the top and shoot up into the sky like a dagger. the buildings look sturdy. like they´ve been there since the 1800s and they´re still holding strong.
So margaret´s friend fransisco and his girlfriend, Paula, well, they´re freaking rad people. paula works for Pitú which is a caçasa distrubuter. she gave me a bottle.
last night, paula got us free tickets to a concert to this local club. you know how in movies there is that divider stand that forms lines outside the club door? well, there was definetly one of those and we skipped to the very front because we were "on the list". then we went inside and all the tables at the club were reserved so paula "pulled some strings" and we sat down at one of the best tables in the club. no big deal.
then we drank and drank these delicious brasilian drinks and more people kept buying me drinks because i have blue eyes and one guy told me he wanted to take me out on his boat and i said no and then i danced because the club kept playing incredible american remixes of all these amazing songs that i forgot i missed so much until i heard them in a brasilian club. then, a really famous brasilian band got on stage and played all night long. by the way, i love brasilian music. so i danced. i danced like ive never danced before. then around 2 we called it and went to paula´s penthouse which stands taller than any other building around for miles. we have our own room there.
but its a wierd feeling because there are thousands of little kids sleeping in doorways here with no shoes and they´re covered in dirt and then there is me. this little white american who sightsees all of the horrible attributes of the country and then when im done here, i fly back to my cozy bed (actually i dont have a bed or a home when i fly home but there is still a big difference). i wish i could do more instead of just walk by and stare.
on another note:
i went to salvador the other day. my bus arrived from illeús around 6am and i took a city bus into town where i was dropped at the center. i strutted across the street to the elevetor which takes you up to old town salvador. in old town, i went to the historic center which is full of HUGE buildings with incredibly old old old architecture and beauitful churches and colorful buildings. i kept walking to a part of old town called Pelourino and in the center i found a bunch of people doing copaeira which is like a type of dance that looks like their fighting. those guys are ripped and they can do one arm hand stands for minutes at a time. then i went down to the huge indoor market which was cool but really everything looks the same and im pretty sure i saw all that stuff in another indoor market when i was in barbados.
around 7pm. i hopped on another bus to head to recife. 14 hours later....... i made it.
margarets friend francsico had his incredible girlfriend scoop us up from the bus station and she took us to probably the best restraunt i have ever been too and i ate like a champion and she kept ordering capirinas and of course i kept drinking them so by the time lunch was done with, i was way too drunk for me own good. i started talking like a pirate.
then she took us to olinda. north of recife. they have shark signs everywhere. she plopped us at a gay bar on the beach and ordered us a skol while she worked distributing Pitú (a brand of caçasa) and then drank with us when she was done (but still working). she loves her job.
then, being drunk, paula showed us the town of Olinda. the streets here in olinda are beautiful. they´re tiny little cobble stone streets so narrow only one car can squeeze through at a time and all of the houses on each side are connected and lined up together but look so different. they each have their own character painted either yellow, pink, lime green, sea green, blue, orange... every color you can think of there is a building painted that color in the streets of olinda. the architecture is amazing too. rounded edges that peak at the top and shoot up into the sky like a dagger. the buildings look sturdy. like they´ve been there since the 1800s and they´re still holding strong.
So margaret´s friend fransisco and his girlfriend, Paula, well, they´re freaking rad people. paula works for Pitú which is a caçasa distrubuter. she gave me a bottle.
last night, paula got us free tickets to a concert to this local club. you know how in movies there is that divider stand that forms lines outside the club door? well, there was definetly one of those and we skipped to the very front because we were "on the list". then we went inside and all the tables at the club were reserved so paula "pulled some strings" and we sat down at one of the best tables in the club. no big deal.
then we drank and drank these delicious brasilian drinks and more people kept buying me drinks because i have blue eyes and one guy told me he wanted to take me out on his boat and i said no and then i danced because the club kept playing incredible american remixes of all these amazing songs that i forgot i missed so much until i heard them in a brasilian club. then, a really famous brasilian band got on stage and played all night long. by the way, i love brasilian music. so i danced. i danced like ive never danced before. then around 2 we called it and went to paula´s penthouse which stands taller than any other building around for miles. we have our own room there.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
sleeping in hammocks
i love sleeping in hammocks.
i now have 36 mosquito bites on my left arm.
i surfed all day again today and swallowed more salt water than i think i ever thought possible.
it reminds me when i went on my first family trip. we went to california and my little brother, shawn, i think was about 11 at the time, jumped into the ocean and came up from the water screaming and wiping his eyes yelling, `there is salt in the water!!` hahahah. he had no idea and it was so cute....
anyway, but really. i spend all day at the bus stop yesterday. on the door, it said in portugese, open from 13:30-18:30. so, i was there from around 1:30 to 5:30 and the employee NEVER showed up. today, i decided NOT to waste an entire day for a freaking bus ride so i went to the beach, surfing, layed around, got free beer (i dont know why im so good at getting free beer but it seriously happens ALL the time) and swam in the ocean. then, i went to the bus station around 5:15 and the employee is STILL not there AAAANNNNDDD, the mail is still in the exact same place in front of the door as if they havent been at work for a few days!!
in Bahía: do not expect to be anywhere at any certain time because you´re on bahía time
for this next part of the blog:
DAD AND MOM: please, do not read anymore..... seriously......
i got a tattoo tonight in itacare. im very stoked.
i now have 36 mosquito bites on my left arm.
i surfed all day again today and swallowed more salt water than i think i ever thought possible.
it reminds me when i went on my first family trip. we went to california and my little brother, shawn, i think was about 11 at the time, jumped into the ocean and came up from the water screaming and wiping his eyes yelling, `there is salt in the water!!` hahahah. he had no idea and it was so cute....
anyway, but really. i spend all day at the bus stop yesterday. on the door, it said in portugese, open from 13:30-18:30. so, i was there from around 1:30 to 5:30 and the employee NEVER showed up. today, i decided NOT to waste an entire day for a freaking bus ride so i went to the beach, surfing, layed around, got free beer (i dont know why im so good at getting free beer but it seriously happens ALL the time) and swam in the ocean. then, i went to the bus station around 5:15 and the employee is STILL not there AAAANNNNDDD, the mail is still in the exact same place in front of the door as if they havent been at work for a few days!!
in Bahía: do not expect to be anywhere at any certain time because you´re on bahía time
for this next part of the blog:
DAD AND MOM: please, do not read anymore..... seriously......
i got a tattoo tonight in itacare. im very stoked.
Monday, December 7, 2009
i can sleep when im dead
Its true. Margaret wont let me sleep. She says I can catch up on sleep on the next 16 hour bus ride to Recife in a day or two. but seriously, we havent slept for days. okay thats not true, i took a 3 hour siesta in the hammock on the deck of my pousada this morning when i came home at 7am (after the sun rose).
we went out last night to celebrate the german girls big day. then, we might have ended up with our chilean travel band at some point making music in the cobble stone streets while they talked about teaching their babies to be capuera masters. all of a sudden, a friend from Paris steals us away and the next thing i know, i am in the back of a tattoo shop with a local band and im playing drums and everyone is feeding me drinks and i cant stop drinking and i cant stop playing the drums and singing songs that at the time, sounded like Bob Marley, but really, who knows at this point.
all of a sudden, i heard a rooster crow and i noticed the sun was rising. margaret and i blinked once and we were off to start a new adventure.
this mostly consisted of finding our way back to the best pousada in the world. which.... let me tell you, was incredibly difficult as all streets look the same and my eyes were blurry as bees. we made it though. in one piece.
today:
1.café
2.met a crackhead (doesnt come recommended)
3.walked to praia with a longboard
4.surfed my heart out
5.ziplined across an entire beach
6.found a hidden beach (but no treasure)
7.napped in a hammock
we went out last night to celebrate the german girls big day. then, we might have ended up with our chilean travel band at some point making music in the cobble stone streets while they talked about teaching their babies to be capuera masters. all of a sudden, a friend from Paris steals us away and the next thing i know, i am in the back of a tattoo shop with a local band and im playing drums and everyone is feeding me drinks and i cant stop drinking and i cant stop playing the drums and singing songs that at the time, sounded like Bob Marley, but really, who knows at this point.
all of a sudden, i heard a rooster crow and i noticed the sun was rising. margaret and i blinked once and we were off to start a new adventure.
this mostly consisted of finding our way back to the best pousada in the world. which.... let me tell you, was incredibly difficult as all streets look the same and my eyes were blurry as bees. we made it though. in one piece.
today:
1.café
2.met a crackhead (doesnt come recommended)
3.walked to praia with a longboard
4.surfed my heart out
5.ziplined across an entire beach
6.found a hidden beach (but no treasure)
7.napped in a hammock
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Itacaré
The time came to depart Arraial D´Ajuda. Here I sit on the bus headed north to the next town. I never want to leave though. We cant fight the invitable any longer and off we go right after fulfilling the legend of the holy water. The time in Arraial was well spent kicking it at a mansion CASA KATURA to be specific.(www.casakatura.com)
SHOUT OUT TO RICK FOR BEING SUCH A BIG DEAL. (ps, i really am bringing my family down)
I am not ready to leave at all though. The sounds i hear dancing around in my ear, the warm wind i feel on my skin, the yellow moon i watch peak over the horizon, cliffside casa katura, poolside parties, beautiful beaches.... incredibly bittersweet. Music streams through my ears while i sit staring out the tinted bus windows- trees pass me by. Houses fade into a far away distance. My life is a movie of my dreams. where i am, i watch as cows graze endless pastures. Palm trees stretch towards the sun. Little cars fly fast to their next destination. destined nation. Meanwhile, I listen to murder by death sing me lullabies that make my eyes more and more droopy. when i wake up, ill be in a new place.
Nicolas Muller said i had to come here. And look, if a pro snowboarder gave you a suggestion, bets are that you would take it. soo... i came. and here i am.
ITACARÈ thrives on surfing, raggae, and ecoturism. What else more could you want? Chocolate? well, they have that too and its some seriously tasty chocolate at that.
Im staying in a pousada near the center of town which is only a few blocks away from world class beaches. My roommate is a girl from germany that i met on the bus heading to the town from Porto Segura a few days ago. The guy that lives below me is from Israel and he reads books upside down and backwards.
