tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59711659683568115952024-03-05T04:19:47.390-08:00NewZ from OZ..... and South AmericaHeather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-61612466992319156442015-02-10T11:59:00.002-08:002015-02-10T12:11:32.088-08:00Days #41, 42, & 43. Imbassai, Salvador, and Sao Paulo, Brazil.<div class="MsoNormal">
When we booked a motor taxi, I imagined it to be a
motorcycle with a carriage built over the back of it. Like the ones in Peru.
But nope, it’s just a motorcycle. Three of them pulled up to the hostel to take
us to the bus stop. So we all hopped on with our backpacks, and off we went! No
helmets necessary. My dad and Missy would <i>kill
</i>me over this. Luckily the bus stop wasn’t far, and soon we were on a bus
headed to Praia do Forte. I had a bad feeling about going there. The English
girl, Kathryn, really wanted to see the famous Sea Turtle Project there. But
the one I saw in Floripa made me sad. I didn’t like seeing the turtles swimming
round and round in their 4x4 kiddie pools where they remained captive for their
lifetimes. We got there, looked around, watched a guy from LA feed them, and
left. It was just as depressing. The poor little turtles. By the way, did you
know that out of 1,000 eggs only 1 tortoise makes is to adulthood?!</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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That evening the 4 of us girls hiked out to some rocks by
the river for sunset. We took turns going around the circle, asking the most
random questions we could think of. “What makes you mad?” “What is the weirdest
thing you’ve ever eaten?” “What do you want out of life?” Soon the mosquitoes
started coming to life, so we went back to the hostel to scrape together
something for dinner. We were all in the mood for something fresh, so I made
the girls a potato salad and tomato salad. Simple. Then we all crashed early,
seeing as how we’d gotten about 2 hours of sleep the night before.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next day we took more motor taxis to the bus stop to
catch the 1:30 bus. We waited for an eternity with no sign of that bus. In
desperation, I made a sign that said “SALVADOR” in big red letters and stood by
the road with my thumb out to try and catch us a ride. Lots of cars slowed to
stare at the sign, but no one stopped. No one. Not even a Volkswagen van that
appeared to be empty aside from the driver. So we waited some more. And finally
the bus came.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That evening I strolled around town on my own, listening to
music and people watching. I stopped to hang out with a group of people jamming
in the streets. There were some drums, a guitar, saxophone, and flute. A
flute!! First one I’d seen in South America so far. “Muito gosto flauta!” I
shouted over the drums to the flautest excitedly, “I like the flute!” He smiled
broadly and handed the flute in my direction, nodding and waving it at me. At
first I shook my head no, but he kept insisting. So I took it and started
moving my fingers across the beautiful silvery keys that I know and love so
well. We jammed for a good 20 minutes before my lips just wouldn’t work
anymore. It was SO much fun!! I was ecstatic to be speaking the universal
language of music with these creative and passionate people on the streets of Pelourinho.
It got me all jonesin’ for the old love lab jam sessions back in OB with Terry
and D and all the hippies.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After that I met up with Kathryn and we went to a free reggae
show. The band members all wore matching camouflage pants and jackets, and
yellow/green/red striped hats that bulged out over their massive dreads. The
sweet smell of herbal permeated the entire area. High-school aged boys and old
Rasta men danced in the front row. One guy got lambasted for resting his can of
beer on the stage. “Por favoooooor!” the sole lady in the band cried into the
microphone, and he quickly removed the beer. I guess Rastafarian religion
doesn't tolerate alcohol. But they have absolutely no qualms whatsoever with
the herbal!! We danced until I felt like I was melting into a pool of sweat –
it was sooo hot out.<o:p></o:p></div>
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In the morning, Kathryn and I decided to hit up Barra Beach
along with a few others from the hostel. It was my last day! A Sunday. And
lucky me – there would be a pre-carnival parade along the beach later in the
afternoon. We soaked up some sun and ate ice-cold acai out of cups. I finally
tried pastel, a crispy fried pastry filled with cheese. It was absolutely
sinful, the grease dripping off the cheese onto my bare feet. Around 2:30 the parade
started. Several drum schools marched down the street, followed by decorated
trucks, singers, dancers, and large brightly colored mascot characters towering
over the crowd. I would love to be in Brazil for the actual carnival, but just
for 1 or 2 days. It’s amazing! But it’s also incredibly over-stimulating.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was Kathryn’s last evening in Salvador, and my final
evening in Brazil. She said we should have one last moqueca to commemorate. You
don't have to twist my arm over moqueca. It was even better than the last time!
Then we had my favorite dessert: passion fruit mousse. Kathryn suggested we
stop at an internet café to check-in for our flights. We had decided to share a
taxi to the airport the following day, since both of us had flights at 1:30 pm.
I hadn’t planned on checking in, but since she was I would do it too. When I
opened my e-mail from GOL airlines, I had to do a double take. Did it really
sat that my flight was at 0130??? Or maybe I just read it wrong. I opened all
the e-mails from GOL, and all of them said 0130. I couldn’t believe it –
Kathryn had just saved me from missing my THIRD FLIGHT OF THE TRIP!!!! So
instead of taking a taxi with her the next day, I actually quickly ran back to
the hostel, showered, packed, and got my own taxi to the airport 2 hours later.
Close call. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Now I was facing 17 hours in the Sao Paulo airport before my
connection home. I’ve spent 24 hours in an airport before in London, and it was
absolutely the most miserable travel experience of my life. I couldn’t bare the
thought of this again. So I messaged a Brazilian friend of mine who lives back
in the states on Facebook, and he gave me a contact in Sao Paulo. His friend,
Alexandre. “He’ll take good care of you,” he wrote. Alex graciously picked me
up at the airport at 6 am. Then he went to work while I took a long nap with
his little black dog and the sweetest cat. He came home from work early and
took me on a tour of the Northern Sao Paulo countryside on his motorcycle. And
yes, I had a helmet this time! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span>
We went to one of his favorite restaurants where we dined on tapioca and cheese
balls with chili, dry beef in an onion broth, and fish in a tomato sauce with
pickled pearl onions, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, cashew rice, and coconut
falafel. Everything was beyond delicious. Apparently the 30-year-old chef who
runs the place is known for his creative variations of traditional dishes. I
had heard of the exciting Sao Paulo food scene, and this restaurant definitely
delivered. For dessert, I ordered my 2<sup>nd</sup> favorite: flan. This flan
was extra special though, topped with a layer of tapioca and toasted coconut,
and smothered in rich caramel sauce. Phenomenal. Alex, thank you infinitely
much for your gracious hospitality! If you ever come to San Francisco, dinner
and a tour of the city are on me!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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I made it back to the airport with 3.5 hours to spare. After
all my travel mishaps, I was ultra paranoid about this one and took every
precaution. Definitely did not want to jeopardize my $1,000 non-refundable
flight home. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Wow. The 6 weeks went by way too fast, and now I sit
on a plane, thinking back on this time with tremendous gratitude. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Much to my dad’s relief, I wasn’t mugged, robbed, or
kidnapped. I didn’t lose anything other than an old pair of crooked sunglasses,
my yoga matt, and 2 of those bow-and-arrow type capoeira instruments that I
unfortunately left behind the door of my Salvador hostel. Sorry Missy! One of
those was supposed to adorn the wall of your new house :/ I’ll grab another on
my next trip.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I gained 4 pairs of Havaianas, a tan, a few pounds (to be
determined), new friends, a new perspective, an unexpected but delightful tour
of Uruguay, burning love for Brazil, a desire to learn Portuguese, and an
insatiable thirst for kite surfing, samba, and passion fruit caipirinhas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If I were to rank the places I’ve visited so far, I would
have to put Brazil at #1. This country is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">phenomenal</i>.
I observed the breathtaking grandeur of Rio; basked in the balmy sunshine of
Floripa’s pristine beaches; kited under near-perfect conditions in beautiful
Jeri; soaked in the colorful, throbbing culture of Salvador; and savored a brief
but powerful glimpse into Sao Paulo’s vivid countryside and eclectic food
scene. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When I boarded the plane from Sao Paulo to Miami last night,
those same butterflies that I had in my stomach at the beginning of my trip
came back. I felt a warmth of emotion wash over my body. I had an overwhelming
urge to cry, but couldn’t. This trip has been extra special for me. It’s not
that some earth shattering idea came down from the sky, or a huge life-changing
decision was made. It’s just that I feel…. inner peace. CRNA school and graduation and taking boards and finding a job, all those things had made me frantic inside. After taking these 6 weeks off to
immerse myself - to lose myself - in other cultures, I now feel an overwhelming
sense of calm, quiet confidence.<o:p></o:p></div>
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South America, it’s been unreal. Until next time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-79585910398725893102015-02-06T05:30:00.000-08:002015-02-09T00:21:23.280-08:00Days #39 & 40. Salvador & Imbassai, Brazil.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">After all that capoeira and dancing, I needed a day to
recover. </span>So I chilled with my friend Steph that I met back in Floripa. Again,
so random. We went to a restaurant recommended by JoyAnn, a lovely girl born in
Trinidad and raised in England who works at the hostel. She said they have a
really good fish muqueca which I’ve been dying to try. So we ordered
it. It was huge. A bubbly, steamy fish and coconut milk stew served in a hot
pot. We devoured it! Except for one little piece of fish that neither of us
could muster the willpower to finish. It came with rice and that awful thick
gooey seafood mash that I still haven’t acquired a taste for.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then we got pedicures. I couldn’t believe how cheap they
were – only $R16 which is about $7. But once she got started, I saw why they
were so cheap. I’m used to the pedicures where they soak your feet in hot
water, trim your cuticles, buff your soles, massage your legs, and all that
amazing stuff. But she literally plopped my foot in her lap, removed my old
polish, filed just a teeny bit, and slapped new polish on really sloppily. I
looked down at the nail polish smeared all over the place and fervently hoped
she was not going to leave it that way. And she didn’t. At least she cleaned up
the edges with an acetone-soaked cotton swab wrapped around a pointy stick. The
only good thing about this pedicure, is that it would have cost me the same
amount to buy the remover and polish to do it myself. I guess I’m a bit spoiled
back in the states!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Around 4 pm, JoyAnn, a Canadian girl at the hostel named
Angela, and myself boarded a bus for Imbassai, a 2-hr ride from Pelourinho. We
had decided the prior day to check out an eco hostel by the beach whose flyer
promised tranquility, yoga classes, a pool, and being one with nature. There were only a few people on board so we each grabbed our own row of seats. Until a man boarded at the next town and, out of all the empty seats, he picked the one next to me!! :( I was not happy about this at all because I planned on stretching out and sleeping. Seriously, there were FIVE PEOPLE on the bus and he decides to crowd me out. Not cool. The bus
took us a few stops too far before dumping us off, and we found ourselves in
the middle of nowhere, in the dark, with our backpacks, and absolutely no clue
which way to go. So we did what anyone in their right mind would do. We walked.
The full moon cast an eery light on the dirt road. JoyAnn said it reminded her
of a scene out of a horror film and I told her to shut her mouth and stop
freaking me out!!! We finally came upon a small restaurant/bar with a really
sweet owner, who offered to drive us to our hostel for around $10. “Should we
do it?” JoyAnn asked, and I replied, “Are you crazzzyyy? Yes!” Our other option
was to keep walking in an unknown direction to God knows where. We piled into the
teeny tiny little car, but not before the restaurant owner cleared a carseat
out from the back. Within 10 minutes we were at our eco hostel, having scraped
every speed bump on the entire drive there, despite going over them at around 2
mph. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The hostel definitely had a nice jungle vibe going for it.
There was a pool. Slightly larger then my bathtub. Haha, no, it was bigger than
that. But only slightly. Lots and lots of palm trees dotted the sandy grounds,
and hammocks swayed in the breeze. There was an outdoor grill and pizza oven,
which was being enjoyed by some local Brazilian travelers. They were BBQ’ing
and playing guitars, singing “All My Loving” by The Beatles at the top of their
lungs. The coolest thing about this hostel is the humongous gazebo type
structure sitting in the center of the grounds. On the bottom is the dining
area, and on the top is the yoga room. It’s all open-air, the floors colorfully
painted with murals. I love it! Can’t wait to do yoga!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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We were too tired to even eat and went straight to bed. In
the morning, we enjoyed a beautiful breakfast spread – including all the usual
stuff but also several freshly baked cakes and tapiocas. It was already getting
swelteringly hot out, so as soon as the last crumb of cake was gone, we high-tailed
it to the beach. Such a pretty beach too, stretching as long as the eye could
see! We bootlegged some beach chairs at a swanky resort spot and managed to
hang out there for a few hours without getting caught. There was a 5x5
volleyball game going, but it was so hot out I couldn’t even muster the energy
to go play. Angela was getting sunburned, so we headed into town for lunch. We
found a cute little place off the main road and ordered more fish muqueca. Can’t
get enough of it!! Theirs was even better then the one in Pelourinho. Much
more flavorful! You can see the palm oil floating on the surface of this dish…
it’s incredibly rich. JoyAnn also ordered a crab appetizer served in a fake
crab shell. It was ok but every bite was crunchy because of the crab shells.
For dessert, they brought us a cold scoop of freshly grated coconut cooked in
condensed milk, kind of like a pudding. It… was… heaven in a bowl. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Back at the hostel, a kind Spanish lady led us in a yoga
class. I haven’t done yoga in over 5 weeks! I’ve missed it terribly!! It felt
soooo good to stretch. The other girls didn’t like it nearly as much as me,
especially the “childbearing pose”, as the English girl called it. That’s the
one where you grab your big toes and stretch your legs out in a V. <o:p></o:p></div>
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After yoga, Angela and I went to the market to see what we
could buy for dinner. I looked around and immediately spotted some gorgeous
eggplants, ripe tomatoes, and fresh herbs. So I was inspired with an idea –
eggplant parmesan!! Angela said she’d never had it before. Amazingly, they had
all the ingredients I needed. Except for breadcrumbs. But I thought I’d try the
falafel powder Brazilians put on everything as a substitute. It has the
consistency of panko except finer.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Eggplant parm. What a pain in the butt. I forgot how much
work it is to bread and fry stuff! Especially a plate full of eggplant slices!
But the falafel powder worked out great. I was pretty happy with it. In the
meantime, I had a pot of fresh marinara simmering made from the ripe chopped
tomatoes, onions, tons of garlic, parsley, oregano, a pinch of sugar, a squirt
of lime, and some seasoned salt from a tub that the Brazilians lent me. When
all the eggplant had been breaded and fried, I laid them in a beat-up metal pan
that had seen better days, topped them with the marinara and loads of
mozzarella/parmesan cheese, and popped it into the oven for 20 minutes. Out
came a bubbling heap of cheesy deliciousness. We ate nearly the entire pan. Us
and a girl from England who arrived today. JoyAnn made passion fruit caipirinha’s,
which were so good, even a Brazilian man at the hostel said they were the best
he’s ever had! <o:p></o:p></div>
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After dinner, JoyAnn and the English girl crashed. But
Angela and I weren’t tired at all! So we walked with some others from the
hostel to the town square. A crowd had already gathered to hear the local bands
play. We heard 4 different bands, all with their own unique sound, from rock to
reggae to traditional Brazilian. A toothless fossil of a man dressed in white twirled
me all around the cobblestone square. Couldn't believe he could still move that
way!!! I nearly broke another pair of Havaianas.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We went to bed around midnight. It was SO HOT in the room,
and the fan kept turning off intermittently. Of course the fan is nailed into the
wall in a position that is shooting straight down the center of the room and
pointing at NO ONE. None of us really slept that night. Not even JoyAnn and the
English girl who had gone to bed hours before us. In the morning, when we all
grumpily descended our bunks, they lamented that they hadn’t gone out with us
seeing as how they got no sleep anyway. Not even cake could console us. JoyAnn
wanted to do a waterfall hike today but everyone is too exhausted. I guess
we’ll stagger to the beach for the afternoon. I love being in nature, but I am
definitely looking forward to being back in Acai Hostel tomorrow with my AC and
private mini fan clamped onto the bedpost!<o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-3520913359735760902015-02-04T08:04:00.005-08:002015-02-04T08:06:33.481-08:00Day #38. Salvador, Brazil.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I am astounded every single day by the randomness of
traveling. </span>The cutest mom and her little baby girl sat next to me on the plane
from Fortaleza to Salvador. The mom had red hair and freckles, but was speaking
Portuguese to the baby. The baby had white sandals with bows on them, and she
kept kicking me all through the flight. But she was so cute I didn’t even mind!
“Sem problema! No problem!” I said to the mom when she scolded her child. Then yesterday, I
was walking around an area called Pelourinho here in Salvador, and across the
street I spotted the same girl with her baby, except this time the baby rode on
her daddy’s shoulders. I couldn’t believe it!!! In ALL of Salvador, I see this
girl from the plane. “Oi!! Chica!!” I squealed in excitement at the sheer
randomness of it, and she looked over. A smile of recognition crossed her face
and she waved. Crazyyyyy…..<o:p></o:p></div>
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Salvador, formerly the capital of Brazil until it was
re-located to Brasilia, is a huge thriving town in the state of Bahia. Salvador
is famous for its Afro-Brazilian influences, brimming with rich culture,
music, drumming, dance, and capoeira. I am staying in Pelourinho, which is the
historic center. The hostel – Acai Hostel – is simply awesome! Owned and
operated by the nicest Brazilian guy from Sao Paulo, it has an inviting common
area on the top floor which includes a big table with bright yellow chairs, a
comfy couch, bean bags, and a deck where you can sit in the beautiful sunshine
and watch the street life below. There is <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always</i>
music playing. The kitchen is cheerful, boasting a shelf with an endless supply
of rice, pasta, and a few other essentials available for everyone’s use. Acai’s
staff are so nice and accommodating! The owner even went out with us last night
to the street samba party.<o:p></o:p></div>
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When I arrived the night before, I was told that the next
night – Tuesday – was THE night to be here. The weekly samba party would be
taking place, and this is definitely not to be missed, they said. I keep
getting lucky! It seems like every place I go, I happen to be there when
something special is going on. Like in Buenos Aires for the famous San Telmo
Sunday market. Had no idea about that, but people came from all over just to
enjoy it! Went to bed early that night… like around midnight haha. Hey, that’s
early in South America! But first I went to a sandwich shop which had terrible
service (not uncommon) and it took 40 minutes to get my egg, cheese, and salad
on a bun.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Tuesday I took a walking tour with a handful of people from
the hostel. A young Brazilian boy took us all over town, explaining the history
behind everything. The narrow cobblestone streets are lined with tightly packed
venetian-colonial style houses painted in every hue of pastel. I’m not totally
sure if “venetian” is actually a legit style, but I am using it. I feel like
Easter is everywhere! The other really cool thing is that they are putting up
all the decorations for Carnival, so there are also gaudy paper machete
figurines and statues everywhere, as well as brightly colored streamers hanging
over the streets. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The guide took us to a capoeira school where we played the
instruments and learned basic capoeira maneuvers. My favorite instrument looks
like a bow and arrow minus the arrow. It has a gourd at the bottom of it. You
take a rock and hold it against the metal string, then you hit the string with
a stick. You basically can only make about 3 notes out of it, but that’s all
you need for the capoeira songs. We took turns “fighting”, and I got paired with
a guy from the hostel who actually does capoeira back home in France. He’s
really good. I definitely pulled my right groin muscle on a high kick, though,
and now I am semi-limping around. Dangit, always the groin muscle!!! Anyways, we
learned that you always look your opponent in the eye and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">always</i> cover your face. After we were all thoroughly exhausted by
this, the cute old lady with the puffy yellow skirt who ran the place taught us
how to dance samba. She especially took a liking to the American boy from
Michigan in our group, backing her booty up against him, wiggling it and
winking while we cheered “Opa!” and he awkwardly shuffled around.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After that we went to the square and wolfed down a
street-food called Acaraje, which is a big bready ball made from black-eyed
peas, deep fried, and filled with various toppings such as a bean paste,
sautéed okra, hot pepper sauce, salsa, and shrimp. We were all “hangry” after
our capoeira lesson, so these went down fast. They were delicious and rich with
flavor. The Brazilian guy in our group also ordered a weird looking flat dark
meat that was also deep fried. When we asked him what it was, he replied
“placenta”. Eeeeewwwww!!!!!! Almost threw my Acaraje back up in my mouth.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To end our walking tour, we went down some elevators to a
humongous market in a building that resembled a ferry building. While en route,
a short and very dark Brazilian street vendor basically forced a necklace onto
the American guy’s neck and then walked away. 5 minutes later he came back
demanding payment. The American tried to give the necklace back but the
Brazilian refused it, becoming belligerent, pushing him aggressively and saying
“You waste my time!!” He did this several times… refusing the necklace, walking
away, just to come back a few minutes later repeating this same behavior. We
were all starting to become really concerned, but our tour guide was doing
nothing about it. Finally, after an especially aggressive encounter, the tour
guide finally got involved and I seriously thought there was going to be a
fight. But the Brazilian left us alone after that, and we all learned an
important lesson: when in Salvador, you really have to watch your back (and
your bag), and say “NO, NO, NO!” to these vendors. Apparently this is a pretty
common practice – to force things into your hand and then try to intimidate you
into buying them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After enjoying a simple pasta dinner back at the hostel, we
all went out for the Tuesday night street parties. We started at the steps,
where a live band was performing traditional Brazilian music. The steps were
jam-packed with people from the street all the way to the top, swaying and
clapping to the rhythm. We walked around town and listened to some other bands,
including a reggae one that we really liked. There are sooooo many Rasta people
in Salvador, the men displaying chiseled features and thick dreads; the woman
wearing colorful flowing skirts and head wraps. Finally, we ended up back on
the street in front of our hostel where the actual samba party was already
underway. Beautiful bronzed locals moved at lightening speed while us tourists
just tried to keep up in half-time. The live band, composed of 5 guys in their
20’s, rocked it with their energetic sound. Now I know why people at the hostel
were so excited about it. It was by far one of the most fun parties I have been
to in all of my travels!<o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-72087104906325593972015-02-02T18:41:00.000-08:002015-02-02T18:45:10.341-08:00Days #35, 36, & 37. Jericoacoara, Brazil.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Kite surfing is my new favorite sport of all-time. </span>It even
takes the lead over volleyball, with whom I have had a long-standing love
affair. My 5<sup>th</sup> & 6<sup>th</sup> days of lessons were pivotal for
me in my understanding of the relationship between the wind and the tension. It
clicked. Everything made sense. I trusted the kite. I leaned against it and cut
the edge of my board harder into the water. I went upwind. Instead of taking 20
minutes to go down the beach downwind, it took 40 minutes. And finally, on my
very last day, I learned 2 transitions. One of which was a toe-side transition.
