Honeymoon

New Zealand, South Island

2006-12-10T19:38:00.000-08:00

Hi All-
It is with mixed emotions that I write this blog entry. We just left New Zealand and arrived in Bora Bora (our plane just happened to be stopping in Tahiti on the way home). While we have immensely enjoyed our travels, I think both Steph and I are ready to return home, sleep in our own bed, cook our own food, develop a regular routine again, and most importantly see our friends and family.

Since our last update a few days ago we have driven over 1,000 miles around the coast of the South Island and experienced some of the wonders New Zealand has to offer. We had an incredible time at Fox Glacier; hiking, climbing, sliding and crawling into and around the various crevices, caves and other ice formations. While the day started off beautiful, the clouds moved in quickly and we had to be taken off the glacier quickly to avoid being stuck there for the evening. We made our way up to Nelson and Abel Tasman national park in order to hike from one beautiful bay to another. We weren’t disappointed…and were lucky enough to come upon 50+ dolphins eating and playing just off the coast. We were also treated to the most intense rain/hail either of us has ever seen just minutes after we returned from our hike. Finally, we spent our last few days soaking up the beauty of the coastline and stopping in some of the charming coastal towns before returning to Christchurch to catch our departing flight.

I’m guessing we will have only one more/final blog entry from this special journey. Thanks for all your emails and comments. It has kept us from getting homesick and made our trip even more special. We eagerly await coming home and seeing everyone.

Brian & Steph

Milford Track, New Zealand

2006-12-05T03:12:00.000-08:00

Hi all-
We just returned to Queenstown after spending the past 4 days hiking the 33.5 mile Milford Track in Fiordland National Park, New Zealand. A little sore and with a blister (or two) to show for our efforts (see Steph’s feet pictured below…new hiking boots might not have been the best idea!!!), we have been spoiled by the magnificent scenery of the past few days.

Massive rainfalls in the days leading up to (and beginning of) our trip, made for an auspicious start as the lake which you must cross to begin the trek had risen rapidly and the boat dock was 2 feet underwater when we arrived. However, the cold and rainy start made the next two days of perfect weather even more special as we thought we wouldn’t see the sun our entire trip. Walking along the trail in the lush green forest alongside countless rivers, streams, lakes and waterfalls, we were in awe of the massive peaks rising from both sides of the canyon floor.

Did I mention waterfalls? The rain from the previous days caused water to cascade down the mountainsides in thousands of waterfalls. It was magical! On our third day, we were also lucky to have a clear day (as it was supposed to be cloudy and raining) as we were able to hike up and over MacKinnon Pass with postcard views in all directions. Furthermore, just as the waterfalls began to dry up, it began raining again on our third night and we spent our last day hiking, albeit very wet, watching the water racing down every crack and gully towards the valley floor. Unbelievable!

The next day, which also turned out to be beautiful, was spent taking a boat ride in the Milford Sound before returning by helicopter to Queenstown over the snow-capped mountaintops. I must add that another “wow” came out of our collective mouths as we nearly scraped the tops (or sides) of the jagged granite peaks. Thus, we have been lucky enough to have seen this spectacular area by land, sea and air.

Upon returning to Queenstown, rather than rest (we can do that back in the USA) we decided to partake in a few of the adrenaline rush activities New Zealand (especially Queenstown) has to offer. We began by taking a jet boat ride up and down the Shotover river at high speeds, as the driver barely missed the narrow canyon walls while intermittently doing a few 360’s. Pure adrenaline rush! I’m also very proud of my wife who strapped on a bungy cord, and did a beautiful swan dive from the 140 foot high Kawaraua Bridge to the river below. Way to go Steph!

We are planning on leaving Queenstown tomorrow morning and spending our last days in New Zealand driving up the west coast of the South Island before making a brief stop in the South Pacific on our way back home. We’re excited to see everyone soon.

Brian & Steph

Steph Bungy Jumping

2006-12-05T03:08:00.000-08:00

New Zealand

2006-11-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

Hi all (I guess “good day mates” still works...but with a slightly different accent)-
It’s hard to describe the beauty of New Zealand. Unique, awesome, striking, gorgeous, beautiful, majestic, etc. could all work…but breathtaking might be the best way to describe the Kiwi landscape. From a scenic point of view, nothing we have seen even comes close to the variety and raw natural beauty of New Zealand. Amazingly the country only has a population of 4 million people. Perhaps this is the reason for vast quantity of untouched land. Note this is also the land of adventure travel. If you have ever desired to go cave spelunking, bungee jumping (up or down), repelling, white-water (or black water) rafting, jet boating, sky-diving, canyoning, gliding and countless other adventure sports…than this is the place for you.

We spent our first week here on the North Island driving from sea to shining sea (they aren’t that far apart) through the lush green rolling hills stocked with sheep and cattle. We checked out many of the beautiful beaches, experienced black water rafting in the Waitomo caves (complete with glowworms),”bathed” in the natural hot springs in Rotura (think smell of rotten eggs) and visited a few of the small sleepy towns.