I went to the beach last night for a huge party i had heard about and wound up kicking it at a much smaller shindig a bit down the beach because they had drums, lots of drums, and this crazy flute thing, and dancing men whos faces were covered in tattoos. I happened to stumble upon a motercycle and i may or may not have hopped on it, started it up, and took it for a joy ride up and down the beach. had it been equipted with more fuel, i would have made margie get on the back and we would have rode off into the distance towards boliva.
let me tell you the importance of a moquito net. i have 27 mosquito bites on my left arm alone. not to mention all of my other limbs.... (i hope i dont get malaria. that would be a penny pincher)
this morning, i woke up, made some instant coffee, and headed to the beach to get my surf on. sure enough, i caught many many waves AND have pictures to prove it. (jaycen you would be proud) ps. two thumbs up for waterproof cameras. I met a lifeguard who bought me french fries. And then i watched as he ran all the way down the beach and dove into the ocean and frantically swam towards a very dangerous current section of the praia. A young boy about age 8 and 2 young girls got caught in the current and were being sucked down into the water and farther and farther out and couldnt get back to shore. The lifeguard saved their lives. It was pretty incredible to witness. My fries needed ketchup and pepper.
All of a sudden, a zipliner flew through the air over the entire length of the beach i was surfing at. (random)
Lets get serious though... I came on this trip with about 3000$. now, i have a bit less than 1500 and i still have about 3 months to go. if only i took travis´s juggling lessons more seriously in sitka.... damn. either way, i have to start making jewelery and make walks up and down the beach selling stuff because this money is only going to get me so far. i had to buy a plane ticket rencently from Recife Brasil to Quito Ecuador and that cost me almost $600. (thank goodness for tax returns and Christmas!!!) ohh the stresses of backpacking around another continent...
SHOUT OUT TO RICK FOR BEING SUCH A BIG DEAL. (ps, i really am bringing my family down)
I am not ready to leave at all though. The sounds i hear dancing around in my ear, the warm wind i feel on my skin, the yellow moon i watch peak over the horizon, cliffside casa katura, poolside parties, beautiful beaches.... incredibly bittersweet. Music streams through my ears while i sit staring out the tinted bus windows- trees pass me by. Houses fade into a far away distance. My life is a movie of my dreams. where i am, i watch as cows graze endless pastures. Palm trees stretch towards the sun. Little cars fly fast to their next destination. destined nation. Meanwhile, I listen to murder by death sing me lullabies that make my eyes more and more droopy. when i wake up, ill be in a new place.
Nicolas Muller said i had to come here. And look, if a pro snowboarder gave you a suggestion, bets are that you would take it. soo... i came. and here i am.
ITACARÈ thrives on surfing, raggae, and ecoturism. What else more could you want? Chocolate? well, they have that too and its some seriously tasty chocolate at that.
Im staying in a pousada near the center of town which is only a few blocks away from world class beaches. My roommate is a girl from germany that i met on the bus heading to the town from Porto Segura a few days ago. The guy that lives below me is from Israel and he reads books upside down and backwards.
I went to the beach last night for a huge party i had heard about and wound up kicking it at a much smaller shindig a bit down the beach because they had drums, lots of drums, and this crazy flute thing, and dancing men whos faces were covered in tattoos. I happened to stumble upon a motercycle and i may or may not have hopped on it, started it up, and took it for a joy ride up and down the beach. had it been equipted with more fuel, i would have made margie get on the back and we would have rode off into the distance towards boliva.
let me tell you the importance of a moquito net. i have 27 mosquito bites on my left arm alone. not to mention all of my other limbs.... (i hope i dont get malaria. that would be a penny pincher)
this morning, i woke up, made some instant coffee, and headed to the beach to get my surf on. sure enough, i caught many many waves AND have pictures to prove it. (jaycen you would be proud) ps. two thumbs up for waterproof cameras. I met a lifeguard who bought me french fries. And then i watched as he ran all the way down the beach and dove into the ocean and frantically swam towards a very dangerous current section of the praia. A young boy about age 8 and 2 young girls got caught in the current and were being sucked down into the water and farther and farther out and couldnt get back to shore. The lifeguard saved their lives. It was pretty incredible to witness. My fries needed ketchup and pepper.
All of a sudden, a zipliner flew through the air over the entire length of the beach i was surfing at. (random)
Lets get serious though... I came on this trip with about 3000$. now, i have a bit less than 1500 and i still have about 3 months to go. if only i took travis´s juggling lessons more seriously in sitka.... damn. either way, i have to start making jewelery and make walks up and down the beach selling stuff because this money is only going to get me so far. i had to buy a plane ticket rencently from Recife Brasil to Quito Ecuador and that cost me almost $600. (thank goodness for tax returns and Christmas!!!) ohh the stresses of backpacking around another continent...
Friday, December 4, 2009
let your lights shine through
recap of the night event
yes, we might have had a wee too much vodka mixed with kool-aide... but its really not our faults.
we went to a party to reconize the opening of a brand new pousada. twas nice. and the rooms were nice. and the free food was nice. and the free beer was equally nice.
as for the impromptu rap battle in the corner, well... that, my mostly american friends, was something special. and let me tell you, it is VERY hard to explain in words... but if you listen to the Bob Marley + Lauren Hill song: Turn the Lights Down Low, on repeat for 30 minutes and drink capininas until the sun rises with copious amounts of dancing in the mix under a yellow full moon, i think you may be perhaps, on to something... but until then, mi amighina, you will really never know exactly how i feel at this very moment in time.
until itacare...
yes, we might have had a wee too much vodka mixed with kool-aide... but its really not our faults.
we went to a party to reconize the opening of a brand new pousada. twas nice. and the rooms were nice. and the free food was nice. and the free beer was equally nice.
as for the impromptu rap battle in the corner, well... that, my mostly american friends, was something special. and let me tell you, it is VERY hard to explain in words... but if you listen to the Bob Marley + Lauren Hill song: Turn the Lights Down Low, on repeat for 30 minutes and drink capininas until the sun rises with copious amounts of dancing in the mix under a yellow full moon, i think you may be perhaps, on to something... but until then, mi amighina, you will really never know exactly how i feel at this very moment in time.
until itacare...
Thursday, December 3, 2009
"what i do to you in your sleep is my biddniss"
gosh darnit.
margaret made my kool-aide vodka drink way stronger than her own. also, did you know, that in some cultures (mainly miama and chisago) you can seriously get SHOT for making the koolaide wrong? our amighina confirms that the reason why the guy actually got shot was because he not only made it horribly, but that mother effer drank the rest of the koolaide too!!!! who does that!??! the more i think about it, the more i understand why that jive turkey was shot in the first place.
margie and ashley's plan of attack:
#1. get drunk
#2. party like we've never partied before in Arraial on our last night
#3. draw more animal pictures
margaret made my kool-aide vodka drink way stronger than her own. also, did you know, that in some cultures (mainly miama and chisago) you can seriously get SHOT for making the koolaide wrong? our amighina confirms that the reason why the guy actually got shot was because he not only made it horribly, but that mother effer drank the rest of the koolaide too!!!! who does that!??! the more i think about it, the more i understand why that jive turkey was shot in the first place.
margie and ashley's plan of attack:
#1. get drunk
#2. party like we've never partied before in Arraial on our last night
#3. draw more animal pictures
another day at the beach
Rick woke us up bright and early, shouting things like, hurry up! some people have to work around here! hurry up! lets go to the beach! i want to tide pool! hurry up. get up! lets go swimming at the beach! you cant sleep all day!" then i giggled because anyone whoh knows me, KNOWS that i can indeed sleep all day. but, nevertheless, i agreed thatt tidepooling sounded like a gem for the mornings activities. So, i rolled off my side of the bed and gently pushed margaret off hers. we headed to the beach.
YOU: how did you get to the beach?
ME: what a great question!!!
YOU: those are all i have.... great questions...
ME: uuhh... right, anyway- we took a MOTO-TAXI!!!!! (yes mom and dad, i DID wear a helmet.) and the best thing is, they go so fast and cut throuogh traffic like you wouldnt believe and they only cost 4Reales which is like, 2 american $$.
NOTE: i took a video while on the back seat of the moto-taxi. will post eventually....
so now we're at the beach and we walk over to the next beach called Mucage Beach (which is my personal favorite). There we found a nice spot where margie was out of the sun and where i could be 1/2 in the sun and 1/2 out of the sun.
the events are as follows:
-first things first: order a BRAHMA (yes, we know its only 8AM right now. which is 3AM alaska time)
- went tidepooling and saw thousands of sea urchins, sea cucumber, sea stars, etc.
- drank another brahma
- went swimming
- journal wrote
- bought some tasty fried coconut that made my heart melt
- brahma
- bought a bathing suit from a lady selling them on the beach
- swimming
- met a guy names Julio that was a photographer and used my camera to take a photoshoot of margaret and i
- met another guy that gave me his necklace and then went home to get a sarong to match my new bathing suit i just bought on the beach
- the best batatas freitas i've ever had
- got a moto-taxi ride home after stopping at the market to buy beans and vodka. (probably the best store bought combination ever.... im just saying)
YOU: how did you get to the beach?
ME: what a great question!!!
YOU: those are all i have.... great questions...
ME: uuhh... right, anyway- we took a MOTO-TAXI!!!!! (yes mom and dad, i DID wear a helmet.) and the best thing is, they go so fast and cut throuogh traffic like you wouldnt believe and they only cost 4Reales which is like, 2 american $$.
NOTE: i took a video while on the back seat of the moto-taxi. will post eventually....
so now we're at the beach and we walk over to the next beach called Mucage Beach (which is my personal favorite). There we found a nice spot where margie was out of the sun and where i could be 1/2 in the sun and 1/2 out of the sun.
the events are as follows:
-first things first: order a BRAHMA (yes, we know its only 8AM right now. which is 3AM alaska time)
- went tidepooling and saw thousands of sea urchins, sea cucumber, sea stars, etc.
- drank another brahma
- went swimming
- journal wrote
- bought some tasty fried coconut that made my heart melt
- brahma
- bought a bathing suit from a lady selling them on the beach
- swimming
- met a guy names Julio that was a photographer and used my camera to take a photoshoot of margaret and i
- met another guy that gave me his necklace and then went home to get a sarong to match my new bathing suit i just bought on the beach
- the best batatas freitas i've ever had
- got a moto-taxi ride home after stopping at the market to buy beans and vodka. (probably the best store bought combination ever.... im just saying)
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
we never made it on the bus. No problem.
i remember waking up around 6 something in the morning to rick saying something about how its really really hard to make it out of the town because there are many, many things that can go wrong the last minute. i didnt really see what he was talking about and i dozed off as i usually do into my own dream world when someone talks to me and wondered about all of the things that could go wrong in such a small town with 6 hours to get to the airport.
things that went wrong:
1. spent an extra hour too long at the beach during low tide looking at the thousands of sea urchins, sea stars, sea cucumbers, living coral, fish, etc.