I WAS ECSTATIC!!! For the first time in a week, I felt weightless. My stiff
sore body, sunburned arms, and chafed sides were no longer even on my mind. I
forgot everything as I literally glided across the ocean. My first few days, I
stared non-stop straight up at the kite (talk about a crick in your neck). But
now, I don’t have to anymore because I can feel it. Fred and his girlfriend and
mom were snapping pictures from the beach that last day on his fancy Cannon
camera with the zoom lens. I haven’t seen the photos yet but am soooo excited
to get them today! Marko says if I had stayed another week he would have taught
me how to jump. But for now, I had to settle for 2<sup>nd</sup> best – watching
him do cool tricks from the beach. John Munro, I can never thank you enough for
inspiring me to travel to Jeri and try this sport!! I owe you for life! Now
when do we leave for Mexico? <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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In between kiting and eating, I am learning Portuguese from
the boys that work at the Vila in exchange for yucca fries and bites of
whatever else I am eating at that moment. I’ll sit out in the sun on a beach
chair for an hour every morning memorizing phrases and words on my own from a
book they have at the front desk, then I’ll spend 30 minutes going over
pronunciation with one of the boys. I love to ask them nosy questions about
their families and love lives while they laugh and shake their heads,
sheepishly answering. Then I say in Portuguese, “Excuse me if I my questions
are personal!” There is one phrase I came across in the book that’s pretty
ridiculous for “basic” Portuguese, but I love saying it to them anyway just
because of the reaction they give: “Wow! You’ve lost weight!” And then when Rob
pulls up on his motorcycle, I shout to him “Wow! You look good all the time!”
and the boys giggle hysterically. “Wow” in Portuguese is really fun to say.
It’s “Nossa.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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In other news, the Germans and the Lithuanian left and that
made me sad. But Yanneke and Karsten will be coming to San Francisco in March
and I promised to take them to the biergarten by my house! I also moved out of
Vila Prea today and into a hostel in Jeri for my last 3 nights, partly because
I can’t afford the Vila anymore, and partly because I wanted to be in town
which has a lot more going on. My first night in Jeri I went to a Samba party
at a pousada down the road. They do this every Saturday night. The pousada has
a large area in the back with hammocks, a stage, and a dance floor. At the
heart of the band is a father and his teenage son, both of which are
extraordinarily talented acoustic guitarists. There’s also an electric guitar,
ukulele, percussion, and some others I’m sure. It was a pretty big band – like
maybe 8 musicians. They played the most beautiful songs while everyone got
their dance on. Two people on the dance floor especially stood out: a man dressed
Cuban-style with a fedora and white suede shoes, and a beautiful tanned girl
with a curly blond pixie cut. She danced so extremely well that some of us
thought she had to be Brazilian, yet she looked very European!! Finally, I
approached her and asked where she was from. I couldn’t believe it…. Sweden!
And she completely stole the show from any Brazilian girl in the house that
night.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The next evening I watched capoeira on the beach after the
sunset. And the evening after that I ate the biggest bowl of acai I’ve ever had
in my life at a café by the ocean. They filled the bowl first with chunks of
papaya, mango, pineapple, and guava before placing a huge amount of acai
smoothie on top. Finally, they garnish it with granola and sliced bananas. It
was incredible, rivaling even my favorite acai in Ocean Beach, San Diego. And
for those of you who have had OB Smoothie’s acai, this is saying a lot. I tried
a traditional Brazilian restaurant one night and it was absolutely phenomenal. They
grilled a whole sea bass over the fire, served with lots of fresh limes and the
most delicious sides: rice & beans cooked with bay leaf and garlic, salad,
pumpkin mashed with butter, and thinly sliced yucca that had been fried to a
golden perfection – kind of like a potato chip but so much better. For dessert
I stopped at a little corner bakery and ate passion fruit mousse right out of
the passion fruit shell, topped with chocolate shavings. I savored every last
bite of the mousse while sitting on a bench in the town square, listening to a guitar/violin
duo play live from a nearby restaurant. Yet another thing about
Jeri that stands out…. They have some of the best food I’ve tried in Brazil so far. And there
is music on every corner.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The superbowl was last night. One of the other kite students
from Germany asked me about it earlier in the day, and I was like what??!! The
Superbowl is tonight?! Totally forgot about that. So I looked up who was in it
when I got back to the hostel and it was the Patriots!!! My home team! So of
course I found a place to watch it. Not too shabby watching it from a hammock
sipping on a glass of sauvignon blanc in Marko’s living room. He lives 1 block
from my hostel. And I had the best company: his French bulldog, Ze, and little
white cat, Lost. To thank him, I made him… you guessed it… fish tacos <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span> I am determined to
introduce everyone to this SoCal delicacy! For dessert I made caramel, bruleed
some bananas, and poured this into a crepe spread with nutella. Topped with
vanilla ice cream, of course. The entire game and commercials were all in
Portuguese, which was pretty cool but I missed the American commercials. Holy guacamole,
what a nail-biter! I was hanging off the edge of my hammock those last few
minutes. Seattle is gonna be depressed for a looooong time.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Jericoacoara is a neat place. Some people think it’s too
touristy. Well, it is pretty touristy. There are souvenir, swimsuit, flip-flop,
and kite shops everywhere. The famous sand dune is covered with hundreds of
people every evening for sunset. But it’s also quite a charming little town.
It’s built entirely on dirt. There are no paved roads within an hour in any
direction. Donkeys, pigs, dogs, cats, and even sometimes cows and horses roam
the streets freely. Most of the vehicles you see on the “roads” are beach dune
buggies. The people there live a beautiful, simple life. A life that, for most,
revolves around kite surfing. I knew Jeri was famous for this, but I didn’t
realize how much of an obsession it actually is. Now that I’ve tried it, I
understand. What a special place! I said goodbye to Vila Prea, Ricardo, Fred,
Fred’s mom, Rob, and Marko today. There is no doubt I will be back one day
soon. <o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-70157498844233073292015-02-01T19:46:00.001-08:002015-02-02T18:22:20.096-08:00Days #33 & 34. Jericoacoara, Brazil.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">“Take care the kite! Take care the lines!” </span>Marko’s 2
favorite phrases. I hear him in my dreams now, his voice calmly guiding me
through the walky-talky attached to my helmet. He answers pretty much all of my
questions with an emphatic “ab-so-LUTE-ly!” Marko, do you think I should straighten my lead leg more? "Ab-so-LUTE-ly!" Marko, can I try a transition today? "Ab-so-LUTE-ly!" Marko, will you teach me how to jump? "Ab-so-LUTE-ly not!!" He said I need to master the basics first :) I am completely 100% addicted!!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, the 3<sup>rd</sup> day of lessons was a little rough for me.
Prior to starting this kite surfing thing, I had visions of myself picking up
the sport pretty quickly. I mean, after all, I surf and ski and snowboard, and
I’m pretty athletic. So it should be effortless, right? WRONG! The kite is a
whole other beast. I spent the entire day riding 10 feet at the most before either
sinking or crashing. I lost my sunnies, scraped my elbow, got a horrific
farmer’s tan, and ingested my salt intake for the entire year. The kite was
controlling me, instead of me controlling the kite. But Marko assured me I was
right where I should be and don’t worry, tomorrow is a new day! He rocks. I got
super lucky with my kite instructor. He’s one of the fastest around, so he gets
the board up-wind and up the beach for me before any other person could, which
gives me more time in the water. He’s also really patient and mellow. Nothing
rattles him. One of the other instructors lost control of Marko's kite and it ripped
across a barbed wire fence. It didn’t even faze him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That night I relaxed in the dining room, playing cards with
the German couple and Jonas. They are seriously the best – so much fun to hang
out with! We took turns telling jokes that night, everyone trying to translate
it from their native language into English the best they could. But the
punchlines were always off which made it even more amusing. They really liked this one joke I told: An Aussie joins the American military. His first day at boot camp, the sergeant comes up to him and yells "Did you come here to DIE???!!!" and the Aussie replied, "No sir! I come here yester-day('die') mate!" We dined on sea
bass carpaccio topped with fresh herbs from the Vila garden, filet mignon
parmesan (never would have thought to do this but it was amazing!), freshly
caught fish in a lemon caper sauce, and flambéed mango with ice cream. One of
the best things about Vila Prea is the food! They have a huge organic garden
and use the delicious produce in their kitchen. There are banana and papaya
trees, passion fruit, yucca, melons, squash, basil, parsley, chives, tomatoes, arugula, and more. The
kitchen is run by an actual chef from Sao Paulo and he is very talented. He’ll
make you whatever you want, too! One night I asked for ceviche, and he
delivered a very tangy and tasty dish.<o:p></o:p></div>
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There are two owners of Vila Prea: Fred and Rob. Fred is a
young’ish guy from France who worked a ton in the states before landing in
Jeri. He kites. His mom, Madeline, is in town for a month – lucky her! I went
for a walk with her one morning. She’s a cool lady… raised a couple kids and
travelled the world when they moved out. Plus, she used to be a nurse! So we
talked all kinds of nurse talk, and I told her all about what a CRNA is, and
she asked me what I thought of Obamacare. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Fred and his mom area cool. But I bonded the most with Rob,
the other owner. He’s from New York, in his early 50’s, and has an eyebrow
piercing. Rob would show up to the Vila every day around noon on his
motorcycle. He would then survey the kitchen for a few minutes to make sure
everything was in order there before retiring to his “office”, which was an old
battered desk and swivel chair under a palm tree. I had daily “therapy” sessions
with Rob, as I called them, which were really just me asking him a bunch of questions about his ideas on random stuff. He’s part Native American, certified in some
special ancient open-hand form of karate, and really into energy. Most of his
sentences begin with “It’s scientifically proven…” For instance, he says that
we live in a hologram. I asked him to explain how he got this information. “I
don’t remember, ask the scientists” he replied. Rob is the first person I have
ever heard say that he actually <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">needs</i>
some carbohydrates. One day they brought out a plate of sweet potatoes to his
office. Another day it was a big pancake of tapioca, which is very starchy. “I
need some carbohydrates” he would repeat several times in his nasaly New York accent,
usually going into a rant about healthy eating… in between puffs on his
never-ending cigarettes. He chain smokes like a chimney. But I’m telling you,
the man has lived a lot of life and has some great stories. He’s also
read books on practically every topic known to man. He’s like a mini expert on
everything. Did you know that the tongue is the next thing to develop in the
fetus after the heart?? Rob said it’s scientifically proven, but I haven’t
verified that yet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My 4<sup>th</sup> day of kite lessons was incredibly
exciting! It made up for the 3<sup>rd</sup> day. I actually rode a pretty good
distance in both directions without falling or crashing all that much. I felt
much more in control of the kite and didn’t have to go super-womaning after my
board quite so much (that’s the zig-zagging body drag you do to get your board
after you lose it). I love kite surfing. I love it so much that I extended my
stay for 3 more days over the weekend!! Which means 3 more lessons!! So
stoked!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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To celebrate my momentous 4<sup>th</sup> day of kiting, I
ordered the chef’s choice plate of sushi at this incredible Japanese-style
place in Jeri. It was the best sushi I’ve ever had in my life!! There were 3
different kinds of sashimi that tasted so incredibly fresh as if it just jumped
out of the ocean onto my plate: salmon, tuna, and sea bass. There was a cone of
seaweed stuffed with tuna, rice, and thinly sliced pickled ginger. Even a
shitake mushroom and cream cheese roll which was to-die for! All of the sushi
was really creative and innovative. My favorite roll had salmon in it topped
with lime zest. It was a really, really good day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-2132002447130922612015-01-27T19:55:00.002-08:002015-02-03T14:25:45.760-08:00Days #31 & 32. Jericoacoara, Brazil.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;">My alarm didn’t go off on day #31</span>, which meant I woke up
exactly 2 minutes before my 8 am flight out of Floripa to Fortaleza. Which
meant I didn’t make that flight and instead left at 7 pm with a 2-hour layover
in Rio before catching a midnight flight up North. A truck picked me up at 2 am
from the Fortaleza Airport. I asked the driver how many hours drive to
Jericoacoara… dois horas?? Two hours? I asked. And his eyes got big, “Nooo! Quatro!!” he said. Not
sure how I missed that memo. Oy vey. Why do I suck so bad at travelling?!
Wasn’t so bad though. I stretched out in the backseat of the truck and slept
for 3 of the 4 hours. Until we got to the dirt road. Then it was too bumpy and
I kept hitting my head on the door. So I groggily sat up and tried to watch the
countryside go by in the early morning light. The dirt road seemed endless and
there wasn’t a whole lot going on in terms of a village or anything. I started
to wonder if he was even taking me to the right place. Around 6 am, we finally
turned off the dirt “road” onto the sand. And I found myself at the world
famous kite-surfing spot, Praia do Prea or Prea Beach. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I booked 6 nights at a place recommended by a kite-surfing
friend back home called “Vila Prea”. It’s a little community of eco beach
bungalows tucked away behind palm trees and separated by a raised wooden
walkway. Compared to hostel life, this is a sharp 360. I have my own bungalow
with a thatched roof, porch, hammock, and outdoor shower. There’s not just one
bed, but two! And a mini fridge filled with soft drinks, water bottles, and
snacks (chocolate bars!!!). This is absolute heaven to me after a month on bunk
beds in noisy dorm rooms. It’s so dark and quiet in my room at night, plus
there’s a fan. So I’ve been sleeping like a baby. I’m still pinching myself
over this…. making sure it’s not a dream. Missy and Megan – it’s exactly like
Flowerbud Cottages in Balangan, Bali. So you know how amazing it is! In the morning I walk to the dining area
for breakfast. It’s a large open-air veranda with an ocean view, lined with
hammocks and dotted by wooden tables draped in white embroidered
cloths. The details have been exquisitely conducted at the Vila.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Breakfast. Aaaaahhh... I will gain 10 pounds here. They
serve a buffet of 5 different kinds of tropical fruits: mango, papaya,
pineapple, and 2 melons. There is granola, homemade yogurt, little chewy cheese
puff things that have the consistency of mochi, cupcakes, bread fresh out of the
oven, and 3 different jams. They put out a pitcher of juice made from
oranges they squeezed that morning. As if that wasn’t enough, they then offer
made-to-order items including scrambled eggs, omelets, crepes filled with
flambéed banana and nutella, French toast, and many other things. I want to eat
it alllll!!!! This morning I literally had to force myself not to order the
banana/nutella crepe. I was starting to feel self-conscious because people
started to look at me funny yesterday when I had a plate full of fruit, yogurt,
and granola… and a cupcake and cheese puff. Then the crepe came. Then the
scrambled eggs came. I could hardly waddle down the steps of the dining hall,
and I had a kite surfing lesson to get ready for too!<o:p></o:p></div>
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The first day I took a long nap in the morning after I got
there. Then I laid around feeling a bit jet lagged, reading and chatting with
the other people staying at the Vila. They are all here to kite surf. It’s a
different crowd then I’m used to at the hostels. Instead of late teens and kids
in their 20’s-early 30’s, it’s now middle-aged and older professionals. It’s a
nice break, to be honest. I’m so enjoying getting to know these talented,
interesting people. I’ve mostly been hanging out with a couple from Germany –
Yanneke and Karsten – both endoscopy doctors who left their 2 young boys at
home. The boys aren’t happy about being at home, as they both are avid
kite-surfers. But the parents wanted their own little holiday. They
are such a cool couple! Both of them were in rock bands when they were younger.
They played me some of their stuff last night and it was actually surprisingly
really good. Everyone in a band thinks they’re good, but usually only 10%
actually are. Karsten’s sound was definitely grungy, head banging rock; whereas
Yanneke’s sounded kind of like The Doors. She was the organ player. There are
only a few other people staying here right now as it’s end of season for
kiting. I’ve also been talking quite a bit with 2 older guys – Jonas from
Lithuania and Christian from Canada. They looooove to tell stories about
kite surfing and compare techniques. Obsessed, actually. Is this how I am going
to be?? <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>
We shall see!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Later in the afternoon I met with my instructor, Marko, a very tanned and athletic looking guy with eyes the color of the ocean. He was one of the first Germans to
start kite surfing in the 90’s when it first became a thing, and even helped
invent some of the safety features we now have along with a couple other
veterans back in the day. I was told that he is one of the best teachers
around, and also reasonably priced. He was 2 hours late to our “appointment”,
which apparently in Jeri is a loosely used term. “Brazilian time”, Ricardo, the
front desk receptionist, clarified. When I was e-mailing back and forth with Ricardo
the weeks leading up to my trip, I imagined him to be a tanned Brazilian boy
with dark hair and eyes. Actually, Ricardo is a pale, blonde Dutch man who has
baby blue eyes and a Brazilian wife. He is the single most helpful person
around. He can do, arrange, book, reserve anything! At any rate, Marko told me
our first lesson would be the next day at noon. I was so excited!! Watching
everyone else from the Vila out on the water all day was getting me pumped.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That first evening, I convinced the German couple and the 2
older guys to rent a beach buggy with me and go to Jeri for the evening. It’s a
30-minute ride to town. The town of Jeri is very small and completely built on
dirt. It’s super cute, though. We made it there before sunset and walked along
the famous sand dunes, watching kids slide down the sides of it. A nearby lake
showcased some of the local kiting talent. Young ripped Brazilians tore around
the ultra shallow water, getting big air and doing cool tricks. Pretty awesome
to watch! Then we met up with Marko who took us to his friend’s restaurant for
dinner, which was excellent. Everyone but me got the mango shrimp. I opted for
their veggie special which was housemade pasta mixed with sautéed eggplant,
hearts of palm, and tangy sundried tomatoes. We sat upstairs on a porch,
overlooking the street below. Afterward, Marko insisted we all had to try a
dessert made next door. It was kind of like a flourless chocolate cake served
warm with vanilla ice cream. Then we took the buggy back to our Vila and
crashed. It was a long day!<o:p></o:p></div>
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So far I’ve had 2 kite surfing lessons. The first day we
talked about wind, safety, gear, and all the basics before taking a trainer
kite out for some practice on the beach. Then today I actually got in the water
and did tons of body dragging and kite maneuvers. I lost my sunnies and
probably swallowed a gallon of salt water. The superwoman drag was the one that
got me. Waves kept hitting me in the face and I was taking in water like the
Titanic, all the while trying to keep my swimming trunks on and also lookout for the kite which is hard to do when spray is constantly in your eyes. But
these minor issues are nothing compared to the feeling you have when your body
is being lifted and dragged by that kite…. Wow! It’s amazing! Like you weigh
absolutely nothing. I loved weaving the kite back and forth from 12 to 2, 10 to
12, and 10 to 2… over and over again… like on a clock. Just weaving figure
eights in the sky and feeling light as a feather in the water. After a few
over-zealous turns of the kite and some body slams, I gained a very healthy respect
for the power of the wind. The key is to make small movements and think ahead.
