well lookie here!

Why, hello! Yeah, its been a while. My bad. For some reason, finding any spare time to do the dishes, much less blog, has been a bit of a challenge of late. Meh.

Here's a quickie for you:



Yes, Summer, you did post this on your blog today. Call me a copycat. Whatever.

This video has burrowed its way into my brain (for reasons aside from the strange song). I've been to the official WTHIM site I've watched his "how I did this and got paid for it" presentation and I find myself actually getting jealous of this guy. Like crazy jealous. Which is a super-mature reaction, if you ask me. I'm green with envy that this kid has been to SO many rad (and some not-so-rad) places, has brought hoards of people together simply by doing something goofy, made a living doing it and that he made it look so damn easy. It makes me wanna yell HEY, I'm goofy. I'm creative. When the hell am I gonna get paid to travel and show it off?!?!?!

This video comes at a strange time, as Rob and I sort of stand at the edge of our post-Thunderbird-future and I continue to try to figure out what I want to do for a career. I'm trying to inch toward being a big girl with a real job that I enjoy and then freaking Matt pops in and -bam!- my priorities feel all askew again. Dammit.

I must admit, it was pretty fun to watch the country name pop up and go I've been there! but there were just too many not yets for my liking...

Dear Future Employer,
I'm gonna need about 6 months per year off -paid, of course- to go do this kinda stuff.
Kthxbai.
High-five,
me

UPDATE: I just learned that "everybody in world has seen this", so hey everybody: sorry for showing up late to the party. And non-everybodies like me: enjoy the show.

Playa Tamarindo - are we there yet?

Early Thursday morning, we took off for the grueling four-hour drive to Playa Tamarindo, a 'must see' beach on the Pacific side of the country. We rented a itty bitty SUV with 4-wheel drive, and were a bit dismissive when we were told "you'll need it...". Uh-huh, shuuuuuuuure we will.

I told him if he laid down and stretched real long, he might be longer than the car!

I'll fill you in on one thing about Costa Rica that drives even the Ticos (native Costa Ricans) crazy: signage is poor at best...in lots of places, an indicative sign can only be found from ONE of the two directions. Much like in the States, you follow signs based on the general area that you're traveling to, and signs get (marginally) more specific as you approach your destination. One of Rob's roomies is a Tico and busted out his monster map for us to study the night before we left. We wrote down about 9 city/province names along the way to ensure that we'd find our way.

Much of the drive was on a narrow paved two-lane highway, with semis clogging the way until we found clearings for passing. Imagine our surprise when we came upon a pair of signs indicating six different cities/provinces, only one of which we recognized. What is now referred to as 'the Puntarenas detour' was born when we followed said signs toward the sole city we knew and ended up at the ferry building in the harbor city of Puntarenas. After asking no fewer than three people for directions, we managed to find our way back to the very highway we strayed from.

About two hours and a few nervous turns later, we came upon a bit of trouble. The bridge we were to take through Nicoya had collapsed and there was simply no quick and easy way around it. Our solitary alternative? An hour of rain-drenched off-roading on country roads up and around the river. Once we found Nicoya's main road on the other side, there were no signs indicating any directions. Awesome. After a best guess gone wrong, we found signs (facing the opposite direction, of course) toward Santa Cruz.

when we came upon the collapsed bridge, we chatted briefly with a car full o' locals that explained that they knew an alternate route and led us 'round to Nicoya

If you can believe it, there's more: the roads into Tamarindo consist of dirt, rocks and potholes. And, it had started to rain. Lovely. Rob, being admittedly stubborn, didn't turn on the 4-wheel drive until well into our bumpy 13kilometer drive. Our little Jimny was so light that we'd hit a rut and bounce into another, and then another. Sounds fun at first, right? Right. After hitting a series of holes, losing control and bouncing (in slow motion, I swear it) for 10 full seconds, we stopped just a few feet short of a truck parked on the roadside. Needless to say, 4-wheel drive made frequent appearances during the rest of the trip...

a wee taste of what we dealt with for about 45 minutes - f-u-n fun!

We arrived in a rainy, gray Playa Tamarindo and fortuitously found our hostel, a cute place with a chocolate lab mascot named Makai. A quick lunch and a beer wrapped up our afternoon...

Barcelona, Spain

May 16th
On our list of things to do after arriving on Saturday afternoon: sit by the pool and drink sangria. Hopefully simultaneously.

We checked these off of our list, but separately. After buying a bottle of wine to chug by the pool (we're pretty resourceful), we showered and headed to the little (read: less touristy) neighborhood of Gracia, where we found decently priced sangria and tapas. We ordered a vino sangria (made with red wine, as opposed to sangria cava, which is made with champagne and spells headache to me) and three tapas: potato wedges drenched with a spicy-ish mayo/ketchup, pork kebabs, and (allegedly) barbequed chicken wings. Tapas = win. The sangria rocked, and I'm so pleased that it has been dubbed 'the drink' for our upcoming summer.