2. Moonda's house
3. The Cafe stop (probably what caused it)
4. The bank stop
5. The Acai stop
6. The ferry that was supposed to leave every 30 minutes but during this particular hour, left on the hour which swallowed 30 precious minutes. and no, i didnt get to drive the ferry this time
so.... because rick didnt fly out to chicago, we didnt get on the bus. we thought that was a fair deal. and our thought process was: why wouldnt we want to live in a mansion for a while longer?
so, we're back at the mansion. i took a 5 hour nap in a hammick overlooking the jumgle and the Atlantic Ocean after maybe inhaling some natural herbs. Then i woke up and strolled to the market to retrieve my long awaiting giant avacado to make some guac (ann, you would be proud).
thank goodness for margarets professional job at making kool-aid/vodka drinks which.... APPARENTLY, you can get shot for making wrong!! (true story. ask for details in person as it is very, very detailed and gorry.)
who knows what tomorrow will bring though. i mean, tonight, the moon is full and beautiful and i know its making the tide all crazy for tomorrow mornings tide pool adventure. This happens after the morning Capurera which is like a yoga, ju-jitsu, aerobic, dance session that gets ganster at some particular points.....
i have a feeling there will probably be more window shopping because i have no money to spend but i want all these things and then i hear the sound of marge's sweet voice of reason in my only ear (the left one=the good one) and then i set the arcticle of clothing down ever so slowly and back away from the rest of the merchandise. its getting easier though... i think....
the place that i live:
www.casakatura.com
check it out.
things that went wrong:
1. spent an extra hour too long at the beach during low tide looking at the thousands of sea urchins, sea stars, sea cucumbers, living coral, fish, etc.
2. Moonda's house
3. The Cafe stop (probably what caused it)
4. The bank stop
5. The Acai stop
6. The ferry that was supposed to leave every 30 minutes but during this particular hour, left on the hour which swallowed 30 precious minutes. and no, i didnt get to drive the ferry this time
so.... because rick didnt fly out to chicago, we didnt get on the bus. we thought that was a fair deal. and our thought process was: why wouldnt we want to live in a mansion for a while longer?
so, we're back at the mansion. i took a 5 hour nap in a hammick overlooking the jumgle and the Atlantic Ocean after maybe inhaling some natural herbs. Then i woke up and strolled to the market to retrieve my long awaiting giant avacado to make some guac (ann, you would be proud).
thank goodness for margarets professional job at making kool-aid/vodka drinks which.... APPARENTLY, you can get shot for making wrong!! (true story. ask for details in person as it is very, very detailed and gorry.)
who knows what tomorrow will bring though. i mean, tonight, the moon is full and beautiful and i know its making the tide all crazy for tomorrow mornings tide pool adventure. This happens after the morning Capurera which is like a yoga, ju-jitsu, aerobic, dance session that gets ganster at some particular points.....
i have a feeling there will probably be more window shopping because i have no money to spend but i want all these things and then i hear the sound of marge's sweet voice of reason in my only ear (the left one=the good one) and then i set the arcticle of clothing down ever so slowly and back away from the rest of the merchandise. its getting easier though... i think....
the place that i live:
www.casakatura.com
check it out.
blink once if you want to stay in Arraial. Blink once if you want a Brahma. Blink once if you want to swim in the pool. Blink once if you think we should eat a mango off the tree.
unforuntately, im not the world's best blogger.... so, i just copied and pasted margarets (see below) because its pretty much the exact same experience i had only worded a tiny bit differently.
enjoy.
So, where I last left off was me waking up Ashley by crying "llama!" That night we met up with a fellow couchsurfer at a little outside bar next to some live music. The only problem is, there was a ghost haunting the corner chair, and we were both negatively effected by it. The hippie from the beach made jewelry in exchange for shots of cachaca, and we went home slightly dazed due to our encounter with the spirit world. llama, brahma, obama, yo mama. We woke up the next day and headed out to find a bank (where monkeys tried to poop on our heads) and visit our new couchsurfing friend's "secret spot", which is a view of a lighthouse, very picturesque. We headed back to Aline's at about noonish. She apparently had set her alarm for 6am to get up and start drinking brahma (she was finally done with school!!) and she neglected to wake us up to join in. hahahaha.... Pinche Aline... so we headed up to our rooftop party. A serious 360 degree view of Vitoria, the ocean, and Vila Velha. So awesome. I made Ashley eat a chicken heart on a stick without her knowledge, which I must say was quite hilarious.
ashley: that was NOT funny at all actually.
We once again took advantage of the open bar, and before we knew it, this Brasilian that I swear must have been on Tool Academy-Brasil, threw us in the pool fully clothed and even shoed. So, I just swam around in the pool for a while with my Sunday`s best on. Things got crazier and crazier, as they will at a rooftop pool party, and we start to yell hilarious things into the bull horn. I made ashley a turkey out of a chocolate wrapper, but then the wind grabbed it and someone stepped on it, so my work of art turned into garbage and she rejected it. next thing I know, we are headed to the bus station to catch our 9oclock bus, and we got there at.... 9:01. Of course the one time that a bus actually leaves on time just happens to be the same instance that our sense of time is slightly blurred. So, our new couch surfing friends took us back to this beautiful farm hosue, where we proceeded to have a nice evening chat with his mother, where I discovered that I apparently have incredibly cute ears, which I always thought were a bit elvin. We slept on the floor once again, and then next morning woke up bright and early to go visit a far off waterfall. After a long drive through rolling countryside hills and cows that can walk on vertical land, we reached our destination. La Santa Leopoldina, it is a park dedicated to an Austrian Princess. Anyways, apparently there is an onca (like a small leopard) that lives there, but we didnt see it. We walked up the wataerfalls and where we heard a million bugs screaming at us in weird tones, so we are pretty sure they were trying to warn us of the incoing giant feline. We saw a cave and some morcegos (bats). We both fell asleep on the way back, as the music was rolling with the hills, and the sun was bright and hot.
We visited a music school for kids, where our new friend Joaquim volunteers his time to teach children to play the piano, and the kids spoke perfect english, how refreshing. We met up with Allison, our other new friend and at some point ate some more pizza. Now let me tell you about our new friend Alison. He is the funnniest cutest gay Brasilan man I have ever met. Unfortunately, he too is unlucky in love with men, so we decided that if we arent married in 5 years, we will then tie the knot in order to facilitate the exchange of green cards. Haven't you ever heard of a sham wedding? Anywho, we caught our bus that night, in fact we got there like an hour early and it got there an hour late (go figure), so we did not miss it!!
We slept most of the night and awoke in Porto Seguro. Due to the fact that neither of us speak portuguese and we didnt have a map, we spent quite some time deliberating which bus to take to our next couchsurfer. We were hungry and thirsty and i was and trying to figure out where the hell we were, when a kindly man hands ashley a giant poky fruit that is slimy and weighs about 78 pounds. So, we decided to get on the bus going to the beach because we know our friend lives on it. With broken portuguese and the kindness of strangers and a giant magical fruit that may or may not have really been a dragon egg, we made our way to the correct stop. this is where things got tricky. we didnt exactly have the best of directions, so we wandered aimlessly through neighborhoods in 150 degree weather with 100 percent humidity and backpacks that weigh at least 800 lbs each. And a giant poky fruit. That is when we met some more kind strangers, who helped us figure out where we were going and also informed us that the giant fruit was not ripe and could not be eaten, so having carried it for 6 kilometers was a complete waste of energy.....
We got to Gustavos house (what is with all the Gustavo signs? first, the movie, now this couchman... Gustavos come in 3s you know, the next one will bring a prophecy..) So, we get to this really nice house, and he is not home. So, the neighbor calls him for us, and he rushes home to let us in. Unfortunately, we are not very good communicators since we have no cell phone and the phone card wont work, so they didnt think we were going to show. They had plans to go to the beach, so they gave us a key and were on their way. We were happy to have a place to rest to ourselves, but then this giant puppy pooped on the floor, peed over everything, and then tried to bite us and rub his smell all over us, as if we needed to smell any worse. So, we got refreshed, ashley poured a drink out of my water bottle (which apparently she had filled with vokda, thank god I didnt take a swig of that), and we go on our merry way.
We figured out how to get to Arraial D'Ajuda, which is this little town across the water from Porto (which is also the first spot that the Portuguese landed way back when), and we walked about 3 miles to the beach. We kept thinking it was right around the corner.... We got to this little fishing beach, and took in the speedoes, the kite surfers, and the caiparihnas that were about 99% cachaca. I had to accompany it with an agua com gas. That is when we noticed that everyone was staring at something behind us. So, obviously we turned around to see what was going on, and what did we see?? 6 military police armed with automatic weapons of all kinds, out and ready to open fire. Seriously, they were wielding machine guns. They walked over to 3 kids that were sleeping behind a boat, and kicked them to get up. The 3 kids jumped to their feet and put their hands behind their heads. Due to the unfortunate fact that we suck at eavesdropping in Portuguese, we have no idea what happened. My guess is that these children were the head of a large drug cartel, but I suppose we will never know. Think City of God. And side note- this experience really brought me back to my Peruvian CIA agent days. Latinos in a uniform.
Anyways, after all of this excitement, we took a stroll up the hill to the little historical town that overlooks the ocean/jungle. We saw a very old, beautiful little church, and then mosied our way to the rich-hippy section of town. A hotel manager that speaks perfect english due to his time in Miami invited us into his restaurant to taste a home brewed beer and so how could we refuse? We didn't. We got a really nice outdoor table and listened to the Brasilian bands as they play in the streets. We had some delicious food, and Mucha (the bar manager) called up his American friend, Rick. Ashley proceeded to call him Carl for the next 4 hours. Rick is awesome, and speaks english, so that was a plus for us. We could finally have a conversation with another person. haha..
So, we decided to switch couches and just stay at Ricks, which just soo happens to be a cliffside mansion, overlooking the ocean with the jungle in the foreground with bright yelow birds dancing to and froe and palm trees every which way, and let us not forget to mention the horizon-pool or whatever those things are called. Paradise. Paraiso. Paradisio if you well. I am not kidding, I dont know how we get ourselves into these situations, but hey, we are not complaining.
We woke up yesterday on a memory foam mattress, two feather pillows, and 10000 thread count egyptian cotton sheets. we also woke up to a pool party, lil wayne was blaring from the speakers, the palm trees were blowing in the breeze, and the ocean was bright and teal behind the green jungle. we heard monkeys and birds over the lil wayne and there were a million gorgeous brasilian girls dancing in the pool. where are we?? they were all so nice, so we proceeded to drink grape-koolaid and vodka for breakfasts, and learn how to dance the samba. I am not kidding-where are we?? Coolest place on earth. That is where. This is when we learned that the reason that brasilian girls have such nice posteriors is that they are always walking on cobblestone streets with 6 inch heels on. First of all, no one told me to bring my red high heels, and second of all, I can barely walk on cobblestones without tripping while wearing tennis shoes, so although the mystery was solved, the mission will not be accomplished. We have also noticed that the women only wear thongs and the men only wear speedos. People think we are conservative, and they tend to ask if we are traveling nuns. That is, until they take a sip of our kool-aid.