The kite is on a lag, so you have to already be making the next move before the
first one is finished. It requires coordination and finesse, but mostly,
feeling. It’s something that will come with time, I think, as you become one with your
kite and the wind. Someday, I won’t even have to look at my kite. I’ll just
know. </div>
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Tomorrow… I get to try the board!!! Can’t. Freaking. Wait.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-13707829831729135252015-01-27T07:18:00.000-08:002015-02-10T02:40:31.017-08:00Days #19-30. Florianopolis, Brazil.<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<span style="font-size: large;">Where to even begin???</span> I have 12 glorious days to attempt to
recap. Sometimes when you travel, you stumble upon a place that
is….. magic. Pure magic. Unadulterated (my mom’s favorite word). Florianopolis
put a spell on me. A spell so strong that I couldn’t tear myself away from the
moment for even an hour to write about what I was experiencing. I was afraid I
would miss out on something.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now that I am up North in Jericoacoara, time has slowed down
and I am able to catch my breath. As I talked with the people at my vila last
night, I was astonished that no one knew of or had heard about this island –
affectionately called “Floripa” by the people who love it most. I first heard
of it from my old roommate in Oakland, a schoolteacher with a shy sweet smile
and knack for crafting named Adam. Adam spent a summer bartending in Buenos
Aires several years ago. After wearing himself down to a thread from a
sleepless diet of vodka and cigarettes, he finally collapsed on this magical
island to recover. That’s how I heard about it. He said I absolutely,
positively had to go. And for at least a week, more if I could swing it. Well, I
only booked 5 days because I am crunched for time. But on day #4, I cancelled
all my future flights and hostels and decided to stay another week in Floripa.
It was an easy decision.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m a little overwhelmed on how to write all the things I
want to write. But let’s go for it. This will be a loooooooooong one!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Barra Beach Club Hostel. Adam wrote me a list of things to
do on the island, and he said definitely stay at this hostel and book in
advance, which I did. Barra Beach Club is rated 2<sup>nd</sup> in all of South
America, and it’s only 2<sup>nd</sup> place because the 1<sup>st</sup> place
hostel is a brand new swanky one with a club. It’s located centrally on the
island in the town of Barra da Lagoa, which is bordered by a big lake on one
side and a few beaches on the other. The man who built the hostel is an
American-born, Hawaiian-raised expat surfer named Jim. Many years ago he tried to build some
more rooms up on the hill and the city told him he couldn’t make them into
rooms, so he created an open air dining area and bar instead. Looking back,
this is the best thing that could have ever happened to him, he said. Because now,
this deck has one of the best views in town, the sparkling little beach called
Prainha do Leste. And us hostel kids are the ones enjoying it. To the sweet
tune of $30/night. An Italian chef named Laura and her Japanese/Brazilian
boyfriend run the kitchen downstairs, creating tantalizing dishes every evening
for us at a really decent price. There were always 2 plates to choose from plus
a veggie option: BBQ’d ribs and homemade potato salad, spinach ravioli and
cream sauce, fresh caught grilled fish with almond sauce, mango and smoked
salmon salad with avocado and chili lime yogurt, ceviche, yakisoba, and
the list goes on and on. The food was phenomenal. Of course the bar always had
a pretty girl behind it: an Argentinian, a Brazilian, and an American. From
7-7:30 free caipirinhas were served. Other popular drinks included coke with
rum and lots of lime – a “Cuba Libre” – and daiquiris made with fresh fruits
cut right there in front of you. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I met a lot of awesome people during my time there at the
hostel, and I now realize that it would be very hard for me to work in that
kind of an environment. It’s way too easy to get attached, and then they leave.
It was heartbreaking when they left. Especially the adorable feisty little
Bolivian girl with the pixy cut, Melisa, who reminded me of my sister Melissa.
“I make my boobs” she said to me one day, smiling proudly. I had to laugh a
little over that adorable translation, and I assured her that her boobs were
perfect <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>.
More people came and went, and I missed them too. There was the house music
loving, toe-headed, blue-eyed British couple, Lauren and Jonny. And the 4
American boys who kept me laughing non-stop over their ridiculous comments and
banter. And Nina, the Swedish MD who had a cute habit of over-exaggerating – “It is
so hot out, I am going to die”… “I can't paddle anymore, I think my arms will
fall off”. There was a Brazilian man going through divorce and a sort of
mid-life crisis with an 8-year-old daughter at home, and he could whip up the
most incredible chocolate pudding. I watched him trying to piece his life back
together, admired his strength, and wondered how he came to this island? But it
was hard to talk with him because he didn't know any English and I didn’t know
any Portuguese. So we simply shared chocolate pudding and just smiled over the
intermittent flow of “mmmm’s” and “aahhhh’s” between bites.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Barra da Lagoa. Or as I called it, “the big beach”. It’s across
the bridge from “the little beach”, the gem in front of our hostel known as
Prainha do Leste. Getting across the bridge can be a process, even though the
bridge itself is really short. I have never in my life encountered people who
walk so slow. And they don’t move over either. They take their sweet time,
walking 4 wide, so there is no space for you to get by. If you are coming in
the opposite direction, they make no attempt to create an opening for you, so you
are standing on your tippy toes squeezing against the side. People stop and
pose for pictures constantly, blocking the way. It’s just something you have to
accept – that it will take anywhere from 5-10 min to cross it sometimes. But
once across, there is the cutest little town bustling with energy, and the
biggest beach. The big beach stretches endlessly – I never walked the entire
length of it. It’s a pretty popular surf spot too, especially for beginners. I
surfed there twice. Once with my Brazilian friend Ale (“Ah-lee”) but it was kinda big for me that day, and then another time on my own. Ale liked
to walk realllllly far down to surf, where it’s less crowded and the waves are
better. When I surfed on my own, I stayed more in the middle of the beach,
which was a stupid thing to do. People in the water just didn't get it. The surf
instructors would be yelling at them constantly to get out of the way, and they
would just stare back. Every time I would paddle to an area with no one in my
path, a few minutes later, 5+ beach goers would be splashing around right in my
way. Then when I would catch a wave, they would stand there screaming as if I
was purposely trying to hit them. Super annoying!!! So after an hour and one
painful jellyfish sting, I gave up. On the big beach are a few drink carts that
rotate around. Tanned boys push the carts up and down the beach all day,
blaring music loudly and making the most delicious cocktails and fruit juices
in their hand-powered blenders. Of course tons of food, swimsuit, and jewelry
vendors wander through the densely packed crowds. I caved and bought a
handmade t-shirt with a dia de los muertos skull colorfully printed on it, and
also a short little gypsy skirt made from different patterned fabrics sewn
together. I also bought more corn on the cob. It’s so waxy but I love it!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Prainha do Leste. The little beach in front of our hostel.
There are rocks and steep banks on either side of this tiny beach, and stairs
leading up to the trail that runs in front of the hostel. The trail leads to a
rocky swimming hole if you take a left, and to the bridge and town and big
beach if you take a right. There is also a trail you can take to a cross up on
a big rock that has a gorgeous view of everything.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Praia Joaquina. This is another super popular beach and
beginner surf spot that is only a 30-minute bus ride away. Melisa and I went
here together and had the best time, except Melisa got us on the wrong bus and
it took over an hour to get to there. A sweet local lady helped us find our
way, and the 3 of us hung out all afternoon. It’s much smaller then the beach
at Barra da Lagoa, but more beautiful I think. Melisa told me stories about her
family. How her dad built a soy fortune out of nothing. How in love her parents
still are after all this time. How her oldest brother struggled with depression, despite having everything… because he had everything. How heart shattering that was. Looking back on my own life, I am so
grateful for my family. They have given me endless things that money could
never, ever buy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Hike to the naked beach & Praia Mole. There is a narrow and steep trail by the hostel that winds through the river village and up over a
mountain. It is supposed to take an hour, but because of my frequent water
breaks and photo stops it was more like a buck 30 for me. The trail dumps you
at the naked beach. It has a name, but I don’t remember it. I was so hot and
exhausted by the time I made it to the bottom, but as I walked onto the hot sand,
there were the 4 American boys! Rob, Corey, Jordan, and Bryce – all of them
freshly graduated from college. It was such a nice surprise to see them! The beach
was incredibly vast and beautiful in an untouched, rugged kind of way. There
was a scattering of mostly naked men. Jordan was the only one in our group to
strip down, but the others said this is not the first time he’s done that. He
got banned from a water park once for taking his trunks off on a slide, Rob
explained. We ordered ice cold freshly blended fruit juices: pineapple, kiwi,
strawberry. Some of the guys walked over these huge rock formations, but
quickly came back as they said there were some “suspicious” activities going on
over there. We hiked down the beach, crossed another pile of rocks, and found
ourselves on Praia Mole. This is an ultra popular beach for younger people and
a more advanced surf break. I liked this spot so much I went back a 2<sup>nd</sup>
time with my friend Nina and the blonde British couple. <o:p></o:p></div>
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South Island tour. The hostel arranged a day for us in the
south part of the island. We explored 3 different beaches. The first one was
the prettiest. The American boys brought a soccer ball and a group of us tried
to play the game where you pass the ball around in a circle, but we could never
make it past 3. Ale brought his surfboard and a few of us took turns paddling
out. We ate lunch at a cool place where the walls and ceilings were covered
with white napkins and papers that people had written on. They fluttered in the
breeze as we dined on fried fish, rice, salad, and a nasty thick and gooey
tomato/seafood puree that the locals seemed to be crazy over but we all hardly
touched. The last thing we did was hike to a “waterfall”, which was barely a
trickle of water and mostly some awesome swimming holes. Something I’ve learned
about Brazilians: they <i>always</i> have a
cooler of beer, no matter what. And they take this beer <i>everywhere.</i> There was a group of 3 Brazilian couples at the hostel
who came on the South island tour. They lugged a giant cooler of beer to all 3
of the beaches, which didn’t surprise me, but I couldn’t believe it when
they actually carried it all the way up to the waterfall!!! I mean, this trail
was steep and you had to climb over trees and rocks. I was walking behind them
and realized this was somewhat dangerous… twice they slipped and fell, the
cooler spilling open and half the beers rolling down the trail. They managed to
rescue every single one though. Such talent!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Kayaking the Canal da Barra da Lagoa. Ale took Nina and I
kayaking one morning on the canal. It was against the current so we really had
our workout. I loved it! Nina thought it was ok, but wished we were going with
the current. Ale assured us it would be easier on the way back. His two
adorable dogs, Picollino and Ledy, swam in the water after us for a while but
quickly gave up. I’ve never been to Venice, but I can imagine that this is the
South American version of that. We paddled for 2 hours until we got to a big
lake, all the while passing faded and weathered little cottages on the water. It
was really picturesque and idyllic. Ale turned around half way to the lake and
said he “forgot something”, leaving Nina and I to navigate the rest of the way
by ourselves. On the way back, it seemed the current was even stronger against
us. I think the little brat realized he messed up on the currents and left us
to struggle on our own! Nina was not happy about this. I didn’t mind the
exercise – I’m always in need of an upper body workout. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Campeche Islands. I barely made the cut on this trip as it
gets booked really fast in the summer. So if you ever do this, book it a few
days ahead! Someone didn’t show up so they gave me their spot. Such a cool
trip. First you take a 2-hour boat ride in a rickety old fishing boat, passing
the scenic nude beach, Praia Mole, Joaquina, and many others. The bronzed and
wiry men who run the boat hooked it up for me (one of the many perks of being a
blonde girl in Brazil ;) – they sat me up in the very front of the boat on the
wooden piece that juts out with nets on either side. I sat perched up there
above everyone else with a panoramic view – best seat in the house!!! The boat
rocked and swayed with the waves and sprayed salt water up over the sides. A
really sweet and pretty Swedish girl named Ellie I had met in Punta del Diablo
was on the boat! The randomness of traveling still astounds me sometimes. The
poor girl was having a tough time of it though, as every boy in her hostel was
flocking around her in droves, vying for her attention with such adamant fervor
that it left her completely overwhelmed. I watched in partial amusement at the
ridiculousness of it. “You need to make boundaries,” I told her. The island was
absolutely breathtaking, a vision of sparkling crystal clear water that morphed
into pools of bright turquoise. Several boats were moored offshore and hoards
of people played on the beach. We spent about 5 hours here, playing volleyball
and swimming in the beautiful ocean. There were a few hikes around the island
too, but the sun was so hot no one wanted to do them. Ellie continued to be
followed around by her barrage of male suitors, but I managed to get her away
for some girl time. We reminisced on the good life in Punta del Diablo and
caught up on everything in between. On the boat ride back to town, we feasted
on watermelon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sports. There were a few volleyball nets set up by the beach
and people of all skill levels came to play. Groups of 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s played
every evening from 5 pm until as late as 9 pm. Also, 2 slack-lining ropes
seemed to be popular with the teenagers. Of course, there was <i>always </i>a soccer game in progress on an
actual fenced in sand field. One of the coolest things of all, though, was a
beach jazzercise class. Absolutely brilliant!! It involved a woman on a stage
dressed in leotard and sneakers with a microphone headset, leading 30+ bikini
clad ladies and a few brave men in choreographed dances on the sand. I
specifically remember them dancing to “Talk Dirty to Me” and doing jumping
jacks… sooo funny. I would have joined in but it was way too hot.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Nightlife. For being such a little town, Barra da Lagoa
actually has quite a flourishing and colorful nightlife. A lot of the kids at my
hostel were disappointed – it was “too quiet” they said. Most of them took
buses to other parts of the island to visit the ultra famous clubs and enjoy
almost nightly beach parties. But for me, life across the bridge was more then
perfect. Every night there would be some sort of awesomeness taking place.
There was usually a sand soccer game going down on one side. Next to the soccer
field was a mechanical bull you could ride for around $2 and they gave you 2
rides. A few of my friends and I had a competition to see who could stay on the
longest. I’ll give you a hint who won: first name starts with “H” and last name
starts with “B” hehe <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span>.
Lining the street were vendors mixing caipirinhas in 10 seconds and filling
piping hot churros with caramel and chocolate. There was always some sort of
live music, drumming, or dance. One night it was samba. Another night it was a
large group of young Argentinian gypsies who played all sorts of instruments
and sang loudly with fantastic energy. It made me a little envious. I’ve always
wanted to travel in a band, living off coins tossed into a hat and having the
best time ever! My last night, a local group played Brazilian music on the
sidewalk. They were just lovely. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
The bank. The nearest ATM was a 30-minute bus ride into
another town. But this was totally ok, as the town was actually pretty neat to
visit. The shopping there was awesome – I may have added a couple more bikinis
to the collection! Also, there were good places to re-stock on essentials like
lotion, sunscreen, toothpaste, and shampoo. Can’t believe I already ran out of
that stuff. Oh, and there were so many ice cream shops too. There was one on
every corner, seriously! If you’ve never tried acai sorbet and vanilla soft
serve swirled together, you haven’t lived. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<div class="MsoNormal">
Last night in Barra da Lagoa. This was a bittersweet night…
I didn’t want to leave! <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span> The good news, though, is that I will most positively definitely be back!!! The
friends I made there are beautiful, passionate, generous people who left an
imprint in my life that I will feel forever. I became especially close to a girl
named Sophie, originally from New Hampshire, the state where I was born. My last night in Floripa was Sophie's birthday, so that was pretty special to celebrate with her. She came to Floripa 4 years ago, stayed for 6 months, went back to the
states because of Visa restrictions, then snuck back into Brazil 2 months later
in a bus across the Uruguayan border. She’s lived there ever since, working odd
jobs of cooking, house cleaning, bar tending, and chasing her little black dog
Frango (Chicken, in Portuguese) around town. But ultimately, living in
paradise. She is surrounded by her “family”, a diverse mix of incredibly
talented people from all parts of the world who have escaped “normal” life and
instead choose to pave their way on this gorgeous island. Like I said, the vibe
is incredible. It’s magic here. Jonathan, a blue-eyed blonde Aussie born to
German-Brazilian parents, has bought land up on the hill. He’s been building
his house all summer, lugging the materials up and doing most of the work all
by himself. Jonathan is a source of constant energy, doing never-ending yard
work around the hostel, and is the self-titled “limbo champion” of Barra Beach
Club. After he has a couple Cuba Libres, the limbo stick comes out and he
dazzles the crowd with his flexibility! I am still sore from the last limbo
competition. Ale, a Brazilian boy raised in a favela by a single mother of 2,
found himself selling drugs and being involved in gangs at a young age. The
island saved him. Now he surfs every morning, works the front desk of the
hostel every evening, and in between runs around with 2 of the cutest dogs
you’ve ever seen. He lives in a tiny little house no bigger than a studio
apartment, with a teeny kitchen and a big window that overlooks the ocean. And
he loves to cook. The boy can cook the most delicious things! And so generous
too, giving most of it away to hungry kids in the hostel. Toward the end of my
stay there, I promised him I would make him my favorite go-to dish, inspired by
Southern California cuisine: fish tacos. I couldn’t believe that no one at the
hostel had ever even heard of one, let alone taste one. So I went into town and
bought all of the ingredients, most importantly, fresh white fish with the skin
still on it. I marinated the fish in garlic, lime, olive oil, and basil
(usually cilantro but they didn’t have any at the markets). Then I thinly
sliced the cabbage. A pico de galo was created out of finally diced plum
tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, lime, basil, and the biggest, ripest avocado
chopped into it. And finally, best of all… the white sauce!! Usually
I use half mayo/half sour cream as a base, but they don’t have sour cream on
the island. So I used Greek yogurt instead. And I crushed a clove of garlic
into the sauce and the juice of a lime. For the taco, I melted cheese onto
flour tortillas, topped with the cabbage and sautéed fish, finishing with pico
de gallo and white sauce. Everyone went crazy over it! Ale was surprised how
good it was – he would have never have thought of putting all these ingredients
together. Sophie said she was going to start making them at the restaurant. I’m
telling you, I’ve never met a person who didn’t like a fish taco (unless they
are vegetarian). There were others I became close to also. There was Maru, the
sweetest girl from Argentina. We went to a beach party together and within an
hour wanted to get out of there! The music was terrible. So we walked 30
minutes together in the dark to a bus stop and hitch-hiked a ride back to the
hostel. We bonded that evening, talking about love and loss and how do you ever
really know if you made the right decisions? As we walked up the path at 3 am, I told her I was
starving, so she bought me the most delicious mousse I’ve ever tasted. It was
passion fruit on top and chocolate on the bottom. You could taste the sweetened
condensed milk so distinctly, a nostalgic flavor for me since my dad poured it
over my cheerios as a little girl. Maru has been living on Floripa for 3 years
now, first moving there with her boyfriend and now on her own. She’s a quiet
girl who exudes so much inner strength and outer beauty that she seems
completely oblivious to, which makes her even more beautiful. And finally,
there is Nico, an Argentinian boy with a scintillating smile and long curly
hair who used to work at the hostel but now is a bartender on the beach. He
puts in long hours to provide his baby daughter Maya the best life possible. He
is a special person, there is no doubt. Oozing creativity, his psychedelic art
decorates the hostel walls. He has 2 tattoos – one on each shoulder – that he
designed. One is a sort of star with an “M” in the middle for his daughter, the
other looks like the crazy bubbly inside of a lava lamp. He is a brilliant
musician who loves Jimi Hendrix and The Black Keys, playing in 3 rock bands
during any free time. But on a quiet evening when he picks original acoustic
ballads and sings in his soft, raspy voice, it casts a spell on anyone
listening. This handful of people gave without reserve, inspired me daily, and became not only friends, but family. When I left, I didn’t say goodbye. I said “See you later.”<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-26131388156145210652015-01-15T04:37:00.000-08:002015-01-15T04:38:01.905-08:00 Day #18. 3rd day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Today I wanted to do absolutely nothing. </span>And that is exactly
what I did. This super cool, bleach-blonde Aussie girl named Alana and I spent
the entire day lounging around at Ipanema beach, which was conveniently located
one block from our hostel. The demographics of the beach crowd varies depending
on the lifeguard tower number. We went to tower #9, which Alana says is where
all the hippies, artists, and young people are. It was more like families actually, but whatever. I
didn’t care. I was at a gorgeous beach without anyplace to go!! We rented
chairs and an umbrella, sipped on ice cold Coke, talked about everything and
nothing, and sampled the always constant stream of beach snacks. Every food
imaginable is available to you via locals carrying coolers, buckets,
wheelbarrows, etc. We had frozen acai topped with granola; sandwiches filled
with grilled veggies, chimichurri, and sliced steak; corn on the cob that had
been rolled in butter and a generous helping of salt; roasted cashews; and the
most delicious cheese on a stick that they toast right in front of you in a
tiny little tin oven. There were a lot of other things I didn’t try, like bags
of airy wafers, hot dogs, and iced tea that they lug around in a keg hanging
from their shoulder. Everything was delicious, especially that acai!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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I took a walk down the beach and saw that lifeguard tower #8
seemed to be hopping. A lot more people in their 20’s were hanging out, and
tons of kids were playing some sort of game where they stand in circles and
pass a soccer ball around with every body part except their upper extremities. Went back to our post and poor Alana was burnt to a
crisp, so we packed up and headed to Arpoador Rock for sunset. The rock was
already crowded with people. We sat and waited. Finally... it happened. We watched the distant
mountains swallow the sun whole as the sky faded blazing into shadows. Once the sun started sinking, it went down like a bowling ball. We sat
in awe. Everyone clapped. It’s tradition, Alana said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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There was a beautiful young couple standing on the rock in
front of us, so I offered to take a picture for them. “Um beijo! A kiss!” I
said, but they just giggled. “Um beijo!! Um beijo” I continued to coax, but
still nothing! Then the girl said in halting English, “We never kiss before.”