We returned to Auckland to catch U2 in concert (fortuitous timing) before flying down to Christchurch to begin our two week journey on the South Island. We have now been on the South Island for a few days and have made our way to Queenstown. The green countryside of the North Island has given way to awe-inspiring mountains and lakes on the South Island. No complaints…if you are into that sort of thing!!!

We are leaving tomorrow for a four day hike on the Milford Track. It is supposed to be a fabulous hike with incredible scenery. However, it is pouring rain today (and has been for a few days)…so we are hoping it lets up a bit so we can actually appreciate some of the majestic views.
Brian & Steph

Australia- Sydney and Cairns/Great Barrier Reef

2006-11-18T17:55:00.000-08:00

Good Day Mates-
The land down under has lived up to its billing. Sydney is a wonderful city resembling a combination of the best parts of San Francisco with the beaches of San Diego. We liked the restaurants, nightlife, beaches and overall atmosphere. We found the people to be quite laid back and friendly (even with their funny accent!) and were sad to leave after only 5 days. I can see why people come here to visit and end up never leaving.

After Sydney we headed up to Cairns to take a 5 day diving course, with 2 days of instruction in a classroom/pool and 3 days on a boat in the Great Barrier Reef. Overall, an amazing experience given the vast array of colors/landscapes inside and surrounding the coral reefs including tropical fish, sting rays, eels and even a shark (taking a nap). I must say that I was proud of my formerly terrified wife. She overcame her fear of the water (and sharks) to explore a whole new underwater world. While it probably still doesn’t rank as her favorite activity, by the last dive I actually think that she began to enjoy her time underwater. Luckily we had good instructors and a fun group on the boat… …which made the trip even better. However, waking up at 6:30AM this morning to listen to the internet feed for the Michigan/Ohio State game after a night of partying with the dive group was especially painful…made even more so after a Wolverine loss in a tight game!

Unfortunately, our time in Australia is coming to an end as we are taking off for New Zealand in a few hours for our last adventure before heading home in less than a month.

Brian & Steph

Africa

2006-11-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

Hi all-

We have returned to civilization (Johannesburg, South Africa) after over two weeks visiting various game camps in Namibia, Zimbabwe and Botswana. It has been quite a long time since our last update as we have been without any internet or phone connection while “in the bush.” We began our African journey 3+ weeks ago in South Africa and had a wonderful time with Steph’s mom Brenda and my parents, who met us in Zimbabwe and traveled with us for a little over a week. People were definitely confused about our unusual honeymoon…doesn’t everyone bring their parents along?

Later today we are departing for Australia for the final leg of our trip. It’s amazing to me that we have been gone for just over four months and have already visited 21 countries on 4 continents. We love the comments and emails…so keep em’ coming.

Brian & Steph

P.S. Enjoy the pictures! Most were taken by Steph, but a few slipped in that might have been taken by my dad or even me.

South Africa 10/13/06-10/21/06 & 11/06/06-11/08/06

2006-11-08T04:36:00.000-08:00

We spent most of our time in South Africa in the south taking in the beauty of Cape Town and the wine region nearby. If anyone is in this part of the world and likes inexpensive yet amazing food and wine, we highly recommend a small town about an hour outside of Cape Town called Franschook. It is a picturesque town with vineyards everywhere and terrific hikes in the mountains above. Cape Town is also fantastic due to its beautiful mountains and beaches, perfect weather, and friendly people. Furthermore, we have been through Johannesburg 3 different times (where we are now) and spent most of our time here learning the political history of South Africa while trying to understand apartheid and how/why it existed. We saw the aftereffects of apartheid in certain impoverished areas of the city by touring the streets of the inner-city and a shantytown (with a guide who has dedicated his life to assisting those in need). We toured a few “houses” (actually shantys-1 room with no running water or bathroom), visited a housing project and spent some time at a “pre-school” for 52 kids from 2-6 years old housed in a woman’s 1 bedroom “house”…who runs the program for free based on small donations from the community. Many of the children were orphans or children of HIV infected parents (3 have HIV/AIDS) from incredibly impoverished families. Amazingly, most of the people/children we met were in good spirits despite their hardships. Very eye opening to say the least!!!

Namibia 10/22/06-10/25/06

2006-11-08T04:08:00.000-08:00

“Man it’s hot. It’s like Africa Hot. Tarzan couldn’t take this kind of hot.” – Biloxi Blues. That is the best way to describe the Namib Desert at this time of the year. Temps were peaking out around 110 during the day while we were there. Fortunately our bungalow had air conditioning, unfortunately, it didn’t work. Our bodies were rudely awakened by the heat and 5:30AM wake up (although not that well). Now the positives. It is absolutely breathtaking in the desert. The colors are vibrant, the sand dunes are incredible and a peaceful serenity exists. We hiked up to the top of a sand dune called Big Daddy (320m vertical climb) and had a blast running down the steep side in the deep sand to the bottom. Other highlights included a hot air balloon ride at sunrise and spending an afternoon riding a 4-wheel ATV around the desert. Aside from some springbok, Oryx, reptiles and bugs…not many animals were around. On the plane ride home the pilot was teaching me to fly the 6 seater plane (only the 3 of us on board) and I took the controls for about 15-20 minutes. Lots of fun!!!

