El Paso, TX

"That's just a piece of dirt.” That is what I hear a Texan say once about El Paso, and I believed him.  I could not help but think about those dusty, small cowboy towns you see in movies…  I have to tell you my friends, there is some truth to that, but this place has much more to offer.  Here are some things that caught my attention during my second visit to the city:

1.        The Río Grande is not so grande.  (big)

2.       Standing on what is today the University of Texas at El Paso, I can see the city of Juárez, Mx.  I feel I am almost there, literally.  I could see a message about the Bible, which is carved on the mountain side.  I could also follow a soccer match happening on a paved basketball court by the border.

3.       The US Government did build a fence….  

4.       The first Spanish Mission built in Texas is still here, and people still go to mass there!  (More about it on future post).

5.       During the 50’s someone thought it would be pretty cool to bring real crocodiles to the plaza in El Paso’s downtown, so they DID!  For obvious safety reasons, the crocs are gone.  There is a huge statue of them instead.

Have you been to El Paso?  What did you think of the city?

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

We wish you all a very happy 2012!  We pretty much had the last minute idea of traveling to San Antonio Texas to bring in the new year, so around 2:00PM on the 31st, we got in the car, stopped for gas and a
Subway sandwich and drove south.

We read that morning about the celebration that would take place at Hemisfair Park and the Riverwalk, and the fact that it was a free event.  What better than free!?  We arrived at the hotel around 8:30 (I know, we made a few stops to pick up our much needed yellow underwear), checked in and walked down to the street.  For starters, the weather was amazing!  T-shirt, jeans and a pair of chucks.

We first stopped to get the mandatory picture of the Alamo.  I'm pretty sure I have enough of those but it's close enough to the hotel not to have done it.  Then we walked down to the Riverwalk which was packed but everybody seemed to be having a good time.

We made it over to Hemisfair Park and people were everywhere.  The usual pushing through crowds holding your beer up in the air to avoid spilling it.  I was impressed that I did not see a single fight break out as they usually do in drunken crowds.  Everyone was having a good time, there were several stages with live music, and food vendors of all kinds.

We walked around and finally made it to the main stage for the countdown.  It was the end of a good year and the beginning of what I hope is an even better one.

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Guanajuato Mummies in Dallas

This weekend we were able to see the famous "Momias de Guanajuato" in our very own hometown of Dallas Texas.  We heard about this through a Facebook post that was promoting the event.  It turns out that a company  from Detroit has them on loan (more on this later) and they are touring the US.

The exhibit is called The Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato and is located at the West End Marketplace and consists of five rooms.

Natalia and the Police.

Just as the title says, Nati just loves messing with police vehicles, I just hope I never find her inside one.  As you all may remember from THIS post, we were leaving a restaurant and sure enough there was a police car outside.  Well here she is again in Recoleta trying to open the "popo's" ride.

Simultaneous Vacation.

After a couple of weeks in Buenos Aires, Natalia and I parted ways as I was headed back to Dallas for my last week of work.  Luckily I didn't have the same issues we had with the flight on the way in.  I arrived in Dallas on Sunday and was ready for work the next day.

I walked into the office and as we had a meeting that morning, I informed the boss that my contract ended that coming Friday and it would be my last day.  I will spare you all his reaction.  I worked for one more week and prepared to head out to Alaska.

Cell phone photo but here is what the bike was looking like when I was loading it up.









As I have already posted most of the trip on my other blog, Another Irregular Trip, I will only summarize here and add some photos from the highlights.

One of my first stops was the Crazy Horse Memorial in South Dakota.  I doubt we'll ever see it finished, but at least I got to see the face.

The next stop was Mount Rushmore.  Not as impressive as Crazy Horse, but still worth checking off of the list.  Quite a bit more touristy as well, especially being the 4th of July weekend it was packed with tourists.



While still in South Dakota, I figured I would stop in Sturgis, home of the famous motorcycle rally.  I have never been to the rally, but have seen pictures and video.  Interesting to see the streets empty this time around.

Skipping ahead a bit, this was taken right as I crossed the border into Canada.

"The beginning" of the journey.  After riding through a pretty heavy storm for two days, I made it to the beginning of the Alaska Highway.

Entering the Yukon Territory.  Some of the worst road I've been on (for this bike anyway).

And finally made it to the Arctic Circle!

The map of the route.  I only made it back to Portland, OR as I started having trouble with the motorcycle and decided to play it safe.  I flew back to Dallas and had the bike shipped (It should be here any day now).

Small Challenges

Traveling does not come without challenges and sacrifices.  Some of them weight heavily during our entire journey, while others -small ones- are just the result of leaving the comfort of home.  Today I want to talk about those small challenges (SM), those that make traveling a creative exercise, and add color to our experience.  For example, having your clothes scrambled in a suitcase instead of neatly organized in your closet is what I consider a small challenge.

