I came home a few weeks ago and surprised my family and friends and showed up announced – 2 weeks earlier than I promised them! I also arrived with enough time to go to my first Boston Marathon, complete with a weekend’s worth of events including a pub crawl which happen to fall on my birthday! It was great to come home and see everyone again. Austin – thanks for the birthday cake with the world map! Chowda – good luck with the new restaurant!
Since I left there has been a few changes in the family: My sister moved into a new apartment and I finally met her 5 new roommates, plus their bird, named Cat Food, who they found on the front steps. My parents got a new pet; a fish named Everett. He got the name Everett because they have a dog named Chelsea. Everett is the town next to Chelsea, the place the dog is named for... good thinking Dad!
Also, congratulations to Megan and Tim! They got married this past weekend. Not only are they such nice people, but somehow Jane and I managed to introduce them at one of my infamous New Year’s parties a few years ago. They met and never looked back. Tim’s mother confessed to me at the wedding that she thought it was a bad idea for her son to live with a female (I lived with him and Jay after college), but that once she met me she changed her mind about that. In fact, since she met Megan she now recommends co-ed living arrangements!
Anyway, I’ve been in Baltimore visiting Jane and tonight we are off to celebrate Cinco de Mayo with a few margaritas. I’m looking forward to returning to Boston – all bars are now smoke free!!
Also, there’s a few questions people have been emailing me about and here are some answers:
Question: What was the glowing stuff in the ocean in Turkey?
Answer: Bio-luminescent zooplankton, otherwise known as
Phosphorescence.
Question: Did you ever sell the car that you bought in New Zealand?
Answer: We bought our bronze colored Ford Laser for $500 US and sold it at auction one month later for $400 US.
Question: Now what?
Answer: I plan to spend the summer traveling in Canada, and then travel for another year around the world AGAIN... itinerary to be determined. It’s possible I might continue with grad school when I return, but maybe not. I’ll decide when I get back.
So, the last few days (as yet unreported) of my stay in Brazil were petty fun – I spent them in Rio. I got to see 8 helicopter rescues at the Copacabana beach. The waves were out of control! And although it was plainly dangerous to cool yourself off in the water, some just couldn’t resist. It was fascinating to watch so many rescues! Although, it did take away the spotlight from the South American X Games that were also going on that day...
This is my last newsletter for the next 2 months or so, but stay tuned.. there will be more to come!!!
Thanks for reading and staying in touch while I was away. For those of you who live in the Boston area, give me a call!
Until next time, Alison
So, I did make it down to Sao Paulo for a long weekend, and I mean long! I stayed with my friend Lisa, a hasher, who I met in Ilha Grande. Went salsa dancing at the place they go every week, got a tour around the center of the city from Charlie, and went for a run in one of Sao Paulo’s 6 parks. Six parks is not so many when you think that around 20 million people live there. Some people claim that it is the world’s biggest city, others say it’s Tokyo or Mexico City. I say, at that size, does it really matter? The view of the skyline from afar is just unimaginable. I have never seen a city look like this – it is just never ending! And you should see their driving! I can’t believe enough people have survived those streets to actually contribute to population growth.
On Saturday night Lisa had a party... suggested by her friend that never showed up! It was really fun and went on until the wee hours of the morning. Well, the wee hours of the morning were also when we had to get up and go to Formula One. I had decided it was too difficult to find tickets ahead of time and that I would just buy them at the gate... but due to the absolutely MISERABLE weather, Lisa decided she didn’t want to go. I got to take her VIP ticket! Complete with open bar, free food, and the much coveted roof protecting us from the gales of rain that the rest of the crowds had to endure. The race ended in a big three car pileup, and the Brazilian driver had engine problems. There was QUITE the uproar over that. Also, Brazilians love the wave. We must have done that for an hour straight. You got booed if your section didn't live up to the high standards.
If that weren’t enough, when I got back from the race, we went out for dinner and out to another club. I was exhausted, and everyone else had kept this pace up AND gone to work all the while. Thanks to Lisa, Charlie, Valmir and all those Brazil Nuts for taking me in. I had a great time!
