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umichenginabroad · 10 months

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Week 4: Cooking, Ischia, & Beautiful Positano

Hi everyone! It was another great week on the Amalfi Coast!

I wanted to start off this blog by talking about my cooking experiences in Sorrento. At Sant'Anna we are not provided with a meal plan, so we have to cook by ourselves. They provide us with a kitchen, fridge, and about every utensil you can think of for cooking. There are different kitchen stations assigned to a group of rooms equipped with four stovetops, cabinets, a sink, and an oven. The kitchens are kept nice and it has been fairly easy to make meals here.

There are a couple grocery stores nearby Sant’Anna, named Conad and Dodeca. There are also local shops around for produce and small snacks, but I mainly buy my groceries from the ones I named above. It is typical in Europe to buy groceries for only a few days here as most products don’t have preservatives and expire quicker than those in the US. Most produce will be around 1 euro and any meat is typically 3-5 euro.

I’ve enjoyed cooking here as it has been great practice for when I have to start cooking for myself at my apartment in Michigan. I also was able to find a specific flour used to make traditional Venezuelan arepas which made me feel more like home!

This week I got to visit Ischia, an island off the coast of Naples. We took a ferry early in the morning and returned on the last ferry out which was around 5pm. The first thing my friends and I visited was the Castello Aragonese d'Ischia. This castle is connected to the island through a bridge and has some amazing views of Ischia.

After spending sometime wondering around the castle, we had lunch at a restaurant nearby. As Ischia is not as touristy as other places on the coast, the prices were cheaper and it was a lot less crowded. It was so nice to spend some time in an area not bustling with tourists and to actually get a good spot on the beach!

I also got to visit the Ponteré farm on a field trip with my History of the Mafia class. The farm was located outside of Naples in an area that used to be owned by the mafia. At the farm, we learned about the history of the farm and the process of making fresh mozzarella from buffalo milk. We even got the chance to feed some calves grass!

While some of my friends went to Rome for the weekend, I stayed and decided to spend a night in Positano with a few other girls. We got on a ferry to Positano around 4:20 pm and walked to a well-known store called CB Positano. They have a large variety of quilted bags that are so unique because each one has different patterns. I ended up getting a new pencil case and after we walked to take pictures at a viewing point of the center of Positano.

We got dinner at a lovely restaurant called Rada. The food was amazing and I especially recommend the Fusilli alla Nerano. This is a traditional dish that consists of pasta, fried zucchini, and provolone del Monaco. I am definitely looking forward to trying this in the actual city of Nerano as it is where my internship for next session is located!

Getting back to Sorrento had turned out to be a bit trickier than we had thought. We had planned to take a taxi service back, but unfortunately they were all booked. We had to wait for a few hours for the next bus that finally took us back home. If you are planning to go to Positano, I urge you to either book a place to stay overnight or book a taxi cab in advance, otherwise you might encounter the same difficulties getting home. Nonetheless, I had a great experience visiting this famous Italian coastal city. See you next week!

Josefia Frydenborg

Environmental Engineering

Engineering in Sorrento

#umichenginabroad #ipesorrento #JosefiaFrydenborg #ipesummer23 #italy

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lofeel · 3 years

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ahh tbh, this was some years ago, and I had pretty BIG culture shock living in Minnesota, so I'm not sure about recommendations for food.. but near the school, everyone loved Shish, the Mediterranean restaurant (until there were unconfirmed rumors that the owner was sexist??). We went to a place called Blue Door (that just closed...) to eat special burgers called juicy lucys!! Those were good. I majored in Japanese and Sociology! I loved allll my Japanese profs. In Sociology, my fave was Eric Larson. I studied abroad in Japan, but I didn't go on Mac's pre-approved programs, I instead applied to another program called KCJS to go to Doshisha U in Kyoto. My best friend did the CET Osaka program. I heard BAD things about the Sofia Uni. one, and less than stellar reviews for Nanzan. We didn't want to go to Tokyo, so we got approved for those other programs (and we both had AMAZING times). If you decide you want to go to Tokyo, try for the Waseda program since it's the most prestigious! (and therefore more accountability for quality!! I heard it's really good.) Tips to live in Minnesota: Be mentally and clothing-prepared for the winters!!! Consider making a close Minnesotan friend you can spend the long Thanksgiving weekend with. As much as possible, travel with a friend if you need to go to Frogtown for any reason. There are lots of amazing Asian restaurants scattered across the Twin Cities, so if you like that, make friends with upperclassmen in the Asian culture-focused student orgs. Visit the Mall of America, Como Zoo and Conservatory!!, the St. Paul Cathedral, the Minneapolis Museum of Art, and the Science Museum. um um, and at Mac: If you're spiritual at all, take advantage of the chapel because it's gorgeous. The First Year Course is serious business because they become your first step into making friends. I took part in a pre-orientation program called Ametrica...there might be other pre-orientation programs...but those can also really set you up with friends before the school year even starts! idk, just I hope you meet and make friends with all sorts of people!!!!💗

AHHHH this is so sweet that you answered all my questions omg i’ll reply under the ‘keep reading’ !!

first of all when you said blue door i for SURE thought you were talking about blue’s egg which is a restaurant here and i was like :O they have blue’s there?

japanese and sociology are such a cool combo for majors !! i’m thinking of double majoring international studies and spanish and then maybe minor in women’s gender, sexuality, etc. + an interdisciplinary of human rights and humanitarianism ??? but i’m def starting out undeclared since i am unsure of what i want my career to be !!!

also i def will have to research more abt where i want to go specifically !! being indigenous/mexican... but also mistaken for middle eastern/arab i’d prefer not to go to an area that is notoriously racist or smthn T_T like in ecuador there was a weird stigma against venezuelan immigrants and tension w ecuadorians but luckily they seemed to like americans? or rather .... like latine ppl that were american haha

i’m actually from wisconsin so the weather won’t be too different from where i have lived my whole life thus far!! but i can see how making a minnesotan friend would be beneficial.. esp since plane/bus/train tickets don’t grow on trees !!

i will definitely make note of all these places and try to visit them all !!! the only one i’ve gone to is mall of america and all i remember is 1. hating the tmnt ride 2. loooooving the spongebob roller coaster

also i will definitely check out pre-orientation programs !!! tbh i was thinking about applying to the bonners program since i fit a lot of the requirements but the way that people are all like Very accomplished and i have been ... not sm... just kind of discouraged me from applying :/ plus like with me being first gen it’s kind of complicated because they consider first gen any students whose parents didn’t get bachelors degrees....but a lot of prev members of the program seem to be the first in their family while i would be the third in my family to go.... idk :( still kind of unsure abt it but i don’t think i would necessarily need it ?

ahhhh and if you have read through all this ! just one last question, do you remember any certain campus jobs to stay away from? i qualify for work-study and the money it would save... makes me intrigued abt where to work but also... i don’t know if i would thrive in the dining hall or smthn where there would be a lot of eyes watching me ???

seriously thank you for being so kind and informative !!! i’ve alr mutually followed 30+ incoming mac students and hopefully i can soon muster up some courage and message some ppl !!!

#nonmb #non mb #i hope you are having a good day/night btw!#sorry for the delayed response i was studying !

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sailing-elitsha · 3 years

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Colombia

Back in South Africa, we never considered to sail to Colombia: no interesting history and culture, big chance of being kidnapped, FARC, drug war between the drug cartels, terrorism…… All these associations and prejudices in our mind didn’t really invite us to go there.

Last year, Zora mentioned, on her Central America trip, she will definitively go to Colombia. My mother heart went kedang, kedang and I didn’t think it was a good idea, but what to do if you have a grown-up girl, who makes her own decisions. The only remaining thing: inform yourself better about risks and the beauty of this country. And here we are: IN COLOMBIA AND LOVING IT. What an amazing and divers’ country. Wearing masks wherever you go but no PCR tests and no other restrictions and its very affordable, which gives us the chance of travelling around a bit without Elitsha.

But let’s start at the beginning:

Zora sailed with us through the wild sea from Curacao around the Cabo de Vela to Santa Marta. Again, we couldn’t go to close to the Venezuelan coast because the thread of piracy. We knew that it would be rough, that’s why Su flew to Colombia in advance and rather checked out bars, shops, hostels ….. Zora wanted to experience, what we are experiencing for 6 month now and she got it: 45 knots and 5 m swell and high freaky waves, thunder and lightning, the whole program…..

But what she also got, was the feeling when the wind dies down, the waves and swell gets smaller and they then just rock you into a comforting sleep, when you catch a big MAHIMAHI, when you see, at the tropics, snow covered mountains, inviting beaches in fjords of the coastline of the Sierra Nevada of Santa Marta from your sailing boat, when flying fish land on Elitsha and you have to save them, when you see birds and see land again, yeahhhhh and when you finally get to the city, then to the marina, get in contact with the officials, when you dock and when your proud to have done it and when Su came to the marina to say Hi again.

On our arrival we didn’t see cosy and colourful little houses like in Curacao, instead we saw skyscrapers and a in a way a bit sterile Marina with a lot of motorboat, few sail boats, excellent bathrooms with aircon, a little bar and restaurant. We have access of the swimming pool of the Marriott Hotel and the Gym…..and…….we heard music from all corners of the nearby bars and the new and old city centre, people were very friendly and happy, cheering and celebrating the good life. Later, walking into the old city nothing was sterile anymore. Wouww. If there were no masks you would think Covid never happened here. Music, dance, acrobatic, lots of bars, restaurants, shops, markets……and all full of happy people. We were back in civilisation.

For the next weeks we enjoyed Santa Marta and found our way here. Zora and Su booked themselves into a hostel and we saw them so now and then before they started “real” traveling. They went to places, and we afterwards went there too. Hahahahahaha. First to Minca and then to Medellin. They also went to Cartagena, but there we will go later with Elitsha after we have left Santa Marta and sailed, snorkelled and anchored in the Tayrona National Parque in October.

After 3 weeks at the Marina, we drove with a taxi to a hostel outside of Minca, yes, a hostel with infinity pool, private bedroom with terrace………and in the midden of the jungle. In Minca we had to change cars, we had to get into a 4 X 4 otherwise we would never have reached this paradise. We had to ascend another 800 m of steep muddy paths, that even had the driver moaning and groaning. The 4-meter-high bamboo which grew on the edge of the paths would have prevented us from falling down the wasn’t great fun to get there. Dick enjoyed it a lot.

1 600 m high above sea level I had to wear socks in bed at night and we wore long sleeve shirts and jeans in the evening. Fantastic feeling after suffering from Curacao’s and Santa Marta’s heat.

We enjoyed our 2 nights stay, with nice meals, awesome breakfasts, nice walks, traditional massages, great company of lovely people from all over the world and finally made our way back to Elitsha in Santa Marta. And again: not a fun ride for me.

It felt like coming home. Seeing our boat, our friends……. our favourite ice cream shop…. Ready for the 30+ degrees again.

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richincolor · 4 years

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Author Interview with Mayra Cuevas

Today we will get to know CNN producer and debut author Mayra Cuevas. Her book SALTY, BITTER, SWEET releases today.

Seventeen-year-old aspiring chef Isabella Fields’ family life has fallen apart after the death of her Cuban abuela and the divorce of her parents. She moves in with her dad and his new wife in France, where Isabella feels like an outsider in her father’s new life, studiously avoiding the awkward, “Why did you cheat on Mom?” conversation.

The upside of Isabella’s world being turned upside down? Her father’s house is located only 30 minutes away from the restaurant of world-famous Chef Pascal Grattard, who runs a prestigious and competitive international kitchen apprenticeship. The prize job at Chef Grattard’s renowned restaurant also represents a transformative opportunity for Isabella, who is desperate to get her life back in order.

