| football vs futball |
[Nov. 25th, 2007|01:32 pm] |
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Futball, or soccer as we call it, is probably my most hated sport right about now. The reason being, the fans. Their entitled attitude stinks. Just right now I am at the 69 and was watching the Giants and Vikings football game when I go to use the bathroom and when I return, the game I was watching was changed to Mexican futball because some entitled prick thinks that this foolish game deserves to be on. I think it is mostly Trisha's fault as she was still out here but using the computer and didn't notice the game got changed. Still though, the guy that got them to change the channel knew I was here watching the football game. Asshole prick! |
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| 30 Degrees - Sunny |
[Nov. 21st, 2007|12:28 pm] |
It's Wednesday and it's beautiful out again. We've hardly had any clouds since we got here and we probably won't the whole time. It's a few weeks into the dry season and chances of rain are slim to none. We just got back from the beach where we did some snorkeling. My mouthpiece must have had a leak so I just used the goggles for the first trip out. On the second trip we switched up and I was able to use the snorkel and goggles. We saw lots of different types of fish in multiple colours all swimming around the rocks and coral, very nice. We then sat on the beach for awhile to soak up some sun.
We've met several people this year that are all quite nice. On Monday we went to the best restaurant in town with a couple and their two sons from Oregon. Los Tugas (the restaurant) serves up Portuguese-style food all made with fresh ingredients. We got Portuguese Fish and Chicken Curry (both around $10 a plate). The fish comes with whole shrimps and some other goodies. The curry is hard to pinpoint the style and is probably closest to an Indian curry as the chef is from Mozambique (an island between India and Africa that used to be a Portuguese colony). After parting ways with the couple we watched Monday Night Football at the Super 69.
Yesterday we went into the lower part of town and over to Zichatela beach. It was in the middle of the afternoon and it was sweltering! I made out ok though. After that, we ventured up to the upper part of town to the Mercado Benito Juarez to pick up some mint, basil, and limes for drinks. I also found some achiote paste to bring home so I can try my luck at making tacos al pastor. Last night we went out for tacos al pastor for dinner (for about the 5th time) and then came back to the Villas for drinks. |
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| bring that shit back |
[Nov. 18th, 2007|10:46 am] |
Day two of vacation. We got up at 4:30 yesterday for our flight at 6:05 AM. I was worried my throat wasn't going to make it but I was using a cough drop lozenge that was suggested by someone and it seems to have kept my sore throat at bay.
The flight to Toronto was uneventful. We watched a couple episodes of TV on the iBook. On the flight to Mexico City to Toronto the plane had TVs in the back of each seat which, for the most part, is a great idea aside from the touch screens not being very responsive so the guy sitting behind you is tapping the thing quite hard to get it working. We watched Oceans Thirteen even though Trisha claims we had seen it before; we didn't. I had put together what I thought was going to be an awesome 43 minute mixdown of some gnarly tunes only to find out that I had the levels set too high for the entire thing so I ended up with a clipping distorted mess.
We had some time to kill at the Mexico City airport which is unusual for us so we attempted to play innocent and act like we didn't buy tickets for the right city in an attempt to get a flight right to Puerto Escondido instead of going to Huatulco and having to bus or cab it to PE. Our attempt was in vain but it still passed the time. We then got some tacos al pastor, a couple rum and cokes, and a very large shot of tequila each. We then got on our late flight to Huatulco. This flight is less than an hour and there is free beer but on an Air Canada flight that is 5 hours just earlier today a beer cost $6; hey Air Canada, get with it! Don't crap on the customer because you don't know how to make money.