Zimbabwe 10/25/06-10/29/06

2006-11-08T03:56:00.000-08:00

Still hot, but closer to 100 degree highs. Almost felt like winter after Namibia. Influences from President Mugabe could definitely be felt as Victoria Falls was close to empty (our hotel was at 40% occupancy…up from 20% last year). Serious economic issues plague the economy and people of Zimbabwe seemingly forced by poor government policy. This was highlighted when visiting the open-air market, where the people were clearly the most aggressive of anywhere on our trip due to the realities of economic hardship. Victoria Falls (the waterfall) was pretty incredible even in low season and the game camp we (Brenda, Steph and I) stayed at on the Zambeze river made for some very memorable moments. Notably, we spent an afternoon on a canoe trip down the Zambeze while passing roughly 100 hippos (one who surfaced about 5 feet in back of our canoe), a few crocs and being mock charged by a large bull male elephant near the river bank (see pic below). Let’s just say that I would be VERY surprised if Steph or her mom would ever make a repeat voyage (possibly due to my canoeing skills…or lack thereof). While a bit nerve-racking, I thought it was definitely the most memorable experience of our safari…and a lot of fun to boot. We also saw some incredible wildlife including lions, elephants, herds of cape buffalo, zebra, wart-hogs, etc.

Botswana

2006-11-08T03:42:00.000-08:00

Botswana-10/29/06-11/6/06
After being joined by my parents (Brenda had joined us a few days earlier) we headed to Botswana to visit 3 game camps. Luckily the weather cooled down and was much more comfortable! We spent a week + with our wonderful guide, Gregg Hughes, learning about animals, tracking their movements, taking pictures and enjoying each other’s company. Some memorable moments include my dad and I getting stuck in camp as a herd of elephants refused to move when heading back to our rooms for a mid-day nap; baboons waking us up by jumping on top of our tents early in the AM; my parents being unable to sleep one night due to a herd of cape buffalo who decided to cozy up (snorting and moving throughout the night) under their tent…the tents were raised on a platform; almost running over a full grown male lion taking a nap in the tall grass (see pic below), watching a different lion get up and have a quickie with his lady; and watching a jackal nervously consuming his newly killed prey (a baby impala).

Israel

2006-10-14T07:39:00.000-07:00

Hi all-
We are now on a plane from Tel Aviv to Johannesburg to begin our African adventure. After a wonderful week in Turkey, we spent the past 5 days in Israel. Since this was our first trip to Israel we spent most of our time in Jerusalem soaking up the local sites, museums and rich history. Jerusalem was crowded and colorful as we were in Israel during the middle of Sukkoth (a holy week long holiday giving thanks for the harvest).
In addition, we spent an afternoon in Tel Aviv, caked ourselves in mud from head to toe (see picture) before going for a “swim” in the Dead Sea (more like float given the 32% salt water ), hiked up to Massada and took a helicopter ride along the border separating the West Bank from the rest of Israel. It was amazing seeing the close proximity between the Jewish settlements and their oft-hated Arab neighbors (sometimes only separated by a street or a concrete wall).

We had a wonderful and knowledgeable guide who never seemed to tire of answering our numerous questions. We spent many an hour discussing both biblical and current issues surrounding Israel (which are somewhat intertwined), including the conflict with its neighbors, its political system, its allies and enemies, the internal Arab/Jewish issues, etc. I must say that I was most surprised by the internal struggle between the various Jewish sects over religious issues (mainly orthodox Jews with differing views) and the return, or lack thereof, of land (potentially forming a Palestinian state).

We learned that Israeli people are warm and helpful while also somewhat pushy, usually late, and generally poor drivers (who love to honk their horns). We thought the food was quite good (usually served in very large portions) with lots of vegetables and salads and middle-eastern flavors. Notably, the shwarma and falafel was excellent.

We’re really excited about South Africa and the game camps in the next few weeks. I’m sure Steph will be taking many great photos for you to enjoy.

Best,
Brian & Steph

Funny Signs

2006-10-08T14:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes when you are traveling you see signs that just make you laugh. Here are some of our favorites. We thought you would enjoy!

Brian & Steph

Turkey

2006-10-05T17:13:00.000-07:00

Hi all-
We are now in Istanbul, Turkey after spending the past week in Croatia, Slovenia and Venice, Italy. Besides getting accosted on every sidewalk, street corner and mosque by a carpet/kilim salesman…this country is incredible. ”Strategically positioned in the middle of three continents (Africa, Asia, and Europe) and bordering, sometimes overlapping, with the Middle East, everything collides here: liberal and conservative, east and west, history and modernity, Islam and Christianity, small towns and big cities, north and south, poverty and wealth, coast and mountains, secularism and religion.” Furthermore, as we are here during Ramadan, we have been awakened at 5AM (until we learned to close the window) by the loudspeakers chanting to bring people to the Mosques for the first of 5 daily prayer services. These rhythmic chants throughout the day and other festivities during this holy month have added color to an already colorful country. Note the sentences/phrases in quotes have been stolen from my Brother Jeff’s eloquent journal on Turkey.