So after the pool party, we headed down to the beach on some moto-taxis. Mom- close your eyes for the next sentence. We hopped on the back of these crazy little motorcycles and flew through the town with the wind in our hair and the bugs in our mouths. Ok Mom, I know you read that anyways, so I will now inform you that I yes I did wear a helmet, so dont worry. we went down to a beautiful beach and people watched, quite a fun thing to do in brasil. we did not this time, however, witness any children being held at automatic gunpoiont. After the beach, we headed up to Portinos, a restaurant where you pile up food like a buffet, and then you pay by the kilo. odd, yet it works. so I ate a bunch of good brasilian food, and we then realized that we had to find a way to get our stuff back from Gustavos. luckily Rick has a friend named David that has a car (a little bug from the 70s), and we convinced him to drive us to the old couch in order to pick up our stuff so that we didnt have to take 2 busses and a ferry to get there.
We headed over there, and met up with our old pal Gustavo. We felt bad having not spent much time with him, but when we saw more poop on the floor, our decison was sealed- cliffside mansion it was. the decisions was sealed even further when ashley grabbed her pack and 7 million ants poured out of it. I thought she was going to cry. seriously. they were the tiny ones, the ones that taste like coconuts. so, we went on our way and stopped in the downtown for a little capeta. it is like a pina colada only with extra brasilian zing. we made it to the ferry just as it was leaving, and then somehow ashley talked the captain into letting her drive it. so far, she has driven 3 brasilian cars and s ship. I dont particularly enjoy driving, but she appaertnly is the new vin diesel. does that make me paul walker? I have no idea. We came back to our mansion and made some caipavodshkas, listened to some music, and enjoyed the view. We decided then and there that if someone is wearing a cape, you should listen to them.
We woke up this morning once again to a pool party in our paradise. ricks opening a bar here, so the entire staff came over to test out menu items. we have been sitting here sampling delicious food for the past few hours. seriously. life is good. almost too good. it is scaring me. knock on wood. someone just passed us a fruit salad and the odds of us not running outside and hiding behind a bush to eat the rest of it are pretty much slim to none. no problem.
enjoy.
So, where I last left off was me waking up Ashley by crying "llama!" That night we met up with a fellow couchsurfer at a little outside bar next to some live music. The only problem is, there was a ghost haunting the corner chair, and we were both negatively effected by it. The hippie from the beach made jewelry in exchange for shots of cachaca, and we went home slightly dazed due to our encounter with the spirit world. llama, brahma, obama, yo mama. We woke up the next day and headed out to find a bank (where monkeys tried to poop on our heads) and visit our new couchsurfing friend's "secret spot", which is a view of a lighthouse, very picturesque. We headed back to Aline's at about noonish. She apparently had set her alarm for 6am to get up and start drinking brahma (she was finally done with school!!) and she neglected to wake us up to join in. hahahaha.... Pinche Aline... so we headed up to our rooftop party. A serious 360 degree view of Vitoria, the ocean, and Vila Velha. So awesome. I made Ashley eat a chicken heart on a stick without her knowledge, which I must say was quite hilarious.
ashley: that was NOT funny at all actually.
We once again took advantage of the open bar, and before we knew it, this Brasilian that I swear must have been on Tool Academy-Brasil, threw us in the pool fully clothed and even shoed. So, I just swam around in the pool for a while with my Sunday`s best on. Things got crazier and crazier, as they will at a rooftop pool party, and we start to yell hilarious things into the bull horn. I made ashley a turkey out of a chocolate wrapper, but then the wind grabbed it and someone stepped on it, so my work of art turned into garbage and she rejected it. next thing I know, we are headed to the bus station to catch our 9oclock bus, and we got there at.... 9:01. Of course the one time that a bus actually leaves on time just happens to be the same instance that our sense of time is slightly blurred. So, our new couch surfing friends took us back to this beautiful farm hosue, where we proceeded to have a nice evening chat with his mother, where I discovered that I apparently have incredibly cute ears, which I always thought were a bit elvin. We slept on the floor once again, and then next morning woke up bright and early to go visit a far off waterfall. After a long drive through rolling countryside hills and cows that can walk on vertical land, we reached our destination. La Santa Leopoldina, it is a park dedicated to an Austrian Princess. Anyways, apparently there is an onca (like a small leopard) that lives there, but we didnt see it. We walked up the wataerfalls and where we heard a million bugs screaming at us in weird tones, so we are pretty sure they were trying to warn us of the incoing giant feline. We saw a cave and some morcegos (bats). We both fell asleep on the way back, as the music was rolling with the hills, and the sun was bright and hot.
We visited a music school for kids, where our new friend Joaquim volunteers his time to teach children to play the piano, and the kids spoke perfect english, how refreshing. We met up with Allison, our other new friend and at some point ate some more pizza. Now let me tell you about our new friend Alison. He is the funnniest cutest gay Brasilan man I have ever met. Unfortunately, he too is unlucky in love with men, so we decided that if we arent married in 5 years, we will then tie the knot in order to facilitate the exchange of green cards. Haven't you ever heard of a sham wedding? Anywho, we caught our bus that night, in fact we got there like an hour early and it got there an hour late (go figure), so we did not miss it!!
We slept most of the night and awoke in Porto Seguro. Due to the fact that neither of us speak portuguese and we didnt have a map, we spent quite some time deliberating which bus to take to our next couchsurfer. We were hungry and thirsty and i was and trying to figure out where the hell we were, when a kindly man hands ashley a giant poky fruit that is slimy and weighs about 78 pounds. So, we decided to get on the bus going to the beach because we know our friend lives on it. With broken portuguese and the kindness of strangers and a giant magical fruit that may or may not have really been a dragon egg, we made our way to the correct stop. this is where things got tricky. we didnt exactly have the best of directions, so we wandered aimlessly through neighborhoods in 150 degree weather with 100 percent humidity and backpacks that weigh at least 800 lbs each. And a giant poky fruit. That is when we met some more kind strangers, who helped us figure out where we were going and also informed us that the giant fruit was not ripe and could not be eaten, so having carried it for 6 kilometers was a complete waste of energy.....
We got to Gustavos house (what is with all the Gustavo signs? first, the movie, now this couchman... Gustavos come in 3s you know, the next one will bring a prophecy..) So, we get to this really nice house, and he is not home. So, the neighbor calls him for us, and he rushes home to let us in. Unfortunately, we are not very good communicators since we have no cell phone and the phone card wont work, so they didnt think we were going to show. They had plans to go to the beach, so they gave us a key and were on their way. We were happy to have a place to rest to ourselves, but then this giant puppy pooped on the floor, peed over everything, and then tried to bite us and rub his smell all over us, as if we needed to smell any worse. So, we got refreshed, ashley poured a drink out of my water bottle (which apparently she had filled with vokda, thank god I didnt take a swig of that), and we go on our merry way.
We figured out how to get to Arraial D'Ajuda, which is this little town across the water from Porto (which is also the first spot that the Portuguese landed way back when), and we walked about 3 miles to the beach. We kept thinking it was right around the corner.... We got to this little fishing beach, and took in the speedoes, the kite surfers, and the caiparihnas that were about 99% cachaca. I had to accompany it with an agua com gas. That is when we noticed that everyone was staring at something behind us. So, obviously we turned around to see what was going on, and what did we see?? 6 military police armed with automatic weapons of all kinds, out and ready to open fire. Seriously, they were wielding machine guns. They walked over to 3 kids that were sleeping behind a boat, and kicked them to get up. The 3 kids jumped to their feet and put their hands behind their heads. Due to the unfortunate fact that we suck at eavesdropping in Portuguese, we have no idea what happened. My guess is that these children were the head of a large drug cartel, but I suppose we will never know. Think City of God. And side note- this experience really brought me back to my Peruvian CIA agent days. Latinos in a uniform.
Anyways, after all of this excitement, we took a stroll up the hill to the little historical town that overlooks the ocean/jungle. We saw a very old, beautiful little church, and then mosied our way to the rich-hippy section of town. A hotel manager that speaks perfect english due to his time in Miami invited us into his restaurant to taste a home brewed beer and so how could we refuse? We didn't. We got a really nice outdoor table and listened to the Brasilian bands as they play in the streets. We had some delicious food, and Mucha (the bar manager) called up his American friend, Rick. Ashley proceeded to call him Carl for the next 4 hours. Rick is awesome, and speaks english, so that was a plus for us. We could finally have a conversation with another person. haha..
So, we decided to switch couches and just stay at Ricks, which just soo happens to be a cliffside mansion, overlooking the ocean with the jungle in the foreground with bright yelow birds dancing to and froe and palm trees every which way, and let us not forget to mention the horizon-pool or whatever those things are called. Paradise. Paraiso. Paradisio if you well. I am not kidding, I dont know how we get ourselves into these situations, but hey, we are not complaining.
We woke up yesterday on a memory foam mattress, two feather pillows, and 10000 thread count egyptian cotton sheets. we also woke up to a pool party, lil wayne was blaring from the speakers, the palm trees were blowing in the breeze, and the ocean was bright and teal behind the green jungle. we heard monkeys and birds over the lil wayne and there were a million gorgeous brasilian girls dancing in the pool. where are we?? they were all so nice, so we proceeded to drink grape-koolaid and vodka for breakfasts, and learn how to dance the samba. I am not kidding-where are we?? Coolest place on earth. That is where. This is when we learned that the reason that brasilian girls have such nice posteriors is that they are always walking on cobblestone streets with 6 inch heels on. First of all, no one told me to bring my red high heels, and second of all, I can barely walk on cobblestones without tripping while wearing tennis shoes, so although the mystery was solved, the mission will not be accomplished. We have also noticed that the women only wear thongs and the men only wear speedos. People think we are conservative, and they tend to ask if we are traveling nuns. That is, until they take a sip of our kool-aid.
So after the pool party, we headed down to the beach on some moto-taxis. Mom- close your eyes for the next sentence. We hopped on the back of these crazy little motorcycles and flew through the town with the wind in our hair and the bugs in our mouths. Ok Mom, I know you read that anyways, so I will now inform you that I yes I did wear a helmet, so dont worry. we went down to a beautiful beach and people watched, quite a fun thing to do in brasil. we did not this time, however, witness any children being held at automatic gunpoiont. After the beach, we headed up to Portinos, a restaurant where you pile up food like a buffet, and then you pay by the kilo. odd, yet it works. so I ate a bunch of good brasilian food, and we then realized that we had to find a way to get our stuff back from Gustavos. luckily Rick has a friend named David that has a car (a little bug from the 70s), and we convinced him to drive us to the old couch in order to pick up our stuff so that we didnt have to take 2 busses and a ferry to get there.
