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).

tempos felizes

our little festa at the corcovado tram ride


maira and our leblon chef making pasta a la jeetas

Ipanema, BRASIL -- happy times above.

it´s looking like it will be time for me to leave cidade maravilhosa tomorrow. if lan airlines would just cooperate i can spend another weekend here.

i am, again, waiting for my galera to finish their to-do lists. i´m watching the sound of music later with my friend and his folks. i´m not sure if it will be in english. como se diz "how do you solve a problem like maria" em portugues?

some replies:

jan: i miss you, marcos, and the lovely people of salvador. i was at centro again today and i found acaraje from a vendor who was an honest-to-goodness bahiana...wish i could have more over there. saudades!

sparklemind: that´s not emo yet. watch out.

jushtine: haven´t gotten any text messages from you or anyone back home (except for a spammer offering me a car loan)... attempting to apply that lovely italian word. here´s to building things that last!

constant rain

Rio de Janeiro, BRASIL -- it´s wednesday night and i´m alone at a cafe in leblon reading that elizabeth gilbert book jushtine and jeetas kept throwing spoilers of back in peru. it´s so popular you can get a copy of it here in portuguese (comer rezar amor).

getting a bit lonely. i´m back here in rio for the second time in 4 weeks. i flew in from salvador de bahia last night without jan (hi manay & marcos). the terrible tandem left south america a week ago. right now i´m waiting for my friend to finish his errands. i called my other friend daniel to see if he wanted to hang out but he doesn´t get off from work ´til late.

this is just fine, though. i´d rather be lonely halfway across the world than back home. it´s easy to feel hidden here, away from things and people you´d rather not think of.

maybe it´s the constant rain.

* i´ll stop here before you all let out a collective aww which i might not appreciate ;p

the most "GP" entry!

Torrance, CA -- I was having second thoughts of posting this 'cause it is SOOOO wholesome compared to Ditas' "meaty" entry. Oh well, just try to look at my shoes!;-)

i know i owe blog entries, but this picture is just too funny.....

Salvador, BRASIL ---
THE NIGHT THE VEGETARIANS GAVE IN......TO HAMON.
Let's slice the ham.
Let's bring home the ham.

mais que nada

Machu Picchu, PERU -- i'll leave the post about bahia and other happenings with "jeetas," "jani," and "jushtine" (love the portuguese way of saying things).

so manay jan and i arrived ahead of the terrible tandem by a couple of hours. the lima airport had an unusual concentration of metalheads in black sneaks. when we asked our cabbie why there was a commotion at the arrival area he simply said: "megadeth." yes, they're still around and we flew in on the same flight. they are apparently on the latin america leg of their "tour of duty 2008."

after lima we went to cusco, ollantaytambo and finally aguas calientes, the last stop before macchu picchu. if you want more historical info just borrow cely's print-outs on peru (that's jushtine's cousin). just know that machu picchu means "old mountain" and it was discovered in 1911 by our man hiram bingham.

we were such penny-pinchers when it came to sightseeing that we refused to hire anyone and tried to eavesdrop on the machu picchu guides holding their nth lecture for their big tour groups. and when we couldn't hear everything we would just dismiss it with "it's all just speculation, anyway."

i can't post it right now but i have photos of my footwear problems right before the bus ride for machu picchu. great timing. so i can proudly say: i conquered machu picchu in tsinelas! and we have a dance video to prove it.

watch out for our mais que nada in machu picchu samba number. teehee.

highlights:

ditas' ollanta, cusco and lima admirers
sacred valley ruins
best meal at indio feliz, aguas calientes
450-year old monument-turned hostel (loki backpackers' hostel in cusco)
wayna picchu jungle hike - congrats manay (almost there) and deets (made it)!

futebol e vida!