Ohhhh! It all made sense. Just then, the boy laid one on her. A ravenous,
passionate kiss that would make any girl swoon. Alana and I watched in surprised
silence as we witnessed their young love evolve before our very eyes. I almost
forgot to take the picture!! But somehow, I snapped out of it and managed to
capture this moment for them. If they get married one day, that photo better
make the slide show. I handed the beaming couple their iPhone and off they
went, hand in hand, laughing blissfully over the rocks. But not before one more
kiss! <o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-70551866457260854002015-01-13T17:23:00.001-08:002015-01-13T17:28:55.386-08:00Day #17. 2nd day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Every country has their obsession. </span>For Argentina, it’s
platform shoes and cigarettes. In
Uruguay, it’s crocs and mate. And in Rio, it’s Havaianas and…….. I’ll tell you
in a second, but first, let me take a selfie! Yes, selfies. OBSESSED.</div>
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I did an incredible tour of the city today. For only $72, a
mini van and a tri-lingual guide took 8 of us tourists around to the top
attractions from 12 noon to 7 pm. Earlier that morning I had been dealing with
money issues. Every single bank had rejected my debit card, so I had to skype
call Bank of America which was a huge pain. I had a bad feeling that maybe I
had been scammed or something… People have been telling me how easy it is for
that to happen. I guess old men will loiter around ATM’s in airports with these
card readers in their pockets that pick up your card info if they get close
enough to you. And also they will put scimmers over ATM’s on the street or in
grocery stores. That’s why it’s always best to use ATM’s that are actually <i>inside </i>reputable banks, preferably with
a security guard standing at the door. But BOA assured me nothing looked
suspicious, re-set my card, and 30 min later I was finally able to withdraw
cash. Being in a big city with no money is not a good feeling. <o:p></o:p></div>
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But I digress. Back to the city tour and selfies. We went to
5 of the absolutely positively “must see” attractions in Rio: Christ the
Redeemer statute, Santa Teresa, Lapa steps, the Cathedral, and finally the
ultra-famous Sugarloaf Mountain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Cristo Redentor, or Christ the Redeemer statute. It was even
more magnificent and humongous then I imagined. How they were able to build
that at the top of a mountain, I’ll never understand! Hoards of tourists – both
foreign and local – swarmed the base of the Christ. It was a mad house. The
favorite pose was to stand and stretch both arms out, just like the statute.
Instagram must blow up every day with hundreds of these #cristoredentor
pictures. This is where I first started to notice the selfie obsession. I guess
for me, I’ve always just asked people to take a picture of me or of my group.
But no one… NO ONE… does this here. They only take selfies. They even have
these special poles that they can attach their phones to so they can squeeze the
whole crew in. The girls will stand there smiling and posing, batting their
eyelashes, repositioning their hair, applying lip gloss, pulling their shirt
down just a little lower, adjusting the camera and turning in all angles for
10+ minutes to get the perfect shot. It’s pretty amusing, actually. The
background itself doesn’t seem to be a priority. At any rate, standing
underneath the Christ in all its grandeur made me feel really, really small. On
the way back down the mountain, our guide pointed out a huge Favela village in
the distance. Favelas – unfinished houses on a hill – are where the poor people
of Brazil live. They used to be horrible, known for drug trafficking and crime,
but now are much better thanks to a stronger police presence. The quality of
life seems to be improving, since increasing numbers of the poor are now
working while simultaneously not paying taxes or rent. It’s still not great,
our tour guide explained, but it’s slowly getting better. He said many of them
actually drive nicer cars and wear better clothes than him. The Christ stands
guard over this Favela, watching over it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Santa Teresa was just adorable. We didn’t stay long, but
it’s a place I’d like to visit again. It’s got a nice artsy, eclectic, boho
vibe going for it. The narrow cobblestone streets are lined with little art and
craft stores and cafes. Many of them serve a popular dish here – feijoada –
which is a hearty black bean and pork stew. An old lady carrying a styrofoam
cooler sold the most delicious homemade popsicles in a bag: strawberry, mango,
and passion fruit. I tried the latter… aaaah heaven! We stopped to check out
another woman’s beautiful necklaces made from buttons and shells. Her
smile was so white and pretty… I put my bag down for a moment to take a picture.
My guide jumped all over me. “Never ever put your bag down!!!” he warned. I
became so used to being in Uruguay which is much safer compared to Rio. Forgot
that teenage boys in certain parts of Brazil are notorious for snatching bags,
even cutting them off unsuspecting tourists as they run by. I’ll have to be
much more on guard now.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Lapa steps, or Escadaria <span style="background: white; color: #252525; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Selarón</span>. This extra long staircase is covered from top
to bottom in mosaics. Back in the day (1990 to be exact), an artist from Chile
(<span style="background: white; color: #252525; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Selarón</span>) decided that
he wanted to beautify this area, and he spent many many years working on the
stairs. They’re like a giant patchwork quilt – every color and design
imaginable jumping out at you. Especially pregnant woman. He was obsessed with
this population, painting 25,000 of them on his mosaic murals. The stairs also
happen to be right at the bottom of a large Favela. Despite being a popular
tourist destination and heavily patrolled by police, poor people still loiter
around looking for opportunities to rob. When we arrived to the stairs, I saw 5
policemen: 2 special tourist ones with bright yellow jerseys on bikes (I heard
they are useless), 1 frisking someone halfway up the stairs, 1 standing at the
bottom of the stairs with a machine gun (a <i>machine
gun</i>???!), and 1 up in the bushes looking for something. The stairs were
breathtaking and I highly recommend them to everyone, but I held onto my bag
and camera with a death grip.<span style="font-size: 10pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The Cathedral, or Catedral Metropolitana de São Sebastião.
This oddly shaped building rises like a pyramid into the sky. I walked inside
and felt the breath immediately got sucked out of me. The ceiling opened into a
cross made of clear glass, which allowed light to stream down the center of the
cathedral. The 4 corners of the wall were made entirely of stained glass, like
gleaming mosaic carpets streaming down. It was massive and glorious!!! I was
the last person from my tour group to leave. I couldn’t move. I was paralyzed
by its beauty.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Sugarloaf Mountain, or Pao da Acucar. You take a tram from
the base to the 1<sup>st</sup> mountain, and then another tram from there to
the 2<sup>nd</sup> mountain. The views from the top are insane. Rio is beyond
gorgeous! But many people seemed oblivious to this beauty around them. They
were too busy snapping selfies. Even on the tram, everyone had their phones
out, capturing the perfect face shot with the awesome background of cloudy
glass and iron bars. I saw a girl flipping through the pictures on her phone,
but they all looked the same to me. They were all of her face. Sugarloaf was
our last stop, and although it was amazing up there, I was completely exhausted
from our 7-hour tour of Rio and ready to rest.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I made it to Ipanema just after dark and checked into Mango
Hostel. This is in the best location possible – 1 block from the beach! Was
starving so started walking to find a place to eat. On the way, I watched 4
chiseled guys doing capoeira in the street. One of them could back flip
over a dangerously high rope. Pretty cray!! Found a nice little restaurant with
an English-speaking waiter called “Crusto”, which the waiter proudly informed
me was voted 3<sup>rd</sup> best bar in the city this year. I savored every
drop of the chilled gazpacho. There were little pepper jelly balls in it that
reminded me of tapioca, and the most delicately toasted croutons. Then I had
potatoes au gratin, served in stacks – crispy on the outside, creamy and cheesy
on the inside – topped with thyme and tomato relish. And of course, a caipirinha!
The passion fruit swirled in thick globs, like mounds of tadpoles. I slurped
the delicious fruit through my wide straw. Then I went back and slept like a
baby.<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-17448332870786031652015-01-13T09:45:00.000-08:002015-01-13T09:54:19.488-08:00Days #15 & 16. Last day in Uruguay & 1st day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil!!!<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I said goodbye to Uruguay yesterday.</span> It was bittersweet. I
spent exactly 13 days there and fell in love a little. The country is vibrant
and green, the people welcoming and radient – inside and out, the tea
strong, the cities quaint and beaches breathtaking. This definitely won’t be
the last time I visit.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My last day there wasn’t very noteworthy… except for the
joyous fact that I got my Brazil visa!!! When the girl with the pretty smile
from a week prior handed me my passport with the shiny new addition taped on, I
almost cried from happiness! Such a relief!! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I desperately needed to do laundry – my towels were
beginning to smell..... off. For around $7, these sweet little ladies washed,
dried, and folded everything perfectly. I can’t even do my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">own </i>for that cost in San Francisco! And I definitely don't fold that well. Hmmm, what else did I do? Ate
gnocchi from a Italian place across the street. It was ok, a little gummy and
the sauce bland, but it was super cheap. I laid myself out by the pool in the
sunshine and started reading the book I brought (finally!) – “Wild” by Cheryl
Strayed. It’s a sort of “Eat, Pray, Love” kind of book. For those who
know nothing about either, they're both about a woman solo traveling and
experiencing self-realization. After 2 chapters, I was hooked. Last year I read
Cheryl’s other writing, “Tiny Beautiful Things”, a work in the style of “Dear
Abby” except more raw and relatable and phenomenal.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Played with Milton. She is seriously THE cutest kitten I’ve
ever seen. I’m going to miss her little black face and random antics. It’s so
adorable…. She’s starting to learn to purr. It’s uneven and loud, vibrating her
entire teeny tiny cage. I love her.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Had a mini Portuguese lesson from a Brazilian girl and an
Italian guy at the hostel. This language is impossible!!! The accent and
syllable emphasis are what’s tripping me up the most. We all watched the sunset
from the beach and then made burgers together afterward. The Italian guy is a
really fantastic cook.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For the millionth time, I organized and re-packed my
multiple backpacks (3, to be exact), and swore that next time I won’t bring so
much stuff. There’s some things I packed where I’m like, wow, I’m brilliant to
have thought of that. And then other stuff that’s just stupid. I made a list for next time.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Heather’s list of things-I’m-so-glad-I-brought:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Yoga towel instead of beach towel. First time
I’ve ever done that and it is so much better. It’s lighter, more compact,
and dries super fast.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Pepto/immodium. Yesssssss this has saved my
life.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>My own sunscreen. It’s exorbitantly expensive here,
and not good quality either. It costs around $20!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Deet. Again, hard to find and expensive. There
are more mosquitoes then I expected.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Pillow. This has also saved my life on the many
plane/bus transits. Plus, the hostel’s are usually lumpy pieces of crap.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
List of things-I-should-have-left-home:<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Yoga mat. Really?? Who was I kidding…. A South
American summer is hotter than Bikram’s torture chamber.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Snorkel gear. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Flashlight. I just use my cell phone when
navigating the room at night.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Half the clothes I brought.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>That big bag of instant oatmeal. Didn’t realize
that ALL the hostels serve breakfast. This wasn’t the case other places I’ve
traveled.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span>Umbrella.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I stressed out a little trying to book a hostel in Rio for
the next few nights. Ipanema Beach seemed to be completely sold out – I
couldn’t find anything on hostelworld.com, not even one listing. After that I
started trying to couchsurf, but the one person who responded didn’t get out of
work in time to let me in to the house. So then I signed up for airbnb, but that was a total
fiasco as they wanted to text me a confirmation code and my phone doesn’t get
reception. Finally, in desperation, I messaged my fabulous friend, Fabio. He’s a delightfully funny and friendly guy I met in Montevideo last week who used to live
in Rio. He immediately wrote me back, and within 10 min, he found me 2 amazing
hostels for my 3 days there. He even called one of them!! Then wrote me
detailed instructions on how to take the bus. What an angel, that Fabio. If he ever comes
to SF, he will be treated like a king <o:p></o:p><span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span><br />
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This morning I flew to Rio and took a 45 min taxi ride (forget the bus!) to Meiai Hostel in Botafogo. Botafogo is a cute middle class area bordered by a
lake on one side and Pao de Acucar or “Sugarloaf Mountain” on the other. That Palestinian guy from Montevideo – Jonathan – may have annoyed me slightly, but
he did say one thing that stuck: “The first day in a new city, I get lost.” So
within reason, I decided to do just that. But I had a map too, just in case
(stop freaking out, dad).
It felt good to not have an agenda or place to be. I wandered around for hours,
taking it all in. Randomly and unexpectedly ended up at the base of Sugarloaf,
which also boasted a lively little beach filled with ridiculously bronzed and
barely clothed locals frolicking in the water. I bought a coconut for $2 and
sat in the shade, sucking down the ice-cold juice. It was gone way too fast.
There was a hot dog stand with about 10 pot-bellied men standing
in line, speedos clinging on for dear life. Haha, pretty sure I laughed out loud! There were also food stands with
churros, corn on the cob, cotton candy, and ice cream. In the bay itself, tons
of SUP’s were zig-zagging around and a “party boat” that resembled an old
pirate ship boomed funk music. It was a gorgeous day but blisteringly hot. So I
took my book to a “Thai” place in town for lunch. The yogurt lassi drink was
delicious, with little pieces of cardamom floating around in it. But the pad
thai was… interesting. The noodles were literally swimming in a ketchupy, syrupy sauce that of course was waaaay too sweet. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Later that night I decided to go see some Samba. In my
Lonely Planet book I had circled a couple places to check out in Lapa. It was
all planned out. But then, 2 Brazilians in my hostel – Gerson and Hellen – invited
me to join them for a completely different samba place. If there is one thing
I’ve learned, always always always go with the locals!!! Forget whatever “plan”
you have. Their recommendations trump a guide-book any day. We hopped onto the
metro, disembarked at the last stop, boarded another metro, got off at the last
stop again, and then took a 10-min taxi ride. So I’m not sure exactly where we
were, but it was pretty far out there. When I had asked Gerson to point it out
on my tourist map, he scanned it for a couple minutes and said it “wasn’t on
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It was called “Salgueiro Samba School”. Gerson explained that
in Rio there are tons of Samba schools, and every year they compete to see who
will play for Carnival. This samba school was last year’s champions! So there
was no doubt they would put on a good show. Before going in, we hit up some
street food. They ordered extra long hot dogs with a million toppings on
them: corn, peas, olives, raisins, onions, tomatoes, peppers, mayo, ketchup,
falafel powder, potato chips, and finally, one single tiny egg on top. I asked
if it was a quail egg, but they just looked at me in confusion. Had no clue how
to translate that one. I had fried cheese on a stick. Whoever came up with that
is pure genius!!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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It cost R50 to get in, which is around $20. Everyone was
dressed in red and white. A funk band was on stage getting the party started in
style, and some dancers were dazzling the crowd with their quick movements. From
what I cold see, I was one of 3 gringos in the entire place. The other 2 were a
brother-sister duo from Pennsylvania who were staying at the hostel. The
brother looked absolutely miserable – don’t think this was his idea of “fun”. Then……… the samba
started up. They were above us, in the balcony. Between 30-40 people, all
beating their complex rhythms with stunning accuracy. I’ve never seen anything
even remotely like it! Felt like an out-of-the-body experience, like I was
being transported to another land on a pulsing, heaving carpet of sound and
dance. The samba dance itself is lightening fast. If someone dropped a bug in
your pantalones, you would be doing the samba. A Brazilian actress in a shiny silvery sequined dress showed up and got the crowd excited. We danced until our legs were
jelly. We danced until 5 am. Hellen took at least 50 selfies. Bed never felt so
good.<o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-90142332970205185892015-01-09T07:09:00.002-08:002015-02-03T04:40:24.218-08:00Days #12, 13, & 14. Punta del Diablo, Uruguay.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">3 days turned into 4.</span> It easily could have been an entire
summer. Punta del Diablo truly is Uruguay’s best kept secret. I literally was
having so much fun from the minute I woke up until the second I went to bed,
there wasn’t even any time to update the blog. Here is a summary of the last 3
days. Sorry if I ramble on too much, but there is SO MUCH to say about this treasure of a place!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Diablo Tranquilo Hostel. Located 10 min walk from “town”
which is the main strip full of markets and greasy spoon restaurants that serve
everything from pizza to chivitos (popular Uruguayan sandwich made of goat
meat, ham, bacon, fried egg, cheese, etc. DID NOT TRY THIS… = heart attack. And
eeew goat??). Also located 2 min walk to the main beach and a short bike ride
from the more secluded/scenic Playa Grande. The staff are super friendly. My
favorite is Danielle from Ashlan, Oregon. She visited this town last summer for
a couple weeks, fell in love, and came back to work at the hostel for the
summer. I asked her how she managed to pull that off, and she said she quit her
job back home and moved in with her mom for a couple months to save money.
Danielle is crazy tan and has a keen affinity for mate. They serve an optional dinner
at the hostel every night for $10, but I never ate it because I ate at an
amazing French place every single night – will talk about that later. The roommates:
at first it was just me and 2 middle-aged ladies, one from Brazil who liked to
keep to herself and put the only fan in the room directly pointing at her bed, and a sprightly little one from Germany who talked constantly
in her high pitched voice. At first I didn’t like the German woman, because the
first morning she spent an hour organizing her storage bin very loudly and
stomping around at the ungodly hour of 10 am. But the last night, a bunch of us
went out to dinner and invited her. She was actually really cool! She’s a
teacher back in Germany and took the 4-month summer off to travel. I really
admire her spirit of adventure and courage to explore South America on her own.
The 2<sup>nd</sup> night, a beautiful 22 year old Aussie girl – Sophie –
arrived and we hit it off smashingly. She’s been traveling 4 months also and
will continue on until the money runs out. The stories she told me from Chile
and Paraguay made me green with envy. The 3<sup>rd</sup> night a couple other
girls joined, one of whom was a yoga teacher from New York. I don’t really know
much about them, other then that the girl from New York got upset when one of
the Uruguayans tried to steal her bottom bunk bed…. AND was sitting on it in
her thong. Oh, and she was also constantly high, asked me the same questions
over and over again, and was always on a mission to find weed. The last night I
camped, and got obliterated by mosquitos. But it was worth it to be out in the
middle of nowhere, surrounded by nature and nothing else!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Biking. I did some more exploring the 2<sup>nd</sup> morning
on my gearless beach cruiser, which meant I pushed it up the hills and charged
down them. Although a mountain bike would have been much better, I very much
enjoyed seeing parts of the village that I wouldn’t have been able to get to on
foot. Like I said before, the houses are mostly jewel-toned beach huts with
thatched roofs. I kept my eye out for ones I liked to rent next summer when I
come back ;)<o:p></o:p></div>
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Santa Theresa National Park. This is a rich wooded area full
of brilliantly colored but loud parakeets that squak constantly. It’s gorgeous.
The hostel offered a 3-hour horseback tour of the park that ended with a glass
of wine for sunset on the beaches’ large sand dunes. I opted out of this since
I had a horse for a while and it’s nothing new to me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Playa Grande. Pristine beach that’s off the beaten path and
not nearly as crowded as the main beach. There aren’t even any beach bars or
anything. Locals bring their fishing poles and surfboards and just chill here.
On one side are large sand dunes to climb up where you have pretty amazing
views of the coast. I liked this beach so much I went back the 2<sup>nd</sup>
day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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French Restaurant called “Aquarella”. They hooked my very
first night with their perfectly grilled salmon, soft bread with olive oil,
salad, and unbelievable cocktails. And for not much more than what it would
cost to eat at the hostel! The restaurant was opened two weeks ago by 4 French
guys who all know each other from when they worked restaurants in New York.
Francois is the owner, Bibou the main chef, Nico the bartender, and another who
does everything else in between and I for the life of me cannot remember his
name. I had the salmon 2 nights, but also tried their local white fish with
pesto, a bite of Sophie’s garlic prawns and salmon tartare, French fries with
mushroom sauce, and onion lasagna made with fresh noodles from a local Italian
place. Nico’s cocktails are ridiculously tasty and creative, featuring the
freshest local ingredients: mint, ginger, melon, apple, basil, strawberry…
Sophie and I joked that they were “peligroso” – dangerous! He says that in life there are no problems, only solutions. Brilliant, eh? So yea, ate there 3
nights in a row – always with at least a few friends from the hostel – and
everyone always raved about the food. On Wednesday evening, they had a local
swing band come in and play, which brought a huge crowd in. They were awesome!!