Anyway, we arrived in Huatulco later than we expected so taking a Sur bus to PE would have added another 2 hours onto the trip. Instead, we walked passed the airport cabbies who have a monopoly on soliciting customers (and charging an insane amount) at the airport to just outside the gates and got a local cab. This saved us about $100. We bargained the guy down to 550 pesos and he was going to take us 1.5 hours to PE. The first part of the ride was twisty turny along route 200, the Pacific coastal highway, and the seat belts were tarpped between the seats. The driver was also not wearing one and it was getting dark. I was a little afraid but figured he has probably driven this road a thousand times. To be safe, I asked Alejendro how many children he has and if he is married. Mexicans are very family orientated and knew this would make him think to drive a bit safer. In the end, after passing the town of Pochutla the road got straighter and a bit wider. Driving 80 km/h was pretty safe along most of this road. We get to PE and met Ricardo at the Villas and he said he'll be around for awhile so we venture out to the 69 and get 2 six packs for 110 pesos (about 78 cents per beer Canadian). We come back to the Villas and Ricardo makes us a couple margaritas on the rocks and a couple rum and Cokes. We're now hungry and head up to get some more tacos al pastor. Tongiht they are leaps and bounds better than the pretty good ones we got earlier at the airport. Yum!
We walk home and stop by this "fair" and somehow Trisha spots a makeshift bar behind a small carnival ride run by a child that looks just old enough to ride the dangerous machine. We order a Corona Familiar (950 mil bottle) with two glasses. These two teenagers, who had to be about 15, were drinking at this cardboard bar behind the rackety ride. My Spanish sucks and the ride is squeaking right in our ears and I had a hard time communicating with the 17 year old bartender. One of the drunken 15 year olds asked me if I was hard of hearing, we laugh and then start some drunk talking in my bad Spanish and his better English. After that, we walk home with our beer cups full. Trisha is paranoid I will get caught drinking in public and even though it isn't a big deal in PE she thinks because I am me, I will get in trouble. I ignore her warnings and we make it home no problem and go to bed. Waking up the first time on vacation is always so weird because it takes awhile to get used to a strange place. I have to pee, it's dark, I walk into the closet.
Earlier, we grabbed a quick croissant and head down to the beach and frolic in the water for a good 45 minutes. After that, we got a bit of sun but figured we shouldn't chance our sunblock protection after being in the water so long and head back up the long staircase back to the Villas where we sit now waiting to change from one Villa Canada to Villa Mitla. Later today, I think we'll head up to the 69 to watch some NFL football as the guy who runs the place is a huge Raiders fan and has four or five TVs on the patio, wireless internet, and a store full of goodies and cold beer at just above store prices if I drink it on the patio. Good deal if you ask me! No pictures yet, sorry. |
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| June 2006 Vacation |
[Jun. 21st, 2006|04:50 pm] |
I've been in Halifax for a few days now and have stopped by Premier Wine and Spirits and bought many different beers. Most notable of the bunch are the beers from Rogue that are from Oregon. They specialize in making "over the top" beers. To me, they are not over the top but quite nice. Last night I drank their Brutal Bitter, Hazelnut, and Honey Cream Ale. The store is very beautiful and stocks tons of beer from all over the world and also some notable Canadian micros.
I'll have to admit that I was guilty of stereotyping when the attractive blonde female who offered me assistance and I did not expect her to know beer. I had it in my mind that she was on par with those girls who try to get you to test crappy beer from little plastic cups at the liquor store. "The beer tastes fresh and cold". Fresh and cold are now flavours in the macrobrewed world. I was wrong and she knew her beer. She was helpful and gave good information on the products and also her personal opinion on them. I like to know what other people's favourites are and why. It may not end up being something I like but at least I can appreciate the reasons someone else likes a quality brew.
Earlier in the day I went to Rogue's Roost on Spring Garden. This pub serves only their own beer on tap. They do have some imports available in bottles but they focus on their own beer. They also had Propeller's Ginger Beer, Root Beer, Cream Soda, and Orange Soda for those who are not into alcohol or happen to be driving. I ordered a burger and fries. The burger, when I got one without mayo, was pretty great. I normally do not like thick cut fries but they did theirs quite well. I had their IPA, Red, and Cream Ale. All three were great and I especially liked the IPA. Craig Pinhey has always told me to go there and I finally did and thanks Craig.