This week I faced one of them.  See, José Luis and I were lucky to find a fantastic apartment that was within our budget.  It has tile instead of carpet, one of the many features we loved about it.  However, all this walking on the streets of Buenos Aires, our getting in and out of the apartment made the floors pretty duty.  I was determined to solve this problem.  The thing is…. I have no cleaning tools!  So… I came up with the awesome solution posted below.  J

What solutions have you found to ease your traveling days?  Please share!

Ta da!!!

Lima, Peru - Natalia's view.

Our plane got delayed one more day due to volcanic ash.  After waiting in Bolivia for some time, we flew back to Lima.  That meant about 3 more hours on the plane, plus waiting at the airport trying to find out how the airline was going to handle 200 passengers stuck in a city they were not traveling to.  Everyone was exhausted!

It was about 1am when we arrived to the designated hotel, The Ibis in Miraflores.   Every single person in the hotel was extremely patient and welcoming. They smiled, fed and accommodated a huge group of tired travelers.   Impressive.

Next morning, having time to kill before our afternoon flight, we decided to walk around.  Miraflores’ streets looked busy.  People walking, businesses were open, street vendors and heavy traffic.  El Parque Central was colorful thanks to the gardens placed around the plaza.  Not far from there, we saw another park, this one facing the Pacific Ocean.   This second park is part of a tiny mall, so we decided to try some Peruvian food.  The ceviche was outstanding.

Maybe it was the breathtaking sight, the sound of the waves or the crisp air.  Maybe it was the delicious food, or the kindness of Peruvians, but all tensions were gone.   We got a good taste of Peru, and now we plan to come back for more. 

We were back at the airport at 2:30 pm.  If all goes as planned, we will land in Buenos Aires close to midnight.

Lima, Peru - Jose Luis' view.

Tuesday, June 14th

We landed last night in Lima, Peru.  Three days pretty much gone to waste on an already short vacation.  I felt like Tom Arnold on Soul Plane (You won't know unless you've seen it).  I'll post pictures later.  Anyway, we managed to get off of the plane fairly quickly and headed to the terminal.  American Airlines had no idea that we would be arriving and only had one person working the counter to set us up with a taxi and hotel room for the night.  Luckily we were very close to the front of the line as there was only one employee working the counter.

We got our vouchers, got in the cab and headed to the hotel.  We got a few tips from and old woman who rode in the shuttle with us, and contradicting advice from a younger woman who confirmed what every traveler should already know:  there is crime everywhere, just needs to be aware of one's surroundings.  The older woman said that we must not read the newspapers.  "People get killed over sneakers."

We arrive at Hotel Ibis, highly recommended.  It's a new hotel, they were actually in their "soft opening" so the staff was extremely helpful.  I hope it stays that way as the hotel was really nice.  The room was small, but it had what we needed.  Did I mention in an earlier post to remember Peru is on 220v?  The hotel staff let us borrow the only converter they had so we could charge our devices.

I had a pretty good ham and cheese sandwich that night, saw a little TV and went to sleep.  Woke up around eight so we could head down for breakfast.  Buffette as usual, not bad at all.  They also offered us free lunch, but we decided to try out one of the restaurants/tourist traps by the coast.  We both had ceviche, which was really good and the fresheshestest.

We walked through the city, not too far from the hotel as we needed to make it back to the hotel where they would take us back to the airport.  2PM.  Sure enough, another line.  We got our boarding passes and headed to the "soul plane".  It took off pretty fast, short taxi and we were in the air (still are, I guess as I'm writing this on the plane).

I am not too religious, but I pray that we can finally land in Buenos Aires, book a hotel, get some rest and start our vacation.  I also need to continue planning next month's trip to Alaska.  That will be interesting as well.

News Update

So far nothing new in the news.  Nobody can either confirm nor deny if we'll be able to get on a plane heading south.  I still haven't packed, but I guess I need to get to it now, if anything to go sit in an airport playing scrabble with my lovely wife, until they decide to call us over the intercom announcing that they are only waiting for us to take off.

And the parking situation has not been decided yet.  Either shell out $150+ to park in an enclosed location such as The Parking Spot or the Park n' Fly, or pay half of that to leave it exposed outside of a hotel near the airport. Shenanigans.

Off to pack it is then.

Aaaaaaand....maybe not!

Turns out that due to volcanic ash over Argentina, flights to and from most major airports have been suspended. I refuse to stay home these next two weeks, so if it's not Argentina it will have to be somewhere else.

I really don't want to have to deal with the airlines to get a refund on the airfare but I might just have to if things don't get better down there.  If we could at least arrive in Buenos Aires, I wouldn't mind my return flight being suspended!

Aeroparque Ezeiza flights remain suspended

And we're off!

Well, it is a done deal.  We are off to Buenos Aires in a few days and will be updating the blog more frequently with photos, reviews, and other random information from our travels abroad.  If there is anything that you would like reviewed while we are over there, send us a message and we will try to check it out.

Saludos

A change in plans.

Looks like the whole visa thing for Spain did not pan out.  We ran out of time & there is no way we'll get it in time to make the trip.  So Argentina it is!  The upside is that it will be less expensive than traveling to Europe, and we can visit Uruguay (which was one of our original choices) while we are down there.