Definitely was unique to listen to Uruguayan boys sing old tunes like “Dream a
Little Dream of Me” in English, complete with trumpet, trombone, and violin!!
After the show was over, the violinist and I jammed together for a bit. They
gave me a CD which I’m stoked about.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pink shack beach bar, main beach. Sophie and I went down to
this little shack the 2<sup>nd</sup> night to watch the sunset and sip on
caipirinhas. The couple who run the place are as sweet as the drinks they
serve! They very patiently gave Sophie and I an impromptu Spanish lesson as we
swung in the hammocks and enjoyed their delicious concoction of rum, sugar,
and lime. They have the best deal in town too – 2 for 1oo pesos.<o:p></o:p></div>
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DJ Fernando. A local, in his 50’s, who totes an antiquated
laptop and speakers around for his many gigs. They were right, he was
terrible haha!!! We were joking about it at dinner one night, he’s not really a
DJ. He just presses “stop”, “play”, and “next” buttons. But he is very beloved
by everyone and is full of life and energy. He frequently leaves his “DJ booth”
to dance with all the pretty young girls… but that doesn’t affect the music at
all! It just keeps playing on without him :D One night he threw a party on the
beach which was really fun. Well, it was fun until someone accidentally flung
grapefruit soda on me. With a sticky face and half blinded eyes, I decided
that the party for me was over and headed back to the hostel.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Live music on the beach. Every evening before sunset, a young
group of Hawaiian-shirt-clad locals plays at one of the beach bars. I love the
variety of instruments, even including a saxophone expertly played by a girl!
The music is lively and entertaining – something you definitely don’t want to
miss. There’s an old calico boxer dog who likes to stand in front of the stage
or even random couples, barking at them. It does this every day. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Body surfing. You can rent surfboards, but the surf honestly
isn’t that great for boards. It’s perfect, however, for body surfing. We would
do this for hours, seeing who could go the farthest and throwing a few tricks
in the mix. If you’ve never body surfed backwards, try it. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Mala Vida. The food truck and hippie hangout I visited my 1<sup>st</sup>
day. I went there one more time, and ordered the same exact thing. It was just
too good!! Victor said their French fry machine broke, and that had
unfortunately deterred a lot of the all-night partiers returning to their
hostels in the morning. People here looooove their fries.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The bus. The only reason I am mentioning my bus ride back to
Montevideo, is because I said next to a lovely Uruguayan girl named Rosio,
which means “dew”. She is a 26 year old school teacher with uncommon strawberry blonde curly hair who just moved in with
her boyfriend 2 months ago. Most people don’t get married in Uruguay, she
explained. It’s more of a common-law type thing. I had the best time talking
with her! How lucky to sit next to someone fluent in English. She gave me a
sort of culture tour. Factoid #1: I learned that education is free, even for
outsiders. Factoid #2: kids start drinking mate when they are in high school,
and by the time college arrives, every student will be sitting at their desk
with the mate in hand – even the professor! Factoid #3: it’s not uncommon for people in their 20’s and early 30’s to live with parents, the same as Brazil. But
if their 40 and still at home, something is wrong with them. We had a good
laugh over this. Factoid #4: customer service for things like buses is
terrible. No one would be receiving any refunds or vouchers for the bus
breakdown. This isn’t a factoid, but I pointed out to her that Spanish-speaking
people love to use the term “for example” when talking to me. It’s just kind of
amusing to me, since they say it every other sentence. Rosio said she thinks
it’s funny how we all say “like” so much. And then I caught myself saying that
during the rest of our conversation and realized how much of a habit it’s
become. I can see how it would sound weird to someone learning English, since
it has nothing to do with the actual content of the sentence. The bus broke
down 30 min from Montevideo, and we had to wait an hour for another to come get
us. When the other bus finally did come, the 2 bus drivers were switching the
luggage from the one bus to the other all by themselves. The mostly teenage
crowd of passengers just stood there in the dark watching. “What’s up with
this??” I asked Rosio. “Why is no one helping?” So we jumped in and started
hauling suitcases. Within minutes a large group of strapping young lads pitched
in and we were able to transfer all the luggage really quickly. A lot faster
then the 2 bus drivers could have done it. See, it just takes one! I was
starving so I made myself a peanut butter sandwich. Rosio couldn’t believe I
had peanut butter – “Where did you find that??” she asked. I told her Buenos
Aires, and she said that makes sense because you simply can’t buy it in
Uruguay. Only dulce de leche. <o:p></o:p></div>
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And that, my friends, is my summary of Punta del Diablo. If
you’re ever in Uruguay, skip the built up tourist trap Punta del Este and go
straight to this beautiful quaint little beach town! </div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-15191218412551708382015-01-05T15:02:00.000-08:002015-02-03T04:40:48.904-08:00Day #11. Punta del Diablo, Uruguay.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">They were right. </span>Punta del Diablo <i>is</i> the most stunning coastal area of Uruguay. The pristine beauty
of this place is unreal. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Caught a 7 am bus out of Montevideo and slept the entire 4
hour ride. Except for halfway through at another pick-up station when a young
boy shook my leg because I was all sprawled out in his seat. Took a breakfast
break to eat the PB&J I packed. As long as you always carry around the
ingredients for this classic sandwich, you will never ever go hungry. When you
are out of money and the only ATM in town is broken, you’ll be sooo glad you
have this in your backpack!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ran into Jonathan at the bus stop and he looked a bit dazed
and confused. He’d been up all night partying. Hadn’t slept since noon
yesterday, he said, but was very excited to have saved the $$ on a room. Jonathan
pointed me in the direction of town and said the hostels were about a 3 km walk
down the road. Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be a problem. But remember, I don’t
pack light, so this is a lot of work for me! About 2 km into my hike, I spotted
a cute roadside oasis with vibrant flags and a brightly colored food
truck/trailer displaying a tantalizing and affordable menu. I was tired,
hungry, and about to have a heat stroke, so I stopped to have some refreshments
and ask for directions. The young couple who ran the place were the cutest ever
– Hannah from Germany and Victor from Italy. Their space was really inviting. There
were pillows, bean bags, and tapestries everywhere. I ordered the veggie burger
and a fresh juice, all for just 250 pesos ($10), which is a steal compared to
Punta del Este’s ridiculous prices. The handmade burger, consisting of beat
root and carrots, was beyond delicious – Hannah made it herself! The tasty
patty was served on a huge whole wheat bun with lettuce & tomato. On the
side were French fries made from a freshly cut potato and a beautiful salad
topped with sesame and flax seeds. Hannah blended me an orange/mango/banana
juice topped with coconut. I could eat here every day!!! And who knows… maybe I
just will. They have only been open for 2 weeks, and the poor things are
exhausted. They say they get no sleep because they are up until 3 am and have
to be back to open for breakfast at 7 am. “We pay attention to every detail,”
Victory explained. It shows. I gave them a 50 peso tip and told them to keep up
the good work! They rented me a bike, which I mounted – me and my 3 backpacks –
and careened up and down the roads for way too long in the roasting sun trying
to find my hostel (rookie mistake… didn’t write down the address!)<o:p></o:p></div>
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After checking into “Diablo Tranquil” (which I hope it is
and not a party hostel), I took Hannah’s recommendation and biked about a mile
down the rode to another more secluded beach, Playa Grande. The thing that I
love most about this area is that its coastline is unmarred by the silhouettes
of high-rise hotels. There are no tourist trap restaurants. Like I said before,
it is pristine. I spent hours lying on the beach and playing in the waves. Using
all the words in my memory bank from Spanish 101, I struck up a “conversation”
with a pretty, middle-aged topless Uruguayan woman. Sabina had a short brown
pixie cut, oversized Jackie-O’esque red rimmed sunglasses, and bilateral nipple
piercings. She offered me a hand-rolled cigarillo. I had to suck it down fast
so it wouldn’t burn out…. Made me sooooo dizzy! It was really nice to be on
that beach with no crowds and no noise. Wanted to stay longer, but I was
already turning into a lobster. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Explored the village on my bike. It’s all dirt roads, and
the bike is a beach cruiser with no gears. So riding up any incline whatsoever
is a challenge! But I saw the neatest little wooden jewel box huts with
thatched roofs everywhere… teal, magenta, blue, yellow. I came across a funky
house with a cartoon clown face on it. Kept looking for this yoga/meditation/massage
place Victor told me about but didn’t see it anywhere. I’ll keep looking
manana. Manana is the word around here. Anytime you ask anyone to do something,
they say “manana, manana”. Everything is “manana”. There is no concept of time.
<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m sitting here on one of the big white couches in the
lobby, nursing my stinging sunburn and talking with some of the staff.
Apparently DJ Fernando is spinning at a sister hostel on the beach tonight. “Is
he any good?” I asked. “He is sheeeet!” they tell me, laughing. His transitions
are terrible. But he is a local and everyone loves him. There is a lot of good
food around here too – some of the best in the country – since international
chefs like to set camp here in the summer. I want to check out this French
place where they whip up items such as freshly caught fish and neopolitan crème
brulee. Also, there is an awesome Italian place down the street where they make
all their own pastas and sauces from scratch. Too bad I only have 3 days
here!!!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-87909517952771056662015-01-05T15:00:00.001-08:002015-02-03T04:41:03.469-08:00 Day #10. Montevideo, Uruguay.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">Woke up bright and early at 10 am and had my typical “South
American continental breakfast”</span> of toast, butter, guava jam, dulce de leche –
just a little bit, frosted flakes, an orange, and hot tea with milk. A lot of
sweet stuff. They eat the dulce de leche by the spoonful, like how I eat peanut
butter.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Was planning on going to the Sunday market, which I heard is
just as big as the famous San Talmo one in Buenos Aires. The owners of the
hostel – Pati (prounouced “pa-chee”, short for Patricia) and Jope (short for
Jose Pedro) – say that their market is much more authentic. I headed that way
but got distracted by a vegetarian Mediterranean restaurant on the way. The
menu looked too good! I decided to eat lunch there, and I’m so glad I did.
Started with a glass of white wine, which the sweet old lady hostess brought
over. There was some cork and a fruit fly floating around in it. I think she
caught me eyeing it suspiciously, because she whisked it away before I could
even take a sip and brought out another, fresher looking glass. They gave me an
appetizer of their traditional potato omellete – “tortilla de patata” – on the
house. The first course was a tantalizing salad loaded with fresh veggies, some
of which surprised me. Bean sprouts?? Definitely didn’t expect that one. Tried
hearts of palm, an item found in many dishes here including pizza. It was actually
quite delicious, tangy like a pickle. The 2<sup>nd</sup> course was a ratatouille
of perfectly cooked and seasoned fresh vegetables: green beans, eggplant,
summer squash, carrot, garbonzos, and tomato; all dressed in a “salsa verde”.
The chefs would peak around the kitchen at me as I took the first bite of each
dish, smiling the biggest smiles and bobbing their heads up and down as I gave
them a thumbs up. Such service!! As I sat at the table rubbing my belly and
wondering how I was gonna walk out of there, they brought me another sweet gift
on the house. It was a shot of something green, creamy, and fruity. They said
it was champagne, fruit, lemon, and something else. I loved it!! Whatever it
is, I need to figure out the recipe.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After that, I simply didn’t have it in me to go to another
market. Markets are super stimulating and can be very draining. Instead,
Valdmir and I went to the beach where we soaked up some rays and played a little volleyball. My vball skillz have really gone downhill since the San Diego days. Then went to a park to sit in the shade and play music on the ukulele.
He is trying to teach me a Brazilian song. It’s a painfully slow process… unfortunately,
I am not a natural at Portuguese. But I am determined to learn the chorus to
this song, so I can surprise friends at burning man next year <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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There was some major musical talent in the house later that
night. A girl with the voice of Christina Aguilera meets Adele wowed everyone
with her versions of everything from Eminessence to Alicia Keys. I heard she is
a Disney actor at the Disneyland in Brazil. No way, I didn’t know they had one in Brazil!!
How about that. <o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-10328408184407362722015-01-04T05:48:00.003-08:002015-02-03T04:41:15.472-08:00Day #9. Montevideo, Uruguay.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">El Diablo beach is supposedly one of the most beautiful
beaches in Uruguay.</span> It’s a 4 hour bus ride from Montevideo, and of course, I
absolutely have to go there. It took me 40 min to walk to the bus station.
These days I have learned my lesson, and take a piece of paper with the
instructions written in Spanish so there is absolutely no confusion. Jonathan,
a 29 year old guy from Israel, walked with me because he needed bus tickets
too. It’s really amazing and inspiring to hear about other people’s travels and
experiences. He has taken 4 months off every 3 years since he was 23. The list
of places he’s been to is exhaustive, and he usually travels solo. It’s easier to
stick around one place for a while if he finds a girl he likes, he explained.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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You have to be very careful crossing streets here. Jonathan
asked me, “When do we have the right of way??” and I said “never.” You never,
ever have the right of way, even if there are crosswalks and the pedestrian
signal is green. Cars will run you right over!! On the way back from the bus
station, I stopped and got my first empanada of the trip. The crust was so rich
and buttery, filled with mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil. A caprese empanada –
only 30 cents. There are all flavors imaginable, and they are usually a
bargain.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The pool here at the hostel is so nice, but I am pretty sure
this is where the mosquitoes are coming from. This morning I woke up with a few
fresh welts, and they itch like crazy!!! Mosquitoes are the freaking worst.
Decided to do an open air bus tour of the city. Despite the fact that I got a
ton of sleep last night, I could barely keep my eyes open once on the bus.
Cars, buses, and planes have this effect on me. Kept nodding off, but still was
able to see all the sites. It was mostly parks, statues, and buildings. I’ve
been taking loads of pictures of buildings lately, which I’m sure no one really
wants to see. So I’ll try and chill out on that for a while. The bus tour was
kind of ridiculous, because it’s supposedly “hop on, hop off”, but the girl
said that it’s so busy today, once you hop off you probably won’t be able to
get back on. Super lame!! What’s the point of that? I took my chances and
hopped off at stop #9, which was a large mall next to the World Trade Center.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I tried Freddo gelato for the 1<sup>st</sup> time, which is
a big Argentinian chain here in Uruguay. One scoop of crema a la fruta which
tasted like fresh strawberries, and one scoop chocolate. Decadent. Walked
through the mall for about 5 minutes but that just made my blood pressure rise.
Way too crowded and there was nothing they had that I wanted to buy. So I
walked around for a while and came across another ice cream place. Well, I
guess it wouldn’t hurt to try a scoop of their product too so that I could
compare ;) Limon con salsa fresa – lemon with strawberry sauce… amazing! Mom
would have loved this one. But Freddo still takes the 1<sup>st</sup> place
ribbon. Tried to get back on the next bus but the girl had been right, it was full Ditched the bus tour and got a taxi to the port.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Puerto de Montevideo is an area bursting with activity. It
has a thriving market, tons of fine seafood and steak restaurants, and the most
popular attraction: wood fired BBQ pits. The spits and grates are loaded with
beef, blood sausages, and vegetables. For the meat lover, this is heaven. I
checked out a menu at one of the restaurants and saw they had a large fresh
fish selection, but I was still too full from my 3 scoops of ice cream! So I
wandered around the market and streets before walking to the end of a long
concrete jetty. There were lots of locals fishing from the jetty. “Mas
pescados?!” I asked, to which everyone replied, “Nooo, poquito pescados.” I
only saw one person catch fish. Guess they weren’t biting that evening.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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So far I’ve been in South America for over a week now, and
there is still something I am having a really hard time adjusting to. It seems
that I am a spectacle when in public. People don’t just glance at me, they <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">stare</i>. Constantly. And the men don’t
even try to hide their head-to-toe sweep. I’m just not sure how I should act.
Like, should I lock eyes and stare back? Smile? Look at the ground? Say hola?
If I smile at everyone who stares, then I feel like a Cheshire cat. If I don’t
smile, I’ve even heard one person say “ay, sonrisa!” to me as they walked by. I
guess this comes with the territory of being a blonde in Latin America. Maybe
I’ll get used to it after a while. I just feel like I’m on a constant catwalk,
and it makes me a little self-conscious. But, being a young blonde America girl
also has its perks. Like Jonathan said, “You can get anything you want.” And
that, for the most part, is true <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Back at the hostel, a group of – you guessed it – Brazilians
were getting ready to go out for the daily drum march. Vladmir was making an
orange cake from scratch. His hair is phenomenal, a soft bouncy mound of fluff.
An afro, actually. Fabio from Rio was heating up some water for his thermos
before we all went out. He said they drink a lot of mate in South Brazil. I
can’t get over this mate obsession – it’s pretty crazy here! At least 50% of
the population is walking around, running errands and carrying their mug and
thermos. They love the stuff!!! The drum group was incredible. It was consisted
of about 40 mostly shirtless guys on huge yellow drums, 2 men waving Uruguayan
flags, and a bunch of young girls dancing. They do this every evening in the
summer all throughout the city to welcome the sunset. Everyone is dancing. The
men pound their drums so hard they work up a sweat and some even bloody their
hands a little. The energy was electric. <o:p></o:p></div>
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My plan was to hit the sack early today. But when we
returned to the hostel around 10 pm, there was the most beautiful music coming
from the sitting room. A Brazilian guy and an American boy (Phil) from Reno were
playing duets on the guitar and banjo. Before long, a few more Brazilians, 3
Italians, and Vladmir joined. Cervesas were poured, and a random mini music
festival was enjoyed until the wee hours of 3 am. Reminded me of “the love lab”
the first year I moved to Ocean Beach, San Diego. My friends all made fun of me
over this back in the day… “Heather! You dirty hippie!” The love lab was an
open mic music venue and hippie hangout in these 2 guys attic in Point Loma,
complete with bean bags, candles, patchouli, and a big heart behind the stage.
Those were some times I will never, ever in my life forget. As I write this,
Vladmir is playing Jack Johnson tunes on the ukelele. And before that, Phil was picking a lil’ dueling banjos. The orange cake is delicate and sweet, although Vladmir says that "it didn't grow" correctly. I love simple randomness. This is my happy place.<o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-30344598320786334432015-01-03T19:25:00.000-08:002015-01-03T19:25:12.028-08:00Day #8. Montevideo, Uruguay.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">It’s a good thing I have fallen in love with Uruguay</span>, since
I unexpectedly was awarded the opportunity to stay another 8 days. The bus
driver was supposed to drop me off at the Punta del Este airport terminal on
the way to Montevideo, but he apparently didn’t get the memo and, well, here I
am! Didn’t quite make that flight to El Calefate. I was pretty shattered over
it at first… that was an expensive mistake – $450 – and there’s no guarantee I
will be able to cancel or get a full refund on the return ticket. So there I
was at the Montevideo airport, trying to communicate with the bus station that
because of their mistake I missed my flight, and would I be compensated for
that at all?? But I could see that there was absolutely no way I was getting my
money, or that part of the trip, back. <o:p></o:p></div>
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In a very depressed state, I boarded a bus for the city and
decided to make the best of it. The bus was packed and there was no place to
put my backpacks, so I stood there in the isle with them on. A sweet local boy
took pity on me and motioned for me to come to the back of the bus where he
helped me take my pack off and place it in a corner. He spoke fluent English,
and was passing a cup of mate tea around with his 2 sisters. I asked if the tea
was really that good, since everyone seemed addicted to it. “Please! Have
some!” he offered. It was really strong and bitter. Now I know what the straw
is they are sucking on. It’s actually a spoon type thing with holes in it and a
hollow handle, called a “bombilla”. How it all works is, they put the loose dry
mate powder in the mug and stick the spoon in there. Then they pour hot water
to fill the mug, suck the tea through the bombilla , repeat. He said that when
someone hands you a freshly filled mug of tea, you drink it all or it is
impolite. He doesn’t really like the taste either, but it’s a tradition.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Ukelele Hostel was my destination, a decision I quickly made
at the airport by searching hostelworld on my phone using their spotty wifi. It
had really good reviews, seemed central to everything, and supposedly had the
only swimming pool of any hostel in the city. As soon as my depleted self
walked through those doors, I felt better. The hostel was gorgeous! And the guy
at the front desk – Vladmir – was a doll. The owners are a young Uruguayan
couple who bought the very large 1950’s home and renovated it, turning it into
the beautiful place that it is today. You enter the hostel through tall wooden
doors. The floors are all wood and tile. There is a spacious music room with
plush couches, a wood fireplace, a piano (a <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">piano</i>!),
and as would be expected, a ukulele. The kitchen is spotless, and the breakfast
room bright and cheerful with a long wooden communal table in the center. The
best part – the outdoor veranda, shaded by vines and hanging flowers, right
next to the pool. Such a lovely space. I felt right at home.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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By the time I got settled it was noon. Then I had an idea!