Parati was my next stop and, like most Brazilian beaches, it was spectacular. Every beach here is amazing... not too shabby since they have a whole continent’s worth of beaches. I stayed there for a few days checking out the cobblestoned roads of the old town and wandering around. Went to the beach a little as well, but the weather here is uncharacterisically wet and rainy. I’m hoping the sun will shine tomorrow.
I’ve been really lucky on this trip and got by with very few problems. Yesterday my luck ran out a bit though. I went to a club last night in Rio with some people I met in the Pantanal... and had my wallet stolen. It happened somewhere between the coat check and getting into the cab. Someone must have seen me pull out the wallet, and saw where I put it away and took advantage of the crowded room. I must have intuition or something though, because right before I left my hotel room I took out my credit card and left it in the room. I never do that, but I did it last night. So, although I did have $100 in my wallet (just went to the ATM) it could have been worse. They did make off with my favorite wallet though – a souvenir from Thailand. It was a great club though! Anyway, til next time...
Alison
On Saturday night Lisa had a party... suggested by her friend that never showed up! It was really fun and went on until the wee hours of the morning. Well, the wee hours of the morning were also when we had to get up and go to Formula One. I had decided it was too difficult to find tickets ahead of time and that I would just buy them at the gate... but due to the absolutely MISERABLE weather, Lisa decided she didn’t want to go. I got to take her VIP ticket! Complete with open bar, free food, and the much coveted roof protecting us from the gales of rain that the rest of the crowds had to endure. The race ended in a big three car pileup, and the Brazilian driver had engine problems. There was QUITE the uproar over that. Also, Brazilians love the wave. We must have done that for an hour straight. You got booed if your section didn't live up to the high standards.
If that weren’t enough, when I got back from the race, we went out for dinner and out to another club. I was exhausted, and everyone else had kept this pace up AND gone to work all the while. Thanks to Lisa, Charlie, Valmir and all those Brazil Nuts for taking me in. I had a great time!
Parati was my next stop and, like most Brazilian beaches, it was spectacular. Every beach here is amazing... not too shabby since they have a whole continent’s worth of beaches. I stayed there for a few days checking out the cobblestoned roads of the old town and wandering around. Went to the beach a little as well, but the weather here is uncharacterisically wet and rainy. I’m hoping the sun will shine tomorrow.
I’ve been really lucky on this trip and got by with very few problems. Yesterday my luck ran out a bit though. I went to a club last night in Rio with some people I met in the Pantanal... and had my wallet stolen. It happened somewhere between the coat check and getting into the cab. Someone must have seen me pull out the wallet, and saw where I put it away and took advantage of the crowded room. I must have intuition or something though, because right before I left my hotel room I took out my credit card and left it in the room. I never do that, but I did it last night. So, although I did have $100 in my wallet (just went to the ATM) it could have been worse. They did make off with my favorite wallet though – a souvenir from Thailand. It was a great club though! Anyway, til next time...
Alison
Hello Gringos! Well, I promised to tell you about Candomble, the religious ceremony I went to in Salvador. Here it is: In a way, it was like most religious ceremonies... kids whispering behind the backs of their parents, teenagers giggling, and then there's always the really really serious people too. Otherwise, it was entirely different than any religion I have ever witnessed. The alter was not front and center.... the congregation was. There is no "priest like" person. Each of the parishioners take over the ceremony with their chanting and dancing... all the while trying to work themselves into a trance! No joke! It really has more similarities to a very verbal aerobic workout rather than a Catholic mass. While I was in Salvador, I met this German who had just come back from the Pantanal. I had decided NOT to go there after my experience in the Amazon... but after an hour discussion about her trip there... I was sold. I had to go. The only problem was, it was really, really, really far away. A little over 50 hours by bus, with the capital city of Brasilia at the halfway mark. So, I bought a ticket to Brasilia and left the next evening. I spent a day in Brasilia, as kind of a layover. Did you know that the city was designed to be shaped like an airplane? I thought my guidebook was just sarcastically comparing the shape to a plane.... but no! My hotel was actually located in the fuselage section of the city/plane. Interesante, no? I took a tour of the city sites, learned a bit of history of Brazil, and discovered the Brasilia has no normal roads. Every road I saw in the city had five or six lanes and each seems to lead to a mall... where I promptly went to the movies. Thanks, Hollywood.