But how can Isabella expect to hold it together when she’s at the bottom of her class at the apprenticeship, her new stepmom is pregnant, she misses her abuela dearly, and a mysterious new guy and his albino dog fall into her life?

Crystal: Mayra, thanks so much for taking the time to answer a few questions about your writing life and your debut novel SALTY, BITTER, SWEET. What does writing mean to you and when did you begin to consider yourself a writer?

Mayra: It was in the eighth grade. I was really into Julia de Burgos’ poetry back then and only beginning to understand the healing power of the written word. Julia’s work inspired me to write my own poems, as a way to cope with some difficulties at home. After many tries, I wrote a poem that I thought was pretty good — about how your feelings can be like a storm. My English teacher at the time, Mr. Antonio Colorado, was this super encouraging person. He knew I loved books and always lent me new titles to read and pushed me to work harder on my poetry. I gave him a copy of the poem I had written and he asked me if he could read it in class. I agreed, under the condition that he did not reveal my name. I mean, it was eighth grade, I didn’t want this to be the end of my social life. But when he read it, everyone went quiet and listened. And something magical happened, I felt connected to everyone in the room. In that moment, my words mattered and I felt seen for probably the first time. And what was even more amazing, after he read the poem, there was a discussion and people were talking about my words and how it affected them. I’ll never forget it.

Crystal: How has your career as a journalist prepared you for writing young adult novels? Was it a fairly smooth transition?

Mayra: No! (laughs hysterically) I *thought* it would be a smooth transition! But boy was I wrong. When I started writing fiction back in 2012 I remember thinking, ‘Oh I’ve been a professional journalist for over ten years, how hard can it be to write a novel?’ Well, as it turns out, writing a novel is very hard. And getting published is even harder. But there are two skills that transferred from journalism into publishing: 1) resilience and 2) working with editors.

Years of getting my story pitches rejected prepared me for the soul-crushing rejection I faced in the publishing world. My first manuscript was rejected by 200 agents! And somehow I managed to keep going.

My news background also prepared me to work with editors. I had lots of practice getting my news stories edited, nitpicked and pulled apart — that’s just the nature of the news business. And it’s no different in publishing.

Crystal: I’m guessing you’ve spent quite a bit of time in kitchens. What are some of your most interesting cooking experiences or other memorable moments around food?

Mayra: I’m a total foodie so when it came time to research Salty, Bitter, Sweet I went all out!

I reached out to the amazing Carla Tomasko, the pastry chef at Bacchanalia, one of Atlanta’s top restaurants. She agreed to serve as my guide through the workings of a real high-end kitchen. She also shared her story of working as a woman in a male-dominated environment and as an immigrant from Ecuador. She also recounted how her Latin roots helped shape her craft.

The time I spent in Bacchanalia’s kitchen was amazing! I got to see how the executive chefs prepared the day’s menu, how they selected ingredients and crafted the most exquisite dishes. All the while, I was taking copious notes of every detail I could use to make Isa’s journey as authentic as possible. I think it paid off because it seems to be everyone’s favorite part of the book!

Crystal: What do you love most about your characters Isa and Diego?

Mayra: They are two young people who are going through their own private pain — as we all do. At first, Isa sees him as a threat to the delicate balance of her new life. And in a way she is right to feel threatened, because Diego has arrived to upend everything she thought she wanted. In turn, Isa will help Diego make peace with his own life decisions.

Yes, there are some romantic moments, but it’s mostly about meeting someone who sees you for the first time and loves you in spite of all the broken bits.

Crystal: Though some things in Isa’s life seem to have some relationship to parts of your own life, were there things you needed to research as you wrote your way through this story?

Mayra: There were two main veins of research: the world of haute cuisine and the multiple locations where the book is set — six cities in total.

For the kitchen research, I interviewed and spent time with two amazing female chefs: Carla Tomasko, the pastry chef at Bacchanalia, one of Atlanta’s top restaurants, and Daniella Fitzgerald, who spends her days cooking for rich folks in yachts. She had some hilarious stories!

I also read memoirs like 32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line by Veronica Chambers and Eric Ripert, and watched documentaries like Pressure Cooker and Three Stars.

For the travel research I watched a million YouTube videos and read as many travel blogs. I also engaged an all-things-France expert to make sure every detail of Isa’s journey through Lyon was authentic.

Crystal: Are any of your favorite foods mentioned in the story? Can you tell us about one or two?

Mayra: Like Isa and her abuela Lala I enjoy bridging my two worlds by making Spanish flan and All-American apple pie — my husband’s favorite.

The flan recipe belongs to my Venezuelan friend Paula. I love that recipe because it’s been handed down through generations and it survived a political revolution.

Crystal: Have there been any big surprises along the road to publication?

Mayra: The most amazing surprise was being invited to join Las Musas, a Latina authors collective. These women are incredibly talented, supportive and generous. The founders did a wonderful job of creating a space where we can uplift each other and our work, share important news, and have each other’s back. I love these women and I’m humbled and proud to be part of this community.

Crystal: Are there any current YA books that you wish had existed when you were younger?

Mayra: All of the books from Las Musas!

Crystal: *Hurries off to visit the webpage for Las Musas* That looks like a wonderful group! Can you tell us anything about your current projects or your writing plans for the future?

Mayra: My short story Resilient will be published as part of the anthology FORESHADOW: The Magic of Reading & Writing YA (Algonquin Young Readers). I’m also co-writing a novel with Atlanta author Marie Marquardt, which can be best described as a feminist unicorn.

Crystal: Thanks again for your willingness to share your time and even your recipe with us! We wish you all the best with your debut.

Born and raised in Puerto Rico, Mayra Cuevas is a professional journalist and fiction writer who prefers love stories with a happy ending. Her debut novel, SALTY, BITTER, SWEET, launched March 3 with HarperCollins/Blink. Her debut fiction short story was selected by best-selling author Becky Albertalli to appear in the Foreshadow serial anthology Issue 04 in April 2019. She is currently a special projects producer and writer for CNN. She keeps her sanity by practicing Buddhist meditation and serving on the Board of Directors of Kadampa Meditation Center Georgia. She lives with her husband, also a CNN journalist, and their cat, in the charming town of Norcross, Georgia. She is also the step-mom to two amazing young men who provide plenty of inspiration for her stories. You can visit her online at mayracuevas.com.

#salty bitter sweet #mayra cuevas #author interview #ya lit

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ryecolombia · 6 years

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Viajar es Vivir

March 29th

Day 217: This morning we went on an emerald hunt. Colombia is the largest producer of emeralds in the world. Every year, more than 80% of the world’s emeralds are taken from the mountains near Bogotá and exported around the world. With this in mind, we thought an emerald piece of jewelry would be a lovely momento of Colombia.

After a bit of walking we stumbled upon a street full of emerald jewelry shops. After being hustled by many of the stores’ employees we decided to return back to our apartment, emeraldless. But that was okay with me.

We had to catch our flight to Medellin around three so we packed up our bags and headed out for a quick lunch before taking a taxi to the airport. We made one more stop beforehand. Back to one of the jewelry stores where my parents, my grandmother Nona, and aunt Suzanne (who where both there in spirit) bought me a beautiful gold necklace with a pendant in the shape of Colombia with a little emerald. An early birthday present, they called it. I will wear this necklace with pride. I will always love this country. So I find it fitting that it will now always have a place near my heart, literally.

After this little surprise we grabbed a bite, arepa and eggs with pineapple juice for me, and then headed to the airport. The checkin process went smoothly and we were boarding the plane in a matter of hours. The flight was about an hour long, passing by effortlessly. The descent into Medellin was beautiful. We dove down through the clouds to come upon a second layer of clouds, with the tips of peaks just visible. The mountains of Antioquia are incredible; lush and verdant.

We arrived at the airport around five. From the ninety degree weather of Cartagena, the seventy degree weather of Medellin felt amazing. I might actually be able to wear a jacket while I’m here.

The airport is about an hour away from the actual city so we hired a driver to take us to our new apartment. He was a very sweet Venezuelan man who moved to Medellin three years ago. In my time here I have heard a lot about the Venezuelan migrants in Colombia. The Venezuelan government is very unstable at the moment and their economy is in crisis so many Venezuelans have decided to move their lives elsewhere. The Venezuelans here are treated just like new migrants to the US. It it horrible to see even more displaced peoples being spoken so poorly about. Disrespect and disgust for newcomers fleeing their countries due to conflict or poor economic opportunities is not an acceptable way to treat people. If someone is seeking refuge, treat them with kindness. For goodness sake they need it.

Our apartment was quite the rip off. From the photos shown, it looked like a lovely modern pad with a view of the city. Instead it was a funky basement cave below a nightclub. Angela was not happy.

But we shook it off and went out for dinner. The Poblado neighborhood where the apartment is situated is full of hip restaurants and bars. We ended up at a fun Peruvian joint where we sat outside, watching the diversity of the city passing up and down the sidewalk.

After dinner we walked to a grocery store to pick up some goods for breakfast. At the cash register we ended up being 10,000 pesos short. It was nine o’clock, we were very weary from the day, and now we were short cash. As if sent from heaven, a blond German boy behind us in line offered to pick up the rest of our bill. Thank you Paul!

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twopedalpushers · 4 years

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Travel Update #4

Medellín to Ecuador

After a total of one month pedalling and one month sight seeing, we have finished the Colombian chapter of our trip and are now in Ecuador!

When I think about the second half of our journey through Colombia after leaving Medellín, it feels far less eventful than the first half of the trip. After 3 months in total on the bike by this point, we were now comfortable negotiating our way through Colombia and managed to avoid any silly mishaps.

After a few days in Medellín the overwhelming amount of pollution trapped in the valley started getting to me so I felt relieved to pedal onwards into the hilly, peaceful coffee region of Salento. Salento is near the Cocora Valley - home to the world’s largest palm trees! The whole region is kind of other-worldly and feels like it’s been ripped straight out of a Dr. Seuss novel.

We ended up having a peaceful Christmas here before cycling on to the loudest, brightest and most vibrant city in Colombia (in my opinion): Cali.

Cali is known as the ‘salsa capital of the world.’ I had a blasé attitude about this beforehand but I quickly changed my mind after a few days in the city. Salsa is life in Cali. It blasts out of every bar and restaurant. From 7pm onwards the streets come alive - everyone is out, even small children who stay up until the early hours of the morning, playing in the park while their parents sit down with a beer. Absolutely everyone knows how to salsa and clubs are bursting with dancing couples. We took a salsa class to feel like we fitted in but after an hour we realised that we were not naturally gifted at salsa. We salsa’d (clumsily) in the bars anyway and made up for our obvious lack of skill with passion.

We also happened to arrive when the ‘Feria de Cali’ was taking place - a 5 day festival from Boxing Day to New Year’s Eve where day after day, residents party and dance salsa on the streets to incredible live brass bands. It’s safe to say that Cali was a pretty entertaining place to spend New Year’s Eve.

Recently we have started using an app called ‘Warm Showers.’ It’s similar to couch surfing except that it’s only used by cycle-tourers looking to be hosted in the homes other bike enthusiasts. We arranged to stay with a lady called Laura in her house in Popayán - 140km south of Cali. In text messages beforehand she let us know that we would be ‘camping on her balcony’ as she didn’t have a spare room. Having done plenty of camping on the trip so far, we were happy with this offer and glad to have a night of free accommodation in the city. However, once we got there we discovered that her ‘balcony’ was her concrete attic space that’s main function was as a toilet for her two dogs. Being English and too polite to tell her that the space was unsuitable for human habitation, we set up our tent and tried to ignore the overpowering smell of years worth of dog urine. Almost a month later, the ground sheet of our tent still smells of the terrible aromas of that fateful night.