I'll probably head out to get some sushi for dinner and then head to Granite to get some of their microbrewed beer. |
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| The Tale of Two Nots |
[Jun. 13th, 2006|10:04 pm] |
Tale One:
I feel I've given The Saint John Ale House many chances and I think I've given it my last. Four of us show up and head upstairs which still had several empty tables. Not an overly busy night but even if it was, it is not like they haven't been open long enough to learn how to handle their customers. Anyway, three of us order drinks and I want to see the beer list as the only Pumphouse beer that they had on tap was Blueberry. Their orders never came and our server never came back to take my order. Two more of our group show up and sit down. Our server had walked by several times and must have seen the newcomers. No stops, no drinks, no service. We leave. Is this a good review? No, not really. I'll comment on my other experiences with The Alehouse in a few more words, hit or miss. I'm going to go with a big not when it comes to The Alehouse as a place with such a great location, good beer selection, and local ownership should not be so poor with service. This is the biggest problem with The Alehouse as the food is most often quite good. For those of you unfamiliar with The Alehouse, it is located along The Boardwalk in Uptown Saint John.
Tale Two:
Not a big not with this place. Saigon Noodles is located where Wendy's and a few other unimportant bar/pubs have been on the corner on Union and Coburg/Charlotte. The new owners decided to create an Asian mix mash of items on the menu presented in a cafeteria-like decor. Little has been done to update the inside of this property and I think that is a shame. I really appreciate newcomers coming to Saint John and exposing us to their cuisine. One thing newcomers should do before opening a restaurant in Saint John is to find out why so many other restaurants have failed. Remember the Iranian place located on Rothesay Avenue that shared its location with a shady VLT bar? I mean, WTF? Saigon had a great sauce selection but two of the sauces were served in picnic style ketchup and mustard containers with no indication of what is inside them. I discovered that the ketchup was chili garlic sauce and the mustard was hoi'sin sauce. OK, I did leave out one important detail about tonight's service. Today the Telegraph Journal ran an article about Saigon so most of the people there, myself included, were there because of the article. This meant that the restaurant management did not have the good judgment to staff accordingly. Our server, the only one, was running her ass off trying to serve everyone at once. I've never seen one person handle as many tables as she did. She was a saint.
For our dinner I started with spring rolls. These were pretty good but nothing amazing. For our mains we had some mixed meat noodle soup and assorted fried rice. For all of our dishes it came to $33, taxes and tip included. Both the soup and rice had some sort of mystery meats that were quite tasty but I am unsure what they were. Both were shaped like sliced sausage and the one in the soup was the texture and taste of donair meat and the one in the rice had the flavour of packaged chinese pork BBQ spice. None of it was bad and the soup had an amazing broth but the ratio of broth to noodles favoured too heavily on the noodles' side. I would have enjoyed the soup with a lot less noodles and more broth.
Saigon has just opened but needs a restaurant makeover. I think the concept is great but the delivery needs an overhaul. I think they need to hire a floor manager/bartender, more floor staff, and get some help in the kitchen going for more consistent food. On top of that I think they need to close the place down, replace the tables/chairs, create attractive spaces, and make a simpler menu. However, the place may fly if they run it as a quick in-and-out diner/cafeteria restaurant. However, the prices and apparent aim of the place is not going in that direction.