We headed over there, and met up with our old pal Gustavo. We felt bad having not spent much time with him, but when we saw more poop on the floor, our decison was sealed- cliffside mansion it was. the decisions was sealed even further when ashley grabbed her pack and 7 million ants poured out of it. I thought she was going to cry. seriously. they were the tiny ones, the ones that taste like coconuts. so, we went on our way and stopped in the downtown for a little capeta. it is like a pina colada only with extra brasilian zing. we made it to the ferry just as it was leaving, and then somehow ashley talked the captain into letting her drive it. so far, she has driven 3 brasilian cars and s ship. I dont particularly enjoy driving, but she appaertnly is the new vin diesel. does that make me paul walker? I have no idea. We came back to our mansion and made some caipavodshkas, listened to some music, and enjoyed the view. We decided then and there that if someone is wearing a cape, you should listen to them.
We woke up this morning once again to a pool party in our paradise. ricks opening a bar here, so the entire staff came over to test out menu items. we have been sitting here sampling delicious food for the past few hours. seriously. life is good. almost too good. it is scaring me. knock on wood. someone just passed us a fruit salad and the odds of us not running outside and hiding behind a bush to eat the rest of it are pretty much slim to none. no problem.
Friday, November 27, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
new friends and new feelings
for everyone thats wondering, my toe will be fine. i put some of that orange brazilian goo on it and taped it up with multiple batman bandages and so far so good. i bleed through the bandages a lot throughout the day but i think the flap is mending itself back on my toe so really... i will end up with one whole toe in the end... (or am i in serious denial??)
on another completely different note,
i´ve decided that i will never have a job... or, rather a career. all of my siblings have a family. either they are married and have great jobs or they have kids or both. and then, there is me.....
its just interesting...
because, at points, i almost envy them for leading such a stable life. but most of the time, i cant see myself following that path. I would rather save the little money i make working seasonal and or temporary jobs to have enough for a plane ticket to a foreign country. i dont want to settle down... ever, i dont think. there is too much in this huge world to explore, adventure and to soak in. i want to see every culture. i want to experience every piece of land and the affects they have on me as a soul seeker and an individual. i want to find my place in the world and i think that is by just... well, wandering the world.
Places i NEED to go to:
1. Nazca, Peru
2. Parque Tayrona, Colombia
3. El Bolson, Argentina
4. Salar de Uyuni
5. Machu Pichu
6. The Grand Canyon
7. Merida, Venezuela
8. this list will never end.....
And thats the point really... I learn by doing. I want to know the world but in order for a person like me to know it, i need to experience it. And if that means having nothing but what is in my small pack and just enough money to eat and get by... thats okay with me. I want to learn. I want to find whats most important and I know for sure that money is not it. And i know for sure that money isnt worth revolving my entire life around. Someone once said to me, ´ashley, you need money. you need to have a job and pay for stuff.` and i thought about it. yah... i mean, if i wanted fancy clothes and a fancy car and an expensive cell phone, i would need money. but i have none of that. i have few clothes, a car with no insurance that i gave to someone else and no cell phone. what do i need money for? i can work by doing something that i love, like being outside and showing people my backyard during the alaskan summers and then with the little money i make and save, move onto another country. a new place. a new adventure. THIS, my friends, is how IIII want to live my life. not in one single place. in many places.
you can join me if you want to.
i met this guy at the bar today who only spoke portuese and very very little spanish and he lives on the beach making and selling jewelry to just get by. he made me an ankle bracelet out of wire that says ashley and 4 rings in exchange for 1 beer. i thought that was a smart trade on my part. :)
tomorrow, i am headed up to Arraial D´Ajudo and I will be couchsurfing with someone that lives in Illeús. I´ve been in Vitória for almost 9 days now and i think its about time to leave this place. I am becoming a bit detached from nature and the city is starting to drive me nuts.
on another completely different note,
i´ve decided that i will never have a job... or, rather a career. all of my siblings have a family. either they are married and have great jobs or they have kids or both. and then, there is me.....
its just interesting...
because, at points, i almost envy them for leading such a stable life. but most of the time, i cant see myself following that path. I would rather save the little money i make working seasonal and or temporary jobs to have enough for a plane ticket to a foreign country. i dont want to settle down... ever, i dont think. there is too much in this huge world to explore, adventure and to soak in. i want to see every culture. i want to experience every piece of land and the affects they have on me as a soul seeker and an individual. i want to find my place in the world and i think that is by just... well, wandering the world.
Places i NEED to go to:
1. Nazca, Peru
2. Parque Tayrona, Colombia
3. El Bolson, Argentina
4. Salar de Uyuni
5. Machu Pichu
6. The Grand Canyon
7. Merida, Venezuela
8. this list will never end.....
And thats the point really... I learn by doing. I want to know the world but in order for a person like me to know it, i need to experience it. And if that means having nothing but what is in my small pack and just enough money to eat and get by... thats okay with me. I want to learn. I want to find whats most important and I know for sure that money is not it. And i know for sure that money isnt worth revolving my entire life around. Someone once said to me, ´ashley, you need money. you need to have a job and pay for stuff.` and i thought about it. yah... i mean, if i wanted fancy clothes and a fancy car and an expensive cell phone, i would need money. but i have none of that. i have few clothes, a car with no insurance that i gave to someone else and no cell phone. what do i need money for? i can work by doing something that i love, like being outside and showing people my backyard during the alaskan summers and then with the little money i make and save, move onto another country. a new place. a new adventure. THIS, my friends, is how IIII want to live my life. not in one single place. in many places.
you can join me if you want to.
i met this guy at the bar today who only spoke portuese and very very little spanish and he lives on the beach making and selling jewelry to just get by. he made me an ankle bracelet out of wire that says ashley and 4 rings in exchange for 1 beer. i thought that was a smart trade on my part. :)
tomorrow, i am headed up to Arraial D´Ajudo and I will be couchsurfing with someone that lives in Illeús. I´ve been in Vitória for almost 9 days now and i think its about time to leave this place. I am becoming a bit detached from nature and the city is starting to drive me nuts.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
I may or may not have chopped off my toe with a machete.
I am now a little bit less toey than i was this morning. The skin flap is huge and Margaret almost passed out. My foot now has some orange goo all over it due to some strange Brasilian concoction and Margaret wont stop singing about turtles. I put 6 batman bandages over it and still bled through all of them. Thats okay thought because there is a whole box full of batman bandages at the Penthouse Im staying at in the richest part of the city in Vitória.
It hurts. But I think Im going to make it. I have already hiked a mountain today to this church that was built in the 1500s. And gone to a chocolate factory. Chocolate always seems to make the world a much brighter place.
Looking forward to a party tomorrow at the top floor of this building. All glass windows up there and we have a 360 degree view of all the entire city. Only 25 reales to get in to the party where there is an open bar at the other side. The college students are celebrating the last day of the school year with booze and more delicious food like sushi and brazilian appetizers.
Margaret and I have been trying to leave Vitória for a few days now but keep getting ourselves sucked into the festivities of the city and postpone our trip another day. So, we´ll try and go tomorrow to this little coastal town north of here called Arraial D´Ajudo which is near a larger city called Porto Seguro (a more touristy town). We´ve connected with some couch surfing hosts and pretty much have free places to stay all the way up the coast.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in Alaska and its my favorite holiday.... I´m going to miss my family so much. Hopefully, Margaret will keep her promise to me. She assured me that she would somehow make me a turkey for my favorite holiday to celebrate. I told her they dont have turkeys here and she said, `then i will just have to mold you a turkey out of cheese balls.´
Loving it.
It hurts. But I think Im going to make it. I have already hiked a mountain today to this church that was built in the 1500s. And gone to a chocolate factory. Chocolate always seems to make the world a much brighter place.
Looking forward to a party tomorrow at the top floor of this building. All glass windows up there and we have a 360 degree view of all the entire city. Only 25 reales to get in to the party where there is an open bar at the other side. The college students are celebrating the last day of the school year with booze and more delicious food like sushi and brazilian appetizers.
Margaret and I have been trying to leave Vitória for a few days now but keep getting ourselves sucked into the festivities of the city and postpone our trip another day. So, we´ll try and go tomorrow to this little coastal town north of here called Arraial D´Ajudo which is near a larger city called Porto Seguro (a more touristy town). We´ve connected with some couch surfing hosts and pretty much have free places to stay all the way up the coast.
Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in Alaska and its my favorite holiday.... I´m going to miss my family so much. Hopefully, Margaret will keep her promise to me. She assured me that she would somehow make me a turkey for my favorite holiday to celebrate. I told her they dont have turkeys here and she said, `then i will just have to mold you a turkey out of cheese balls.´
Loving it.
A night on the town
We said our goodbyes to Flavia´s parents and got picked up by Aline, a friend of Flavia´s that we met at her graduation party a couple nights before. We moved base camp. Aline showed us around her place which is on the 11th floor of this incredibly rich apartment building. Aline´s folks live in Sao Paulo so her and her brother (and us) get the house to ourselves (beside the maids). Aline had an appointment with her personal trainer, then german class, and then an english class so she left us and said we would see each other around 10.
margaret and i want to explore the city around her building so off we go. i think we made it no more than a couple blocks when we see this sweet outdoor restaraunt with bright yellow chairs and big signs that say BRAHMA. We casually look at each other, smile, and both take seats in these happy little bright yellow chairs and order ourselves a brahma.
at this restraunt, they put down this huge white sheet of paper (wasteful, i know) over the table so we decided to draw our favorite animals over a beer or two.
ashley´s favorite animals include: (in this order)
#1. the Barnacle
#2. the Marmot
#3. the Arctic Turn
#4. the Javalina
After drawing detailed pictures of each of our favorite animals, we´ve pretty much had 4 Brahmas at this point and are seriously cracking ourselves up with crazy animal planet stories. And then, Margaret says,`Ashley, when I get home, Im changing my Facebook status to that.` And then, it hit me. We both have a Facebook addiction. (Although Im not going to lie, better Facebook addiction than crack. Right?)
Right then, this was the conversation that ensued:
Ashley: Margaret, I think we should seriously limit our FB time.
Margaret: (as her eyes bulged out of her head a bit) Uh hem... yes, agreed.
Ashley: Im thinking about....
and then at the EXACT same time we said:
Ashley: 30 minutes a day
Margaret: once a week.
We´re laughing so hard at this point and I know for a fact we arent being the most quiet of tables at this outdoor restaraunt because this atrevido man says to us, `hey ladies, where ya´ll from?` I was shocking and said to Margaret as if this atrevido couldnt hear me, ´this man speaks the english!´ we invited him over to our table for some brahmas and french fries.