The one upside of staying with Laura was that she let us store our bikes in her house for a few days while we visited Max’s friends Dad, Fernando in San Agustin. The bad track and warnings of potential guerrilla activity in the region put us off cycling there so we took a bus. The track was so bad that it took 6 hours for the bus to travel 150km!

Staying with Fernando in the impressive wooden house that he built himself was incredibly peaceful and a good opportunity to rest and recuperate. We went on walks and ate fresh fruit and vegetables from his garden.

The road onwards from Popayán towards the border was where the real hard work started. We were now entering the Andes and cycled up to high altitudes proved to be quite difficult. Just as we would climb to 3000m altitude, the road would drop off and we would descend all the way back down to around 1000m. I understand that’s how mountains work but after half an hour of fun whizzing downhill it became demoralising to have to then climb all the way back up. The views of the valley below were spectacular which made all uphill climbing worthwhile. We took an alternate, quieter route through the mountains which had very little traffic, enabling us to stop and admire the green Colombian section of the Andes. Climbing a few thousand metres of elevation day upon day was exhausting but I could feel my body getting stronger. At the start of our trip in Costa Rica we would only travel 50km per day on a relatively flat road. Now we were managing 80-90km through mountain ranges, carrying more food and luggage than before. I was even starting to get used to getting out of bed when our alarm goes off at 5am.

When we reached the border I felt really proud. Crossing Colombia by bike had been the most challenging thing that I had ever done, both physically and mentally. Despite the weather, feeling tired or unwell we got up each day and got back on the bike.

After two months in Colombia, I was excited to see what Ecuador had to offer. During our last few weeks cycling we have seen lots of groups of Venezuelans on the walking with all of their belongings towards Ecuador to try and find work. It was the first time that I have encountered people in such a state of desperation and made me realise how lucky I am to have a home to go back to. Despite their situation, most had a positive outlook and asked us about our trip and where we were heading, before wishing us “buen viaje” - a pleasant journey on the road ahead.

Ecuador so far has been a whirlwind and we are now in Quito - the second highest capital city in the world! I will write about our journey through Ecuador all in one go in the next update.

Now that the Colombian chapter of our trip is over, I thought I would write a list of all the interesting things that I noticed about the country and its people during our two month journey. Its lifted straight from my journal so please excuse how colloquial it is. Here you go:

Mullets seem to be the most popular hairstyle for young men.

Colombia has an amazing variety of fruit I’ve never heard of before- Lulo, Guanabana, Maracuya (to name a few!)

A large amount of adults have braces. So many that it’s noticeable. Is dental care cheap?

Motorola smartphones are popular in Colombia. I didn’t know Motorola even made smartphones...

Lots of women work in construction. I say lots but I mean compared to the amount of women working in construction in the UK

The best fresh juices and free limonada with every meal! Limonada is a drink made of water and panela (refined sugar cane.) Colombians knock this back 24/7. I’m going to miss it.

Colombians have an overwhelming amount of passion for cycling. It’s admirable.

Little Colombian girls all have incredibly elaborate hairstyles consisting of braids, cornrows, coloured hairbands, glitter and the occasional bow.

Sweet things (dulces) are king in Colombia. There is a Panadería (bakery) roughly every couple of hundred metres. My favourite Colombian pastries are Chicharrons (puff pastry with guava jelly) or Pan de Bananos with apricot jam.

As usual, here is the link to track our progress http://share.garmin.com/DMB7R

Remember to hit “view all” and zoom out to see the whole journey. You will find us in Ecuador!

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risevessel4-blog · 5 years

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Paris Restaurants, Bistros, Cocktail Bars and Bakeries

Not a day goes by when I don’t get a message requesting a restaurant recommendation in Paris. (Curiously, I also get asked for restaurant recommendations in cities I’ve never lived in, or even visited.) My promise to you is that I’ll only write up or recommend places I’ve been to, and with apologies to all who’ve asked for restaurant recommendations on social media, if I answered every request and message, I wouldn’t have time to write up this list for you. Or even go out to eat myself.

I do update my Paris restaurant list when I find a place I like. Similarly, when a restaurant or bistro isn’t what it used to be, I remove it. When I do a more extensive write up of a place, you’ll find it listed in my Paris restaurant categories. But other times, when I’m just going out to dinner, not toting my camera with me (and not remembering all the details the next day), I’ll give it a more general shout-out on my Paris restaurant page. But here’s a little more to add to that list, as well as some sweet shops and cocktail bars that are worthy of being on your radar.

Brasserie Bellanger (140, rue du Faubourg Poissonière, 10th) is one of the newest of the low-priced bistros that have popped up in Paris over the last few years. The young owners promise everything is fresh and fait maison (homemade), which was a criticism rightly leveled at some of the old-school bistros that lost their luster, noting that the brasserie sources things directly from producers, which allows them to keep prices modest. Our vegetable-centric pollack was perfectly cooked, served on a heap of vegetables. There were no fancy sauces or ornamentation. The frites we ordered alongside – because man cannot live by fish alone – were some of the best I’ve had in town. Often they’re soggy or soft, and these were cooked until bronzed and crispy. In short, the kind of fries that are worth polishing off. We finished with an Île flottante filled with mango puree and an excellent Paris-Brest. Super friendly staff and tables outside (although other diners waiting for tables may be smoking nearby), but still, the outside is a rather pleasant place.

Another place that I’ve been enjoying, where I’ve not taken a picture at, is Le Mermoz (16, rue Jean Mermoz, 8th). This starkly-decorated bistro allows you to focus on the food, which isn’t just beautifully-presented, but it’s perfectly prepared. A recent lunch started with a plate of lightly blanched green beans with fresh almonds and pickled apricots. Dessert was softly cooked cherries bathed in sabayon with cubes of Gâteau de Savoie and a sprinkling of fresh elderflowers. The focus is on quality of ingredients and preparation, rather than portion size, at least at lunch, when I’ve dined there. But it’s usually enough for me.

I’ve written about les routiers before, French truck stops known for serving honest, no-nonsense fare, hearty enough for truckers, who need a decent meal to break up the monotony of being on the road. Aux Bons Crus in Paris probably doesn’t get that many truckers, but locals like it because it serves honest French food without a lot of fuss. Recently three women next to us were thrilled to be able to get kidneys, while we shared a Frisée salad with lardons (bacon), rillettes (not my favorite dish on the menu), and œufs mayo, before digging into mains of straightforward French fare, everything intentionally priced to please camionneurs (truckers), and the rest of us.

Yup, I know it’s not called Bo Bun, but that’s what they call it in France. (And yes, in France, it’s also café express, not an espresso.) If you have a problem with the language, take it up with the Académie Française. Whatever you call it, Bo Bun has become as popular at the Apérol Spritz around town, especially with the twenty-something set. But the one at Lux Café (73, rue Saint-Maur, no website) is different than others. The grilled rolls and pork (although it’s available with fried tofu, and yes, with grilled pork the dish is traditionally referred to as Bun Cha) are on a bed of curled up sheets of noodles, rather than the traditional strands of vermicelli.

There’s only one thing on the menu and the prices are higher than the other places around town, but I think it’s worth it. If you want to walk up to Belleville, Dong Huong has a pretty good one, too. Actually, at Dong Huong I always get B12 on the menu, do-it-yourself rice paper rolls that you roll up with grilled chicken, fresh herbs, carrots, and rice noodles. It took me a while to get the hang of it; an older Vietnamese waiter saw me struggling the first time and came over to show me how it’s done. Now, I’m almost a pro, although when I was in Vietnam, when I saw how deftly everyone make their rice paper rolls, and realized how much I still have to learn.

Also on my radar has been Poulette, perhaps the prettiest restaurant in Paris. We went for lunch and started with asparagus bathed in a Chartreuse-tinged mousseline and œufs mayo, then moved on to an outstanding plate of quail in a sauce of d’Anjou white wine with green peppercorns and fingerling potatoes. Happily, Poulette has fresh fruit juices made to order at the bar, if you’re on lunch break and don’t want to drink wine, but if you come in the evening (or if you’re up for a little day-drinking), there’s an especially strong list of house-made cocktails.

It was late afternoon when we arrived at Cravan (17, rue Jean de la Fontaine, 16th), so was happy to have a sip of one of the libations of Franck Audoux, the owner of this truly hole-in-the-wall café. But what a hole! Designed by Hector Guimard, who designed many of the art nouveau Paris métro stations, everything at Cravan is pretty, and perfect. I’ve not been during mealtime but I’ve tried a number of the small plates, which are a quite a change from the bowls of peanuts or potato chips served around town. (However, these aren’t free.) I’ve loved everything I’ve had here, from the straightforward cocktails that focus on French spirits, like the Cognac-forward Boulevardier I had last week, but the snacks have always been excellent. The café is rather cozy, but the expansive terrace is a gorgeous place to sit in the warmer months.

I went shortly after it opened and Double Dragon (52, rue Saint-Maur, 11th) had a few kinks to work out. They didn’t take reservations so we got there when they opened at 7pm, and there was already a line. The other was the music, which was pretty loud. Thankfully both have calmed down, however they still don’t take reservations, and Double Dragon offers up Asian fare quite a few steps above the other places around town. Opened by the two sisters that operate Le Servan down the street, you’ll find little pepper icons on the menu to let you know something is spicy. The server warned us against a few of those things on the menu, then heard my accent, and let me go ;)

The fritters (above) are tofu beignets lined with Comté cheese, served with a mayo-based XO sauce. The thrice-cooked beef with celery was very good, and the Sichuan noodles were, indeed, very spicy. But we both slurped them up.

An old favorite that I hope never changes is Le Petit Vendôme, known for having some of the best sandwiches in town. True, there are places to sit, but if you want to feel like a local, order a sandwich, saddle up the bar, order a glass of Burgundy, and enjoy the atmosphere…and le sandwich. The classic jambon-beurre here is renown.

On the other end of the spectrum is La Fontaine de Belleville, a spiffy, well-polished French café, owned by Belleville Brûlerie, pioneers of the quality coffee movement in Paris. It’s been restored and serving the legendary coffee that’s roasted not far from the café, and you can also get a classic jambon-beurre sandwich and a Croque Monsieur, then finish up with one of the excellent house-made desserts. The Pain d’épice, shown above, goes great with a p’tit crème.

Further up the hill in Belleville, is La Cave de Belleville, a natural wine bar. Often these kinds of wine bars attract a hip crowd, who seems more interested in jumping out of their seats to grab a smoke outside, or check their Likes, rather than doing any serious eating. (I’m always amazed when a server puts down plates of hot food in front of people, and at that moment, they run outside.) Here, everyone stays put as the plates of cheese and charcuterie are hard to walk away from. The one shown (above) was dinner for three of us, along with a plate of burrata that was better than most versions around town. Wines are available by the glass or bottle, and the wine prices are remarkably reasonable.

On the sweet side, I went to a launch party for Aqua Vitae chocolates from Edwart. Edwin, the owner and chocolatier, loves liqueurs and spirits and his new collection of chocolates brilliantly incorporates them. Sometimes when people add liqueurs, they can be too faint to fully appreciate. But each chocolate in this assortment, which includes one blended with Glenfiddish whisky aged in IPA barrels, Del Maguey mezcal and Venezuelan chocolate, and the elusive Chartreuse végétal elixir (unavailable in the U.S., but comes in a handy wooden box for travel), boldly go where few chocolates dare to go. The collection is available for a limited time only.

The sign outside says “Depuis Hier,” nothing that they’ve been open “since yesterday,” The French Bastards have arrived on the Paris pastry scene. There are babkas and cruffins, as well as a formidable lemon meringue tart (which is meant to be for one, but I think it’d feed four), but their regular vienoisserie, the croissants and pains au chocolat (above), are outstanding. One day the exceptionally friendly bâtards called me into the kitchen and sliced into a slew of trial batches, to taste. Their croissants are larger than others around town, but as buttery flakes and shards flew around while we sampled, I learned that they’ve hit their stride and this is a bold new addition to the pâtisseries of Paris.