See discussion here. |
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| HOT/NOT V 1.0 |
[Apr. 14th, 2006|11:04 am] |
| [ | music |
| | The Arcade Fire - Old Flame | ] |
To start off with teh hot it seems fitting to go with Elwoods. The week at Elwoods starts off with their $5 wing night - Monday to be exact. I've gone twice and the wings are fantastic. Their hot sauce actually has flavour which is hard to come by in this city. Wash those wings down with two 12 oz draughts for $5 and there is a good selection to go with at Elwoods. Premium draught will run you a bit more and I have no idea how much bottled beer is. I'm always confused when I see someone slurping on a bottle when there are taps full of yummy draught - and a few of them made by craft breweries right here in NB. Hey, if you're going to buy local for meat and produce, buy local for beer too! On the occasional weeknight and always on the weekends Elwoods transforms from a fancy pub to a live venue with shows hosted by Medusa Promotions. They've already put quite a few shows under their belts hosting great bands such as C'mon, The Constantines, The Meligrove Band, and Akron Family. The sound there is quite awesome with work usually done by Sean or David Boyer. So, with great wings/beer/music you must be thinking the fun must stop somewhere, right? Well, no, it just don't stop y'all. The food menu has all kinds of gems and the cook has even gone so far to produce a postcard sized vegan menu for those who just can't eat something that once pumped blood. On top of that the rest of the staff is also very kind and accommodating. If you have not been there yet or have only been there to take in the live music I suggest you go in on a non-music night and check it out. I've had comments from people who never go see live music who have gone there and those comments suggested it was their new favourite place - all in all, the first on the HOT list!
With regret I add Tapps to the not list. Like I said below, the not list is not permanent. Tapps has gotten a new brewmaster as of late. She has made changes to the beer for the best. Their beer is good and I like the seasonal brews they put out. However, losing Medusa Promotions for the business upstairs is a blow to this establishment. I'm also going to damn their food as everything I've seen ordered has never been that good other than fries and their steaks. Everything else seems like it comes out of a box frozen and heated up and served. In this day and age, a restaurant that wants the dollar of an increasingly sophisticated restaurant goer will have to come to the table with more. One time I went to their wing night and a staff member rudely confronted me when I bought too many wings for my beer serving. I had planned on drinking more beer but I wanted my wings all at once. This is not very good customer service and I was put off by that and to top it off, the wings there are horrible. There are a group of people who love them but those are also the same people who buy bottled beer when they go there - what is up with that? If I ran that place I wouldn't even offer any other beer but my own. So, Tapps doesn't have to stay on the NOT list forever, it just needs to do a bit of a makeover. There we go, HOT or NOT v 1.0. Bring dat shit back! |
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| dan j's "hot or not" of SJ |
[Apr. 13th, 2006|12:41 pm] |
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For the next few weeks I will be highlighting the hottest and the nottest places in the city. Who is up and coming in SJ's fun and games' scene? Who is or should be on their way out? Maybe a few tweaks from my suggestions can bring a lazy dog back to it's cute puppy dog days. Stay tuned for me. |
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| pseudo scorpion! |
[Jan. 18th, 2006|01:55 pm] |
Down below you'll see a real scorpion, big deal, right? Well, here you have it, a pseudo scorpion.
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| more customer service griping |
[Jan. 5th, 2006|12:07 pm] |
So, when I am at a retail outlet and want to return something they will not give me cash back unless it is an automatic reversal of payment onto the same account the gift was bought on. Of course, being that it was a gift I am not going to go to the person who bought it for me and ask for the credit or debit card and then ask for the cash. This method of serving the customer is not ideal.
Today I found out that the National Student Loans office has quite the opposite, albeit just as worse, method of refunding their customers' money. I did not authorize pre-authorized payment to pay off my loan but somehow they got it in their head that they would take money out of my bank account a few days after making a payment. I called to have that payment reversed thinking that they will be able to put the money right back into the account it was paid from. "Retail outlets prefer this method", I said. I was denied this request and the girl, Trisha, on the phone was apparently more concerned with me having the money, in my hand, in 5 to 10 business days. |
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| returning christmas presents = one big headache |
[Dec. 29th, 2005|08:30 pm] |
so, i go to stokes and not only do they only give store credit but my receipt for my pasta maker is over 30 days so they wouldn't take it. i got two of them for christmas and obviously don't need one. i do have the receipt from the other set of parents and i think that one may be less than 30 days. it is brand new and in the box, what is the problem of taking it back especially considering they still sell the damn things and all they were giving me was some junk from their store worth the same amount anyway.