Go to the Brazil consulate here in Montevideo and see if they would let me
apply for a visa!! It was only a 10-minute walk, and the further I walked the
more at peace I felt about what happened this morning. This city is a breath of
fresh air. The streets are lined with huge sweeping birch trees. The buildings
are in the style of old colonial architecture. The people are simple and
unpretentious. A quieter, quainter city compared to Buenos Aires. I walked into
the Brazil consulate and…. What? No line?! The young pretty girl at the counter
spoke pretty good English and walked me through the whole process. This
involved me going to a computer/printer café and buying a ticket to Rio. She
said they wouldn’t grant me a visa unless I had a ticket into/out of Brazil,
and all I had so far was the ticket out. There was a girl in the café from
Seattle, who spoke perfect Spanish and has been living here for a year now. How
amazing is that?! Then I went to a Cambio and payed for a cashiers check in the
amount of $160. After all my paperwork was turned in, she said I would have my
visa on the 9<sup>th</sup> at the latest which would give me 5 extra days in
Brazil! This made my day all the more better!!!! See, things do really work
themselves out. You just have to trust that it will.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I spent the afternoon exploring and lying by the pool in the
glorious sunshine. Sang a few songs with Vladmir who was quite good on the
Ukelele. The hostel kitten, Millton, scampered around playing with everything
in site. She is midnight black, 2 months old, and the cutest thing ever. Made
myself some homemade paella for dinner. Gonna have to make cuts in the budget
somewhere after that exorbitant expense this morning. It’s pretty easy to do it
in the food department since food in South America so far isn’t super tempting
to me. It’s mostly meat, bread, fries, pizza, and sweets. Even their sweets are
too sweet for me!!! Several people have told me that the dulce de leche in
Uruguay is the best, but it all tastes like straight up sugar to me. Watched
the sun set over the ocean that evening, and it was heaven. Slept like a baby
that night for the first time in a week.<o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-47021912740711900002015-01-02T00:11:00.002-08:002015-02-03T04:43:00.279-08:00Days #6 & 7. Punta del Este, Uruguay.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I took every medicine in my GI goody bag today. </span>Not sure
what it was, but I knew this was inevitable. Maybe it was the eggs I bought at the market?? They don’t refrigerate
them here, but I fried the crap out of that egg to kill any potential bacteria.
Maybe it was the ocean water. At any rate, my belly didn’t feel very good at
all. But since my stints in Mexico I have learned to bring my own stuff for trying times such as this: Pepto, Imodium, and lactobacillus. Let the good times
roll! No pun intended <span style="font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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Decided that maybe some fresh juice would hit the spot, so I
went back to that organic jugo bar with one of my friends from the hostel. It
was delicious – pineapple, spinach, and mint. As I was savoring the last sips
of my delicious smoothie, it started raining like crazy. A torrential downpour.
We decided to wait out the storm as there were no taxis anywhere. But it didn’t
show signs of ending anytime soon! So we finally ran most of the way back, with
all our valuables in a plastic produce bag. The rain was really heavy, kind of
like hail. We got hosed!!!! Played a lot of pool that afternoon.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m starting to get this South American timing thing down
now. It’s 10 pm and I thought it was only 7. The sun goes down really late,
around 9, so it tricks you. My body is a mess over it though. I’m definitely
not getting enough sleep. Hopefully I can catch up in Patagonia! Getting pumped
for that little side trip. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Punta del Este is definitely a ritzier, wealthier area. I’ve seen a
lot of nice fashion and nice cars. Even the taxis are white Mercedes
with tinted windows. I noticed that drivers tend to follow rules of the road a
little better here than in BA where people follow absolutely NO rules
whatsoever. In BA, they careen across lines without warning, drive down the middle of
2 lanes, and don’t stop for red lights if they think they can get away with it. At any rate, the town here is amazing. But as far as the food goes, everyone I’ve talked to
so far has complained about. Worst pizza ever, I heard. And horribly
expensive!! I’m saving my pesos for when I’m back in Argentina. My diet here in Punta
consists of a lot of tomato and cheese sandwiches. Stopped by the market and bought some fresh veggies to stir fry later! I’m trying to figure out how
pizza became such a staple. There are tons and tons of pizza joints. Also, everyone
here is obsessed with this “mate” tea. They have special cups for it that look
like metal sippy cups with a built-in straw. The top is a mesh basket filled
with the tea leaves, which are rich in caffeine. They carry these things around
everywhere – the beach, the grocery store, on their afternoon walks (even when
the sun is beating down) – sucking on their straws and refilling the mugs with
hot water from a thermos. It’s interesting to me that they don’t just make a
big batch of it at home and carry it around in a water bottle or something.
Seems a bit cumbersome. But they do look pretty cool. I really want to try it
but haven’t had the chance yet!<o:p></o:p></div>
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After the rain cleared, I walked to the beach to see if I
could surf. That probably wasn’t a good idea because of the heavy rain, but I wasn’t
even thinking about it at the time. I just wanted to get in the water and get
some exercise! The surf shack was closed, which probably saved me from getting
a bad case of giardia. A handful of brave kite surfers were breaking down their
gear. They all used wakeboard type boards with the foot straps, not actual
surfboards. Took a long walk on the beach and played a little “volleyball” with
a drunk local. The volleyball was actually a small foam waterlogged soccer ball
and the net came up 2 feet off the ground, but it was fun to run around and
laugh at the ridiculousness of it. I went for a swim and it felt like heaven - the water is surprisingly cool. Did I mention yet that all the ladies at the beach here wear
Brazilian bikini bottoms? It doesn’t matter the shape, size, age, or condition
of the bum... they are all proudly displayed. There was not a single girl
topless however. You’ve never seen so many beautiful people in one place in
your life – not even San Diego! But I hear Rio has just as much eye candy <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Back at the hostel they were cooking up a BBQ. It cost 500
pesos per person, which is about $20. I asked the girl at the front desk if
there would be any vegetarian items, and she said it would mostly be chicken
and beef, but “lots of ensaladas!!” Well, I love salad and I was curious how
the beef here compared to the steak I had in BA, so I forked over the 500
pesos. Dinner was served at 9:30 pm. There were cheese and salami platters,
bowls of peanuts and potato chips, and sparkling cider to start with. After the
appetizers, heaps of chorizo sausages and beef short ribs hot off the wood
fired grill were plated, accompanied by 3 ensaladas: caprese, a trio of
lettuces, and a type of potato salad which had frozen mixed vegetables in it.
Not my favorite dinner by a long shot – the beef was tough (only ate a couple
bites) and the salads bland – but the company was excellent! I seriously
couldn’t have asked for better people to bring the New Year in with.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Like I said earlier, pretty much everyone in the hostel is
Brazilian. It’s constant merriment around here! One of the many things I love
about them is that they are so warm and congenial, eager to share their
culture. I am soaking it up and learning as much as I can. People are probably
getting tired of my never-ending questions. Melissa’s boyfriend, Paul, likes to
joke around, “Here we go with Heather’s 21 questions!” Had a really amazing
time talking with one of my roommates, Marina. She’s a young thing – only 23 –
and beyond gorgeous. She is like this little china doll with creamy tanned
skin, perfect teeth, greenish eyes, and the richest shiniest hair. The girl has a good head on her shoulders. We talked about
love, relationships, societal expectations, family, and differences between our
cultures. I learned that it’s very common for people my age to still be living
at home. It’s crazy expensive to live on your own in Brazil, and most kids don’t
leave town to attend schools “out of state”. So it makes sense to live at home
and save money. She said everyone has a maid, regardless of how rich or poor they are. We talked about traveling and being open-minded… getting out of your
comfort zone and opening yourself to new experiences. “When you are open,
better things come to you.” You are wise beyond your years, Marina.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Practically everyone and their mom was going to a big NYE
celebration near Barra Beach called “The Box”. There were a couple other
parties around, but my 5 meninos AKA “papais da Punta” were going to this one
and invited me to tag along. “We’ll look out for you” Murillo said. Such a
sweetheart! We went to the beach for the countdown to 2015. Punta definitely
isn’t known for their fireworks haha… SeaWorld probably has a better show. We
took 2 glossy white Mercedes taxis to the party, which started at 1:30 am and didn't actually become packed until 3 am. It
was outdoor, with a huge open arena and stage. We, along with another big group
from the hostel, were in the VIP section. Later, I realized just how awesome it
was that we went with this option. The VIP section was raised off the ground
and had actual plank floors. When the sun rose, we saw that the huge open area below was
straight up mud. Hoards of muddy partygoers streamed out of the gates,
blissfully unaware of their condition. It was a really really fun party. So
much dancing!!! My favorite part was when the sun began it's ascent and the
DJ started playing traditional Latin music to welcome the 1<sup>st</sup> day of
a new year.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Needless to say, we slept all day. I woke up at 3 and went
for a bike ride to the marina, but the weather was overcast and drizzly. Made
that veggie stir fry and booked my Brazil flights. I decided to do
Florianopolis <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">à</span></span>
Jericoacoara <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">à</span></span>
Rio <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">à</span></span>
Ilha Grande. So gutted I won’t be able to squeeze Bahia in this trip because of
time constraints :/ But I’m super excited for my week of kite surfing in
Jeri! I met a friend of a friend in Tahoe a few weeks ago who spent a lot of
time in Brazil. He told me I would love this spot, and even recommended an eco
beach villa. I booked 6 nights at “Vila Prea” – can’t freaking wait!!! I will
have a private beach bungalow with a king size bed all to myself and kite
surfing lessons every day for 2 hours! Surprisingly, all of this wasn’t even
that expensive. Great tip John, thank you!<o:p></o:p></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
2014 was a good year. I completed the hardest task I’ve EVER
undertaken – nurse anesthesia school; moved to a thriving, bold, diverse,
beautiful city practically bursting with energy and talent – San Francisco;
embarked on my 2<sup>nd</sup> solo exploration of the world. Many beautiful
things happened for me and I am blessed with far more then I deserve… but this
was also the hardest year of my life so far. I can’t really explain it fully. Growing
pains, perhaps? There is a proverb I’ve always loved. It says: “Weeping may
endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.” Ahhh… there was some
weeping. But SO. MUCH. JOY.<o:p></o:p></div>
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To all my family and friends: You are my heart. I missed
celebrating with you this year, but know you are always with me and I love you
infinitely much!!! Happy New Year! <3<o:p></o:p></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-29828796871228378802014-12-31T11:44:00.001-08:002015-02-03T04:42:51.562-08:00Day #5. Punta del Este, Uruguay.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">The ferry was packed.</span> So packed that some of the unfortunate people who weren’t in 1<sup>st</sup>
class didn’t even have seats. As I stood in the mile-long line for baggage check-in, I couldn't help but wonder how they were gonna squeeze that many people on the boat. There were soooo many platformed shoes... I zoomed in on my camera and snuck a close up of
my favorite: Barney purple Birkenstocks on stilts.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The ride was between 2 and 4 hours. Not totally sure because
I was asleep for most of it. When we disembarked, we had to fight thick
gauntlets of flying bugs at every light along the narrow hallway. Young girls
were screeching and swatting and stomping around in their platforms. We boarded
old buses that were a bit run-down for the 3-hour ride from Colonia to Punta
Del Este. Does it ever amaze you the positions you can fall asleep in when you
are beyond exhausted? So glad I brought a pillow!!! <o:p></o:p></div>
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El Viajero Hostel is awesome! Located in the heart of town,
2 blocks from the bus stop 4 blocks from feisty Brava Beach. It is such a
relief to be somewhere for more than a couple days. I will be spending 4 nights
here. It’s paradise!!! Somewhat built up though, unfortunately. High rises and
hotels line the beach. But it really is beautiful. Many of the more affluent
Argentinians flock to Punta del Este for the New Year holiday. It’s very
expensive here. I made a quick trip to the market for some cheese and tomatoes
to make a sandwich with. Even at the market, prices were astronomical!! 70
pesos for jam?? 150 for cheese?! Well, I hadn’t really read up on the currency
here yet… assumed they used pesos. Didn’t realize that they use <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Uruguayan</i> pesos, not Argentinian, which
are exchanged at 24 per $1 US. Aaahhh! So things weren’t that bad after all. <o:p></o:p></div>
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When I came back to the hostel there was a very sweet lady
scrubbing everything in site. This place is extremely clean, especially the
kitchen. A skinny grey cat sauntered around. My sandwich hit the spot,
especially with all that lemon-scented mayonesa slathered on. Anyone who knows
me knows that I love my condiments ;) After a nice long nap, I was so excited
to finally go to the beach! The entire beach was crowded with very beautiful
and tanned people for miles. I spotted what appeared to be a surf break down a
ways so I headed that direction. The surf was small but really feisty. All
shapes and sizes of boards were out there – most with lots of duct tape
patchwork. I spotted a rental shack and ran over to check out the prices. “$25
per hour” said the very tanned and freckled Uruguayan boy. “Whaaaat?? I could <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">buy</i> a board in 4 hours for that price!”
I told him. He said he would give me a deal: $30 for 2 hours. Just then a
bearded man with a bright blue rash guard exited the ocean with a 10’ Walden. A
lady posed for a photo with him. “That’s Juan, Uruguayan longboard champion”
the boy told me. Of course I had to get a photograph too! He’s a celebrity!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Back at the hostel that evening I met the girls in my room
who had only woken up a few hours ago. It had been a long night of partying –
you could tell by the smudged makeup still on their faces. 5 of them are
Brazilian! In fact, everyone here at the hostel is, with the exception of maybe
2 or 3 people. And I am totally fine with that. Brazilians are the best ever!!!
Bursting with life and passion for everything, and super friendly. Most of them
speak English pretty well. There is a group of 5 here at the hostel that are
particularly awesome. They met at a fraternity when they were in college in Sao
Paulo, and are now traveling together over the holidays. Smart, good-looking, really
nice, and very talented at pool. One of them – Diego – lives in the Ipanema
beach town of Rio and might be able to host me for couch surfing while I’m
there! How perfect is that?! The area he lives in is like the Union Square of
Rio. They are teaching me new words in Portuguese. If you want to say someone
is “the man”, you say “Papai da ---” and insert whatever it is they’re the man
at. “Papai da sinuca!” means you are the man at pool! Another word, “crackudo!”,
refers to something that’s so good it’s like crack. But they told me only to
use this word with people I know, because it can also mean someone is a crazy
crackhead and a stranger might be insulted by it. There were a few Papai da
crackudo’s in the hostel. A couple of middle aged men who were pounding cervezas,
singing at the top of their lungs, and dancing all over the place.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I desperately needed money, so I started walking along the
main strip Ave Galero, looking for an ATM that wasn’t (a.) broken, or (b.) out
of money. I saw a group of people huddled around an ATM and overheard them
speaking English, so I decided to try that one. Someone in the group turned
around and looked at me kind of funny. “I feel like I know you from somewhere”
he said. But he didn’t look even vaguely familiar to me. Then another guy
walked in from off the sidewalk to join the group, and he said the same thing –
“I know you from somewhere!!” We all stood there staring at each other for a
second, then we realized how we knew each other… we had gone to the same
college AND worked at a summer camp together!!! That is a CRAZY small world
right there. I could not even believe it. Julio Medina and Mark Mendizabel… of
course I remembered them! Just needed to jog my memory a bit. We all went to a
cute little organic juice bar and ordered fresh blended jugos and veggie
sandwiches. So excited to have found some long lost friends… and in the far
away land of Uruguay, of all places! Dad, this is another good sign for you
that I will be ok <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-6501747311388053002014-12-30T18:45:00.000-08:002015-02-03T04:42:32.714-08:00Day #4. Buenos Aires.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I think I had a mini stroke today. </span>Woke up pretty early. Around 10. I really need to get an alarm clock – can’t figure out how to
get my phone onto Argentina time so I can’t use the alarm right now. Decided to
try my luck at the Brazil Consulate, despite the fact that I don’t actually
have an appointment until January 9.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was horrendously hot. The one thing that saved me was the
occasional water shower from above as people watered their plants. This happens
all the time. In fact, it’s hard to walk anywhere without getting dripped on at
least once. I’ve been noticing that pretty much everyone has tattoos. I was
surprised at how many women have them. Usually it’s just a small doodle on the
back of their neck or shoulder blade… a lot of them squiggly and uneven, like
an amateur did it at home with a wood burner. Everyone smokes too. And you can
smoke anywhere, even inside. Crazy!<o:p></o:p></div>
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I read in a blog that it was located alongside the very wide
Ave 9 de Julio highway that runs all down the center of the city. So I figured
I’d just keep walking down it until I saw a Brazil flag. After getting lost for
a bit and going to the “other” Consulate (the one for locals I think), I
finally found the right building. I walked in and saw several young friendly
looking attendants at the windows. Awesome!! Maybe they will be more lenient
with the rules, I thought. The security guard pointed me over to line 5 which
had no one in it. That was kind of weird to me because all the other lines were
half full.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An old, slumped over lady with a fresh perm shuffled up to the window. No smile, no hello, no nothing. I showed her my
documents. “Appointment?” She growled. “No senora, por favor…” she cut me off
with a tirade of Spanish, flinging my passport back at me underneath the
window. I think she was saying something about Americans just thinking they can
walk in without an appointment, as she jabbed her gnarled index finger at the
“United States” lettering on my passport. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Ok, I’ll admit it. I shed a tear or two after I exited the building. It was just really
disappointing to me as it throws off my Brazil itinerary a lot. But,
there’s nothing I can do about it so, I am trying to follow my own advice:
don’t stress over things that are out of your control. So I went for a walk to
clear my head. Drank an ice-cold pompelo soda – incredibly refreshing! My new favorite! And only 30 cents too.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Took a cab over to Puerto Madero so I could book a ferry to
Uruguay that evening. Normally it only costs $50, but since it was high season
and all they had left was 1<sup>st</sup> class, I had to pay $100. The ferry
was to depart the harbor at midnight. Whew…. Gonna be a loooooong day. I did a
little self-guided walking tour around the port. It reminded me a lot of San
Francisco’s embarcadero, except without all the smelly crabs everywhere.
It was more elegant. There were 2 pirate ships to admire, and a white walking
bridge with what looked like a giant Carnival Cruise fin sticking out of it. The
sun was beating down on me, so I got a cab back to the hostel. It’s practically
impossible to hail a cab within a mile of the port, because they are always
full of passengers going to and from.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I was really craving something fresh to eat. Maybe an ensalada! Tomatoes, cucumber,
and sweet onion from the market seemed perfect. A can of tuna and some cheap
“mayonesa” went into the basket as well. A lot of Spanish words sound better
then in English, and mayonesa is one of them. I hate the word mayonnaise. When
I got back to the hostel, this curious little wiry guy from Chile was cooking up a dinner of rice and squash. He was the epitome of hippie,
with some baggy linen pantalones, a wiry wispy beard, long hair, and a piece of
jade hanging round his neck by some twine. I told him he was very healthy. He said he is vegan and “holistic”, whatever that meant. I explained to him that my mom is also “holistic”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>- she doesn’t believe in hospitals or antibiotics. His eyes bugged out. “Ooooohhhh! No ant-ee-beeyotics!!!!!” He exclaimed. I guess he’s really passionate about that. I told him she is into herbals. He nodded his head knowingly and smiled. "Aahhh, herbals, siiii." He probably thinks my mom runs a dispensary.</div>
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The tomato/cucumber/onion salad was amazing. The tuna…. Not
so much. It was like tuna soup. The more
I strained it, the more tuna shards went down the drain. So I had to eat it
like that. I tried to give the Chilean boy half my onion to put in his rice and squash stew, but he
backed away with wide eyes. “No!! No ant-ee-beeyotics!!!” It’s just an onion, I assured him and stretched my hand out further. But he continued to insist it was
antibiotics. Haha, what a character! I had a few hours to kill, so I booked a
few flights and planned a quick jaunt down to Patagonia for 6 days while I wait
for my Visa appointment. Feeling better about it now. Everything will work out <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-69091366479908316902014-12-29T12:57:00.001-08:002015-02-03T04:42:02.764-08:00Day #3. Buenos Aires.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">7 am. </span>That’s what time I went to bed today. I didn’t really
believe the other hostel peeps when they said that Argentinians in Buenos Aires
stay up until the wee hours of the morning. But they do. They definitely do.
They have the stamina of Sea Biscuit. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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After that delicious curry dinner we headed out to the
Palermo district, an area known for it’s awesome all-nighter parties. The
ladies here have beautiful style. Most of them wear these short little
sundresses that are so cute and accentuate their svelt but curvy bodies. At
night when they go out to party most of them change into tight, high-waisted shorts and crop tops.