His name was Johnny Hall (which is my neighbors brothers name so that was wierd) from Mississippi and he works on an oil tanker off the coast of Brazil for 4 weeks at a time and then heads back home to the southern US. He also worked on oil rigs in Venezuala during the time that Chavez tried to overthrow the government in 1992. I picked his brain about oil rigs and the oil corporations and the life of living on an oil tanker and being away from home every other 4 weeks for the past 35 years of his life. If you want to know ANYTHING at all about the big oil industry, ask me. I probably know it now.
The three of us drank some more brahmas and then we drank some cachaça and we laughed and ate some delicious fish.
I went on about how I wished the world gave up exporting and importing goods because then each country or state or city, whatever the case may be, could be self sufficient and i could eat a ripe mango or avacado in alaska that was grown in alaska. He said I reminded him of the song Country Boy Cant Survive by Hank Williams Jr.
All of a sudden, Gee (Flavia´s brother) Lucas (a 2nd language english speaking friend), and Aline walked up to the table and just laughed at us. They said it was 11pm and they were worried about us since we failed to leave a note so they decided to come find us. Luckily, we only made it a couple blocks so they didnt have to look too far. They sat down and we all talked about our favorite animals over some beer. It was time for Johnny to go so thanks to him, Chevron paid for the entire tab.
As we´re sitting there, this creeper in this bright pink shirt that looks like a begger wanders over near our table and then all of a sudden his creeper fanny pack just happens to spill open next to Gee and Gee´s wallet just happens to fall out of his pocket at this very moment and Gee just happens to lose all his money, cards, and id. As this point, this pink shirt wearing creeper starts stuffing money into his fanny pack while Gees looking for all of his. This son-of-a-biznitch robbed Gee right there at that very moment and then denied it! For some reason, Gee just sat back down and let this fool walk off with his wallet and there was no WAY i was just going to let that happen so spitfire ashley gets up and runs over to the pink shirt wearing creeper, says something really mean to him in Portugese and then I just held out my hand like, `give me my freaking money you punta.` I didnt get any money out of that confrontation but at least I tried. So, I wandered back to my yellow chair disappointed in humanity.
AND THEN
we got the bill. and this place was about to charge us for 8 beers, a pack of cigs, and french fries. Well, let me fill you in a bit: all we ordered since Mr. McRich Chevron left the table were 4 beers and french fries. Why the heck did we get charged for so much more? So I get back up and go to the register and throw 1/2 my tab at him and explain there is no way i am paying for all of that. He said, ´you have to you ordered it´. long story short, i didnt pay for a thing. the cash register said he didnt want a problem, only happy customers so he ripped up the bill and we left.
then, we headed to this sweet beach spot and i ran around the beach being chased by pinching crabs and then went swimming in the dark.
we got dropped off and i fell asleep outside on the balcony for a good slumber only to wake up to an incredible view from the 11th story to the sunrise.
good morning! its going to be another beautiful day.
margaret and i want to explore the city around her building so off we go. i think we made it no more than a couple blocks when we see this sweet outdoor restaraunt with bright yellow chairs and big signs that say BRAHMA. We casually look at each other, smile, and both take seats in these happy little bright yellow chairs and order ourselves a brahma.
at this restraunt, they put down this huge white sheet of paper (wasteful, i know) over the table so we decided to draw our favorite animals over a beer or two.
ashley´s favorite animals include: (in this order)
#1. the Barnacle
#2. the Marmot
#3. the Arctic Turn
#4. the Javalina
After drawing detailed pictures of each of our favorite animals, we´ve pretty much had 4 Brahmas at this point and are seriously cracking ourselves up with crazy animal planet stories. And then, Margaret says,`Ashley, when I get home, Im changing my Facebook status to that.` And then, it hit me. We both have a Facebook addiction. (Although Im not going to lie, better Facebook addiction than crack. Right?)
Right then, this was the conversation that ensued:
Ashley: Margaret, I think we should seriously limit our FB time.
Margaret: (as her eyes bulged out of her head a bit) Uh hem... yes, agreed.
Ashley: Im thinking about....
and then at the EXACT same time we said:
Ashley: 30 minutes a day
Margaret: once a week.
We´re laughing so hard at this point and I know for a fact we arent being the most quiet of tables at this outdoor restaraunt because this atrevido man says to us, `hey ladies, where ya´ll from?` I was shocking and said to Margaret as if this atrevido couldnt hear me, ´this man speaks the english!´ we invited him over to our table for some brahmas and french fries.
His name was Johnny Hall (which is my neighbors brothers name so that was wierd) from Mississippi and he works on an oil tanker off the coast of Brazil for 4 weeks at a time and then heads back home to the southern US. He also worked on oil rigs in Venezuala during the time that Chavez tried to overthrow the government in 1992. I picked his brain about oil rigs and the oil corporations and the life of living on an oil tanker and being away from home every other 4 weeks for the past 35 years of his life. If you want to know ANYTHING at all about the big oil industry, ask me. I probably know it now.
The three of us drank some more brahmas and then we drank some cachaça and we laughed and ate some delicious fish.
I went on about how I wished the world gave up exporting and importing goods because then each country or state or city, whatever the case may be, could be self sufficient and i could eat a ripe mango or avacado in alaska that was grown in alaska. He said I reminded him of the song Country Boy Cant Survive by Hank Williams Jr.
All of a sudden, Gee (Flavia´s brother) Lucas (a 2nd language english speaking friend), and Aline walked up to the table and just laughed at us. They said it was 11pm and they were worried about us since we failed to leave a note so they decided to come find us. Luckily, we only made it a couple blocks so they didnt have to look too far. They sat down and we all talked about our favorite animals over some beer. It was time for Johnny to go so thanks to him, Chevron paid for the entire tab.
As we´re sitting there, this creeper in this bright pink shirt that looks like a begger wanders over near our table and then all of a sudden his creeper fanny pack just happens to spill open next to Gee and Gee´s wallet just happens to fall out of his pocket at this very moment and Gee just happens to lose all his money, cards, and id. As this point, this pink shirt wearing creeper starts stuffing money into his fanny pack while Gees looking for all of his. This son-of-a-biznitch robbed Gee right there at that very moment and then denied it! For some reason, Gee just sat back down and let this fool walk off with his wallet and there was no WAY i was just going to let that happen so spitfire ashley gets up and runs over to the pink shirt wearing creeper, says something really mean to him in Portugese and then I just held out my hand like, `give me my freaking money you punta.` I didnt get any money out of that confrontation but at least I tried. So, I wandered back to my yellow chair disappointed in humanity.
AND THEN
we got the bill. and this place was about to charge us for 8 beers, a pack of cigs, and french fries. Well, let me fill you in a bit: all we ordered since Mr. McRich Chevron left the table were 4 beers and french fries. Why the heck did we get charged for so much more? So I get back up and go to the register and throw 1/2 my tab at him and explain there is no way i am paying for all of that. He said, ´you have to you ordered it´. long story short, i didnt pay for a thing. the cash register said he didnt want a problem, only happy customers so he ripped up the bill and we left.
then, we headed to this sweet beach spot and i ran around the beach being chased by pinching crabs and then went swimming in the dark.
we got dropped off and i fell asleep outside on the balcony for a good slumber only to wake up to an incredible view from the 11th story to the sunrise.
good morning! its going to be another beautiful day.
Monday, November 23, 2009
GET THE EF OFF MY SLEEPING BAG!!!!!!!
TRIP GOAL #1: use better nouns and ajectives
TRIP GOAL #2: absolutely NO laziness
on another note....
The whole reason why I came on this trip is now a memory: Flavia´s Graduation Celebration. And all I have to say is that single night of partying from 11pm-7 in the morning was DEFINELTY worth the entire cost of making my way to south america. when a bunch of us girls walked through the threshhold into the ballroom, i couldnt beleive my eyes. i swear i was walking down THE red carpet with hundreds of hundreds of glamorous people everywhere. there were 27 graduates including Flavia and all of their families and friends were there from 10 years old to 90 years young and all looking their best dressed to the 9s. there was cotton candy being passed around, popsicles, neon glowy things, and a free open bar with any drink you could possibly imagine including capinas with fresh squished strawberries or watermelon, mojitos, non alcoholic smoothies, whiskey, cachaça, beer. whatever, you name it and it was there. for free. We danced well into the night to this live band until we got kicked out at 6AM. then, margaret and i hopped in our new friends car with celline and this girl named Amanda and went to the beach to watch the sunrise, be drunk, and play in the water and sand with our fancy dresses on. After spending an hour or two at the beach, we headed home so Margaret could preform thriller on the patio and then proceed to throw her contacts off a 6 story building because she couldnt find her contact case. this was amusing because she is incredibly vulnurable when she cant see. (i used this to my advantage) I took the BEST video of margaret dancing to the thriller on the patio. I really really want to post it on facebook but after viewing it, i realized i filmed it sideways so you would get a kink in your neck if you watched the whole thing sideways... BUT if you are a diehard margaret and ashley fan (which... well, lets not kid ourselves, who isnt) then you will enjoy it to the end. (*helpful happy hint: turn your computer sideways!*) At one point during the night, I was laying on my sleeping bag and margaret was standing up with her feet on my bag and all i remeber was screeming, `get the fuck off my sleeping bag!!!!!´ like, a million times in a row and neither of us could stop laughing hysterically.
Then, we slept for a couple hours until we were woked up by 784573484 of her relatives back in the apartment laughing and joking about the cachaça americans passed out on the porch. No problem though. I jumped up fuzzy eyed but bushy tailed and had the best coffee of my life while i went along with the relatives making fun of margaret for not being able to handle her booze. hahahahah.
that night, flavias brother took us to this really beautiful secret cliffy beach area to learn about some plants and we looked for the southern cross in the sky. the cliffs there were incredible rock climbing cliffs with super positive holds and cracks that were so climbable i couldnt say no to them even though i may or may not have had too many bramhas at this point. i climbed my heart out. and was so so so happy afterwards.
TRIP GOAL #2: absolutely NO laziness
on another note....