then, there is that hair/beauty place just a few shops down. i bought some nioxen(sp) shampoo and conditioner for trisha. being the dumb guy i am i buy the stuff that is level 3 (for chemically treated hair, which hers isn't). i go to get the level one stuff bought they are sold out and even if they are not i could not return until jan. 2nd. what is up with that? did they think their store would be filled to capacity until a full week after christmas? they need to get over themselves! |
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| in Mexico... |
[Dec. 1st, 2005|12:22 am] |
In Mexico you can not flush your tiolet paper down the drain. It'll clog the pipes in no time. Instead, you wipe your tush and put the paper into the trash next to the tiolet. I have many great bathroom stories from Mexico. A few years ago I went to Mexico with some UNBSJ students and a few of the girls thought this TP practice to be a little too gross for them and would flush their TP. One night I was relaxing and most likely enjoying a rum and coke and a couple of them come up and tell me their tiolet is flooded. I giggle and ask them if they flushed their TP. Their response gave it away and I laughed and did not do a damn thing for them. This incident happened at the lovely Hotel Montecarlo.
The other day while in Mexico City we went to Mcdonalds. One, for a clean bathroom and another because it was Sunday and not much was open in the downtown business district. The bathrooms there are locked and you need a staff member to let you in. Lucky for me, they have a girl who has the job of keeping people in the proper place in line. I would really like someone to do that anywhere here in Canada where lines are formed. I would love some worker at the movie theatre to bounce some sly moviegoer who thinks he/she is doing something smart while jumping into the newly opened cash's line while there are clearly people near it that have been in line longer. OK, back to the Mcdonalds' bathroom. There is a guy in the only stall and another older fella waiting. He informs me that there is a line as if I thought they were in there smoking a joint or something. I said, "I'll wait", and the older fella finds me pretty entertaining due to my white skin and asks me if I am American and I said "No, Canadian". He then tells me how he just met some girls around 25 from Vancouver that same day. I think he was waiting for me to say, "oh yeah, Tracy and Melanie...I know them eh". He then tells me not to worry as he "goes fast". I gave him an assuring nod that I appreciated his fast bowels and continue to wait. This man had to go as much as I did I think as he then commented that the guy in the stall is performing a ceremony. I really had to giggle some on that comment. After the first guy gets done his business the old guy is in and out quick fast. He stood up to his word and I made it a point to tell him he was a man of his word and wished him luck and enjoyed my stay in the Mcdonalds bathroom without an audience.
Right after that we took some pictures of the Zocalo which is all dressed up for Christmas and also populated by some demonstrators either supporting a political party, protesting a political party, protesting some foreign policy, or supporting literacy. It is really hard to tell in Mexico what a demonstration is for most of the time. They also demonstrate a lot so I tend to ignore most of it unless I see something that catches my eye such as George Bush and Mother Theresea beside each other.
Here is a guy running for the mayor of Mexico City. A parade was heading by Alameda Park and toward the Zocalo. I wonder if they had a clash with the literacy supporters. Go Marcelo!!!
Oh yeah. These police on horsies really liked Marcelo, who is apparently leading the polls right now. The kid in the foreground was quite happy to get that shirt from Marcelo. I think his mom or grandmother was jealous that even if she got one she couldn't fit into it.
This used to be the largest building in Latin America. I think they have bigger ones now. It is called the Latin American Tower. I hear you can see Tierra Del Fuego Chile from the top.
Some things in Mexico make little sense such as this:
Wait! At a different angle it is actually a cow coming out of a lightbulb, not an egg! It all makes sense now.
We then got interviewed by students learning English. A few years ago some girls would not leave me alone until I let one of them kiss me on the cheek. Usually they leave you with a lollipop. These guys neither had kisses or lollipops. I was somehow not disappointed.