Starting a meal with a drink is a French tradition, during l’heure de l’apéro, or apéritif hour. This Kiss & Fly (above) at Mino was a refreshing twist on the spritz, a blend of Pimm’s, lemon, ginger cordial, finished off with grapefruit soda and prosecco. While this is a very competent cocktail bar with friendly bartenders, the food is quite good, too. The menu changes frequently but the flavors (and decor) continue to be drawn from the Mediterranean.

Staying by the sea, the nautical theme at Copper Bay will take you away from being in a bustling city center, along with a line-up of seasonal cocktails shaken and stirred up by the friendly staff. There may be a Tipsy Tea, their interpretation of a Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, or a Tzatziki, made with dill-infused vodka, basil, cucumber, and mastic spirit. You can also get artisan sparkling apple cider or pastis (with or without orgeat syrup), served by the glass, carafe, or even frozen.

Considered the oldest cocktail bar in Paris, Gallopin has expanded to the space next door, for the more casual La Rôtisserie Gallopin featuring cocktails on tap, created by one of the best bartenders in Paris, Stan Jouenne. His coffee-fueled Negroni combines Grand Brûlot coffee-Cognac liqueur, Salers (gentian) and Dolin vermouth, all from France, as the bar only uses French spirits. I haven’t eaten at their rôtisserie yet (it just opened this week), but if this drink is any indication, we might both want to check out the food.

Someone requested the recipe for these Socca Chips on social media, which are available at the Fédération Française de l’Apéritif, which is like asking the recipe for Fritos. It’s not going to happen, at least in anyone’s home. (If you do have a recipe for Fritos, please forward it to me!) But as I often say, everything doesn’t need to be available everywhere, all the time. It’s often best just to go somewhere and enjoy it there, which holds especially true for the FFA, as this apéritif bar is called. Only French products line the shelves, including buckwheat galette (crêpe) chips, that are also “Recipe, please” worthy, and a changing selection of cheese and meats to go with whatever you’re drinking.

Combat may seem like an unusual name for a Parisan bar (in my next book, I explain why), but you don’t need to know why right now, you just need to go to what is one of my favorite cocktail bars in Paris. The drinks aren’t over-the-top (thank you…) but straightforward, and delicious. For some reason, the bar height and size works perfectly for me; I always feel like I’m dining (or drinking) in someone’s home, rather than in a bar. The cocktail I prefer is the Perfect Serve, above, with whiskey, dried pear, sherry, ume liqueur, and a touch of absinthe. The name is spot-on.

While I avoid the term “industry favorite,” a number of bartenders in Paris have told me they like Sherry Butt. They’ve got a beguiling list of drinks, which changes, but I recently enjoyed a Ronin (above), with Japanese whisky, madiera infused with pandan (a tropical plant), oloroso sherry, Champagne, smoked sea and – whew – black salt. It sounded more complicated than it was, and I’m always amazed when a bartender can add a curiously diverse list of ingredients to a glass, and make it taste like simple liquid. That’s a skill worth raising a glass to, which we did.

Source: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/bakery-bistro-paris-restaurants-cocktail-bars-and-bakeries/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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grassshrimp56-blog · 5 years

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Paris Restaurants, Bistros, Cocktail Bars and Bakeries

Source: https://www.davidlebovitz.com/bakery-bistro-paris-restaurants-cocktail-bars-and-bakeries/

#read more #see more #check it out #interesting #learn more

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richigneven · 7 years

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Buenos Aires Calling!

The signs could not have been much better: My first ‘vacation’ lasting more than a week since the awesome festival so called “gneven im grünen”, three concert tickets for my more or less favorite band ‘die toten hosen’- a band I have followed along down the road, which not only makes good music but also supports smaller bands, ethical correct NGO´s and sometimes even play in your living room if you are lucky AND the promising city of Buenos Aires, which goes as the Berlin of South America, or not even Latino American anymore. So my expectations were quite high as well, still they s were exceeded...

My hostel was great, although I arrived way too early they welcomed me with breakfast and showers. As I did not take the first internet recommendation I ended up in a 100% spanish-speaking community, from which a few studied and others sadly escaping war in Venezuela and some others doing whatever. Crazy those two things, first I could never do my exchange semester out of a dormitory, as I already troubled falling a sleep when not completely wasted- how do people snore louder than a airplane taking off? Second why have we reached the point that people need to escape their homes again and shouldnt we welcome them a little more than given them a bed in return of work? You find Venezuelans everywhere in South America right now...

Anyway, I wanted to get to know this European city, which at first glance showed off with nice facades, broken sidewalks and a walkable traffic situation (remember Im used to Lima at the moment, I actually got quite a cultural shock when people actually followed traffic rules and not everyone looked quite similar). I did a walking tour, and right away I saw it at its best, stunning buildings and cemeteries everywhere(at least in the right suburb..) Btw the popularity of their steaks is based on the flatness of the countryside of Argentina, cows actually do have some space to walk around and not need to be cooped up in some stall. Afterwards, I stumbled around myself, and by this is into a huge demonstration. All kinds of human protested in favor of rights for everybody, especially Woman and the LGBT scene. Every of the last ten years more than 200 women has be mudered by their husband or partners, I have heard about it before, but seeing the demonstration showed me how serious the issue is and how many must have suffered domestic violence. I followed along and was quite impressed by the creativity and number of participants. It seems like still the authorities dont really care, as this has been run for over a year now...

it really was endless...

I bet a better photografer would have made a good pic out of that!

Rushed from the energy of the protests I had a buncher Spätibeer (cerveza de ciosco) and decided to go see my friend from my old exchange semester in good old fresno..So we met 9 years ago and havent seen since. Ines were just working in a restaurant and I already had a few beers too many. So after she invited me for two more I tried too call it a night, which is always hard when you in a foreign city for the first time 10km away from your bed and trying to go by public transport. AllI know, I woke up in my hostel the next day and some blurry memories sitting in some other bar with some Germans, but I dont know why. Alright lets face it, probably the craving for more beer.

In the morning, I realized today would be the day I have never really imagined to become true. Seeing “Los Hosen” in Buenos Aires is said to be special. I always wanted to know what´s about it, because special is also sitting one hour in the” Berlin Ringbahn” and drink beer or the Chinese Wall, but neither gets a lot of my attention. After another day of enjoying various parts of the city I went in front of the venue, Museum, a buncher years ago crashed the stage in the second song and the concert was over. The first guys I approached were already a win in the lottery and I could not have asked for more. Spätibeer here and there and talks about everything what my Spanish has to offer. The show was crazy, a venue like SO36, long and narrow. A small terrace all around from which Campino (singer) jumped into the crowd and somehow mad his way back, totally red, as people did not want to let him go...A few punch were needed so he reached the stage again.

The crowd of 800-1000, of which maybe 100 were German, freaked out at pretty much every single song. Decent singing along but even harder dancing along. Everybody full of energy, led by a Band which noticeably enjoyed to be part of it once again. After the concert I went further to a few more Bars or you could call it Club even, energy for those after concerts partys I usually do not have after concerts in Germany. This night, I got a ride home, across the entire city, letting somebody out at the bus station apparently is no option when you their “guest”.

Party people

The same reason, the next day, I was invited to a match of one of the biggest football teams over there.. Boca Juniors, it was really interesting to see such a steep stadium which shacks because everybody jumps and how fascinated all the players and fans are. But I certainly have friends which can analyze those events way more. Side note: Argentina has stopped to allow fans of the visiting teams for all league games, in order to prevent violence. A working approach, but defiantly not in the sense of the sport.

A couple more or less boring hard working days for my uni were interrupted by a Cover concert and even more interesting of a Concert of the Magic Mystery tour show in a house in Buenos Aires. You can apply ahead and if you lucky the Hosen come to give a show and the fans possibly destroy all you have. I talked to many people who at least once tried it, but these gigs are quite precious. Getting inside this house was not possible, but through same delays in my taxi I arrived for the last few songs of the concert, which was totally sufficient for me. Except the drummer, everybody got outside of the house once and of course Campino climbed every fence there exist on the premises. Afterwards, a little party in front of the fence took place and once again a intercultural understanding with hands and legs. Knowing a few words of Spanish certainly made the situation even more fun and allowed me buying beer in the cioscos around, which was hard as for some reasons they only wanted to sell cold beer, but to understand this I almost failed.

Campino not only gave its best during the show, the aftershowparty he won against everybody!

In front of the fence, it was still cleanable afterwards, nobody know about inside

Wow Wednesday already, but still two more official shows to go! The German Hosen fans, organized a bus tour to the town of the next venue, La Plata, which is 1-2 hours down south from BA. Ive almost missed the bus, due to lets face it: Hangoverness but also Credit Card issues, during which I kind of realized how screwed you could be in a foreign country. But all worked out and with 1 hour delay and a busdriver who ask after 1 hour ride where he actually supposed to head we were almost at our first stop: The barbeque party in some Argentina´s house. The owner just decided to through a party for everybody who wanted to come and as it was somebody´s birthday the owner bought beer and steaks for the most of them. (unluckily no grilled cheese, but this time people were at least to buy warm beer in the Späti next door) So i tackled my hangover from last night with a few beers and it become a really nice get-together with people from all parts of society, ages and regions of Germany and Argentina. The good bye was a kiss for the woman living there for everybody and the last existing steaks as “Schnittchen” for later. When was the last time you invited 70 unknown people to your backyard and when it comes to cleaning up they all get in a bus and you give them food and beer for the road? Arriving in front of the venue the people once again couldnt even wait to party on and sang along the sound check inside which was with the song “Reisefieber”, so an old and popular one, this was promising. I dedicated myself to socialize and to the Späti´s around so once inside It starts to be more of a blur...I remember a few songs, some crowdsurfing, an amazing venue as very wide, once again energized Hosen, more beer(in cans btw) and a few special acts. Is there anything more to ask for? Claro, afterparty, but this is even more of a blur...With many more beer and whatsoever for everybody who was tired or just wanted to be sure to make it a good night we drove through la plata and some other parties over there...At some point i recall 7 people, from which I knew 1 slightly before but good times. At some point at 6 or 7 we returned to BA, I was already sleeping in the car for a while. But the others were still going strong not being tired at the moment. Such a day, no shower, one more sip of beer and straight to bed. I reckon I will never get closer to Punk rock than this before.

Days with the most drinks, usually the ones with the fewest pictures for me ;)

Next day started slowly, ended slowly but again a Coverband concert, Peru tied Argentina, so know it´s very interesting who is going to qualify and another day I made a nice tour through the party area of Palermo with two new friends. The show on Saturday was in a huge venue of 5000-7000 people. The living room of the Ramones, they said. Many other guest, setlist switched again and At least the first third of the concert everybody went crazy once more. With forgoing time, people got more relaxed and only half of the stadium jumped along..I mobilized my last strength and had an amazing time. Meeting people in the crowed I have met during the last week and giving them a possible last high five or smile.

Los hosen more or less announced the location of the aftershow party: the club we went the week before but I called it a night in some bar close to my hostel. A friend gave me his sweater to show once more how welcome I am here. Lots of promises of reuniting in whatever part of the world were mad and at some point I went home to my Hostel. I´m not sure if or when I will see this city and especially all those nice people again. But the times, friendlyness and in all kinds of situation and circumstances they gave me here will always be reminded in my brain and my heart. I now understand when los Hosen say they do not come for the music, they come to meet the people, I seldom received such a warm welcome of different people in various situations in several forms. As always I hope to be able to return the favor in a place where I can show people around and gave them a good time, but for now I can just say thank you!

rocknroll

last beer, this time for sure!

more impressions:

there he is!

street art

subway art

maybe next time Ill tell you about my first Spanish interview! ;)

#hastaluego #hastalamuerte #buenosaires #dietotenhosen #cerveza

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damienheads · 5 years

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Florida to Texas

A couple months ago me and a friend I’ve known since school decided to take a road trip across America. Unlike most Brits though, we wanted to try somewhere a little different, so instead of your typical destinations like New York, Las Vegas and California, we chose the deep south - Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas. So just like that, a month and a half after coming up with the idea, we were on our way to the good ole US of A.