Istanbul might be our favorite city so far. The city is littered with ancient buildings/castles/mosques and ruins of past civilizations. The food is mouthwatering “filled with spices that only come from and, for reasons beyond my comprehension, remain in this part of the world,” and we have found the Turkish people to be the friendliest, nicest and most eager to help of anywhere we have traveled. Everyone loves to play backgammon (a personal favorite) and best of all, it is cheap!!! Special thanks to Emily, Leyla and Jeff for all their wonderful suggestions. We will be back!

Before Istanbul, we spent the past week driving up the coast of Croatia, stopping for a night in Lake Bled, Slovenia followed by two wonderful days in Venice. Croatia had a wonderful coastline and interesting historical sites (old walls, cities, etc). We found the cities in the south including Dubrovnik and Hvar, nice but extremely touristy and the people somewhat harsh. I’m guessing the Croatian people are basically “touristed out” due to the rise of tourism in recent years basically overwhelming the infrastructure (plus it was the end of the tourist season). However, as we headed north, things were a little slower and we enjoyed our time in Split and hiking in the beautiful national parks in the north. Overall, glad we went to Croatia, but wouldn’t rush back.

On our way to Venice, we made a quick stopover in Slovenia and had a nice time as we stayed in a hotel overlooking Lake Bled and found a terrific restaurant. While Steph has been to Venice before, this was my first time. While touristy, it was a lot of fun to get lost in the labyrinth of its small streets and multiple canals. Plus, it is hard to complain about good Italian food!!!

We are in Turkey for a few more days before heading south for our first trip to Israel.

Brian & Steph

Croatia, Slovenia and Venice

2006-10-05T16:45:00.000-07:00

St. Tropez, France and Dubrovnik, Croatia

2006-09-24T01:27:00.000-07:00

Hi all-
It has been a little while since we last updated the blog. Our collective memory is a little blurry since we spent most of that time in Amsterdam and Munich (for Oktoberfest). Luckily thereafter we were able to relax for a few wonderful days with Steph’s sister, Rebecca, in St. Tropez, France (where she was for work) before she returned home to Boston and we headed to Croatia.

In Amsterdam, we were impressed by the architecture and canals, restaurants, artwork, the cleanliness of the Red Light district and the liberal attitude of the Dutch. We also loved that EVERYBODY rode a bike. Special thanks to Howard and Pat for putting together a terrific list for Amsterdam which took some of the haze out of our decision making. We will definitely head back. After Amsterdam, we needed to fill in two days before meeting Rebecca in France and figured out (I think Steph may have read it in a travel book), that Oktoberfest wasn’t in October but took place 15 days prior to the first Sunday in October. The timing worked out perfectly and we took a crash course in German beer drinking.

Oktoberfest is a festival in the middle of Munich with rides, food booths and most notably beer tents. Each of the 12 Munich breweries have their own gigantic tent which are packed with 7,000-8,000 tourists and locals (mostly in traditional clothing) drinking liberally. The beer is high in alcohol content (8% v. 5% or so in the USA) and served in 1 liter glass steins (about 3 normal beers a mug). The first one gets you a little tipsy and the second one makes sure you are on-par with the rest of the crowd. It also gets you singing, dancing and partying with everyone around you. We made lots of new friends (some of which we didn’t remember till we downloaded our pictures) and had quite a terrific time. Before we left Munich we spent a morning at the concentration camp Dachau (30 minutes away by train) and had a similar sobering experience to our time at Terezin in Czech Republic.

After Oktoberfest, we headed down to meet Rebecca in the south of France for some sun and relaxation in the beautiful confines of St. Tropez. While late in the “holiday” season, the weather and company were terrific. St. Tropez, with its huge yachts and ridiculously overpriced everything was quite a scene…although somewhat quiet due to our off-peak timing. To continue our fun in the sun we said “au revoir” to Rebecca and left well before the sunrise to catch an early morning flight (it was the only easy way!) to Dubrovnik, Croatia. It is a charming small town on the Adriatic Sea highlighted by the “old town” which is enclosed in a curtain of beautiful ancient walls. Tomorrow, we leave to spend the next week driving up the Croatian coast thru Slovenia, before arriving in Venice, Italy next weekend. What six-month honeymoon would be complete without Venice?