In Mexico, some other weird things happen like getting a cab called the night before as we were leaving on a van service from PE before the office opened in the morning. The girl in the office called the airport service taxi. We get dropped off at the van service that would normally be a 20-25 peso ride but turned into being a 100 peso ride! I asked why and the guy said, "Servicio Especial". It wasn't THAT special.
That is all for now. Oh, Sharon thinks that I have written too much for a 10 day vacation. She thinks that I have written enough for a person who has travelled around the world... :( |
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| brrr |
[Nov. 29th, 2005|02:32 pm] |
It is currently 9 degrees out right now. That isn't that bad actually considering the night we spent in Oaxaca it was around 12 degrees. It gets up close to 30 during the day though. I am trying my Herradura Anejo tequila right now and it is some smooth stuff. I would compare it with a high end rum or whiskey. I also got another tequila under the brand, Maestro and got the anejo of that. They only made 2670 bottles of it that year. I have bottle 580something. I'll wait to open that up. It was even more than the Herradura. It is nice to have a day off after coming home from vacation, that is for sure. I'm also catching up on the two hour difference which isn't a big deal but it still would have been hard to wake up an 8 PM shift this morning.
The day we left Puerto we got up at like 5 or something to make the earliest van service out of the city at 6 AM. We arranged to have a taxi pick us up and maybe the girl who called for us thought we were going to the airport and got us an airport service taxi. Normally for the ride from our villas to the van service it would have been about 20-25 pesos. This guy was 100 pesos! I was a little pissed but what could I do. Weird things happen in Mexico. Another one of those weird things is that Trisha orders a plate of MIXED fruit and not only does not get the mixed fruit, but gets the full sized fruit salad but still with only one type of fruit, Papaya, which she hates. She says it tastes like rotten coffee beans. That incident was at the Hotel Isabel where they have been known to not give you the bill (which I assume is not legal in Mexico nor most other countries), add the tip into the price without telling you and getting tipped again, and some other funny things. Other than being some funny business at that restaurant, they are actually really nice and the french fries are amazing. French fries and fresh potatoe chips are always good in Mexico actually.
I still have more to write but wanted to update this at least somewhat now that I am back. |
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 27th, 2005|05:24 pm] |
No pics today, sorry. I am on a shitty computer at the Hotel Isabel in Mexico City. Our long trip back to D.F. went well considering how torturing travelling can be in Mexico. We made it back to the city plenty hungry but no food to be found. The Isabel was full as there seemed to be a few bus tours in the area and were filling up the budget hotels. We went to a common standby, the Montecarlo. It is quite crappy to tell the truth but it was late and we needed a place to stay. We didn´t notice a new hostel right next to the Isabel until already checking into the Montecarlo.
There is this fat dude that stares you down at that place and it creeps us out. Anyway, this thing takes 10 pesos before you start and Trisha started a few minutes before me and is beeping. I will be beeping soon too.
Lots of pics and stuff when I get back to Canada. |
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| mmm sushi |
[Nov. 25th, 2005|06:38 pm] |
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So, last night we went to a sushi bar called Sakura and it was excellent. We did not have anything too daring then but today we went again and I got some Sashimi that consisted of tuna and two other types of fish I am not sure of...one could have been red snapper, I think. We may hit that shit up again before the end of the night it was that good.
We didn´t do much today though as Trisha was under the weather due to a run in with some tequila last night. We hung out at El Mosquito until they closed and one of the owners, Francesca, drove us home. Enrique, pictured here, is staying at a hostel just up the street from our villas.
We watched the sun set again tonight with a few of our friends, dogs. They seem to follow us around a lot. Breakfast Dog has been around here and there lately but I think he must have found people who treat him better.
Here are a couple of pics from El 3 Diablos...the first one of me, I think.