May 17th
Since Rob had been to Barcelona, and I was a newbie, we took the place by storm. Sorta. If getting out of the hotel at 11am counts as storming. Anyways...

We've done a lot of walking on our trip, and this city would be no exception. We walked and walked and walked to get to a main plaza and the beach. We walked by hookers and druggies, all selling their goods in broad daylight (note: we only walked through this area once...duh.)

safely through hooker-ville

We wandered toward the beach, stopping to people watch as tourists bought counterfeit bags/wallets/sunglasses from guys on the street, and the guys tried to stay one step ahead the cops. Between that and the various fashion faux paux at every turn, its like watching a train wreck...and I love it.

its not often that I'm so moved by an outfit that I actually document it, but there was so much happening here that it is forever ingrained in my memory...and this is the back!

proof that there is an ocean with a sandy beach in Barcelona! the walk was so long, I wasn't sure it actually existed

Craving more sunshine and wanting to make good use of the pool at our hotel, we bought a bottle of rose´wine and a refrigerated pizza, and headed for the pool. I'd never completely understood the point of going on vacation to simply sit at a pool in another country, but I was feeling it in Barcelona.

After a gourmet dinner at McDonald's (hey, sometimes you just need a burger), we headed toward the National Theater to check out the 'Magic Fountains', a huge choreographed (holy crap I spelled that right on the first try! I can't even successfully spell weird on the first shot...) water show, complete with music and lights. Here's a pretty shot and a snippet that I recorded, for memory's sake:

note: the video is like 2 minutes long...I couldn't find a good point in the music to stop recording!

May 18th
Our flight to Lisbon wasn't until the evening, so we slept as late as we could before meandering around along the Ramblas and in the Boqueria. The Ramblas is the shopping area in Barcelona, and you float along down the pedestrian lane, past such beauties as Zara, H&M and Carrefour. The Boqueria is a farmer's market-style outdoor store that hosts stalls and stalls of vendors hawking fruits, veggies, meats, and booze.

Our flight to Portugal may have been stewarded (is that a word?) by the most cheerful staff of all time. TAP Portugal Airlines will get my business in the future, which is more than I can say for RyanAir and Olympic Airlines.

Overall opinion: While I liked Barcelona, I fear we're approaching the point on our tour where everything turns into "just another city". I'm beginning to appreciate the slower pace of travel, even if it means visiting fewer places on each trip. Sangria is a hit with me, and I liked the tapas, too. I enjoyed my visit, but nothing exceptional sits with me. Perhaps I'll visit again to get a better feel for the city...

futbol mexicano

We met a guy named Hugo a few weeks ago who works for Tecate. That's right, he works for a beer company. One point of dream job criteria met? Yep. During conversation, we mentioned that we were dying to check out a futbol game (because would the trip really be complete without one? Methinks not.) Turns out, Hugo could get some great tickets from work. Like, number 2 team in the league versus number 3 team...a big game. Another point of dream job criteria met? Oh yeah.

As we walked to the gates on Saturday, one of the guys we went with mentioned that "checking out a futbol game can give you a true sense of Mexico". Damn, was he right. Where shall I even begin?

pregame 'show'/parade
Sponsorship for futbol is expensive, so sponsors want to be sure that their product gets noticed. Here in Mexico, scantily-clad girls are usually one such vehicle to getting attention. So, before the game, the "Carta Blanca chicas" and the "TelCel girls", "Takis mamacitas" and the "Home Depot girls" parade with flags and signs around the field, dancing and shaking their moneymakers. Interesting...

nothing says 'Mexico' like a lucha libre

vendors/beer-guy
While I am fully aware that beer-guys are part of life in the states as well, they're not quite the same. Beer-guys in Mexico are more-or-less on standby for each row of seats, waiting to cater to your beer-related whims. Once you've ordered one or eight, he runs off to gather your brew in a giant white bucket (think 20gallon paint buckets) and brings it to you, where he opens each bottle and pours your frosty beverage. You use a new plastic cup for each beer, and hang on to your empties until the game is over. Then, depending on the number of cups you have at game end, you pay based on the honor system.

please excuse the awful pic...its the best I could do, the place was PACKED

There are also food vendors, similar to those in the US. Pizza, churros, blah blah blah. I did love the vendedores that schlepped around giant cardboard boxes full of goodies - pork rinds, pumpkin seeds, chips, candy, you name it...all carried on their heads.
singing section
There is an entire section of the stands devoted to singing. Not just a jingle every now and then. They sang non-stop during the ENTIRE game. Loudly. Apparently one has to be invited to join the section. I attempted to take a video, but the quality ain't so great and its a smidge shaky...so it may be better to just listen to this one:

SWAT surrounds opposing team's fans
Futbol, as you may now, is serious business in Mexico. So serious that the Mexican equivalent to a SWAT team stands guard of the teeny tiny section that the opposing team's fans inhabit.