Brian & Steph

Amsterdam and Munich (Oktoberfest)

2006-09-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

Prague & Grindelwald

2006-09-15T02:54:00.000-07:00

Hi all-
We just arrived in Amsterdam after a few days exploring the beautiful city of Prague, Czech Republic. While in Prague we have spent our time getting lost in the various squares, taking in the historic architecture and eating ice cream (if you like ice cream and find yourself in Prague head directly to the Cremeria d'Milano, on Parziska Street in the Jewish Quarter…thanks Lory & Susie). Prague is a really interesting city, from both a historical and architectural point of view. It is a very old city and given its central location in Europe, Prague has been fought over and controlled many different times. Prague looks like a fairytale village due to the fantastic buildings, churches, castles and bridges which can be seen throughout the city. Furthermore, these landmarks have been preserved as Prague was saved from the bombing most other European cities endured, since the Germans took control of the city near the start of WWII.

We also spent the better part of a day exploring the Jewish Quarter and the concentration camp Terezin (about 45 minutes outside the city). The numerous synagagues, all grouped in the former jewish ghetto (now the nicest part of town) serve as museums explaining the history (and persecution) of the Jewish people over the past 1,000 or so years in Prague. While the history is rich, with stories of the Golem and famous rabbi’s, the current Jewish population has dwindled from a peak of about 65,000 (pre-WWII) to around 5,000 today. Our trip to Terezin,was a sobering experience and brought to life many of the books, films and museums we have seen on the holocaust. Terezin has an interesting place in history, initially as a depository of war criminals and Jews, later a temporary stopover on the way to some of the death camps in the east and eventually (after some beautifying efforts) a “model” concentration camp which was “shown” to the outside world.

Before Prague, we drove from Chamonix to Grindelwald, Switzerland (Raab- thanks for the suggestion). On the way, we had to put the car on a train to go through the mountain pass in pitch darkness for 15 minutes. Quite unique! Grindelwald is in the swiss Alps about 20 minutes away from Interlaken and has a postcard like quality given the huge mountains rising from the town’s beautiful valley, the vast number of farms and swiss chalets, cows (with cowbells of course…) roaming the open fields, and the incredible green vegetation surrounding us in all directions. We spent our days hiking (and hiking and hiking) up and down the steep Bernese Oberland terrain while staring at the incredible snowcovered peaks in the distance. It wasn't until a few days later when we found a wonderful Thai foot massage place in Prague that our bodies were fully recovered.

Now we are off to have an unforgettable experience that we may not remember!!!

Steph & Brian

Grindelwald, Switzerland

2006-09-15T02:50:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday BRIAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2006-09-13T03:04:00.000-07:00

Hi All!!
I thought I'd embarrass Brian and let you know today (Sept. 13th) is his birthday:)
XOXOXO
Steph

"European Vacation"

2006-09-05T15:49:00.000-07:00

Hi All-
We are now in Chamonix, France. I’m writing this entry from the balcony of our hotel which overlooks the jagged mountain peaks soaring above. The solitude of the small mountain town is in stark contrast with the hustle and bustle of city life we have experienced over the past few weeks in Buenos Aires, Madrid and Barcelona. This morning (our first day here) we went rock climbing (yes…I convinced Steph to give it a try and she LOVED it!) before going on a hike in the afternoon. Chamonix is a playground for outdoor enthusiasts…so we might have to stay here a bit longer than we had originally expected. We plan on spending our days here hiking, mountain biking, rock climbing and taking in the beautiful scenery. This should also help cleanse our bodies of the food and drink we’ve been overindulging on during the past few weeks.

Before Chamonix, we spent the last week in Spain, quickly exploring Madrid for 24 hours before heading to Barcelona for five days. In Madrid, we spent our time exploring the city center and made a quick stop to visit with the woman Steph lived with a dozen years earlier during her semester abroad in college. We have trouble putting our finger on exactly what is missing in Madrid…but whatever is missing can be found in Barcelona. Barcelona is alive! The city is swarming with tourists eager to take in its countless attractions, shops, restaurants and nightlife. There is an excitement in the air…which isn’t hurt by the (normally) perfect weather and beautiful beaches. We also took a day trip north to check out the beaches of Costa Brava and Tossa de Mar (an hour or two away)…not bad if I do say so myself! While I’ve been to Barcelona a few times before (although it was Steph’s first time)…I like it more every time I return. If you haven’t been there, we highly recommend it.

While in Barcelona, Pearl Jam just happened to be playing. After unsuccessfully trying to get tickets the day of the show we headed to the stadium and were able to scalp two pretty good seats for the sold-out show (for face value nonetheless). It was an unbelievable concert as the crowd, half of whom couldn’t speak English, could sing every song--word for word. The band got really into it as well, and during a short break in the first encore, the crowd started singing “ole, ole, ole” like they might at a “futbol” game. Eddie Vedder (Pearl Jam’s lead singer) said…”I think that is a C-minor” and started playing it on his guitar before singing along and eventually making us his own verses to the tune. The crowd which was already bursting with energy, went nuts! Our only regret is that we forgot to bring a camera with us but I think you can picture a filled to the rafters rock concert in a basketball stadium (just add lots of cigarette smoke).

We love your comments and emails…so please keep them coming.