Our first stop was Miami, a place we both really wanted to visit. One of the first things you notice about Miami when you get off the plane, is how much Spanish influence there is. Every sign has a Spanish translation underneath, and half the people you hear talking are speaking Spanish. Being Hispanophiles ourselves, we felt right at home. The city itself looked amazing, with beautiful Art Deco style buildings everywhere and a beach that stretched for miles.

We spent the first morning in Miami having a Cuban coffee at a local breakfast joint. From the outside the place looked like a dump, with horrible green looking photos advertising what food they had out the front. However, after closer inspection, we went inside and were pleasantly surprised to find something that looked like it was straight out of a Martin Scorsese film - old school wooden chairs, grainy photos on the wall, and fresh oranges stacked up high on top of a juicer. The coffee was some of the best we’ve both ever had - strong with a touch of sweetness, poured straight into thick, frothy milk. This may sound like a bit of a funny thing to get excited about, but once you try really great coffee, you really never want to go back.

After a day of sightseeing, we then jumped back in the car and headed down to the bottom of Key West, the most southerly point of the US. This part of America is stunning, with beaches everywhere and cool little bars, restaurants and places to visit. A highlight was having my first bowl of acai - a Brazilian dessert made up of berries, nuts, granola, and all sorts of other sweet things, as well as seeing the sun set at one of the few great national parks you can visit there. The remainder of our time spent in Florida, which I could go into great detail with if I didn’t stop myself, included airboating in the Everglades, exploring the Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, kayaking in the Ocala National Forest, and visiting both Panama city - a place devastated by a hurricane and taken over by bikers - and our last stop, Pensacola - an immaculate looking city with the most amazing beaches and a really cool looking downtown.

After a night of drinking and stepping into one of the blackest looking bars ever - a place that literally looked like it was out of American Gangster - we were back on the road. The first place we hit outside of Florida was a city called Mobile, in Alabama. Clearly built as a predominantly industrial city, this place you could tell had some serious industry, epitomised by the big shipyard you see when you first arrive in the city. Despite not being that attractive on the whole, the place had some really nice doses of Americana if you went down some of the smaller side streets and avenues, as we did. We decided to stop for a bite to eat at one of the many restaurants they had there - a typical American grill type place, as shown above, serving all sorts of southern style dishes. One of the main things you come across when you first eat this kind of food, is what they call ‘biscuit’, which is actually much more like a savoury British scone. Despite the food being pretty tasty, we decided to move on to our next destination.

After briefly passing through Mississippi - our third state in our trip across America - we ended up in New Orleans, Louisiana. Now this place had some serious style. Despite hearing many good things about New Orleans, I really didn’t know much of what to expect from it. You only really fully get the vibe of what is going on in that place when you first start stepping into the main part of the city - people dressing like they’re from the 70′s with bright colours everywhere, bustling streets with palm trees, and a tram system running straight through the middle of it all. The place is fully alive, like an open heart beating away. And the most exciting time to experience all of this is at night on the famous Bourbon street. Part of the French Quarter, Bourbon street has a long history, and is said to be one of the places that Jazz music really developed. After eating the city’s most famous dish, ‘red beans and rice’, we knocked back a few of the city’s most famous drink, the ironically named ‘Hurricane’ - a sweet cocktail made with rum, lemon juice, and passion fruit syrup. After a few of these we were well and truly buzzing. Hopping from bar to bar, and with live music everywhere, we had an amazing time. This was truly a great place to visit.

Our next stop on our tour across America was the big Lone Star State itself, Texas. Our first call was at the city of Houston. One of the first things you notice when arriving in Texas are the massive oil fields and industry which stretch from miles upon miles. This place has some serious industrial might and is said to have an economy $400 billion bigger than that of Russia ($1.7 trillion in total). The city of Houston reflects this massively, with endless amounts of tall buildings, and restaurants on every corner. The place is not the most beautiful up close, but there are some great little places you can go to. We spent our first night eating at a massive Mexican place called ‘Pappasito’s’ just on the edge of the city, and this place was teeming with life, and the food was great also. However, we had bigger plans in mind. The next day we loaded up the car and headed to where we really wanted to go - the shooting range.

Neither of us had ever shot a gun before, however we were both adamant that this is what we wanted to do; we were in Texas after all. Walking into the place for the first time was surreal; pistols, machine guns, rifles and shotguns, all laid up across the walls as if it were a section of Wallmart - this place was legit. After taking a brief lesson by one of the instructors on how to use a gun, we soon found ourselves on the range with an 8mm pistol. Shooting a gun for the first time is a real experience. It gives you a real adrenaline rush. We both managed a few good shots at a paper target, however, within five minutes or so, it was over. Coming back to the desk of the shooting range, we felt like we still had a little more left in us though, and so after a bit of persuading by both the instructors and ourselves, we decided to give the full automatic machine gun a little pop... Jesus christ... This thing was powerful. Firing a single shot was fine, but once you fully let load on this thing, you really feel the blowback. The shots were a little less clean on this one, however that really didn’t matter. After firing a few rounds on one of these, you truly do feel like a big man!

So we were in Texas, had just shot a pistol, and a machine gun; what was the next best thing we could do? - get a tattoo of course! Another first for me; I had never had a tattoo done in my life. After mooching down what seemed like the tattoo street of Houston, with about six different ones all lined up close to each other, we settled upon one run by a nice enough Filipino guy. After telling him what I wanted, and my budget, he not only offered to do it for a reasonable price, but to do the more complicated, original version also. This could have gone either of two ways - really bad or really well. After analysing him a little while, I decided that he was most likely one of these guys who liked the challenge of doing a really good tattoo and didn’t care too much about the money. How right was I. I ended up with something I was really happy with - a copy of the original Gadsden flag. This was something I associated with in a big way; a symbol of resistance from the original thirteen colonies of America when Britain tried to take away their rights and freedoms - such as what is happening currently with the British government trying to keep Britain locked into the anti-democratic EU.

Our last stop in Texas, and last of the trip, was at the city of Austin. I can honestly say that this was the best place I’ve ever visited in America. Like New Orleans, it was buzzing with energy, except in a totally different way - food vans everywhere, crazy looking shops and restaurants, people dressed like cowboys; this place was the real deal. After booking ourselves into the illustrious Red Roof Inn Plus, we decided to go further down town and visit ‘Barton Springs’. Despite the pool area being shut off, this place was beautiful; a river leading into a lake with great little trails on either side. People fishing, cycling, and even kayaking - this was a great little spot to use up some energy and spend some time with nature. One of the first things you notice about this place is how many turtles there are everywhere, either swimming around the river or lodged at the bottom of a tree somewhere. After a bit of swimming and sightseeing, we headed back to the ole Red Roof.

The next day we went right back near the same spot to a food van park. This place had the most amazing food, including Thai, Italian, Mexican, Venezuelan, as well as your traditional American grill and acai bowl place. We both decided on Thai and weren’t disappointed, as we both had the exact same dishes the very next day. We spent that night exploring Austin’s nightlife by going to it’s famous ‘Sixth street’. This place was buzzing in atmosphere, with all sorts of bars and nightclubs to go to. We spent the night playing a game called shuffleboard - a game in which you push a disc across a table as close to the edge as possible - as well as chasing after plenty of girls. Unfortunately, despite getting what we thought was pretty close, we weren’t so lucky - turns out getting four girls from Brooklyn back to your Red Roof Inn Plus ain’t so easy. The next couple days were rather more peaceful, spent chilling and checking out more of Austin’s interesting and vibrant culture before our eventual flight home. It was a great end to what was an amazing trip, and one that I will never forget. God bless you America, god bless you!

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sailing-elitsha · 3 years

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Carrebeean, Here we are!!!

As I said before: 5783 nautical miles we sailed towards this little paradise where we are still on quarantine anchorage. Waiting on the PCR result is always making me a bit nervous, especially this time. If we are tested negative, we have the chance here in Grenada to get the AstraZeneca vaccines and we will travel much freer than we do now.

But no boredom: a little leak in the hand wash basin, try to clean the mud off ELITSHA, friends and family to speak to, small other repairs, taking the lead in UBUNTU again since we have full and unlimited internet on board, planning and booking Zora’s and Su’s tickets towards us, baking bread again and of course swimming and snorkelling.

But let me talk first a little bit about Suriname and our short sail to Grenada. Suriname was for a long time a Dutch colony. Since 1975, this country is the smallest independent state in South America. The previous president unfortunately abused his power and all the resources the beautiful country has, for example gold, aluminium, oil, bananas got exported unwisely and the profit went into the presidents and his friend’s pockets. That is what Surinamers were telling us. In the meantime, there is a new president, but there is Corona as well. The ECO tourism, Suriname was good and well known for, stands still and the country is in a bad state and shape. At the banks of the Suriname river, entering Suriname, you see big and then I mean really big villas. According to the locals they belong to friends of the former president and to drug lords. A very familiar story to us South Africans. The Netherlands is still involved and helps where they can, but a few days after we left Suriname they closed the country: total lockdown. Just above 500 000 people live in Suriname and most of them in and close to Paramaribo. People are currently getting infected and dying in huge numbers from Corona: not enough hospital beds, not enough vaccinations, not enough oxygen……… not enough doctors and nurses. Their rainy season is terrible this year due to the ELNino effect and its really tuff for the poor population. After a good week in the Marina and a road trip through the rural part of the country to a big dam where people are searching for gold, visiting banana plantations, visiting Paramaribo with a lot of rain we said goodbye to the populated part of Suriname together with Elitsha and we sailed into the Commewijne river. This was so romantic and special. The jaguars, caiman and anacondas were too scared of us, hahahahha. We did not see them, but we heard and enjoyed the voices of the jungle, saw and heard millions of birds, parrots and all kind of other noises. It was magical. Three days we were totally one with nature, did not see any human being, together with Elitsha.

Coming back from Commewijne river was coming back to happy reggae life. Looking for a spot ashore to get our dingy on board for the trip to Grenada, a fisher of New Amsterdam waved us to come next to his fisher boat. Loud reggae music and a very friendly crew invited us for coffee, tea and biscuits……….and dagga and rum………..Unfortunately, we had to say thank you no (dagga and rum out of question, of course). The threat of getting infected just before we go back to sea again for a couple of days made us kindly refusing the offer. Even though we chatted a while with them and they helped us to get the dingy motor on board. And that’s how Surinamers are, chatty, always happy to assist and help, curious and interested about who you are. As I mentioned before people told us in advanced, that coming to South or Central America or the Caribbean with a South African flag would ask for problems. That was one of the reasons why we registered Elitsha in Germany. But we always say that we are from Cape Town, we don’t hide that and up to now we had no bad experiences. People are impressed that we come from that far to visit their small country and want to know if we like it. They loved the fact that we speak Dutch, because Dutch is still the first language in Suriname. Anyway, after chatting to the fishermen, we tied everything nicely, slept a short night and left New Amsterdam and Suriname at 6 am on the 25th of May.