the crowd goes wild
I've learned that in futbol, high-scoring games aren't exactly the norm. So, when goals are scored, the place absolutely erupts. I'll save your eardrums on this one, and stick with a pic:


halftime shenanigans
Given the pregame show that we were so lucky to witness, I wasn't sure what could possibly be on tap during halftime. Two groups of 15-20 fans were plucked from the crowd to entertain, and that they did! There was a relay-race of sorts for our enjoyment.
- Phase 1: team A (wearing white) runs at a human-worm/chain formed by team B (wearing blue) and leaps onto their backs, with the objective to break them and make 'em fall. If he/she succeeds, his/her team gets to move to the second phase of the relay...if not, he/she must hold on for dear life until the opposing team completes the same routine, and his/her team gets another shot. If he/she falls off of the worm/chain, the opposing team gets to move to phase 2...
- Phase 2: Upon team A or B's success in breaking the chain, his/her teammate runs, jumps on a small trampoline through an obstacle onto a mat, gets up and shoots a free-kick at a Carta Blanca mascot/goalkeeper (yup, a guy dressed up like a bottle).
This goes on and on for several rounds, and the winning team gets to kick soccer balls into the stands at the fans. I think they also won tickets to something, but the freedom to kick stuff at people could be prize enough for me...

Since this isn't the greatest explanation in the world, let it act as a precursor and experience it for yourself:

other awesomeness

Even rarer than goals are penalty kicks. Lucky for us, we got to see one right in front of us, by Humberto Suazo, the Rayados' star player:

I loved that after he scored, the chant "Suazo...Suazo...ole, ole, ole, ole" quickly rose from the crowd...gotta love Mexico.

Final score: Rayados 3, Toluca 3

Matt, Tracy, Rob, Nicole (um, me.), Hugo, Eric, David, and Daniel

After the game, we gathered at Mister Papa Bill's bar & grill, and had more fun than we probably should have...the game was definitely a highlight of this adventure for me!

this one's for Sum...

...cuz she LOVES these little critters, even with the rabies they carry in their tails.

brawndo: the thirst mutilator

LOVE this...can't wait to 'kick everyone's ass all the time!' I'm so weird...

screaming peacocks - parte dos

As referred to in this post, the nearby ITESM is home to deer and peacocks. I babbled a bit about the screaming peacocks, and was lucky enough to witness it again this afternoon. Lucky for you, I also had my camera, and enough smarts to take a video, so you too can enjoy this lovely sound...

((Hey, what's the natural habitat of peacocks, anyway?))

Macroplaza...not so Macro...

On Friday, a few companeros and I headed to the Macroplaza, toted as the "third largest plaza in the world". Ann-Marie, Chris, Eric and I hopped in a cab, and since I spoke the most Spanish in the group (eek!), I asked to be taken there...

We drove though an area that I hadn't been through before, and arrived in a park surrounded by cobblestone streets and gothic buildings. Standing in the center of the Macroplaza was a HUGE obelisk (named "the big red wall" by our group). We wandered through the plaza and into an outdoor mall of sorts. Every 12 feet or so, there was a shoestore (una zapateria), a 7-11 (they're EVERYWHERE) or a TelCel kiosk (selling cellphones and SIM cards). Repeat. Twelve more feet, same three things. Over and over and over for several blocks.

the big red wall

Moral of the story: the Macroplaza wasn't so big. We easily covered it in two hours...oh, well.

My Spanish definitely got some practice as Chris picked up a cellphone. The true test came while standing in a long line at Office Depot (yup, they've got those here, too): a Mexican guy came up to me with a gluestick he'd intended to purchase, but needed to get back to work. In rapid Spanish, he asked if he could give me money to pay for his item, since I was next in line. The nervous look on my face, followed by my request to speak mas demasiado (more slowly) told him that I'm not exactly fluent. I was super-proud of myself when I worked my way through it, figured out what he was asking, and made the purchase.

The best part of the Macroplaza, since it wasn't nearly as Macro as it claimed to be, was the crosswalk signal...it's freaking animated. No joke. When it's safe to cross, the signal is a guy (a white guy, no less) who walks. As the time decreases, he speeds up...he runs!

(my apologies for the sideways, shaky video...but you get the picture)

SPANISH INSTRUCTION UPDATE: My first meeting with the professor is on Tuesday (el martes), and I'm obviously super-excited. I've picked up a little book that's ALL Spanish to practice with, and have been pushing myself really hard to practice while we're out and about (to the point that I won't let Spanish-speakers speak for me). Hope you'll all still be able to read these posts when they're in full Spanish... ; ]

more mad posting skills

Um, the ease with which I put that video into my blog astonishes me. Seriously. Ask Summer...my jaw dropped and I went all 9th grade on her and went "shut up!" because I was so very astonished.

I'll be a pro-blogger before you know it....