Brian & Steph

2006-08-26T15:51:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
After a wonderful two weeks with Jeff, we have just said “hasta luego”. He left yesterday for the USA to collect his belongings and say goodbye to NYC before beginning his new life in Seattle, WA. It was a lot of fun spending time with him during our time in Argentina.

We barely caught the early flight last Sunday from Mendoza to Buenos Aires (ok…it was a late night and I might have hung up the wake-up call without realizing it…) in order to see the futbol match between Racing Club v. River Plate (see picture of us hidden under the luggage). It was an awesome experience as the fans are truly nuts in these parts. Jumping, dancing, singing and obscene gestures were the norm…only more intense since the home team (Racing) upset the favored River 3-1. To put this in perspective, the field has a moat around it so fans don’t rush on the field. Police shield players making corner kicks from getting things thrown at them (lighters, hamburgers, you name it)…and they make the visiting end leave the stadium before anyone on the home side of the field can depart. Hard to describe the intense emotion of the fans…unfortunately the video clips Steph took won’t post on blogspot…so you’ll have to wait till we get home for us to show you.

The game was definitely a terrific start for a terrific city. We have filled our days wandering around the city’s various “barrios” and the nights getting to know why people love this city. We have experienced Tango in all its glory-from seeing an intimate show to taking a Tango lesson with hundreds of locals…it turned out to be more of a social gathering than a lesson but more fun nevertheless. Furthermore, we have “discovered” the restaurants…which have been both good and bad-split pretty evenly down the middle, hit a nightclub and even ended at the Casino on one or two occasions.

The city starts late (dinner is normally around 10PM) and ends well after Stephanie’s eyes begin to close (although she has done a wonderful job staying up well past her normal bedtime). We have been staying at a friend’s apartment in Puerto Madero, a hip area of the city, which has allowed us to finally stay in one place for more than three days. The people are incredibly friendly and very proud of their city (and country). Buenos Aires reminds us of a dynamic European city, however, much cheaper due to 3:1 exchange rate.

A friend here hooked us up with tickets from a team executive to the best futbol match this weekend…between the South American champion Boca Junior and San Lorenzo. Thus, tomorrow we are catching a van to the opposing stadium, sitting with the Boca crazies, before heading back with them after the match. After the excitement of last weekend’s match, being in the middle of it all should be quite an experience. Can’t wait!

On Monday, after two months in South America we are sad to be leaving but excited to head to Madrid to start our European adventure!!!

Brian & Steph

Buenos Aires

2006-08-26T15:24:00.000-07:00

It's a Boy!!! Congratulations Mike and Donna...

2006-08-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

Continuing the fine Spector tradition, Mike and Donna found out they are going to have a bouncing baby boy…Congratulations Mike and Donna!

Las Lenas

2006-08-19T12:00:00.000-07:00

Hi All-

I’m writing this at 1AM on Friday night. We just got back to the room after a successful night at the Casino in Las Lenas. Steph has become quite the master blackjack player cleaned up on the tables tonight. Jeff also made a miraculous comeback by hitting every number he bet on in roulette on about 5 successive spins before continuing his hot streak on the blackjack table. He was en fuego tonight. I even came out a bit ahead. All in all…a GOOD night at the tables. Unfortunately we were playing with Argentinean pesos (worth 1/3 of a US$) so we basically were able to pay for the 3 coca cola lights she took from the mini-bar at the hotel here.

The snowboarding here is quite different than our experience at Valle Nevado, Chile. In Chile we boarded in great powder, but couldn’t see where we were going due to the fog and low hanging clouds (we saw the sun for about 2 hours while we were there). In contrast, at Las Lenas, we could actually see the crappy snow. The sun has been unrelenting without a cloud in the sky but the snow conditions have been tough due to the heavy winds whipping over the past week and freeze/thaw (much more freeze than thaw) conditions here. Reminds us of the friendly confines of Stowe, VT.

Las Lenas is also much steeper than Valle Nevado, with great off-piste terrain. We spent today with a guide exploring some of the out of bounds territory. You should have seen Steph’s face when she had to sign her life away, put on a beacon and helmet, to board in an area that says “Peligro de Muerte"—which translates roughly into “Danger of Dying” See picture below. While the snow conditions were tough, we had fun coming down the mountain, sometimes on our boards and sometimes on our butts. We had a fun and somewhat trying day, however, all in all everyone did a great job!!!

We’ve come to the conclusion that most people come to Las Lenas to party, and ski when they remember that is why they are here. While the accommodations, lifts and food, leave much to be desired, I’d love to come back with terrific snow conditions due to the great terrain.

Before Las Lenas, we met Jeff about a week ago in Mendoza, Argentina and stayed at a beautiful wine lodge the middle of a vineyard. It is rated as one of the top 50 most romantic villas in the world. Fortunately, it was 50% more romantic as Jeff joined our honeymoon. Most people we have met are quite amused at our threesome honeymoon, but we are having a blast with Jeff at our side (literally…he has been sharing our room with us). We spent our two days in Mendoza sipping wine, eating good food and exploring and repelling in an abandoned gold mine in the mountains outside the city. We leave Las Lenas after boarding tomorrow to head back to Mendoza to catch a flight to Buenos Aires. We will be in Buenos Aires for a week before saying hasta luego to Jeff, who heads home to start his new job at the Gates Foundation in Seattle, and leaving South America for Europe.