The only thing that I detest are the shoes. Everyone wears platforms. It’s like
mini Elton Johns running around everywhere in these little ugly hooves. Absolutely hideous. They
come in every color too. I even saw a girl wearing a bright blue shirt with
matching bright blue suede platforms!! Where do you even get those?? There is
a pretty big goth sub-culture here too. I saw a guy with 2 girls on each arm,
everyone clad from head to toe in black. He even had fangs. They started
talking to the British girl in our group, and commented on how awesome her
accent was. “We love your accent!” they exclaimed in broken English. “So much
better then US accent.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
We hung out at a beautiful outdoor restaurant in Palermo and
met some locals who invited us out with them and their friends. It was 2:30 am
and the streets were packed with young people heading to their favorite club.
If you get there before 2, I was told it would be dead. I honestly didn’t think
I was gonna make it much longer… bed was calling my name. But then we all
started dancing, and I suddenly forgot how tired I was. The locals were really
nice and were pouring their favorite drink – champagne and Red Bull. It really
seemed like only a few hours passed, and when we walked outside, it was
daylight. DAYLIGHT. What???!!!!! Oh nooooo! I didn’t mean to stay up all night!
But it was worth it. At least that once. But tonight I want to see some live music or watch some traditional dancing. And go to bed at a decent hour. Need to get up
early so I can go to the Brazilian consulate tomorrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
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“Slept in” until 2:30 in the afternoon. So did Tom. He went
out swing dancing last night and came in after I did. How do these people keep
this schedule every day??! I’m already worn out. Made myself some oatmeal and
headed to the market. Thought maybe I would spend 30 min there, but 30 min turned
into 3 hours. It was phenomenal. Yesterday when I arrived, it seemed the city
was kind of dead. Well that’s because they were all inside sleeping getting
ready for their big party night. But on a Sunday afternoon, everyone is out
dressed in their Sunday best! The street was lined for a mile with colorful
displays. There were tons of leathergoods (Argentina is known for its cows),
sparkling handmade glass and jewelry, and even empanada coin purses. I picked
up a few souvenirs and reveled in the balmy afternoon sunshine. It was hot,
but not too hot. Every couple blocks or so there would be a pop-up sausage or
steak sandwich grill going. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the
stands serve their goods with chimichurri sauce and “salad”, which is a fresh
salsa made of onions, peppers, tomatoes, and Italian dressing. The smells….
Ahhh the smells! Made my mouth water. And of course, live music. So much
music!! I was in heaven! There was an energetic guitar duo of 2 young boys and
a cute old man rocking out some “Pomp and Circumstance” on the accordion. But my
favorite was this tall, very dark bald man who sang while playing complex salsa
rifts on his bass. I’ve never seen anyone play bass like that AND sing at the
same time. I thought it was impossible - what a talent! Everyone was dancing. I love how strangers that are
standing next to each other will turn, smile, and without hesitation begin to
dance. The joy on their faces is infectious! Well, mostly joy. Except for one
rather large elderly lady seemed very upset at one of the musical selections.
She waddled up to the stage and started yelling at him, waving her finger
around in the air, before waddling back to her seat completely out of breath.
Had no idea what that was about, but the tall dark man didn’t miss a beat. He
just laughed and played even louder. Music is so powerful. It brings people
together in a really special way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Met up with some new friends at the hostel after that and we
wandered around the city, taking it all in. We ran into some ladies selling
homemade tarts – strawberry and lemon merengue. Elina from Boliva and I shared
a slice of the fresa (strawberry) and it was divine! The crust was buttery and
crumbly… so light. The middle layer was a delicate airy custard. And on top
were the sweetest fresh berries smothered in jello. By now I had run out of
time for the bus tour. We’ll save it for another day.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That evening I finally tried the famous Argentinian steak.
Everyone who travelled through this country raved about the beef here. I’m not
a big meat eater, but I was looking forward to seeing what all this hype was
about. There are a lot of steak restaurants to choose from. They’re everywhere,
and very popular. They hand you a menu that basically lists 15 different
variations of beef along with a tantalizing selection of sides. I ordered the
smallest steak they had, and we all shared this dreamy fresh creamed spinach,
fried potato slices, very cheesy mashed potatoes, and halved tomatoes with
balsamico. Of course, the steaks were served with 3 different sauces: green chimichurri,
red chimichurri, and that “salad” I was talking about earlier. We started the
meal with white beans and garlic oil, soaking up every last drop with warm
crusty bread. The meat arrived on sizzling platters. My “small” steak was
actually pretty huge. Everyone got really excited. All conversation ceased and
for about a minute, the only sound was the clashing of forks and knives. I took
my first bite and it was…….out. of. this. world. So tender it melted in your
mouth. Succulent. Bold, rich, and grilled to perfection. I was very impressed.
Despite this, I still couldn’t finish it all – think I ate too many sides. Stephen
from Denmark gladly helped himself to the rest. Here is the craziest part of
the dinner: all of those sides, steaks, and 2 bottles of really amazing Malbec…
for only $15/person!!! No wonder some of the guys said they had eaten there
every night for the past 5 days.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My luck was to continue. Kathleen invited me out to watch
some tango that evening. She had a lesson around 8 and said all the locals
start trickling in the later it gets. She, however, was only staying until 2
am. By the time we finished dinner it was already midnight. I invited everyone
but, can you believe they just want to sit around every evening in the
hostel??? No way. You couldn’t pay me to sit around in the hostel. I’ve been
noticing that people are very addicted to their electronics too. When I left
for the market a guy was on his ipad, and when I got back 3 hrs later he was
still there! I don’t really get it. Time is so precious to me when I’m
traveling. And it’s so much more fun to actually talk to people then surf
social media.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anyway, sorry for little rant there. Back to tango. So I
took a cab over, paid only $6 to get in, and found Kathleen at a corner table.
She looked great. Little grey jeans, sexy black top, and these cute “training”
healed boots. When you’re learning, it’s better not to wear high heals. Makes
sense. She introduced me to her dancing partner, Carlos. I loved the atmosphere
in the Tango room. It was dimly lit with red low lights down the side, a big
wooden dance floor in the center, and gaudy table coverings. The locals were
trickling in, and they looked stunning. Especially the woman. Argentinian girls
really are extraordinarily beautiful. The men…. eh ;) Kathleen said the divorce
rate in Argentina is high – around 50%. It’s because the guys are notorious
lady’s men, she lamented. It’s all that eye candy!! It’s everywhere!<o:p></o:p></div>
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You should have seen the outfits. There were all different
styles – some wore long flowing pants, some tight short tube dresses, and
others more traditional long flowing skirts with dramatic angled hems and open
backs. But the one thing every single girl had on in common was a pair of
sparkly, peep toed high heels. Did I mention how stunning they were?? I sat
there with my mouth gaping open, taking it all in. Kathleen explained the dance
to me. You find a partner, and you share 4 dances together. The first 2 are
slow whereas the next 2 are much faster. The very last one, you just let it all out
and get crazy. If a couple dances more then 4 (a “set”) then they are
“together” and the other guys should leave the girl alone. I was totally
content with my verbal lesson and watching the talented dancers glide across
the floor. But Pedro wouldn’t have it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Pedro was the short, 70-something-year-old gentlemen who
took it upon himself to be my private tango instructor for the evening. He had
a wrinkled, weathered face that was still so handsome and little black square
glasses. He was a-DORABLE. As he pulled on my hand and crooned Spanish at me, I
couldn’t say no. He barely came up to my chest, but Pedro was masterful at the
dance. I felt like I had 2 left feet. Almost lost my balance a couple times
too. Tango requires a lot of core strength, because most of the time you are on the tippy toes of one foot. It’s a very different kind of dance. The best
ladies in the room often had their eyes closed, because they’re really feeling
the music and reacting to their partners subtle movements. Pedro didn’t mind my
clumsy gringa-ness at all. There were a few times when I nailed it, and when I
did, he would let out a “yesssssssss! eso!” After each dance, Pedro would kiss
the top of my chest (the only part he could reach) and ask me for “un mas!”
What a sweetheart. My very first tango!! I told Pedro I needed agua and
collapsed back in my chair at the corner table. Carlos advised me to take smaller
steps and keep my shoulders squared. “Just relax!” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was 3 am and way past Kathleen’s bedtime. We were about
to leave when, suddenly, a very showy couple appeared and there was buzz in the
tango house that there would be a special show. Apparently, they do shows for a
living and have quite the reputation in the tango community. Of course we had
to stay!!! They were exquisite. I’ve never seen anything like it. When he would
lift her in the air and spin, the room would erupt. They truly had mastered the
art of tango.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What an incredible, beautiful night. I think I am in love
with tango.</div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-73082399080943153902014-12-29T04:37:00.004-08:002015-02-03T04:42:22.793-08:00Day #2. Buenos Aires.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: large;">I am alive!!!</span> My inbox is already being flooded with e-mails
and messages from concerned people. My google account thought I was a hacker trying to break in, and it took forever to get that straightened out. So it's taken a few days to get this published.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The flight to Buenos Aires was amazing. I planned some more
of my Brazil trip, ate delicious raviolis, watched a movie about Frankie Valli
(I freaking love his music btw, Sheeeeeeeeery bay-yay-bee), and finally…
took my ambien/wine and slept for SEVEN HOURS. When I woke up, we were
beginning the descent. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The taxi to my hostel cost about the same as a ride to SFO -
$45. It was about a 20 min ride. I asked the driver for “musica por favor!” and
he turned on some latin pop. We tried to have a conversation but my Spanish is
so terrible. I think he said something about having 2 wives..<o:p></o:p></div>
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The hostel is great. Clean, quiet, in a good area - San
Telmo. My roommates are really cool! Kathleen is from Ireland, probably in her
late 30’s early 40’s. Says her company shut down in Ireland so she decided to
travel for the past 2 years. She loves Buenos Aires and has been here for 2
months, basically just living here like a local would. Weekly tango lessons are
her favorite. I really admire her!! A woman of her age, traveling alone, not
really freaking out about the job thing… that’s just rare to see. She inspires
me.<o:p></o:p></div>
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My other roommate is Tom from Beijing. Again, he’s kind of a
rare breed. A middle aged Chinese man who works in finance back home. I’ve not
really encountered many Chinese people so far in my travels, especially not at
hostels. They’re usually on the big tour buses and stick together. He’s 4 weeks
into a 6 week stint here... a short trip for him. His favorite was when he
lived in Buenos Aires for a year. It was supposed to be 5 years, but learning
the language was too hard and he went back home early. “What does your family
think about you traveling?” I asked. “They think I’m crazy” he said.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I rode a bus over to an area known for it’s great money
exchange rates. But I was confused about what I should do. All the locals kept
coming up to me yelling “Cambio?!” and they would whip out these calculators
trying to show me what they would give me in pesos for my US dollars. Well
being the paranoid American that I am, I chose to exchange at a hostel. And
those bisnatches only gave me 9 pesos for 1 dollar. The locals would have given
me 13!!!!! Dangit. At any rate, I still felt really rich with 2700 pesos in my
pocket.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Just kind of explored the hood a little bit, saw a beautiful
cathedral and what looked like the town center with water fountains and
statutes. Was soooo exhausted so took the metro back to my hostel to relax and
get my bearings. That’s always the hardest thing about the 1<sup>st</sup> day
of travel. Just learning the public transportation is a challenge. But they
have a really great metro system here and tons of taxis, so I should be golden!<o:p></o:p></div>
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It was 5 pm and I was feeling hungry, where should I go to
eat around here?! I asked my roommates. Oh no, it’s way too early they said.
Restaurants close around 4 pm and don't re-open until 7-9 ‘ish. This is why you always pack stuff
like tuna, peanut butter, and granola bars. So then they asked me what I was
doing tonight, and I said I have no idea. Maybe go to a show until 10 pm or
something? And they were like, nooooo the clubs don’t even open until 10 and go
all night!!! So, I guess I better take a nap then <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;"><span style="mso-char-type: symbol; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">J</span></span><o:p></o:p></div>
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The evening started with Indian food around 9:30 pm. Some of
the best Indian cuisine I’ve ever had. “Mash Curry House.” A group of us from
the hostel went over. Damien and Denise from Ireland were there. They’ve been
working in Australia for 8 years now. Over there, ER’s are known as Casualties.
Pretty dramatic, don’t you think?? They even have a show called “Casualty.” But
it isn’t as good as “ER”, they said. And it doesn’t have George Clooney.
Something I am learning about Argentina is, service is very slow here. So if
you are in a hurry, don’t eat out anywhere. During the hour-long wait for
dinner, I enjoyed my first taste of Mendoza region Malbec. Amazing! I overheard
Kathleen talking about her cousins. “You have 86??!” I asked incredulously. “Oh
no!! only 81.” Wow, I only have 4. The food was definitely worth the wait.
Mounds of steaming, fluffy basmati rice. Raisin specked naan with sweet
chutneys. And finally, the curries. Spicy, tangy, loaded with fresh veggies.
Everyone I was with raved about it. Too much meat lately, they said. <o:p></o:p></div>
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It is now past midnight and we are getting ready to go out.
I am definitely not used to this Argentinian timing. But I did take a 2 hour nap so…… we’ll see how it goes!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-18960995055236563512014-12-26T18:48:00.000-08:002014-12-26T19:11:38.282-08:00Day #1. The Airport.<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">The problem with a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants
traveling style</span> is that important details are sometimes missed. For instance,
Brazil requires a tourist Visa that takes about 2 weeks to get in the states
and several days to expedite in South America. So yea… that’s what I’ll be
doing tomorrow. Oh! And Argentina charges a $160 reciprocity fee, which is
another thing you typically do in advance so you can print the paper with the bar code. Again, I was caught off-guard and had to
trek over to the Miami Airport hotel to do that last minute courtesy of their
front desk staff ($20 cash fee for this service – ain’t their first rodeo!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">But hey! I’m here, my backpack made the connection, and I
still have 3 more hours until my flight. There were some celebrities on the
plane earlier. The entire Connecticut Warriors college basketball team. I sat
next to a gangly freshmen who said his position was “left bench.” Are you
serious?? I asked, and he said he was kind of joking but not really as he
looked sheepishly at the coach nearby. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Well, umm, at least you get to learn a lot!”
I sputtered, trying to make the air less awkward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Spread my Rio map out and did some quick reading through
Lonely Planet Brazil. Marked a few things that I really want to check out. Told
the freshmen left bench player that he should treat himself to a nice long
backpacking trip when college is over. Gave him a few words of sagely advice, hehe poor guy. I am definitely not a travel expert, but here are a few
things I’ve learned over the years.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><u>Heather’s List of Travel Tips:</u></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Travel books are a garnish, not the main
course. They’re great for maps, tourist attraction highlights, and the nitty
gritty stuff like transportation and exchange rates. But if you want to eat the best
food in town or chill at the coolest hangout spots, ask the locals. They will never (rarely) steer you wrong. Talk to other travelers about their favorite adventures. You
will discover some hidden treasures.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Itinerary shminerary. I like to think of
itineraries as extremely rough drafts. As in, have a list of the places you
absolutely MUST hit up and explore, but don’t plan too far ahead. If you have
lots of expectations, when those things don’t work out it leaves you
disappointed and frustrated. Whereas, if you are more flexible, those little “surprises”
can actually be awesome. Stephanie Gilmore, 6x world champ surfer, said it right. “It’s not the person
who surfs the wave</span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> perfectly </i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">who
wins, it’s the one who has the most </span><i style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><u>fun</u></i><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">!”
She said something like that.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Pack light. I never do this. But you should. It
will make life easier.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bring a backpack inside a backpack. So you can
have more room to bring stuff home!!</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> (You’re welcome Melissa!) Plus some of the souvenirs will be delicate and
you’ll want to carry them on. I know this doesn’t really go along with what I just said previously. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Try not to bring anything you are super attached
to. In fact, pack a couple neat things you can use on the trip and then give
away before you leave – like a rad hat. The locals will be stoked! Before you
put an item in your bag, ask yourself, “If this gets lost or stolen, will it
shatter my heart??” And if you still want to bring it, at least put it in your
carry on. I put my spectacular new Mikoh bikini (designed by Kelly Slater’s
girlfriend ;) in my carry on because I would be GUTTED if it got lost!!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bring a big bag full of instant oatmeal packets.