Aware of the thread of Venezuelan pirates (Surinamers and NOON site (cruiser website) informed us about it), we sailed at a safe distance from the coast. Even though we choose to pass trough the Galleon’s passage between Trinidad and Tobago, but we choose to pass it close to the Tobago side, away of the Venezuelan coast. On our way we saw a fair number of oil platforms, huge ones, with huge flames, we could see from far. This was also a bit spooky. We had 35 to 40 knots of wind and a good speed to leave the oil area and the Galleon’s passage behind us. I think, pirates do not like rain. We had tons of rain and no pirates though……..although: Dick told me later, that 40 miles out of both coasts, the Grenadian and the Tobagonian, a fast open boat with 3 men in it sped past us. We think they were checking us out, how rich we are. The stretch between Tobago and Grenada apparently is also declared as an unsafe area. That is what we heard later when we arrived in Grenada. Our neigor, Steve, always has a gun with him. Happily, with enough wind and a strong currant we passed Tobago at 4:30 in the morning and arrived safely in Grenada at 17:00 on the 28th of May.

Close to the harbour at the quarantine anchorage we spoke to our South African friends of the Aventura, a young couple with 2 dogs and his parents on their way to emigrate to Panama. We saw them in every harbour we visited up to now. They left Suriname a few days earlier then we did. They craved for blue water and thought jaguar, caiman and anaconda would perhaps love their dogs too much. In any way, nice to see them again. They explained the Grenadian procedures to us and on Saturday we went ashore to register with the health department. We inhaled the positive and relaxed Grenadian vibe immediately: steel drum music from the taverns, people on the streets, Corona is almost dealt with.

And in the meantime, 1 week in St George, we are declared negative and are allowed to explore the island. Paul, a registered tour guide grabbed his chance. Slandering around the harbour he almost forced us to have a tour with him. The cruise ships are missed by restaurants, tour guides…not by us. Paul told us, that they on “good” days had 6000 tourists from cruise ships ashore. Dick and I were quite happy to escape these “good“ days. Pity for Paul, that’s why we went with him on a long trip through St. George at noon and let him earn some ECDs. Hot and up and down, I was exhausted at the end. We didn’t walk much for the last 2 months at least..

Grenada is the spice island: nutmeg, gloves, cinnamon, and other spices grow here. They have a golden waterfall and many more attractions. We will explore them all and share with you. For now, we experienced the spicy side of the island by drinking shandies with nutmeg, eating ice cream with nutmeg and gloves and some other weird things you would think its really ugg, but in reality it’s absolutely amazing.

We are registered for Astra Zeneca vaccination and yes, we are in a marina with a nice club house and WIFI and not on anchorage or at a mooring buoy. For the first time in almost 3 months, I am able to go and stay where I want on my own. For somebody like me, who likes her independence, its heaven. Opposite of our little paradise, there is another marina, posh and expensive and not really our style. Elitsha, would feel a bit lonely between all the posh-million dollar-yachts. I don’t know, if I mentioned before, that a lot of other cruisers, have fancy and well-equipped boats with freezers, bread baking automates, washing machine, water cooker……. you name it. Our only luxury is a fridge, a BBQ and a good stove with oven, cosy and exactly what we need no more and no less. Anyway, Elitsha got a good clean-up. Sticky, a local guy, Dick and I made her looking pretty again. The water of the Suriname river was dirty through mud and chemicals, they use for the gold extraction industry, we learned. And this was very difficult to get off the hull-0987654Qasdfuiop[.

My home office is in the marina’s clubhouse, with more than brilliant views! Unfortunately, UBUNTU for Africa’s operations manager, who took over financials and admin of the NGO from me, resigned a few days ago. That’s why I am back on the job and working every day for an hour or 3. Alene Edson Smith, local social worker, who was already involved in the family program and took over my job at Kronendal Primary, is doing the hands-on jobs, where you have to be involved personally onsite, like team meetings, meetings with principals etc. For now, we won’t have stretches which will take more than 3 days and we have internet and WIFI. No problem to work though. I love my work as much as I love cruising. To combine both is absolutely great.

For the rest the NGO is in good hands, with our after-care team, Barbara Heye, who is mentor to a single mother with 3 kids. And as I mentioned before Alene Edson Smith, well known in the valley through her involvement through her own NGO, Serenity, took over the reins at Kronendal Primary from me and is mentor to 5 families in our NGO. We share the lead of UBUNTU for Africa. What I can do, I will do, where personal presence is needed, Alene will be hands on. She will lead the sound and music studio, which will release their first CD soon. Lelo managed to get 2 new volunteers into this project, for marimba and music production. Ricardo will remain taking the lead on Silikamva side and Alene will have a firm look and hand on the project.

After care is just running. Andiswa and her team also get support from Alene. But this team of 5 is just doing what they can do best: love our children and supervise, support, teach them and make sure that they are safe.

Questions for the kids:

1. How many kilometres did we sail from Cape Town to Grenada?

2. Which language do the people speak in Suriname?

3. What kind of currency do we used in Suriname and which one in Grenada?

4. Please explain, what the modern pirates of the Caribbean are up to.

5. What is the name of the small entrance to the Caribbean between Trinidad and Tobago?

Sponsor sail:

For the ones who want to take part in our sponsor sail: We have sailed 1812 nautical miles. You can donate a cent, a Rand, a Euro or whatever per nautical mile. We are sailing for these amazing schools: every nautical mile and each Rand counts. To UBUNTU for Africa,German NGO.

The money will go to the UBUNTU for Africa projects: after care at Hout Bay Primary School and the music project at Silikamva High School. This organisation I started 12 years ago (www.ubuntuforafrica.com) Of course, you will receive a tax certificate.

Ubuntu for Africa-Kinder-, Jugend und Familienhilfe in Südafrika

Volksbank Boenen e G

IBAN: DE91 4106 2215 0054 5799 01

For South Africans and others, who want to donate directly to South Africa (also with tax certificate): please donate to Kronendal Primary School (www.kronendalprimary.com). I worked for 10 years at Kronendal Primary as a school counsellor. This school struggles financially due to the consequences of the Covid Pandemic and deserves our support.

KRONENDAL PRIMARY SCHOOL trading as CUIM (“the account holder”) holds the following account with

First National Bank, a division of FirstRand Bank Limited (“FNB”): Account Type BUSINESS ACCOUNT

Account Number 53452884035

Branch Code 204009

Branch Name HOUT BAY 345

Swift Code FIRNZAJJ

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brayan4prez-blog · 5 years

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B-LOGS #3

Dia cuatro… It’s business time! 3 days of having fun and wearing shorts while we all went sightseeing together blew by fast. It was finally time to put on a blazer and slacks. This was my first early morning in Spain and I used it well. I had a rather long 6 am conversation with my homestay mom and I was enamored by her stories as a lifelong resident of Barcelona. I could only imagine what is was like for her. But okay, maybe my grammar will be off in the next sentence so heads up. SPANISH HOME-COOKED MEALS ARE SO FIRE. They remind me of my grandma’s cooking. I’ve had so many traditional meals and they are so tasty. You can really taste the love and care in each meal too. What make them the ebst in that Isabel, (homestay mom) eats with us and we talk. This is where Isabel tells me all about Spain and her life. I’ve built a big bond with my homestay parents. This day went on and I explored some of the “Poble Sec” area of Barcelona. I learned a lot about the everyday culture in a less populated area then Placa Catalunya. This morning walk proved to me that the people of Barcelona are indeed extremely kind and hard working. I saw kids going to school while their parents walked them, people on their way to go work at whatever small business they worked at, and also tourists like myself exploring. Only thing is I looked way more local. I felt good after this and it helped my start my week great. That day we learned about the US Consulate and the role it plays for the US and Spain. Foreign Services became a little more interesting to me. I never knew before this class that the US had many different things like this and the services they have. I really like how there's always a support for US Citizens worldwide. My favorite thing that day though was the university visit. The lecture was about global business and it was interesting hearing what my brother always talk about from another person’s mouth. I am an aspiring entrepreneur so I was like a pot of gold. UPF itself was extremely nice too. It was a very beautiful campus.

Day 5 was such a fun day all in all. No, not cause of the visit being cancelled that day but because of the scavenger hunt we all went on. Samir was in my group and we’ve travelled everywhere together so it was nice getting to know the city a bit more with him. I felt like an expert of the city that day but we all know that was not the case for the Paella visit. I truly saw what an average day in the city looks like that day. The farmers market were extraordinary. This is the day I began to feel a lot more comfortable. They same day everybody else got a haircut from “ELIJAH” because they thought it would give them superpowers. But all my friends look greta. Meanwhile they did that I toured more of Placa Catalunya myself and met a lot of locals and got some tasty gelato. For me, that experience gave me the superpower of courage to step outside my comfort zone and get to know people and they city, and let me tell you, It was a dream. Later that night I got to experience the nightlife at the beach of Barcelona. But I’ll go way more into depth on that in my next blog as we leave very soon back home. I’m feeling like a changed man and I'm so happy and grateful to have came to Barcelona. It has changed my life, Vale?

Day 6 was our last day in Spain and it ended well. We went to Siemens which is an industrial manufacturing company but now with a big digitization side to it. We learned a lot about the growth of Siemens and the production and process of engines. Spain has such a huge infleucne in those areas and serve the world with having a Siemens location in spain. The new hub they built was inpring because of how friendly, professional, and innovativ they were. My favorite sector there was the “MindSphere which is a safe way to store data in applications above the cloud. The technology is the future and Siemens transitions well into whatever is taking over the market. Later that day we went to system action but before this I hate some Five Guys with my best friends and it was just so amazing eating with them together in Spain. We took over that restaurant.

System action was also really inspiring as fashion is one of my interests. The sustainability and the passion behind the company is what intrigues me the most. Although I honestly would have worn on of their jackets, I wish they have male clothing as well. It would open up a lt for them. One things I learned was that they make clothing in advance for whatever the trends are based off their research. Seeing where they worked and made magic happened was pretty neat too. I'm sure we all loved seeing the process of it all.

Our last night in Spain was so much fun because we made Paella and that was so energizing. It was also a highlight because...You guess it! I got lost alone in Spain...again. But those moments are moments where I learn and experience more. I met a nice Venezuelan who walked me to the place because my phone died. Sorry about that Don, at least now I can assure it won’t happen again. But I made it and like Ruby says, “That’s what's important.” Anyways, Paella cooking time! I’m reckless and I chose the snails and rabbit class and it was so much fun and interesting learning about the culture form a Chef in Spain. By the end of the class we were all pretty hungry and devoured our delicious Paella. I got to know Marie a little more during this time and she is really cool! This night was the best way to end Spain because we're all together and we were all happy. Viva Boulder!

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ageminislookbook-blog · 6 years

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Travel Diary: Riviera Maya

Hey there,

I am so excited to share with you my trip to the Riviera Maya. If you follow me on instagram and you watched my stories you know that I was there in mid January, I went with my boyfriend and friends. I had been wanting to go for quite some time now. There is so much to do, see and experience, I am so ready to go back but definitely with more time.

We arrived to the Cancun International Airport on a Thursday night, rented a car and headed to our Airbnb in Playa Del Carmen. We freshened up before heading out to 5th avenue on the quest for good food.

We walked a lot and took to long to decide where to eat so when we actually wanted to sit down somewhere every place was closing it was past midnight at this point. We finally found a place that was open. There we ate some good tacos and tortas. I was too hungry to take any pictures but the place is called El Portal, its on Carretera 6 Norte and Avenida 10. Since thats the only thing we did that night lets just say that Day 1 starts Friday.

Day 1

We started our Friday morning with a trip to Tulum. The Tulum Ruins were our first stop. Beautiful place! The beach looks amazing from part of the walk. We didn't go down into the water because we purchased a package that included three different activities, which meant we were in sort of a schedule to be able to get to all three that day.