Tomorrow we leave PE for Oaxaca. Our plan is to not stay the night there but just to shop for some fine Oaxacan chocolate and then head back to Mexico City on the 4 PM bus. We´ll be in Mexico City by around 10ish and head on the Subway to our hotel and hang out for a couple of days. We fly back home on Monday. |
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| scorpion 1 - dan 0 |
[Nov. 24th, 2005|05:04 pm] |
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So, yesterday I left my towel on the floor in the bedroom and a scorpion thought it to be its new home. I get out of the shower and it stung my finger. I did not know it at the time and go into the bedroom and I am describing my pain to Trisha and then she spots the bugger on my towel. I threw it to the floor and Trisha puts on a shoe and stomps him dead. We inform the staff of my bite and a Mexican girl working who speaks good English said that I should be alright and that it is good for my immune system. She talks to another Mexican lady on the staff and she tells the girl who speaks English for me to drink some lime juice. I do and mix it with some rum and coke. I thought I heard the lady say for me to drink tequila too but I wasn´t certain so I leave that on the shelf...for now. For the next hour I felt a bit of a rush or high from the sting. Whether or not it is from the venom or from the rush of getting bit I am not sure. I am lucky it did not sting me elsewhere considering I was nude.
Last night Trisha put me on some medication for my heat stroke that consisted of Cuba Libres which are rum and cokes with a heavy dose of lime juice. My aches went away and I slept great. We then went down to the beach this afternoon and rode some waves into the beach that would make us roll around in the sand as it landed. This is a fun activity although if done too much you can get a pretty nasty sand rash.
Here are a couple of other pics:
I think we may check out a sushi restaurant tonight on Playa Zichatela.
This is a map of Puerto for your reference. We are at Playa Carrizalillo on the eastern side of the bay.
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| sun 10 - dan 0 |
[Nov. 22nd, 2005|05:13 pm] |
today we went to el mercado benito juarez. we picked up red snapper, huge ass shrimp, and steaks. we ate the fish for lunch and we´re having the shrimp and steak for dinner tonight. we picked up other such items at the market too. it was rad...lots of produce and meats all over the place. trisha gets grossed out with all the meat hanging everywhere. i should have taken a photo but i am dumb. i´ll check out the market in oaxaca on saturday and post pics of that - they all look about the same.
after leaving the market it was around 11:30-noonish and the sun was at it´s peak waiting to lay a beaten to me. i did not think straight and went the wrong way and i think i made it halfway to acapulco before heading back toward where we are staying. when we got back i stripped off all my clothes and went into the shower to cool off but it was too late. i got sunstroke for about the 10th time in my life - i=wimp when it comes to the sun. it is just after 5 now and we just left the supermarket to pick up some tequila and some other fixings for dinner and margaritas and i am feeling a bit better now.
jack and sally went over to playa zicatela (the surfing beach) so jack can do some surfing. we may be hanging out with them over on their area of town tomorrow night. i have never really given that place a chance after being there for one night a couple of years ago.
they have a website for their trip and it is:
spaces.msn.com/members/worldtour0506
I am going to check it out now. No pics today as I really didn´t take any today after the sun beat the hell out of me. |
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| blink 182 - miss you |
[Nov. 21st, 2005|07:30 pm] |
| [ | music |
| | MuchMusic´s Dance Mix 96(i think) | ] |
Yesterday we had some new people arrive a the villas from the land down under and their names are Jack and Sally, hence the title of this post (in case you don´t know, the song has lyrics that go like "...live like Jack and Sally if we want to". They are on a trip around the world basically and have already been to Peru, Ecuador and had a stay in Miami on their way to Mexico for some reason. They are still going to L.A., New York, London for awhile, and then the rest of Europe, and finally Africa. We hung out at the villas´ bar drinking Margaritas and then again today down at the beach where I actually spent some time on the sand for once. All of the other times I have just stayed in the water. I am not really burnt yet...thank God for SPF 45. The sun is pretty intense here at 13/14 degrees from the equator. We went on a banana boat being towed by a launcha(a small fiberglass boat that seats about 8-10 people) that local fishermen use for fishing in the morning and then scooting around tourists in the afternoons. The banana boat guy took a tight corner and we all flipped off. It was fun.