Easy, filling, fast breakfast that can be garnished with fancy things to make
it less monotonous. Saves you lots of $$$ by making meals for yourself. My
favorite thing though, is that by the end of your trip your bag is 5# lighter
and you have a hole to now fill with more STUFF to take home!!</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Buy a super thin cheapy Campmor rainshell that
is 1 size too big. This gives you enough room to wear a daypack under it. While the other tourists are inside buying umbrellas and drinking hot toddies, you are charging fearlessly on through the storm... sightseeing, scootering, hiking... and your gear stays toasty dry.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Sedate yourself. For loooooong flights, my
favorite recipe is: 1 Ambien + 1 glass red wine = drooling on arm/pillow/neighbors’
shoulder for 6-8 hrs. Warning: when you’re starting to feel sleepy, do close
your eyes and refrain from engaging the neighbor in conversation. You won’t
remember any of it, but trust me, they will for years to come :D</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Write. Keep a small bound notebook with you to
jot things down in as you go. If you keep writing contact info and other
stuff on a million different little receipts and papers, half of them will disappear. I lost Allistair's e-mail (my favorite NZ Magic Bus driver) because of this and that was just a shame :/</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Bring a pillow. That is my most exorbitantly
space-containing luxury. But I sleep so much better with it!!! Especially if
you’re hostelling it where the pillows can be suspect. And it makes those 9+
hour international flights so much more bearable.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Throw 2 more pairs of underwear in the bag. Just
do it. You can scrape by wearing shirts multiple times…. But NOT underwear. And
I refuse to turn it inside out like some people do!! One-time use only.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Break the ice. Talk to people. Smile. Ask
someone a question they’ve NEVER been asked before. Push yourself. Get out of
your shell and comfort zone. Have an open mind. Don’t judge things that are
different. Get to know people’s stories. These are some of the richest
experiences you will ever have in your life.</span><span style="font-family: Times, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> </span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">That’s all I have for now! Bon voyage!</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Plan: arrive in BA around 11 am tomorrow. Unload at the hostel and go to the Brazilian Consulate to apply for a Visa.</span></div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-24101539063033054772014-12-22T21:45:00.001-08:002014-12-22T21:46:51.916-08:00Starting a new blog ya'll.Hi everyone!!! It's that time of year again! I'm embarking on another solo trip and will attempt to document my explorations through blogging! Hope you don't mind if I use the same one as last time. It's already set up, convenient, and I don't have to memorize another password. I know you all are groaning... like ohhh nooo not another one of Heather's long-winded accounts!! But my parents begged me to do it. Mostly because they know that's the only way they'll have a ballpark estimate of where I am :)<br />
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A little background info to get started. Whew! I'm feeling a little rusty here... haven't written anything other then research papers and study guides in a while. For those of you who don't know, I just devoted 2 1/2 years of my life to pure torture, AKA nurse anesthesia school. Ok, I exaggerate a little ;) But let's just say, I am sooooo glad that's over and I am ready to get back on the road again!<br />
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So to celebrate, I planned a little 5 week trip to South America. And by planning, of course I mean only the first few nights are booked and I have absolutely no clue what's happening after that.<br />
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It will all begin the day after Christmas in Buenos Aires. NYE will be spent basking in the sunshine of a Uruguay beach village. And from there, most of my time will be spent tearing up as much of the Brazilian coastline as I can squeeze in.<br />
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T minus FOUR DAYS!!!!! The night before I'm gonna be awake all night so excited... like back when Melly and I were little and we could never sleep the night before our road trip to Ohio to see Grandma. And mom would make us a bed in the back of the Ford Taurus wagon so we could rest cuz we had to get up at like 3 am. Wasn't that kind of illegal mom?? Anyways, I digress.<br />
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To do list:<br />
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-iodine tabs<br />
-mace (do they let you check that in at the AP??) and/or brass knuckles<br />
-an umbrella that doesn't collapse in 2 mph wind<br />
-call Verizon and see if I have face time... is this an Apple thing only?<br />
-hit up the ATM<br />
-make wedge salad for Christmas dinner<br />
-call mom & dadHeather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-83546854066294067412011-04-12T22:34:00.000-07:002015-01-09T07:10:25.323-08:00Days #40 & 41. Sydney.<div style="font: 13.0px Arial; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
Turns out there was more than one Irish boy in the house that night. There were two. And thanks to their little snoring duet, I slept fitfully all through the night. If that wasn't enough, the one below me was having a ibt of a flatulence issue. The sounds I heard in the wee hours of the morning… not to mention the <i>smells</i>… well, that was just too much even for me.</div>
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Does it surprise you that I didn't sleep in that morning??? I got on that bus to Bondi as soon as I possibly could. Met Sarah at the bus stop and headed to the beach. What a gorgeous sunny morning! We laid out for about an hour, talking about our favorite Tennessee hang-out spots and laughing over ridiculous stories from back home. Watched people surfing on the beach break. They were a'ight. But those Aussies got nothin' on my West Coast boys!!! ;) OB REPRESENT! I didn't have a wetsuit or a board… of course if I did I would have gone out and shredded it up. J/K. Well, the beautiful weather suddenly turned into overcast nasty cold weather. Sarah and I decided to check out the shopping. Found this killer 2nd-hand store and ended up buying two fantastic tops for $20. Everything in the store was 50% off. Almost bought a pair of black peep-toe stilettos, but I figured I already had way too many shoes at home as it was. Got some souvenirs, you know, like those cutesy shirts that say "Bondi 1967" or whatever. And a purple hoody. Checked out Sarah's apartment which was killer. Right in the heart of town. Then we got hungry so what else were we gonna eat but wedges?!?! Brown bagged some cider and had a picnic at the park. Us, wedges, and seagulls. Freaking annoying birds. The weather that day was nuts. As we were scraping the last smear of sweet chili sauce with the last wedge, the sun came back out again! We headed back down to the beach to continue our sunning and hopefully catch a glimpse of "Bondi Rescue". </div>
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I had always heard people talking about that show, usually followed by snickers and comments like, "Yea, it's soooo lame." Lame or not, I had my heart set on seeing them. As our afternoon came to a close and we were getting up to leave, Bondi Rescue appeared out of nowhere in their little doon-buggy cars and starting filming their heroic rescue of a stranded seal! OMG!! I had to run over there with my camera as fast as my legs would take me and start snapping pics! They were absolutely hilarious to watch. I was laughing so hard I could barely hold the camera steady. After the seal was happily rescued, the Bondi Rescue crew hopped back into their ridiculous looking buggies and started driving back toward the lifeguard tower. I was still standing there laughing and shaking my head like, "Are these guys for real??? This is actually a show that people… ummm… <i>watch?</i>" Then one of the buggies whipped around in a 360 and came driving back toward me. Two very (spray)tanned, (bleach)white toothed guards hung their heads out and grinned. "Wanna get a picture with us?" they asked. Hecks YEA!!! Then I could show off to my friends my pic with Aussie celebs :) I got my photo, then a flock of Asian woman landed on them and I took ones for all the ladies. Then the guards invited me to come up and get a tour of the lifeguard tower. Long story short, I ended up chilling in the tower with the Bondi Rescue staff, talking, beach-watching, and drinking grape power-ade. These guys were freaking hilarious. I really don't know how anyone ever gets rescued around there, they absolutely do NOT pay attention. One was on Facebook, another was scarfing food down, and yet another was checking out his reflection and making sure his spray tan looked good. The only time binoculars were used was for important moments like this one: "Brazilians on the beach unrobing! Brazilians on the beach unrobing!" Then four pairs of binoculars would instantly appear and start scanning like mad for the damsels in distress. One guy insisted that he saw Shaun White out surfing. So a crew of guards charged down to the beach to get his autograph. It wasn't Shaun White. Just someone unfortunate enough to look like him. After a while, I said goodbye to the boys, thanked them for the tour, and headed back to the Blue Parrot.</div>
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I was actually kind of exhausted believe it or not, so I climbed up into my bunk bed and started surfing the web. It was peaceful and quiet for once... for about 15 minutes. My blissful solitude was broken by those two Irish boys bursting through the door. "You wanna go out and play drinking games with us?!" they asked excitedly. "Ohhh, ummmm….. you know, I think I'm good. But thanks." I replied. The next thing I knew I was practically being fumigated out of my own freaking room! They were standing there spraying deodorant all over themselves!!! In between coughing fits, I managed to sputter "Why are you spraying that on your entire body???" They looked up with these dumb looks on their faces. "Where is it supposed to go?" "On your pitts!" I exclaimed. "Oh, but we sweat everywhere" they said. DEEEE-SGUSTING!!! Unfortunately, their drinking games commenced on the patio right below the dorm room window which we all shared. So then I had to listen to those shenanigans.</div>
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Woke up at 5 am and could't go back to sleep. Decided to get an early start on my 2nd tour of Sydney harbor. Stopped by a bakery and bought a fresh spinach, feta, and tomato quiche that was to die for. Walked the 45 minutes to the Opera House and thoroughly enjoyed seeing other parts of the city. When I got to the Opera House, there was barely anyone there. I had the entire place to myself. Great photo opp :) Took way too many pictures as usual. Just in time too! A bus load of tourists came charging toward me as I made my final descent down those snow white stairs.</div>
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Then I went and sat out in front of the Museum of Modern Art waiting for it to open. I had my heart set on seeing the Annie Lebovitz exhibit. While waiting I met a sweet old lady who was meeting up with her "walking group." Every week they congregate with their New Balance laced up and fanny packs (yes, I said fanny packs) in tow, and they walk around the city together. So adorable! I love it! Anyways, the exhibit finally opened and I was definitely not disappointed. Annie is famous for her portraits of famous people. There are the well known ones. Like Brad Pitt wearing leopard skin pants in Vegas. Demi Moore, naked, pregnant. Nicole Kidman in a sweeping white dress. There are the not so well known ones. Bon Jovi in a tanning bed - pretty funny. Jack Nicholson donning a pink bathrobe hitting golfballs. And then there are the personal portraits. Ones of her mother and father who were so in love their entire marriage, and it really showed in the photos. Tons of pictures of Annie's mother, dancing or singing in her swimsuit. She seemed to love running around half naked! And she was flexible too. There are the pictures of Annie's three children. Her friend (partner) Susan. There were even some really sad ones. Susan dying of cancer. The portrait of Susan sitting in a bathtub with her half mastectomy painfully visible. Her father dying, crumpled on the couch, oxygen tubing coiled around him and his wife lying next to him with her feet propped up on his lap. Bloody footprints of murdered Tootsie children on a Rwanda schoolroom wall. The saddest one of them all… a boy was riding his bike in front of Annie's car in Sarajevo where she was doing a photo documentary on the war there. A mortar hit the boy and killed him instantly. Annie's photo shows his bike, lying on it's side next to smears of blood on the pavement. That one did it for me. I couldn't help but cry a little.</div>
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Annie portrayed what she liked to call "Life Through a Lens." In all it's craziness, sadness, elations, extreme pain, triumphs, simple joys. Ultimately, just life. I walked away from that exhibit inspired. Then I realized I was gonna be late catching my shuttle to the Sydney Airport, so I really got inspired and hustled back to the Blue Parrot.</div>
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What an amazing trip. 'Nuff said. :)</div>
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Sydney #2 - $38 room, $4 metro ticket, $4 bus ticket, $8 fruit and yogurt, $100 Bondi Beach souvenirs (one is for YOU Melly! :), $15 cider & wedges, $10 Greek salad & garlic naan dinner</div>
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Sydney #3 - $10 late check-out fee, $4 quiche, $2.50 metro, $15 Annie Libovitz ticket, $2 water, $6 fruit salad & muesli, $14 shuttle to AP, $12 Greek food</div>
Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-45479788283837071952011-03-14T05:19:00.000-07:002011-03-14T05:30:13.898-07:00Days #37, 38, & 39. Fiji/Sydney.<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">3 am. Loud knocking on the door and a woman's urgent voice. She told us to get up the nearest hill. A huge earthquake had just rocked Japan's coast and tsunami warnings had been issued. I went from groggy to wide awake faster than you could blink an eye. Couldn't believe it. Did I really just hear that word? Tsunami??? Since I was a little girl this has been my recurrent nightmare. I am petrified at the thought of it. More than any other natural disaster that exists. And that night, on the little island of Waya, I was terrified. Despite my fear, I packed my Camelback with the "essentials": laptop, camera, chargers, passport, wallet, and an extra set of warm clothes. What did I think I would do with a computer if a tsunami hit? Don't even ask me. My roomies and I climbed up the dark path to the top of the hill. Everyone else from the resort was already up there spread out on tarps. I heard hushed voices whispering that we were surrounded by reef which would break a wave if it tried to cross. That was a very comforting thought. However, I looked around for a coconut tree just in case and then tried my luck at catching a little sleep. That was impossible due to the sleeping, elderly gentlemen next to me who breathed in my face. Also, one of his eyes was open and that was just creepy. So I opted to sit by the small campfire and shoot the breeze with Dominique, one of the resort managers. The other manager, a Scottish guy named Frasier, passed out chocolate bars to all those awake. We waited on that hilltop for 3 1/2 hours. The sun was getting ready to rise when we received word that the tsunami warning had been cleared. With relief I practically ran down the hill and back to bed.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Woke up a few hours later to catch breakfast. The morning was spotless. Bright, beautiful sunshine streamed from the sky and bathed Octopus Resort. A beautiful last day on the Yasawa Islands. Sadly the adorable Swedish couple and all my new UK friends left that afternoon. But there were others to replace them. A group of about 10 Mormon dental students. They were spending a few days vacationing on the resort before setting up clinics in more remote villages. DAD you are not going to believe this… one of the guys knew Dr. Ambler! Unbelievable, huh?! They were a unique bunch. Nerdy in the extreme, most under the age of 30, and every single one of them married with at least 1-3 kids. Or "two and a half" as Doug said. His wife was due in March. Yup, they were certainly unique. But also super cool. Some of the nicest, most down to earth people I'd run into. And they played volleyball! Sort of. We had many a match over the next 24 hours. Confusing, hilarious, energetic round after round of my favorite sport in the universe! Nerds colliding everywhere, spectacles flying, many a selfless sacrifice of the body for a dig in the sand… except most of the time contact wasn't actually made with the ball :)</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Dinner that night was a BBQ, and oooOOOhhhHHH was it GLORIOUS! There were grilled steaks, chicken wings, sausages, fish filets, and veggie kabobs. To accompany it was a table piled high with bowls of tangy 3-bean salad, fresh pineapple coleslaw, pasta salad, baked potatoes, and garlic bread. I went back for a second plate. Following dinner was a beach party complete with a coconut bar, games, and music. But I was so freaking exhausted (only got about 4 hours of sleep) I went straight to bed and passed out.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">The next afternoon I said goodbye to the Mormons and left Octopus Resort for the mainland. As if to wish me luck, Fiji gave a full rainbow on my way out :) After a wonderful 10 days of island hopping, I found myself once again at Bamboo Hostel. It was good to see everyone. "My friend!" the locals would exclaim while giving a big, sweaty hug. They offered me more kava but I happily declined.<br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Woke up way too early in the morning. It was 5:30 am. So I went out to pay a few bills online, do some writing, catch up with the gossip on FB, skype with my boy… all that jazz. Paid my car off finally too! I ate my free breakfast of passion fruit and toast while having a chat with the hostel owner, Richard. He brought out a plate of "eggplant jam" which you might think would taste horrible but was actually very delicious. Like raspberries! Richard and I were discussing the recent tsunami warnings. He said before the scare they hadn't had a "tsunami action plan", but now they do. I asked what the action plan was. Richard replied, "Get up to the top floor over there and get the party crankin'!" This was the old Kiwi's "Fiji time" type of outlook. He is so laid back it's ridiculous :)</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">When I went up to my room around 9 am to pack my stuff for the AP, I couldn't find my wallet anywhere! Thank GOD I had my passport in another backpack! But my cards, $200 Aussie dollars, driver's license, and Peter's e-mail address were all in that wallet. I emptied everything out, searched under the bed, under the couch pillows, in the closets and drawers. No wallet. I was devastated. In tears, I rushed over to the office, thinking that one of the roomies had stolen it before they left early that morning. Richard called the police to file a report and I was about to cancel my cards when… I picked up my laptop case to put my computer away and out fell the wallet! SUCH RELIEF!!! Do you know how scary it is to face 3 days in 2 different foreign countries with NO MONEY?!! I thought I was gonna have to sleep the next few nights in airports and ration out the 2 Luna Bars and 2 Raman noodles in my backpack. I felt really bad for causing such a panic for the staff. But Richard assured me that this has happened 4 times now, and every time the "stolen" item was found. Make that 5 times.<br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Once on the Sydney-bound plane, I finally relaxed. Amazingly, I had met this girl at the Smuggler's Cove Hostel pool that morning named Sarah. She was from Chattanooga, TN of all places!!! :D Small world. If that wasn't crazy enough, she was on the same flight to Sydney. I told her about my plans to visit Bondi Beach tomorrow. "No way!" she laughed, "That's where I live!!" We decided to definitely meet up tomorrow at the beach around 10 am, get some sun, hopefully catch a scene from <i>Bondi Rescue</i> (should be absolutely retarded, lol), eat some wedges, get a pedicure, and mayyyybe catch a show at the Opera House. Assuming there is actually a show going on.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Fast forward. I am once again at the Blue Parrot in Sydney, Australia. Decided to eat cheap tonight as tomorrow may be a bit expensive. Spicy lentil dahl soup out of a can. Oh stop gagging, I warmed it up first. It was quite tasty. As I finish this blog I am serenaded by the snores of the Irish boy below me. Upon entering the room 20 minutes ago, he warned me that he has asthma which has been acting up lately, and he also has a sinus infection. When I arrived at Blue Parrot earlier, I was told by Chris at the front desk that I had 2 choices of rooms: A. a 6-bed dorm with 4 boys in it (smaller room) or B. a 6-bed dorm with 4 boys in it (larger room). Wasn't totally stoked on either of them but I picked the lesser of 2 evils and went with the bigger room. HUGE MISTAKE. This guy will not stop snoring, slobbering, or coughing. It's 11 pm. Is it too late to ring Chris up and tell him I want to switch rooms STAT?!!!!!!</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; min-height: 14.0px;"><br />
</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Plan: Bondi Beach tomorrow</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;"><br />
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</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Fiji day #11 (Octopus Resort) - $22 room (moved to a 15-bed dorm), $35 food, $10 other, $5 internet </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Fiji day #12 (Bamboo Hostel) - $65 boat transport to mainland, $10 room, $10 internet, $4 dinner, $2 water</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">Fiji/Sydney day #13 (Bamboo Hostel/Blue Parrot Hostel) - $4 lunch, $3 taxi, $2 water, $10 taxi, $38 room</div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Helvetica; font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px;"><br />
</span></span></div>Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5971165968356811595.post-12427602674988476222011-03-13T00:14:00.000-08:002011-03-13T00:14:12.929-08:00Days #35 & 36. Fiji (Octopus).<div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">My first dinner at Octopus was lovely. I was so happy to see Hilly and Dave, a middle-aged couple from the UK I had met earlier in the week at Blue Lagoon. It's nice to travel alone because you meet ridiculous amounts of people that you probably wouldn't have even noticed had you been with a companion. But then again, sometimes it becomes exhausting to go through the motions with new people day after day. "Where are you from? How long have you been traveling? Where have you been? Where are you going?" Same 'ole. You have no idea how nice it is to actually be with the same people for a few days. Then you can talk about new things!!! Like good books, sports, family, and my favorite… food :) Hilly, Dave, and I shared a table and a bottle of Marlborough region (NZ) Sauvignon Blanc. Two very adorable Welsh girls and a Swiss couple also sat with us. They ate chicken cordon bleu and I had the most incredible stuffed eggplant. For dessert we were served a delicate custard with fresh fruits over a rum-infused crust. Divine. Following dinner was "Quiz night" where each table had to put their brains together, coming up with answers to the sometimes random questions. Categories included things like "Fiji Facts" and "Complete the Lyrics". Then each table had to come up with a "talent act" to perform for everyone else. Each act would be judged and given scores, and the highest scoring table would win $100 bar tab! There were some neat acts. Jonas and Sophie, a young Swedish couple who also happen to be gymnastics coaches, walked across the stage on their hands. They were the absolute cutest ever, with their matching platinum blond fringe and tanned, toned bodies. They should be on the cover of a magazine somewhere. They asked me to come down to the beach and take a picture of them doing handstands. They said this is tradition everywhere they travel. I told them to e-mail me when they're 70 and I will fly out to wherever they are to take the handstand picture. Jonas said "I hope so." How sweet was that?</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">Ok, so back to the talent show. Some people sang, some danced, one guy rapped the entire Fresh Prince of Bel-Air theme song while his friends beat boxed. I came up with the idea that we should do a "midgets" show. To be a midget, I put socks on my arms, sneakers on my hands, then shorts up my arms, and finally Hilly put her arms through the armholes of the oversized T-shirt I was wearing. Dave and the Swiss guy hung a sheet over Hilly so no one could see her, a table was pulled up to my "feet" so I could stand, and the Welsh girls stood on either side to help out in case I couldn't find something. After all, my "hands" couldn't exactly see anything (and that is what makes this act so insanely funny). I told the audience I was getting ready to go on a date. I did a few jumping jacks and pull-ups. Put deodorant on, brushed my teeth, and applied a little rouge and lipstick. Of course, I was super clumsy, looked retarded, squeezed toothpaste all over the place, and applied the lipstick to my chin. The audience laughed non-stop! Finally, Hilly's hands crammed potato chips in my mouth, put my shades on backward, and I proceeded to sing a tune. The Welsh girls danced. It was HA-larious!!! Hilly was brilliant. My face was a complete mess. We won the $100 :)</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">Slept beautifully that night. Breakfast at Octopus is served buffet style. All you can eat tropical fruits, fresh doughnuts or muffins, pancakes, omelettes, cereals, juices, toast, and muesli. It's insane!!! The only problem is I stuff myself to near bursting. The sky was clear. Finally, no rain! I played in the volleyball tourney against the local rugby team that afternoon. They were, as expected, like Olympians. Other than that, it was simply a relaxing chill-by-the-pool kind of day. A new group of tourists arrived and I found myself in the middle of a rather large, boisterous group of kids from UK. They knew Jonas and Sophie from another island. They were real clowns, those Brits. One of the girls got a massage and came back complaining it was the worst ever! "All she did was rub me" she said. They were half starved. During lunch, if anyone had any scraps leftover whatsoever on their plate, Sam, Joe, Johnny, and Totty would all be fighting over it. "Are you gonna eat that fish?" Then forks would start jabbing, shards of lettuce flying through the air like shrapnel, french fries disappearing within mili-seconds. Obviously, they had spent the past few days at the cheap "resorts".</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">My otherwise perfect day was marred by several things. First I was bitten by fire ants on my buttocks. Two bites. They stung like fire. I could barely concentrate on volleyball due to the constant urge to submerse my throbbing bum in the pool. Secondly, my leg was attacked by a walking stick type thingy looking bug. Thirdly, I had an allergic reaction at dinner.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">It was "Fiji Night". All the guest sat around the pool and watched the staff do their cultural dances and songs. They put on the best show I'd seen all week. Then we were served a Fijian-style buffet that had been cooked in the ground (like the Maori's "Hangi"). It was quite the feast. Each table received a whole chicken, pork, fish curry, eggplant in coconut cream, cassava, a tangy fish ceviche, salad, and what they called "spinach" but looked and tasted more like collard greens. Halfway through dinner, I felt like a fish bone was jabbing me somewhere in my throat. So I went to the bathroom and tried to find it, but no fish bone. Then my throat started to feel like it was swelling shut, and I really started to panic. I decided that, despite my ill appearance, I should go back out to the dining area cuz it was better to collapse there than in the bathroom. I asked if anyone at my table had a pen and explained how my throat felt. "I think there is a fishbone in there but i can't find it!" I told them. The Swiss guy said he also felt like there was something stuck in his throat. Then I knew it was most likely an allergic reaction. After about 15 minutes the tingling, swelling, sharp choking feeling went away. I felt better, so I helped myself to another serving of the "spinach". The sensation came back. Bingo. No more spinach for me! Found out later that a few other people had similar reactions to the stuff. What the heck was it?? I kept asking the locals, "Tell me the real name of that plant you called spinach" and they would look at me like I was an alien and say "Spinach". I got nowhere with them.</div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">After dinner, one of the UK girls named Emily and I grabbed a glass of Shiraz and sat out on the veranda. It was a gorgeous night. The moon was up in a crystal clear sky. The stars were so bright. Emily told me about her brother and his upcoming marriage to a Vietnamese girl. Emily was excited for the 10-course Chinese dinner they were going to have after the ceremony. She really likes her future sis-in-law. I started talking about my late grandmother. As I told Emily stories about my spunky, adorable little Gramma, I could picture her white curly head just barely poking above the front seat of her Oldsmobile. Was it the wine? Or the sentimental beautify of the night sky? I don't know. But for some reason I started crying and couldn't stop. I sure do miss my Grandma Nina. It just isn't the same without her. I miss our weekly dates. And helping her get ready for the day… shopping with her… talking to her. </div><div style="font: 12.0px Helvetica; line-height: 18.0px; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 10.0px 0.0px;">Budget: Fiji day #10 (Octopus Resort) - $30 room, $35 food, $10 snacks/pop, $7 vino, $5 internet</div>Heather Blakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07757467226983404943noreply@blogger.com1