Anyway, I hopped on another bus heading to Campo Grande, gateway to the Pantanal and home of the cheap tour. I arrived at noon the next day and booked a tour leaving an hour later for the Pantanal! Nice! Did you know you can swim with piranas? As long as it is breeding season, the fish supply is plentiful and you don't have any bleeding cuts, that is. Fortunately, all the criteria was met and I went swimming! It was a little weird seeing a few of us swimming while the rest were catching piranas. I went horsebacking riding through swamps, saw loads of birds, and some wildlife too. There were more mosquitos there than I thought existed in the entire world! It was unbelievable. In the evening you literally had to RUN from your cabin to the dining hall. A great experience, and, believe it or not, worth the 50 hour bus ride.
I had a few more days before I was due in Ilha Grande for the Island Weekend with the hashers, so I took ANOTHER overnight bus ride to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina. I have been hearing about this place ever since I arrived in South America, so I really wanted to go. It was so good it actually lived up to 3 months of hype! Picture the Niagara Falls, but much wider, and with pathways at every possible varying height and location around the falls. One platform even took you out practically over the falls. Barrel anyone? Then I got to take this boat that sped under the falls again and again and again. It was amazing! They managed to turn a UNESCO World Heritage Site into a water park. I think the job of that boat driver was to get us as wet as possible. That evening I played my first ever 16 person card game using 3 decks of cards. And, fun fact, I spent less time in Argentina than in any other country on my trip: 6 hours. How's that for a record?
I just spent this weekend meeting up with the Rio Hashers in Ilha Grande. I had such a great time, and got invited to Sao Paulo by some of the people I met this weekend... and I'm going to try to make it to the Sao Paulo Formula One race! We will see, I don't actually have the tickets yet. Okay, I'm off to book a tour around the island tomorrow to go beach hopping! Hope everyone is doing fine...... and Happy 29th Marcia!!
Love, Alison
Anyway, I hopped on another bus heading to Campo Grande, gateway to the Pantanal and home of the cheap tour. I arrived at noon the next day and booked a tour leaving an hour later for the Pantanal! Nice! Did you know you can swim with piranas? As long as it is breeding season, the fish supply is plentiful and you don't have any bleeding cuts, that is. Fortunately, all the criteria was met and I went swimming! It was a little weird seeing a few of us swimming while the rest were catching piranas. I went horsebacking riding through swamps, saw loads of birds, and some wildlife too. There were more mosquitos there than I thought existed in the entire world! It was unbelievable. In the evening you literally had to RUN from your cabin to the dining hall. A great experience, and, believe it or not, worth the 50 hour bus ride.
I had a few more days before I was due in Ilha Grande for the Island Weekend with the hashers, so I took ANOTHER overnight bus ride to the Iguazu Falls in Argentina. I have been hearing about this place ever since I arrived in South America, so I really wanted to go. It was so good it actually lived up to 3 months of hype! Picture the Niagara Falls, but much wider, and with pathways at every possible varying height and location around the falls. One platform even took you out practically over the falls. Barrel anyone? Then I got to take this boat that sped under the falls again and again and again. It was amazing! They managed to turn a UNESCO World Heritage Site into a water park. I think the job of that boat driver was to get us as wet as possible. That evening I played my first ever 16 person card game using 3 decks of cards. And, fun fact, I spent less time in Argentina than in any other country on my trip: 6 hours. How's that for a record?
I just spent this weekend meeting up with the Rio Hashers in Ilha Grande. I had such a great time, and got invited to Sao Paulo by some of the people I met this weekend... and I'm going to try to make it to the Sao Paulo Formula One race! We will see, I don't actually have the tickets yet. Okay, I'm off to book a tour around the island tomorrow to go beach hopping! Hope everyone is doing fine...... and Happy 29th Marcia!!
Love, Alison
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