We went for breakfast this morning at the breakfast cafe that Breakfast Dog hangs out at and she followed us there. On the way home she saw some other people to hang out with and didn´t follow us. I am sure we haven´t seen the last of her though.
Tonight´s plans will probably consist of drinking beer, rum and cokes, pina coladas, and margaritas with Ricardo (the bartender at our bar). He is a pretty cool guy. Here is a pic of a snake from last night that was hanging out with us.
This is the road from our villas out to the main road:
and then a picture I took while walking down to the main drag of town(i like the colours of paint that they use here:
Oh, my belly is not feeling good about now...I blame the milk. I don´t think that there is lactose free milk around here. Pepto will set me straight.
In other news, I stumbled upon Calle Barracuda today but did not have my camera on me at the time but it is pretty close to Breakfast Dog´s main hangout so I will be back there tomorrow or the next day to take a picture. In case you do not know the reference to this, it is for The Barracuda Sunrise´s as they are playing their first show this weekend coming up.
Things to possibly do still:
Go to the market tomorow(the main days are Wednesday and Saturday)
Go surfing and/or boogieboarding
Go fishing
We´ll see whats up with that. |
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| breakfast dog |
[Nov. 21st, 2005|04:36 pm] |
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Last night we were adopted by "breakfast dog" as she is called at our villas. Breakfast Dog had been abanoned at a nearby breakfast restaurant. Before we knew it was a girl we called it Pepito. As soon as she saw us she followed us around the villas. She slept on the couch in the patio area of our villa. When we go out to other areas of the villa, she comes. There are already two other dogs that live there and also two cats, what´s another dog gonna harm?
We went snorkling this morning and saw all kinds of colourful fish. I have an underwater camera but it´ll be a bit before I have it developed. It was really fun. Our villas rent gear such as that and also surfboards, boogie boards, etc.. I still have not been out boogieboarding or surfing. I have never been surfing in my life but I would like to get a lesson. The main place to learn to surf and to boogieboard has been really busy lately I hear though and sometimes finding the right breaking point of the wave is difficult with lots of others around.
Here is just after sunset last night. We just missed it but have quite a few more nights to hook that shit up.
and here are a few other randoms pics.
Other than that update I can´t think of anything else and time is running out here at the good internet cafe. We are off to the grocery store to possibly get steaks to cook up.
Also, make comments, K, thanks!
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| (no subject) |
[Nov. 20th, 2005|11:53 am] |
| [ | music |
| | some mexican dance music | ] |
This was from this morning at the surfing competition. We made it in time for the finals. I do not know if that guy won though. It is not every day that I see a surfing competition.
Here is a picture of me from last night...well, almost.
So anyway, I do not think I mentioned my new buddy Lester. We met him at the airport. He is from San Diego and was trying to get a flight to PE too. He also also did not make the flight and bought one for the next day. He took the subway with us and kept on going after we got off for the TAPO bus station. He had never been to Mexico City before and was lucky to meet up with us as he had no idea how to get around and I directed him to Hotel Isabel which I have stayed at many times and was only a few stops on the subway after we got off. I wonder how he made out...maybe we will run into him sometime this week.
I found out last night that the villa that we are staying at..pic below..that there is wireless internet there. I could have avoided all these internet cafes and brought my ibook had I known. This cafe is a lot better than the one from last night though. The computer accepted my ipod and my digital camera...the @ key on this computer is alt ctrl Q. Mexicans are as good at consistancy as they are with having change...words I hate to hear, "no cambio". I do not know where all the change in this country goes.
Mexicans also do not have 24s...they have 20s. I bought 20 beer last night and it took the store clerk and I to agree on how many beer I was getting. (having a fridge is great). Speaking of 20, today is Noviembre 20 and that means the "official" start of the Mexican Revolution and there are lots of kids around town with wooden toy guns looking to shoot some upper class folk.
Random mountain pic from the van ride from Oaxaca to PE.
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