The whole reason why I came on this trip is now a memory: Flavia´s Graduation Celebration. And all I have to say is that single night of partying from 11pm-7 in the morning was DEFINELTY worth the entire cost of making my way to south america. when a bunch of us girls walked through the threshhold into the ballroom, i couldnt beleive my eyes. i swear i was walking down THE red carpet with hundreds of hundreds of glamorous people everywhere. there were 27 graduates including Flavia and all of their families and friends were there from 10 years old to 90 years young and all looking their best dressed to the 9s. there was cotton candy being passed around, popsicles, neon glowy things, and a free open bar with any drink you could possibly imagine including capinas with fresh squished strawberries or watermelon, mojitos, non alcoholic smoothies, whiskey, cachaça, beer. whatever, you name it and it was there. for free. We danced well into the night to this live band until we got kicked out at 6AM. then, margaret and i hopped in our new friends car with celline and this girl named Amanda and went to the beach to watch the sunrise, be drunk, and play in the water and sand with our fancy dresses on. After spending an hour or two at the beach, we headed home so Margaret could preform thriller on the patio and then proceed to throw her contacts off a 6 story building because she couldnt find her contact case. this was amusing because she is incredibly vulnurable when she cant see. (i used this to my advantage) I took the BEST video of margaret dancing to the thriller on the patio. I really really want to post it on facebook but after viewing it, i realized i filmed it sideways so you would get a kink in your neck if you watched the whole thing sideways... BUT if you are a diehard margaret and ashley fan (which... well, lets not kid ourselves, who isnt) then you will enjoy it to the end. (*helpful happy hint: turn your computer sideways!*) At one point during the night, I was laying on my sleeping bag and margaret was standing up with her feet on my bag and all i remeber was screeming, `get the fuck off my sleeping bag!!!!!´ like, a million times in a row and neither of us could stop laughing hysterically.
Then, we slept for a couple hours until we were woked up by 784573484 of her relatives back in the apartment laughing and joking about the cachaça americans passed out on the porch. No problem though. I jumped up fuzzy eyed but bushy tailed and had the best coffee of my life while i went along with the relatives making fun of margaret for not being able to handle her booze. hahahahah.
that night, flavias brother took us to this really beautiful secret cliffy beach area to learn about some plants and we looked for the southern cross in the sky. the cliffs there were incredible rock climbing cliffs with super positive holds and cracks that were so climbable i couldnt say no to them even though i may or may not have had too many bramhas at this point. i climbed my heart out. and was so so so happy afterwards.
Cachaça
Vocé pensa que
cachaça é água
cachaça náo é água náo,
cachaça vem do alambique
e água vem do ribeiráo
pode me paltar tudo na vida,
arroz, feijáo e páo,
pode me faltar o amor
isso eu até acho graça
só náo quero que me
falta é a danada
da cachaça.
(this is the cachaça theme song Flavia´s relative taught us)
cachaça é água
cachaça náo é água náo,
cachaça vem do alambique
e água vem do ribeiráo
pode me paltar tudo na vida,
arroz, feijáo e páo,
pode me faltar o amor
isso eu até acho graça
só náo quero que me
falta é a danada
da cachaça.
(this is the cachaça theme song Flavia´s relative taught us)
Saturday, November 21, 2009
and so it went...
this morning was a rightous morning. we awoke to a bus load of about 23 relatives laughing and drinking cafe in the dining room only steps away from mine and margarets bedroom/outdoor deck. we rubbed the eyeball boogers out of the corner of our eyeballs and sat up to more brazilian smiles. after socializing/miming our way through the morning with the family, celline, margaret and i walked around through the laybryth of downtown. the point was to go shopping but aparently, flavia´s family lives on the incredibly rich part of town so all the cute clothes were billions of reales and considering my wallet (which doesnt consist of anything at all) i unfortunately couldnt afford a thing. not even a cheap piece of jewelery.... and so it went. we headed back, ate this dank lunch that im still drooling over and then peaced out to Vila Velha which is a nice town across a very nice bridge.
We met up with a little over 10 of the guy relatives and drank drank drank. they kept buying margaret and i cachaça and brahmas and lord know im a sucker for both of those. i tried my first corn-husk wrapped tobacco cigarret. but we drank.
and we laughed so much! constantly!!! it was hilareous! we were definetly the LIFE of the outdoor bar, no doubt in my mind. they kept making us say horrible things in portugese that Flavia was like, `no! dont say this!`hahaha. but we did... and so it went.... then, once margo margo and i got our fancy fill, we headed south across the street to the praia (beach) and walked through the market doing our best at getting more free stuff. the view was amazing! after that, we hopped in the car with some of the relatives and turning up TWIST AND SHOUT on repeat and danced all the way home with the windows rolled down.
you should have heard the old man sitting next to me in the back seat of this teeny tiny car. he knew ALL the words!!! ahahahahha. and then, margaret and i hopped out early and went to the open air market on the other beach right by flavia´s house and wandered around tasting good food and looking at the market goods that ended up too expensive to buy. we almost paid to ride ponys but the lady that was manning down that fort was really mean so i didnt want to support her cause. 
and so it went.... we slowly wandered home to cafe and showers to get ready for the ball this evening...
MORE TO COME.
cachaça and bus rides
It was that time to head north to Vitoria and get the heck out of the 7th largest city in the world. We took the scenic route to the bus station making a pit stop to this place called Habib´s (which is very fun to say outloud) and scooped up some 17 hour bus ride food. We also scooped up a bottle of Cachaça that was only 9.95 Reales.
The first thing we did on the bus was drink. After a long nights worth of drinking, we had some shut eye for about 3 hours. Then woke up, and drank to celebrate a new beginning in a different city. We stared out the window for hours and were so captivated by the undenyable beauty of the landscape. The rolling hills, the random huge pointed mountain that would come out of no where. the cows, the llamas, the tiny little mountainous towns, the barefoot locals, the fresh fruit markets, the clouds, and the cliffs. After many more hours past, Margaret and I both realized we were over an hour past the time of arrival!! Thus, we both had panic attacks and I made Margaret ask the driver in Portugese where the heck we were. It took her a while as she had to scan the portugese-english dictionary to figure out what to say. Luckily, we hadnt missed the stop yet.... Few. Saude! We drank to that.
Finally arriving in Vitoria, Flavia and her father scooped us up at the Bus Station and we headed to her house in downtown Vitoria only 3 blocks from the beach. We spend the day meeting lots of family, eating incredible home cooked meals. Margaret and I ended the night with a midnight walk on the beach and then passing out on their patio/deck outside on once again, concrete floor.
The next day, Celline arrived so celline and margaret and I went to the beach where I may or may not have accidentely inhaled some local maconha. (Since im on the subject, I dont think speedos are sexy.....) Then, I went swimming in the ocean which was like bath water and I swear I felt this incredible connection with the ocean and the waves and the way the water felt on my skin and how i was just floating with the current of the ocean. then, i got an ice cream cone from this old man with an ice cream cart which hit the spot 100%.
After all of this, we made our way home and got cleaned up to head to Flavia´s graduating class ceremony at this beautiful church. All 27 that graduated were SO SO SO fancy! Everyone looked like they walked out of a model magazine and that is definetely no eggageration. Post church events, we headed home and had a big party for Flavis´s mother to celebrate her birthday. there was more incredible food that i couldnt stop eating and beer beer beer! The beer they had at Flavias mothers birthay party tasted exactly like Reiner. It was all in all a good ol time with family speaking portugese all around the poor, ignorant americans who cant understand a word their saying. but thats okay with us. we are slowing catching onto the language and using the language barrier to much of our advantage.
Brazilians definelty know how to celebrate life. Tonight, is Flavis´s graduation party which 26 relatives bussed into town today to attend. Its going to be the fancies party i have ever been to or seen in my life. luckily, celline brought me a dress to wear tonight, other wise i would have been pretty embarrassingly out of place. The plan is to Samba our hearts out and drink lots of good wine and cachaça with the family and relatives who have so kindly, welcomed us into their homes and hearts.
Vitoria is an incredible place.
The first thing we did on the bus was drink. After a long nights worth of drinking, we had some shut eye for about 3 hours. Then woke up, and drank to celebrate a new beginning in a different city. We stared out the window for hours and were so captivated by the undenyable beauty of the landscape. The rolling hills, the random huge pointed mountain that would come out of no where. the cows, the llamas, the tiny little mountainous towns, the barefoot locals, the fresh fruit markets, the clouds, and the cliffs. After many more hours past, Margaret and I both realized we were over an hour past the time of arrival!! Thus, we both had panic attacks and I made Margaret ask the driver in Portugese where the heck we were. It took her a while as she had to scan the portugese-english dictionary to figure out what to say. Luckily, we hadnt missed the stop yet.... Few. Saude! We drank to that.
Finally arriving in Vitoria, Flavia and her father scooped us up at the Bus Station and we headed to her house in downtown Vitoria only 3 blocks from the beach. We spend the day meeting lots of family, eating incredible home cooked meals. Margaret and I ended the night with a midnight walk on the beach and then passing out on their patio/deck outside on once again, concrete floor.
The next day, Celline arrived so celline and margaret and I went to the beach where I may or may not have accidentely inhaled some local maconha. (Since im on the subject, I dont think speedos are sexy.....) Then, I went swimming in the ocean which was like bath water and I swear I felt this incredible connection with the ocean and the waves and the way the water felt on my skin and how i was just floating with the current of the ocean. then, i got an ice cream cone from this old man with an ice cream cart which hit the spot 100%.
After all of this, we made our way home and got cleaned up to head to Flavia´s graduating class ceremony at this beautiful church. All 27 that graduated were SO SO SO fancy! Everyone looked like they walked out of a model magazine and that is definetely no eggageration. Post church events, we headed home and had a big party for Flavis´s mother to celebrate her birthday. there was more incredible food that i couldnt stop eating and beer beer beer! The beer they had at Flavias mothers birthay party tasted exactly like Reiner. It was all in all a good ol time with family speaking portugese all around the poor, ignorant americans who cant understand a word their saying. but thats okay with us. we are slowing catching onto the language and using the language barrier to much of our advantage.
Brazilians definelty know how to celebrate life. Tonight, is Flavis´s graduation party which 26 relatives bussed into town today to attend. Its going to be the fancies party i have ever been to or seen in my life. luckily, celline brought me a dress to wear tonight, other wise i would have been pretty embarrassingly out of place. The plan is to Samba our hearts out and drink lots of good wine and cachaça with the family and relatives who have so kindly, welcomed us into their homes and hearts.
Vitoria is an incredible place.
Monday, November 16, 2009
`her eyes are blue and she wants to chaloopa you´
Free drinks on the airplain compliments of Marcus the flight attentand. (Ps. I love screw drivers while flying). Was inspired by the movie UP and therefor decided to inflate 1 million balloons. arrived in sao paulo after a 9 hour flights hearing my name being called over the intercom multiple times. Lo and behold, my backpack slash home is lost somewhere in the route. thanks to Gustavo, hopefully it´ll be on tomorrows flight. we go throuh customs and theres a man standing there with our names printed ever so neatly on a sign. off we go with our taxi driver, Muniz to find my dear friend Flavia. 50 minutes later, we find Flavia and head to lunch where Margaret and I start drinking caipirhnas (its only 2 at this point but we figured we should get a head start since we are in a foreign country). Then, Flavia goes back to work and we head TO THE BAR!!
