travel itch reads for the brokenhearted (or just plain broke)

Manila, PH --been staying home a lot. my last night out (as in outside my house) was actually at sparklemind's place, playing rockband. i want to be inspired to learn greek for next year. somehow sisterhood of the traveling pants and mamma mia just don't cut it. and i'm still nursing a brazilian hangover.

i want to read something along these lines:

read justine's copy last year. hilarious and entertaining take on reinventing yourself and taking off to exotic locales, just because. it's after our own pseudobackpacker heart.

part french travelogue, part hot pursuit page turner involving a broke brit who's trying to stay in southern france for as long as his money will let him. his ad offering his services to any takers: "anything considered except marriage." cute.

how can a woman get paid to spend a year off eating all the pizza she can handle? while having lunch with a hot italian everyday? no spoilers. just have to mention "wayan's fail-proof broken-heart curing treatment" -- "vitamin e, get much sleep, drink much water, travel to place far away from the person you loved, meditate and teach your heart that this is destiny."


holla back if you have any recommendations

apt

Manila, PH -- you know how you generally don't believe in horoscopes but sometimes wonder how they seem to be spot on? my friend cat showed me mine today:

Back from one of your grand adventures, real life seems challenging. The routine that used to be fitting now seems terribly out of step with who you've become. Be patient. Don't make changes. Give it a few days.

a few days, and then what? maybe cat will have the answer to that as well (since hers says she makes toned precise messages).

olodum!

Salvador, BRASIL -- Olodum: world-renowned Afro-Brazilian cultural group from Salvador da Bahia, known for developing “samba-reggae” and for its active participation in carnaval each year. I was curious to see Olodum's drum corps (they've performed with Michael Jackson and Paul Simon and have worked with Spike Lee) so Marcos and I hit the streets of Pelourinho one rainy Sunday night to catch their first ensaio for the winter season.

For 20 reais, we witnessed powerful, heart-thumping, non-stop drum beating that accompanied the vocals of some of Salvador's most popular artists. The place was packed with both tourists and locals alike, all dancing to the intense and infectious rhythm. Wild! I'd never experienced so much energy in one show.

I think I'll pick up an Olodum CD at the mall so i can pack some of that rhythm and energy into my suitcase before I head home to Manila.

off to niterói

Niterói , BRASIL -- back in june (has it been that long ago?) we spent half a day getting to and from ipanema to the island of niterói by cab, bus and ferry. the oscar niemeyer museum (the MAC) was pretty cool but we were just so pressed for time that it was about all we saw on the island. marcelo our airport transfer guy was right: the exhibits can be pretty disappointing; it's the architecture that you really admire.

take a look at the kindergarten class that was at the museum that day. ang cute.

space-age museum

he wanted his photo taken with us

and we wanted a photo with these adorable little crianças

the only photo i got to take inside. shhh.

feliz aniversario, caras!

Salvador, BRASIL -- A belated birthday greeting to our favorite gemeos (twins) in the world, Marcos and Ramon (a.k.a. meaty hamon)! We enjoyed your lively festa of feijoada, batida and samba samba samba! Have a fantastic year ahead :)

Hot Male to Go, Please

Aguas Calientes, PERU -- Vegetarian or Hot male? Hmmm. We just couldn't decide...

Ode to Hamon

happy-sad

Los Angeles, CA -- it's time to go home. my boss, my dad, and my dad's lawyer have been looking for me and, you know, all good things must come to an end.

my tita is the first pinoy i've seen in 5 weeks. she and my tito picked me up at LAX after my tiring brasil-argentina-lima-us flights. i only have several hours before my next flight leaves for manila. i spend it wisely by having american-style comfort food at their house: a peanut butter-jelly-banana sandwich with hot chocolate. i shower, nap, pack my things and have a strawberry milkshake and cheesecake afterwards (my relatives know how to fatten up their guests).

i'm catching the last philippine airlines flight tonight and will be sharing space with manny pacquiao, recent victor against mexican boxer diaz. i only know this stuff since the pinoys at LAX are excitedly talking about the pacman. when the man of the hour arrives with his entourage and media crew, people shout "manny! manny!" and a man yells "manny! what's up, baby?"

more stuff on sulamerica, when time permits.

see you in manila, chickies.