Brian & Steph (and Jeff)

Mendoza-Wine Lodge and Abandoned Gold Mine

2006-08-19T11:49:00.000-07:00

Sunset over Valle Nevado

2006-08-19T11:42:00.000-07:00

Got to love the pollution over Santiago causing the ridiculously beautiful sunset over Valle Nevado. Great pictures Steph.

ahhhh.... now that's more like it....

2006-08-12T10:57:00.000-07:00

Valle Nevado & Santiago

2006-08-11T15:45:00.000-07:00

Hi all-

We are now in Valle Nevado, Chile attempting to snowboard. As you can see by the deep powder under ski bunny, Steph's picture below, the Chilean mountains have gotten crushed with snow. However, so far it has mainly been a big tease as the combination of flat light from the cloud cover and fog (see second picture) makes it nearly impossible to differentiate the contours of the slopes from the sky and we can barely pick our way down the mountain. Notwithstanding the challenging conditions, we have gotten some good turns in and Steph is loving the experience of deep powder for the first time. Thus, we are waiting for a blue-bird day to let loose in the open bowls and fresh powder. Our fingers our crossed! We also posted a few photos of our day in Santiago. After a month in small towns it was fun to spend a day in a big city again, both due to the noise/excitement of the city and the ability to actually obtain the supplies we were looking for.

The previous post has photos of our hike to the top of the inactive Cerro Toco volcano in San Pedro de Atacama. We climbed approximately 550 vertical meters to the highest point either of us have ever been, 5,600 meters (18,381 feet). While it wasn't the toughest hike we have ever done, the combination of altitude and below freezing weather made it a great challenge and quite exhilerating.

After a few more days here in Chile...next stop Argentina. Stay tuned!

Brian & Steph

Hike up Cerro Toco Volcano (18,381 ft)

2006-08-11T15:40:00.000-07:00

San Pedro de Atacama, Chile

2006-08-06T17:46:00.000-07:00

Hi all-

We left Lake Titicaca, after seeing the floating Islands, where 2000 people of the Uros tribe currently live (and have lived for many centuries). Pretty incredible as the Islands are handmade from the reeds growing on the lake. After 20 hours of traveling we made it to the driest desert in the world in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile. Yesterday we visited Valle de la Luna, and hiked through the unique sand (see me "shoe-skiing" down the sand hill) and salt formations (see the white behind us in the second picture). We understand the military used this place to test the moon vehicles as the landscape is supposedly similar.

Today, we biked through the desert (not much but sand and snowcapped-mountains in the distance) to Laguna Sejas (aka the salt ponds). Luckily it is the winter here and a beautiful 70 degrees or so. At the salt ponds we "swam" in the strangest water we have ever experienced. It was very cold at the top (in the upper 30's or low 40's) and very hot near the bottom. It is also like the Dead Sea, really salty and all you could do is float. I'm still amazed Steph was willing to brave the frigid water to experience the icy-hot adventure. After a great BBQ (see hammock picture) we went walking through Punta del Inca. See the pictures with large cactus and open desert. This is a really different place, with land formations and scenery we have never experienced before. Planning on hiking up a volcano in the next few days which peaks out above 20,000 feet. Should be interesting.

Hope you are all doing well. Please send us your comments and let us know how you are doing as we love to hear form you.

Brian & Steph

Atacama, Chile

2006-08-06T17:33:00.000-07:00

2006-08-04T11:07:00.000-07:00

Hi all-

We finally left Cusco- A city we have come to really enjoy. We decided to stay for a few extra days so Steph could get her tooth fixed (she broke a molar in the Galapagos biting on a nut) and explore the Sacred Valley of the Rio Urubamba. This city has beautiful scenery, great food and wonderful people.

Despite being terrified about seeing a dentist in a foreign country, Steph’s tooth started to get sensitive and we got a wonderful recommendation for a dentist, Dr. Manuel Espinoza Olazaval. He put a temporary cement fix on her broken tooth, which should last until after our trip is over and she can get a permanent fix in the USA. See the attached picture of Steph terrified in dentist chair.

The day before we left Cusco, we went for a fantastic 5 hour hike to some ancient Inca ruins in Huchuyqosco (see pictures below). While the hike wasn’t overly difficult, the combination of the uphill and the altitude (we climbed to over 4000 meters (13,000 feet) left us gasping for breath at times. Note we also went with a terrific guy, Humberto, who participates in a variety of Eco-challenge adventure races in his spare time…needless to say we were clearly holding him back. However, the view along the route was unbelievable and well worth the lack of oxygen.

We arrived in Lake Titicaca last night and spent the morning exploring the floating Islands on the lake. While the lake is the world’s largest high altitude body of water, sitting almost 13,000 above sea level…I think Brian really wanted to come here because he likes saying the word “Titicaca.”