After the walk through the ruins we were able to see the Danza de los Voladores (Dance of the flyers). It was very cool! We stopped to get a bite on our way out also. We were starving! To be honest if you go there I suggest scheduling time to eat somewhere else. Don't get me wrong the food was good but I personally dot think it was great. When I go out on vacation I really like to enjoy the best food possible, and for the sake of time we ate at the first place we found which was right next to where the Danza de los Voladores takes place.

Right after lunch we headed to Aktun Chen which is a Cenote. ( A cenote is a super cool under ground sinkhole that is formed by collapsed limestone bedrock that exposes water underground.)

This is definitely one of the coolest places we visited. We took a group guided tour first through the caves. As you walk through the caves the tour guides talks about the history and all the elements that create these natural sink wholes. I believe he told us there are over 7,000 of these in the area and they continue to discover more and more. I definitely recommend taking this tour, we really enjoyed it. At the end of the tour he took us to the amazing location on the picture below, this picture does not give this place any justice its a must see in person. This is the only cenote we were able to visit, I can't speak for any other ones but I have seen amazing pictures of other ones, if you come to the Riviera Maya one thing you must do is visit a Cenote!

The cenote on the picture above is the great Aktun Chen, you are not allowed to touch the water at this particular location because they are trying to preserve it as natural as they can.

Right after our guided tour, it was time for us to jump into the water at a designated cenote/under ground river! So, if you are in the area and heading to a cenote I recommend being ready with a bathing suit to enjoy the whole experience. Our tour package included snorkel gear, so it was a lot of fun! I also highly suggest packing water shoes/ sandals because you will be stepping on rough rocks and you could possibly hurt yourself. I only say this because I did notice someone who had to step out for a minute because they hurt their foot, it wasn't anything major but it will definitely be a lot more comfortable.

At this location there is a deep section for experienced swimmers and there is also a shallow section for those who are not so experienced, like me. I really didn't do much moving while in the water to be honest, but my entire group swam and explored a lot of the river and had an incredible time.

We lost track of time while at the river, so we didn't get to our third activity of the day. But the place we bought the tours from told us we had a couple of days to get to them so it was no big deal. Instead of rushing we headed back to Playa Del Carmen.

Again, after so much activity we were starving and ate at Señor Frogs. I will be honest, this was also not a place where I wanted to eat but it had a nice view and we were hungry so we had to do it. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised with my food and drink.

I ordered Ceviche, it was actually really good and my drink was a coconut but don't be deceived it was a mixed drink. I also really liked this one. I can't say the same about my boyfriends dinner (also in the picture below). I actually didn't try it but he did say it was average. Moral of the story, take a little more time to look for a restaurant or order ceviche if you go to Señor Frog's in Playa del Carmen.

Day 2

We started day two bright and early and headed to Isla Mujeres. What a beautiful place! We took a ferry from Playa del Carmen to Isla Mujeres. Once we arrived the first thing we did was rent a golf cart, its the easiest way to get around the whole island.

We like to get a feel of things, so we first drove around the outskirts of the island and soon after, headed to the turtle aquarium.

We continued driving through the outskirts of the island and enjoying the scenery, it doesn't take to long to go around. We headed back to Isla Mujeres Centro, we found a cool little sport called Taco Bar and stopped for a drink and tacos before relaxing at the beach. Loved this place. Service was great the bar tender was very nice. I like the arrachera tacos here.

The water here was amazing and the sand is so soft! We hung out at the beach for a while before heading back to the ferry. We spent most of the day in Isla Mujeres.

A couple of tips:

Restrooms are not public or free it costs $10 pesos each time you want to use them.

We didn't see any changing rooms here, we used the restroom

If you want to drink alcohol or anything for that matter there are bars along the beach but there is also a little store next to the Taco Bar where you can buy beer/soft drinks and snacks

People pass by selling little snack like coconut candy, merengue and other sweets.

Headed back to our airbnb to freshen up and get ready to end the day with an amazing meal.

WARNING!

WATCH pICTURES BELOW AT YOUR OWN RISK!

YOU MAY GET HUNGRY!

Needless to say this was my absolute favorite eating place in the Riviera Maya!

You are welcomed to scroll up again to take a look at everything we ate! I know I will be coming back to these pictures again and again.

Okay, okay this place is called KAXAPA FACTORY, and if I am completely honest with you I actually am a bit embarrassed to have gone there. The truth is that every time I travel, I want to indulge with food that is originally from the place I am visiting and I gotta tell you this restaurant is not Mexican. It is actually Venezuelan.

I know there is nothing wrong with eating there but I guess I am a little bothered because I was really looking forward to eating Mexican food and antojitos non stop on this trip. Pan dulce was at the top of the list and antojitos like corn on the cob, esquites and what not, quesadilla, churros or snacks as such were all I wanted to indulge in. But I didn't really see them anywhere.

I am originally from Mexico city, and all of these snacks are sold at every corner and I thought it would be the same here but it wasn't so if for some reason you are thinking that you will find these type of antojitos in every corner you are bound to be disappointed. Take my advise and search for places with good reviews like KAXAPA Factory. I found it on trip advisor and I immediately said I have to go there, I noticed it was Venezuelan food afterwards but I didn't care because all the food looked so good. The only thing we hoped for was to be served because we arrived soon before they were supposed to close. We were pleasantly surprised because they actually closed later than we expected.

The food was absolutely amazing! Okay I think I said that. The service was also amazing. The server explained everything to us and brought out samples of their traditional juices which were all really good but I went with one of my favorites Guanabana.

We actually have a funny story from this place. because we were actually very hungry, so my boyfriend said lets try everything he the server had talked about and share it. i thought Okay lets do it whatever we don't finish we can actually take home because we have a microwave. When the server found out what we wanted he tried to convince us to was too much food and we would not be able to finish it.

We ordered it any ways! The look in his face was... lets just say I think he thought we were crazy. Guess what? We finished it! Everything! But wait, on top of that we ordered dessert and finished it too. Now I will let you imagine the look in the servers face by that time.

I was actually also surprised I ate so much but I loved everything. Honestly if you try this place you won't go wrong with any of the plates shown above in the pictures. If you ask me what I would defiantly order again if I had more space in my stomach would be the Cachapa 3 quesos and the Patacon Mixto. I wish I could have brought some of those with me back to the U.S. or at least for the plain ride. The quesillo de coco reminded me of a flan but with a hint of coconut and a little more creamy or dense, if you like flan you will like it, I loved it.

After eating so much, we had to walk around bit. The night was beautiful, the weather was perfect despite the chance of rain. I loved this place because it was lively at night, people walking and plenty of bars and restaurants open.

Day 3

Day three Its our last day! We started in Tulum again, bright and early and full of good energy. We are back to do the third activity from day 1 but unfortunately due to the rain the night before we were unable to do it so instead we stayed and enjoyed the beach.

The water was amazing, I was a bit hesitant to get it because we were going to head to Cozumel Island later and we weren't going to be able to freshen up. But I finally gave in and had a great time in the water. We explored the beach a bit, and went on a walk. There are beds from resorts and hotels that you can rent along the beach.

One thing I did expect on our walk was to see women topless. Yeah, I found out some of the beaches or private areas here in the Riviera Maya are Topless. Just FYI, so it doesn't catch you off guard or if you would like to enjoy being topless at these beaches or in case you are taking kids.

It was time to eat!

The theme for choosing a place to eat in this trip was definitely first thing we saw, for the most part.

This time it was a place called Playa Ezperanza. Seafood is their specialty of course and I ate ceviche. This place is actually really good. I ordered the Ceviche Capulina and Sangria Margarita with Mezcal also good but I got to try the Maracuya Margarita with Mezcal and I may have liked that one better.

My boyfriend liked this place so much he wants me to try to recreate the Ceviche, I'll let you know how that goes on a later post or on Instagram.

After Tulum, we went straight to Playa del Carmen Pier to take our ferry to Cozumel. It was raining on our way, so when we arrived most shops and locations were closed. Cozumel looks like a beautiful place and I think that when it is not raining it is full of life, if you are planning on going hopefully it is not raining because it definitely take away from your experience there.

We still explored the island by foot, as you can see there are beautiful places for pictures. We still had a lot of fun exploring and seeing all the beautiful scenery but we definitely want to come back another time to fully experience this island better.

We ate dinner at one of the few places that were open but to be honest nobody really liked the food or service.

We stayed in Cozumel until the second to last ferry went back to Playa Del Carmen just to make sure we could get a ferry because unfortunately due to the rain we did experience the cancelation of some ferry. So be aware if you go during a rainy day/season.

Our trip has come to an end. I had an amazing time, I loved that we were non stop through the days we spend at the Riviera Maya. If you are planning a vacation here I would recommend trying to stay as many days as you can. There are so many things to see and do all over the Riviera Maya that you definitely need more than three days. I definitely want to go back already but next time I will spend more time there.

Hope you enjoyed this diary, if you are planning a trip there and you have any question feel free to send them to me I try to answer and help in the best way I can.

XOXO,

Yerenid

P.S. Should I do a post about small tips I didn't mention here in regards to this trip?

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#Mexico #travel diary #Travel guide #Riviera Maya #Tulum #Cozumel #Isla Mujeres #Playa del Carmen

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eathealthylivefree · 7 years

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Five Days In Costa Rica

This post contains my itinerary for five days in Costa Rica, as well as tips for traveling to Costa Rica (taking advantage of travel perks, what to pack). I just returned from a once in a lifetime vacation to Costa Rica with my eldest son, and want to share what we did during our brief stay. A lot of planning went into this vacation to make the most of our five days in Costa Rica.

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This is the first time I’ve gone away with my eldest son since he was 2 1/2 (right after the twins were born), and I have to tell you, traveling with an adult child is one of the coolest experiences. Having one-on-one time with my son was awesome and I savored every minute of our time together.

Also, traveling with just two people is much easier than traveling with a family of six, so we were able to experience a lot more in such a short period of time. We were both open minded to trying new experiences, which drove our itinerary to explore as much in five days in Costa Rica as we could.

Itinerary for Five Days In Costa Rica

We packed in a lot in five days in Costa Rica, including scuba diving, hiking around Arenal volcano, seeing La Fortuna waterfall, and taking a raft trip down Peñas Blancas River.

Day 1: Arrived at Liberia Airport and took hotel transportation to Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort in Guanacaste. We were able to use JetBlue points and their family pooling program to book free flights one way. We also got a double upgraded room, a $100 room credit, and free breakfast buffet by booking our reservation through WhatAHotel.com. In addition, we got two free nights at the Andaz by signing up for a Hyatt Chase credit card several months in advance of our trip (you have to spend a minimum amount within the first few months of having the card to qualify for two free night). When you use the Hyatt Chase credit card, you will also avoid getting charged foreign taxes when used overseas.

We arrived in the afternoon, and headed straight to the adult pool and ordered the Caribbean ceviche (fish, shrimp and octopus with coconut milk, tomato and chili pepper) and a chorizo kebab (which is more like a burrito) for lunch from the restaurant Ostra. The ceviche was especially delicious.

We saw lots of howling monkeys in the trees by the pool, including a mom with a baby on her back. Andaz offers cooking classes so we signed up for a Mixology class at Chao Pescao which was excellent. The mixologist at Chao Pescao makes his own flavored bitters (e.g., orange, cocoa) and simple syrups (vanilla, basil, rosemary, orange, carrot, beet), and uses fresh fruit juices for cocktails. Cacique Guaro is a sugar cane liquor that is very popular in Costa Rica (similar to rum). Some of the fruits he used for the class are not available in the U.S. (e.g., naranjillas or lulu fruit) but I am hoping to try mixing my own drinks at home using tropical fruits that I can find.