the flamengo seal

pre-match with the couchsurfers

pati with the new flamengo fans

Maracana, BRASIL -- football is life! in brasil, anyway. and we had a thrilling first-hand encounter with brazilians´love affair with the sport. we watched a match between flamengo and fluminense, 2 of the top 4 clubs in the country. the electric vibe at the stadium was infectious. the drum beats, the huge car-sized bandeiras, and the passionate fans all made the match more memorable. we were on the flamenguista side and by rooting for that team we learned a slew of new portuguese cuss words (my sources were right: it's the flamenguistas who know how to have fun. you can liken their fan fever to our own ginebra pba fans).

the match also earned me a souvenir on my left thigh, a big purple bruise caused by an overly-excited english fan. when flamengo scored a goal on a penalty kick our side of the maracana stadium went crazy and his wildly waving arms caused me to land hard on my seat. the screen proclaimed: goool!

patricia offers this simple summary for soccer love: you can change your wife, you can change your sex, you can even change your country. but you can never change your soccer team. to do that would make you a traitor to all that brazilians hold dear. 'til the next crazy futebol game!

* flamengo won, 1-0. we went home a happy bunch.

Corcovado

Rio de Janeiro, BRASIL--On our second day in Brasil, we paid a visit to Cristo Redentor in Corcovado. Since we had in our previous travels caught the sunrise in Angkor Wat, we thought it would be perfect to catch the sunrise overlooking this marvelous city. Tip: the first tram up the mountain only starts at 8.30am. Whilst killing time we went on a hunt for some food. One of the locals pointed us to Princesa Supermercado where wonders of all wonders, it was also still closed. Sleep deprived and cold we were in no mood to wait until an elderly Carioca came up to us just to tell us we were such garotas lindas (pretty girls). Suddenly, the morning didn´t look so bad. After some pao de queijo (post about this to follow) and cafe with leite (but separa por favor), we trooped back to the tram station to make our way up to Cristo. The first time I looked up at Cristo, I felt a rush to my head and realised...oh my god, this statue is big. Second thought: I promise to be good, really. Once we were done gazing up (way way up) at the Cristo, we busied ourselves admiring the view of the city. Perched on top of a mountain, we could make out the marina, the race track, the famous Pao de Azucar and Maracana (post on this to follow).

Taxi fare from Ipanema to Corcovado: 15-20 reais

Tram fare to the top of Corcovado: 36 reais

oi!

Ipanema, BRASIL -- the terrible tandem of justine & ditas finally made it to south america. they weren´t all bright & cheery when they got here, thanks to their missing luggage (courtesy of american airlines). plus we welcomed them to our terrasse hostel room, which deets proclaimed as our nice "walk-in closet" (had a shared bathroom for the first time and it wasn´t so bad). we brought them to corcovado to see cristo redentor and partied at house, this bar in leblon.

i´m a bit frustrated as the pc i´m using right now is ancient and i can´t find the usb port. so no photos for now.

i forgot to post about our first time in ipanema. jan and i were a few blocks from the beach when she gasped all of a sudden. in front of us were these two dudes walking, like regular pedestrians. except that dude number 1 was wearing a tee and... skimpy red speedos. imagine seeing that while you´re walking outside greenbelt. and then while we were outside the botanical gardens in tijuca we saw this guy walking in the opposite direction. shirtless and looking like a bronzed baywatch surfer extra. jan and i were in unison -- "temptation!" giselle, our new puerto rican friend, agreed. they´re everywhere.

will post soon about the football game we watched at maracana stadium. tchau for now!

sextas-feiras em rio (thursday in rio)

Copacabana, BRASIL-- our first night out in o brasil! it was funk/"hipy-hop" night at clandestino bar.

after watching indiana jones (with portuguese subtitles) we headed to copacabana with cariocas rosangela, bianca and daniel. it was a rainy night at 17 degrees but inside the club the dj residentes "dropped it like it´s hot!"

we had our strongest caipirinha (with fresh strawberries) and it took us three hours to finish half a glass. daniel was careful not to drink too much lest he lose his english proficiency. rosangela, with non-alcoholic sprite in hand, had the best moves of the night. and bianca showed us some mean forro steps which we miserably attempted to copy.

on the way home the cristo redentor greeted us again, this time bathed in fog and city lights.

day 3 in rio. super-legal!