Inca Postcards

Somewhere in PERU -- photos of our ollantaytambo and machu picchu escapades. ang ginaw!

carved out of an entire mountain (probably sent a lot of inca workers to their deaths)

paparazzi shot while looking for a hostel

are we there yet

it got hotter up the sacred valley ruins

something about peruvian water made our hair look nice

jeetas with croatia's answer to borat (croatian morning gymnastics, anyone?)

capoeira!

Salvador , BRASIL -- bahia is the birthplace of capoeira so we can't not post on that now can we? we weren't able to catch the masters at pelourinho on video so for now here's master marcos vinicius and top pupil jeetas (this was how we would start our day: waking up in a condo overlooking the ocean, to the sound of afro-brazil beats and a half-naked bahiano getting our coffee ready...such was the life we had)

manay, get your namorado to show us some serious capoeirista moves!

putting an end to saudades

Salvador, BRASIL -- On June 5, after a week in Rio de Janeiro, I eagerly hopped on the plane to Salvador de Bahia with Risa, Justine and Ditas. I was anxious to see Marcos after our three-month (endless) exchange of muitas saudades (missing with a heartache) over Skype. After retrieving my suitcase at the Salvador airport, I hurriedly made my way to the exit. No sight of Marcos. Risa: “I'm sure he'll be here soon.”

And so he was. I saw Marcos burst through the glass doors and run to me with a bouquet of flowers. And then the cinematic embrace. (Photos courtesy of Ditas). I can't remember the last time I felt that kind of high. When I passed the bar exams probably.

The girls and I spent five days in lovely Bahia before heading to Lima. More on that next time.

Now, after two weeks of near-arctic weather in Peru and Argentina, I'm back in Salvador. It's good to feel the sun on my skin again.

hey, im having fun too!

Manila, PH -- while the girls are having the time of their lives halfway around the world, i guess i can do the same here in our beloved metro. i haven't been traveling but having such a good time. just hanging out, shooting or even staying at home! yeah, of course i'm dating someone. what else can make me stay at home ?

ladies, meet rossy. make that rossy and robert. since we are a couple.

she's a 23 year old interior designer and the sweetest girl in the world! well that's not counting the 5 of you.

been very busy shooting lately, portraits and people. i think, its been more than a year since i took portraits of the pseudobackpackers. why not check my latest shots here ?

the boston celtics won the nba title again after 22 long years. i just had to wait 2 years for this one though. but that's two things that made me really happy this year.

oh did i mention i'm in love ? or that's too cheesy na ? hahaha

brazil in the baggage

Buenos Aires, ARGENTINA -- marcos once explained to our manay jan what the word saudades meant. it´s a special kind of missing, when you miss something or someone so bad that your heart aches. i think i feel that way about feijao com farofa. that´s black beans with traditional brazilian farina (flour). i´m pretty sure i´ll be craving for that when i get home.

right now i´m at the ezeiza airport thankful that i got to extend my stay in rio but wishing i had more time there. my last night in rio was spent at a laranjeiras flat perched on a hill. my friends and i listened to joao gilberto and ravi shankar while drinking wine and laughing at this.

my carioca friend maira says we´re the same because we both have espiritu de gorda. a fat spirit. this, after she witnessed me order pizza and grape juice from a madureira food stall just an hour after i had wolfed down a plate full of feijao and a mini chocolate fondue.

beijao to all the brasileiros who gave our fat little spirits a lot of room to play! all you people did was make us eat, dance, sing, and eat some more. the shame, the shame. piscar, piscar (wink, wink).