After our mixology class, we enjoyed dinner at Chao Pescao. The arepas were excellent (we tried the chicken arepas) as was the tuna mango tiradito (thinly sliced raw tuna with mango). Interestingly, the arepas were not stuffed like the Venezuelan arepas I’ve had. We also ordered empanadas which were okay – to be honest, I would not order them again.

Day 2: We got up early to try the bountiful breakfast buffet at Rio Bhongo (which included gallo pinto, tamales, fresh tortillas, papaya and mango) before heading down to the beach to get picked up for a scuba diving lesson. Gallo pinto is Costa Rica’s version of rice and beans that is often eaten at every meal. I think we ate gallo pinto all five days in Costa Rica.

We took a PADI Discover Scuba class through BA Divers, which lasted about 3 1/2 hours. Our instructor, Brian was excellent – he was very kind and patient with me as a timid first time scuba diver. He and his captain picked us up right on the beach at the Andaz. He demonstrated several basic instructions for scuba diving and we were asked to perform each one satisfactorily. I had to ask him to repeat several instructions a few times and he was great. I have to admit I was a bit anxious about this part of our trip, but I am so glad I was able to experience scuba diving for the first time with my son. After two dives, we returned to the hotel. For lunch, we headed to the Dive Bar Restaurant by the marina, a relaxed outdoor eating spot on the water. The fried snapper comes highly recommended and I have to agree, it was exceptionally fresh and delicious.

Later that afternoon, we took a ceviche cooking class at Ostra which was very fun and delicious. Each participant was able to create their own ceviche. I am looking forward to making my own ceviche at home.

We had dinner reservations at Cena Sociale, an Italian restaurant at the Four Seasons hotel (all the hotels on the Papagayo Peninsula provide complimentary transportation along the peninsula). We were so full from the ceviche class that we could barely eat another bite, but we really wanted to check out the Four Seasons. The poor waiter looked so disappointed when all we ordered was a salad and the spiny lobster pasta with creamy roasted garlic zucchini pesto to share. The pasta was amazing and the small portion was actually perfect for us because we really weren’t hungry. The Four Seasons looked like an amazing luxury resort hotel as expected. It had a much larger, grander feel than the Andaz, and appeared more family oriented. However, at more than twice the price of the Andaz, it is definitely a splurge.

Day 3: We left 9AM to travel 3 1/2 hours to the Arenal Volcano area and checked into the Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort. We arranged transportation through Jacamar Naturalist Tours (recommended by Tabacon and they have a desk in the hotel lobby). We stopped at a coffee shop (touristy) along the way to get a beautiful view of Arenal Volcano.

Since I booked our rooms through WhatAHotel.com, we got a huge upgrade from a regular garden room to a two bedroom suite. It was enormous and very comfortable. Breakfast and two welcome cocktails were included and we also got a $75 spa credit.

Tabacon has amazing hot springs across the street from the hotel (5 minute walk). First we had lunch at the swim up bar (food was average). Then we tried at least 4 or 5 of the entry points into the hot springs. The hot springs are pretty hot (most are over 100 degrees), so we dunked in the cool pool first.

I had pre-booked back neck and shoulder massages in Tabacon’s open-air bungalows (we had a $75 spa credit because we booked the hotel through WhatAHotel.com). It was a really cool experience because the flowing hot springs served as the background music. I have to admit I found the massage too hard (and actually painful) and had to ask the masseuse to lay off a bit. If you’re like me and don’t like deep massages, ask about a lighter massage.

We enjoyed a delicious dinner at Los Tucanes at a table next to the lighted pool area. Two raccoons came right up to the table next to ours! When in Costa Rica, remember there is wildlife everywhere!

Day 4: We got up 7AM to try the breakfast buffet at Los Tucanes, and were surprised to find a long line to get in. The night before, two large tour bus groups had checked into the hotel. The breakfast buffet included more local foods than the Andaz, including corn cakes, plantain casserole and something that resembled a quesadilla. Fresh guava, papaya and pineapple were also included.

We packed in two tours. The first tour was a morning hike around the base of Arenal Volcano (2.5 mile hike but uphill so good workout although not too strenuous).

I was disappointed there wasn’t more wildlife to see on the volcano tour, but we did spot a venomous eyelash viper, which are very dangerous.

We learned that when Arenal volcano erupts, it shoots out huge lava rocks. Our guide was knowledgeable and had a great dry sense of humor, but I could have passed on this tour as there was not much to see. I was told by other tourists that the hanging bridges tour was the best way to see animals (not good for those afraid of heights and slightly swinging bridges!).

Our afternoon tour to La Fortuna Falls was amazing and I highly recommend this tour. We walked 500 steps down and 500 steps back up – up was much harder than down! Both tours were booked through Jacamar Naturalist Tours and we found our tour guides very knowledgeable and professional.

Day 5: We decided to pack in one more tour in Arenal before heading back to Guanacaste to try to see more wildlife. We took the morning Safari Floating Adventure tour (3 1/2 hours) through Jacamar Naturalist Tours which was a relaxing raft ride down Peñas Blancas River.

We spotted three monkey troops as we glided down the river, as well an owl, porcupine, iguanas and Jesus Christ lizards (called this because they can run across water). If we had more time, I would have tried the Caño Negro wildlife refuge tour (further away from Tabacon and therefore a full-day tour).

Afterwards, we headed back to the Andaz hotel. Our driver (arranged through Jacamar Naturalist Tours) stopped on the roadside when he spotted some howler monkeys. We also stopped on the road to try casado, the standard Costa Rican plate which typically includes rice and beans, salad, picadillo, plantains, and meat or fish. One of my goals for our five days in Costa Rica was to sample as much local Costa Rican food as we could.

We also tried soursop (guanabana) juice which was delicious and sweet, and

chifrijo that our driver recommended, which is typically served as bar food. Chifijo is a liquidy layered dip of beans, pork (and crunchy pork skin) and pico de gallo. I have to admit I didn’t care for the pork in this dish. The skin was so hard you couldn’t eat it.

After we returned to the Andaz hotel, we went to the pool briefly before having dinner at Marea Restaurant at La Prieta Beach Club. Unfortunately, we arrived after dark so we couldn’t see our surroundings at all. I think this experience would have been much nicer if we had came before sunset. The food was average, although I suspect it might have been better had we enjoyed it with the sunset in view.

Departure Day: Before we left for the airport (a 45 minute ride), we enjoyed a leisurely breakfast and did some last minute shopping at the gift store, and hung out at infinity pool for a little bit.

Instead of the breakfast buffet, we decided to order off the menu. My son ordered this baked sweet plantain with a fresh cheese called palmito cheese melted on top with cinnamon. Palmito cheese has a consistency like mozzarella but has more flavor.

I got one last fix of gallo pinto.

We asked our driver to stopped by a coffee shop on the way to the airport to do a little more shopping. One of our drivers had recommended peaberry coffee, so I picked up a pack. The beans are much smaller than regular coffee beans and are supposed to have wonderful flavor.

At the airport, bought some duty-free Cacique Superior Guaca (Costa Rican sugar cane liquor which cannot be found in the US (at least not easily)) and Liquor 45 which was much less expensive at the airport than in the U.S.

Thoughts On Traveling To Costa Rica

Due to time constraints, we only had four full days on the ground in Costa Rica. It would have been nice to have an extra day to just relax and hang out at the pool, but all in all, it was an amazing trip. I am glad we got to see so much in such a short period of time.

Highlights of the trip included La Fortuna Waterfalls, Tabacon Hot Springs, and seeing a lot of howler monkeys.

Disappointments: I would have liked to see some toucans and white faced and spider monkeys; if we had more time, we probably would have spotted some white faced monkeys in Guanacaste. Toucans and spider monkeys are much harder to see apparently.

Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort: great for couples, and smaller groups; quiet, low-key, excellent service; expect to walk up and down hills to get around, or take complimentary golf cart; tapas restaurant has great arepas; mixology class and ceviche class were excellent.

Tabacon Grand Spa Thermal Resort: more international vibe; more homey feel; hot springs amazing; Los Tocanes restaurant very good; service excellent; recommend booking local tours in advance or at Jacamar Naturalist Tour desk in the hotel lobby.

Transportation: Although taxis are readily available, we arranged airport transportation through Andaz Peninsula Papagayo Resort, and transportation from Andaz to Tabacon through Jacamar Naturalist Tours. Roads can be windy and not clearly marked so unless you’re an adventurous driver (which I am not), I recommend taking a taxi or arranging alternative transportation to get around.

Tours: I recommend researching and booking tours in advance either through the hotel or a reputable local tour company (Tripadvisor is a great place to check reviews). I communicated with Jacamar Naturalist Tours by email extensively before our trip. Be clear what you want to do and see, as well as what you do not want to do.

Pros: Almost everyone speaks fluent English as it is the second language in Costa Rica; unless you are visiting very local places, there is no need to change currency to Costa Rican colones.

Tips For Traveling To Costa Rica

If you’re on E.S.T., stay on your original time zone. We went to bed early and woke up early for tours.

If you fly JetBlue, sign up for their family pooling program to share travel points and book free airfare.

Use American Express travel benefits or WhatAHotel.com for extra benefits at the same rate as the hotel charges, e.g., free breakfast, room or spa credit; room upgrades.

If you’re planning on staying at the Andaz, apply for a Hyatt Chase credit card and spend the minimum required to qualify for two free nights.

Experience as much as you can but give yourself some downtime if needed. You can have a very different experience in Costa Rica depending on what part of the country you visit, e.g., resort area like Papagayo gulf, casual Tamarindo Beach, Caribbean side, or the city of San Jose.

If you’re planning on visiting an area more than 3 hours away from the hotel you’re staying at, consider staying a few days in that area. We actually saved money by moving to the Arenal area for a few days. The cost of transportation to Arenal and the Tabacon hotel was less expensive than if we had stayed at Andaz and booked day tours to Arenal from there.

Buy a waterproof case for your phone if you plan on going in or near the water (also handy if it rains).

Pack a pair of water shoes or light quick-drying shoes for waterfall hikes (it is very rocky in the water).

Bring plenty of bug spray and sun tan lotion.

Pack a light rain jacket and umbrella for occasional downpours.

Food Souvenirs from Costa Rica:

Although we stayed just five days in Costa Rica, we quickly discovered some favorite Costa Rican products that we wanted to bring back to the U.S. I quizzed our drivers for their favorite foods, recipes and local products.

Peaberry coffee – Costa Rica is known for its coffee, but peaberry coffee is a unique coffee bean that grows there. We enjoyed French press coffee during our stay in Costa Rica and I am thoroughly enjoying making fresh ground French press peaberry coffee now that I’m back in the U.S.

Hot sauce – Although Costa Rican food is not spicy, we loved this Costa Rican hot sauce – Monoloco Viejo Verde – at breakfast with our Gallos de Pinto. This cannot be purchased in the U.S. at this point in time.

Lizano Salsa/Sauce – This Costa Rican seasoning sauce which lists carrot paste, onion paste, cauliflower paste, and cucumber paste among its ingredients, is used to season beans, or added to scrambled eggs (per our tour guide). This product can be purchased on Amazon if you don’t have room to bring this home from Costa Rica.

Cacique Guaro – This sugar cane liquor is very popular in mixed drinks in Costa Rica. Cacique Guaro was the base liquor used in many of the drinks the mixologist made during our mixology class at Andaz. This liquor cannot be easily found in the U.S. at this point in time.

Next Time…

We packed a lot into five days in Costa Rica, but next time I would like to go for at least 7 days. I’m hoping to return to Costa Rica to explore more of this beautiful island. I’d love to spend some time on one of the west coast beaches, visit the Caribbean side, hike Celeste waterfalls, take a raft trip down Caño Negro to see more wildlife, and see some toucans, white faced monkeys and spider monkeys. I might even try the hanging bridges, white water rafting and ziplining. Each part of Costa Rica has its own unique character.

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