Dates are still set for June 10 through June 24.  Then it's Alaska in July on the motorcycle! Follow me ad Howler on our journey here:

Irregulars

Natalia will stay in South America, more than likely in beautiful Colombia!

Spain. June 10th to June 24th.

Well it looks like we'll be traveling to Spain in June.  The plan is to land in Madrid, spend a couple of days there with some friends, then head south to Sevilla via train.  We're thinking of renting a car there and road-trip it down to Cadiz, Jerez de la Frontera, possibly Marbella.  After a few days head back to Madrid to catch our plane back.

Anyway, we're looking for recommendations, especially with lodging as we want to keep a tight budget.  Round-trip flight is around $2,500 USD for the two of us, so we might want to keep all other expenses (lodging, meals, etc.) below $3,000 USD if possible.

So post up any suggestions and recommendations you might have.  Thanks in advance.

Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. Mexico

Doing a little cleanup of the hard drive tonight I came across some photographs of a trip we took to Monterrey for a friend's wedding.

If I remember correctly I shot this from the hotel window in Monterrey, looking out to the "Cerro de la Silla", a mountain formation named this way due to it's resemblance to a saddle.

This one was taken outside of a convenience store on our way to Cd. Victoria where the wedding took place. I know there is video of this rest stop somewhere...I'll need to look.

I just decided to put a few together in a single image:

1.- Nati messing with da popo!
2.- Corn on a stick.
3.- Lion attack!
4.- El Rey del Cabrito.
5.- No idea what I am looking out for.
6.- With some friends at El Rey del Cabrito.

Make sure to stop at this restaurant on your next visit to Monterrey.  You will not regret it!

El Rey del Cabrito

Foreign Travels

As we approach another summer, it is time to get out again & travel the world.  So far we have been discussing travel to Spain, Uruguay, Ecuador, Italy or a cross-country road trip across the United States (on a side note, Superman: The Movie, 1978 is on TV!  Yes, I get distracted easily), or fly to Colombia and "road trip-it" over there.

We are still open to suggestions/ideas.  The plan is to leave for a couple of weeks in June. And so the map goes...

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Cartagena's Historic District




Cartagena's Cathedral in the background.

 

Don’t despair my friends!  We are back!  And yes, still daydreaming of beautiful, romantic Cartagena.

As soon as you arrive, that same afternoon, walking the streets of the historic wall district is a must.  You will see colonial houses, balconies full of flowers, and your mind will be drunk with yellows, deep blues, and vivid oranges.  At night, a carriage ride is a good idea.  When the sun is going down, walk on the top of the wall that surrounds the historic district.  You will see the Caribbean Sea on one side, and the beautiful streets on the other.  The ocean, the breeze, the sun going down…. Experience the magic! Words are not enough to describe the it.  Here are some pictures from Dukes Fotografía.  Hopefully, they will help you visualize your trip to Cartagena. (These were taken a few days before our wedding).

Some of our favorite places in the Historic District:

-Café del Mar:  This is a bar on top of the wall that surrounds the city.  It is the perfect spot for a cocktail during sunset time.  Notice we didn't say "perfect spot for dinner".... There are better places for food, but it is still worth to go.

-Plaza de Santo Domingo.  A feast for the senses!

Enjoy some food and sip wine surrounded by beautiful architecture, including the Iglesia de Santo Domingo, the oldest church in Cartagena.  You may see some guitarists, or young dancers moving to the fast pace of Caribbean music.  If you are lucky, you may spot newlyweds leaving the church.  Read the legend about this plaza here.  Some pics of the City, including one of the Plaza de Santo Domingo in Lonely Planet.



Cartagena's Historic District



Recommendations:

-          We highly recommend walking shoes.  Confortable, flat sandals are ideal.  Leave your fancy shoes for another occasion.

-          Ladies, the weather in Cartagena is very humid.  Go with the natural texture of your hair, and wear waterproof mascara. Don't forget sunblock for daytime!

-          Before leaving for your walk, ask in your hotel for taxi prices, and carriage ride prices.

-          Take a good number of memory cards for your camera.  Believe us, you will be taking tons of pictures!  A good photo shop in Cartagena, just in case, is FotoJapon.  There are several locations.  Again, ask the receptionist in your hotel.  Finally, street vendors may be very persistent…..  Just be direct and clear if you don’t want to buy at the moment.

Daydreaming

Another snow day in Texas, and our minds are far away.  We are daydreaming of sunny days.  Aaaahhhh….. The sun light setting its warm kiss on our skin.  What comes to mind next is one of our favorite destinations: Cartagena de Indias.

Cartagena is located in the Northern Coast of Colombia.  It was founded in 1533 by Pedro de Heredia, a Spanish explorer.  Since then, Cartagena has been an important port in the country.  Today, the city combines our Spanish, African and Indigenous heritage, which translates to unique folklore, cuisine and architecture.
I will be posting more about this amazing, almost magical destination.  To get you excited, as I am now, check out these pictures José Luis took during our last trip there.

Have a good rest of the week!