*Burnt Chocolate caramel mocciato (one of margs favorites)
*5 hours in a juice bar drinking 9, 600mL local beer called Brahma
*The thought of aquiring a pocket defibulator because the guys keep stoping hearts
*Pilot manueavering around `interesting weather`
*took a train and a bus to flavia´s place after she found us at a bar drunk and out of control. so out of control, margaret couldnt maintain her balance with her humongous pack on her back. hahahahahah (she fell over on one of the bus rides and broke her satchel strap)
*cuddling on the tile floor
more will come once day 2 rolls around!
*Burnt Chocolate caramel mocciato (one of margs favorites)
*5 hours in a juice bar drinking 9, 600mL local beer called Brahma
*The thought of aquiring a pocket defibulator because the guys keep stoping hearts
*Pilot manueavering around `interesting weather`
*took a train and a bus to flavia´s place after she found us at a bar drunk and out of control. so out of control, margaret couldnt maintain her balance with her humongous pack on her back. hahahahahah (she fell over on one of the bus rides and broke her satchel strap)
*cuddling on the tile floor
more will come once day 2 rolls around!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Pre Tripping California Coasting
Why, Hello San Fransisco.
Its so nice to meet you on this warm, sunny day. When I got off the airplane, I hopped onto a train that took me to Union Station in downtown San Fran where I then wandered slowly to my hostel. I payed for 3 nights and I figured that would give me a good start to the trip. My flatmates were pretty rad. There was Becky from Canada who was maybe 90 pounds and loved to walk long distances. Then, there was Thea (who has her own card) from Seattle. Thea manages farmers markets in the Seattle area for 6 months out of the year then makes her way to some foreign county for the other 6 months of the year. Shes headed to India in 3 days. She took me to my first ever club.
So my San Fransisco plan was to walk to the embassy to acquire my Brazilian visa. Unfortunately, they changed their regulations only 2 days prior to my arrival and no longer accept walk-ins. The next available date open for appointment wasn't until November 18, 3 days after my departure date. Obviously that doesn't work for me. In a crazy lady frenzy with copious amount of help for Margo in Arizona, I call 20 different 3rd party visa companies to see if any of them can expedite a Brazilian visa for an Alaska within 7 days. (yes, i know... I'm cutting it close but that's how I roll)
First things first, I need a drink. I wander over to Puccini & Pinetti's (an Italian bar/restaurant) and make my evening home at the bar. Hello Happy Hour. $3 glasses of wine!?!?! I'll take 3 please! I smoosh and get some free drinks here and there. Then a British Airways Pilot buys me dinner. Then a couple hours later (yes, I've been at this bar for more than a couple hours) a 67 year young classy woman drinking white wine at the end of the bar tells me I'm too skinny and buys me more wine and another dinner. I didn't decline, I mean, come on, it's free! Janene pays the tab and drags me to another local dive bar with local music playing which completely reminded me of the Alaskan Bar and Hotel in Juneau and there she buys me a 7UP. Then takes me up and down and up and down this elevator that was on the outside of this super fancy hotel called the Sir Frances Drake Hotel 7 times! Before security kicked us out, we powder our noses in the all marble hotel restroom. She then walks me home and assures me she'll call me tomorrow for lunch.
Met a guy named Luke the next morning who approached me with this, " Girl, I want to take you out fo pizza." We walked to Starbucks, he bought me coffee then I split and he wondered why.
I left San Fran and headed north to Point Reyes which is the windiest place in north America and the 2nd foggiest and spent the night in the hostel up there. Explored the town and the beach which is a National Seashore. I saw 10 deer, a raccoon, tons of quail and a vulture on my drive in. A must see when in Cali. Met a homeless guy with a huge white beard and 2 guitars who told me about the food bank and about this town called Bolinas with no signs. The girl I met, Sarah, from the night before in the hostel and I decided to head down to this secret city and explore. Apparently there is free camping on the beach! The legend has it that for the past hundred years or more the locals of Bolinas came together and decided they didn't want their town to become another tourist stop beach town so they took every directional sign down that said Bolinas on it. So no one knows how to get there unless you already know how to get there. I accurately named it the sexy signless secret city. I HIGHLY recommend you hunt this town down if you're into creative artwork, giant peace signs, dirty hippys, surfing and free camping.
I get word that my friend Ry from Juneau is in Laguna Beach. I start heading that way and get there very late crashing on his grandma's beach condo couch (which is incredibly comfortable) after a solo dance dance party on the deck. Here, i got stung by 2 bees on the bottom of the foot which led me to meeting a girl who's getting married looking for beach glass on the beach as I'm screaming about the bee stings she gives me a cig, tells me to put the tobacco on the stink and it'll suck the sting out. Oddly enough, it worked. 3 days in Laguna was enough so I jump on a train and head to San Diego to stay with family.
Let me just say, I love San Diego. Lots happened here. I mean, lots.
Now, I'm in Long Beach. Charging my ipod and my camera because tomorrow is THE BIG DAY where I leave on a jet plane to Brazil.
This is the start of my adventure.
Stay tuned friends.
Its so nice to meet you on this warm, sunny day. When I got off the airplane, I hopped onto a train that took me to Union Station in downtown San Fran where I then wandered slowly to my hostel. I payed for 3 nights and I figured that would give me a good start to the trip. My flatmates were pretty rad. There was Becky from Canada who was maybe 90 pounds and loved to walk long distances. Then, there was Thea (who has her own card) from Seattle. Thea manages farmers markets in the Seattle area for 6 months out of the year then makes her way to some foreign county for the other 6 months of the year. Shes headed to India in 3 days. She took me to my first ever club.
So my San Fransisco plan was to walk to the embassy to acquire my Brazilian visa. Unfortunately, they changed their regulations only 2 days prior to my arrival and no longer accept walk-ins. The next available date open for appointment wasn't until November 18, 3 days after my departure date. Obviously that doesn't work for me. In a crazy lady frenzy with copious amount of help for Margo in Arizona, I call 20 different 3rd party visa companies to see if any of them can expedite a Brazilian visa for an Alaska within 7 days. (yes, i know... I'm cutting it close but that's how I roll)
First things first, I need a drink. I wander over to Puccini & Pinetti's (an Italian bar/restaurant) and make my evening home at the bar. Hello Happy Hour. $3 glasses of wine!?!?! I'll take 3 please! I smoosh and get some free drinks here and there. Then a British Airways Pilot buys me dinner. Then a couple hours later (yes, I've been at this bar for more than a couple hours) a 67 year young classy woman drinking white wine at the end of the bar tells me I'm too skinny and buys me more wine and another dinner. I didn't decline, I mean, come on, it's free! Janene pays the tab and drags me to another local dive bar with local music playing which completely reminded me of the Alaskan Bar and Hotel in Juneau and there she buys me a 7UP. Then takes me up and down and up and down this elevator that was on the outside of this super fancy hotel called the Sir Frances Drake Hotel 7 times! Before security kicked us out, we powder our noses in the all marble hotel restroom. She then walks me home and assures me she'll call me tomorrow for lunch.
Met a guy named Luke the next morning who approached me with this, " Girl, I want to take you out fo pizza." We walked to Starbucks, he bought me coffee then I split and he wondered why.
I left San Fran and headed north to Point Reyes which is the windiest place in north America and the 2nd foggiest and spent the night in the hostel up there. Explored the town and the beach which is a National Seashore. I saw 10 deer, a raccoon, tons of quail and a vulture on my drive in. A must see when in Cali. Met a homeless guy with a huge white beard and 2 guitars who told me about the food bank and about this town called Bolinas with no signs. The girl I met, Sarah, from the night before in the hostel and I decided to head down to this secret city and explore. Apparently there is free camping on the beach! The legend has it that for the past hundred years or more the locals of Bolinas came together and decided they didn't want their town to become another tourist stop beach town so they took every directional sign down that said Bolinas on it. So no one knows how to get there unless you already know how to get there. I accurately named it the sexy signless secret city. I HIGHLY recommend you hunt this town down if you're into creative artwork, giant peace signs, dirty hippys, surfing and free camping.
I get word that my friend Ry from Juneau is in Laguna Beach. I start heading that way and get there very late crashing on his grandma's beach condo couch (which is incredibly comfortable) after a solo dance dance party on the deck. Here, i got stung by 2 bees on the bottom of the foot which led me to meeting a girl who's getting married looking for beach glass on the beach as I'm screaming about the bee stings she gives me a cig, tells me to put the tobacco on the stink and it'll suck the sting out. Oddly enough, it worked. 3 days in Laguna was enough so I jump on a train and head to San Diego to stay with family.
Let me just say, I love San Diego. Lots happened here. I mean, lots.
Now, I'm in Long Beach. Charging my ipod and my camera because tomorrow is THE BIG DAY where I leave on a jet plane to Brazil.
This is the start of my adventure.
Stay tuned friends.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Gearing Up
Have you thought of being free? Breaking away from everyday life leaving the familiar and the comfort behind only to embark on a journey where there are no rules, no schedule, no guidelines. Accepting that anything will and can happen and somehow, coming to terms and being okay with it all?
If you find yourself daydreaming out your office window about vacations to come, I encourage you to quit your job and start an adventure for yourself. Live your life outside your box. But, considering the realism of that wish, this is a sincere invite to live vicariously through my posts until the day your "cubicle" burns down.
Welcome to my blog. My first ever, online blog.
The beginning of a personal endeavor filled with spiritual encounters, cultural experiences, self realizations, Galapagos islands, cold showers, being lost, being found, tan lines, running out of money, sucking dust on a long bus ride through winding Chilean mountainous roads, summating mountains, climbing rocks, losing passports, waking and falling asleep to the surf breaking on the beach outside my tent door, haggling, chaco blisters, machu pichu, and freedom.
This endeavour includes an uncharted route down the west coast of America via any & every means of transportation with a time limit of 3 weeks to LA by November 15. Then off on my flight to Sao Paulo Brazil for the winter.
Enjoy.
If you find yourself daydreaming out your office window about vacations to come, I encourage you to quit your job and start an adventure for yourself. Live your life outside your box. But, considering the realism of that wish, this is a sincere invite to live vicariously through my posts until the day your "cubicle" burns down.
Welcome to my blog. My first ever, online blog.
The beginning of a personal endeavor filled with spiritual encounters, cultural experiences, self realizations, Galapagos islands, cold showers, being lost, being found, tan lines, running out of money, sucking dust on a long bus ride through winding Chilean mountainous roads, summating mountains, climbing rocks, losing passports, waking and falling asleep to the surf breaking on the beach outside my tent door, haggling, chaco blisters, machu pichu, and freedom.
This endeavour includes an uncharted route down the west coast of America via any & every means of transportation with a time limit of 3 weeks to LA by November 15. Then off on my flight to Sao Paulo Brazil for the winter.
Enjoy.
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