Later tonight we have a miserable flight schedule before arriving in Atacama, Chile tomorrow morning for a few days in the Chilean desert before heading back to Santiago for a few days of snowboarding at Valle Nevado, Chile

Brian & Steph

some faces of Peru...

2006-08-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

Machu Picchu

2006-07-31T18:34:00.000-07:00

Hi All!
Per request from some of our dedicated blog followers (or at least Bec and Mindy) we have included more photos of yours truly:)
We took the Hiram Bingham train from Cusco to Machu Picchu- a three hour tour. See first two photos. We saw beautiful landscape in the Sacred Valley before arriving at the Inca Citadel-Machu Picchu. While it has been written about often and has become somewhat commercial... it lives up to its expectations and is an unbelievable sight with spectacular views. Unfortunately, our pics don't do it justice. The first day, we toured the ancient city and got a great history lesson on the Incan culture. The second day we hiked Waynapicchu (the mountain directly behind us- 3rd pic). Although it was a rainy and foggy day, the experience was "mystical". Our huge American feet could hardly fit on some of the steeper stairs where one could have fallen off the face of the earth with one missed step (clearly would never pass American safety standards-which made it that much more fun!) We are now back in Cusco, Peru. We have really enjoyed our time here and have decided to stay here a few extra days. Stay tuned..... Love Brian and Steph

Waynapicchu Pics

2006-07-31T09:54:00.000-07:00

Our hike up Waynapicchu...

Galapagos...and on to Peru

2006-07-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Hi all-

As you can see from our pictures there has been some great wildlife on the Galapagos and beautiful scenery as well. We spent a week on a boat touring a number of the islands before spending 3 days on the largest island, Isabella. We have a had a terrific time in Ecuador and have met a number of wonderful people including both the locals and other tourists. We are now in Quito and are heading to Lima, Peru in a few hours before heading to Cusco to explore Machu Picchu.

If you are interested in seeing more pictures we have posted our best Galapagos pics at...

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?mode=fromshare&Uc=79one9r.ac3yoavj&Uy=-6psg4a&Ux=0

Also...Please feel free to write comments on the blog as we love hearing from you.

Brian & Steph

Assorted Galapagos Pictures

2006-07-26T08:03:00.000-07:00

Something wrong with blogspot...

2006-07-26T07:39:00.000-07:00

As Jeff so elegantly stated...we posted sea lion pictures 4 times. Blogspot was experiencing some difficulties last night and the pictures wouldn't post...so we tried a few times. Bear with us...

Galapagos-Sea Lion Pictures

2006-07-25T21:52:00.000-07:00

Galapagos

2006-07-15T07:24:00.000-07:00

Just arrived in the Galapagos yesterday. Saw the blue- footed boobies dive-bombing for fish; then the giant tortioses which live to 150+ years; then a few birds who only exist here... we weren't so into the birds... still trying to figure out the point of bird watching.
Later today we board a boat for a week. Many more photos to come.
Love,
Brian and Steph

Guatamala-Tikal Mayan ruins

2006-07-12T19:12:00.000-07:00

We drove from Belize to Guatamala today. The 1st 2 pics are from the Tical Ruins in Guatamala and the last is a picture from a family who let us take thier picture-this is a typical home in the Guatamalan countryside. We've just finished dinner and are off to Guatamala city tomorrow then to Ecuador to begin our time in the Galapagos.
XOXO Steph and Brian

more ATM cave..had to add these:)

2006-07-12T19:02:00.000-07:00

Belize-Actun Tunichil Mucnal (ATM) cave

2006-07-12T07:44:00.000-07:00

Hi All!
Went from beach and relaxation to the very rainy and mosquito ridden pine forest in the interior of Belize. These are some pictures from an amazing day we had yesterday...hiking, swimming and climbing thru a recently discovered gigantic cave in Belize. It contained many Mayan artifacts and some human sacrifices (from before 900AD) as the Mayans believed that caves represented to entrance to the underworld. It was UNBELIEVABLE!!! We went in about 1/3 of a mile...although the cave continued for many more miles. Enjoy!

...we made it! Stop #1 Placencia, Belize

2006-07-09T16:38:00.000-07:00

on our way to a very interesting ride....

2006-07-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

2006-07-07T15:00:00.000-07:00

Hi all!
We've made it to BEAUTIFUL Placencia, Belize. We made all of our flights and even had some time to spare! We took a puddle jumper in which I was the co-pilot- yes, sat next to the pilot- when we made three take off and landings on a plane that would shake with one large sneeze. Now we're just soaking in the sun and breeze.... awaiting our luggage. The nice thing is we have all the time to just hang and RELAX. We'll post pictures when we.... or should I say Brian... figures out how to, based on the notes Nino gave me.
P.S. NOTHING has to be "clean"... write what you want.
XOXOXOXO
Steph and Brian

Pre Wedding

2006-06-19T14:07:00.000-07:00

This will be Steph and Brian's BLOG.
Please come back .... after the wedding!