westerners

five days ago, in the city of old riga, i stood alone inside a crowded bus station holding a one-way bus ticket to vilnius that was no longer valid. standing there, below a dark cloud, i laughed. to the latvians around me, i must've looked mad, maybe i was. there i knew there was absolutely nothing i could do to change my situation. so i kept laughing all the way back to my hostel

but now, a few thousand feet above the english channel, i'm inside an aer lingus flight with two of my closest friends headed to dublin after spending the best week ever in western europe.

we spent the first night in paris in this sheik hotel called the 'le mondrien'. it was nice but we didnt spend much time inside. we walked around the city, played typical tourists while taking countless pictures of the same sites you see on your friends facebook page. we made our way back to the hotel, showered and quickly headed to the eiffel tower for some lambrusco time. as soon as it got dark, the eiffel tower went paparazzi. hundreds of sparkling lights lit up the massive A as we zipped our sweet wine.

the dazzling light show went on on every top of the hour. the next morning we walked to the train station where we caught our train to brussels.

from what i gathered over the years, brussels was not a happening place to be. but o contrare, we was wrong! the city has a unique vibe, one which i cant quite fully describe. normally a city looks similar to others but i cant think of a city to compare belgium with.

the belgian people were extremely friendly, but this might have been due to the fresh rudeness the french had given us the day before.

we stayed in a neat hostel next to the 'godiva' chocolate factory. we also knew coming into to belgium about their famous beers along with the renown monasteries that produced them. as the night progressed, we stumbled into the delirium cafe/bar, which was a three-level cave. it was there where i discovered 'delirium's' nocturnum. if you haven't tried it, do so. it has such an interesting flavor, one that i can only describe as sweet, dark, and refreshing. i usually go for the bitter side of brew, but the nocturnum won me over.
we pretty much did the same the next day.

from brussels we rode the train up to amsterdam where i had amazing time as well. at first, walking outside the train station was a bit overwhelming. all you see is people on their bikes and one false move can have you laying in a hospital. we walked for about thirty minutes looking for the 'flying pig' hostel. we finally found it, and off we were. we bought some of the native brew 'amstel' , some bread, cheese, turkey, then headed to vondolf park. everyone was out, the day was sunny and breezy; the day: perfect.

as the sun's rays began to get weaker  the park began to change the color of the trees. the whole park had a neat amber glow.

the next day we rented bikes and pretty much did the same as before. as we rode our bikes through small streets over the canals we rode right into the outskirts of the red light district, which was not what i thought it was going to be. i found it to be a very organized operation. people walked towards the ladies behind the glass, prices were whispered to each other, and many transactions were done.

a few hours later and we arrived in the emerald island.

once again the sky was open with blue skies and warm weather. we tossed our bags in our hostel and once again we took to the streets. andy and i had already been to ireland the year before, but we primarily stayed on the south side of the river leffey. on this trip we stayed on the north side, which isn't as touristee as the south. we went on a quest to find a store called 'penney's' in order to buy towel. our hostel was charging 6 euro but the kind lad at reception told us that we could buy cheaper ones, which we did. along the ways, i couldn't resist to stop at a kebab shop. later that night, we walked on over to temple bar where we had some guinness and listened to some traditional irish folk.

we ended the night with 'papa johns' pizza.
the next day was pretty uneventful. we did the 'john jameson' tour, which was very informative and fun.

it began to rain so we spent some time inside the hostel. you could tell in our gazes that we were tired. we found a place to eat and from there we stopped by for some souvenirs. sleep came next.

now, like many time before, i'm overlooking the atlantic thinking to myself what comes next.

didn't quite make it to vilnius...

i frantically paced back and forth looking for my correct bay as i stood in front of riga's crowded bus station. signs all in latvian pointed to cities i've never heard before. all i cared about was getting to vilnius. even with all of those strange dotted letters, i was still able to make out some of the cities; vilnius was being displayed at a later time. it was at that moment when i felt my heart sink. 
i instantly knew the huge mistake i'd made. i looked at my bus ticket and the departure time read 2:55. there was no pm or am because in the rest of the world countries use universal time. i knew that my ticket was long gone, but i still tried talking to the agent about possibly catching another bus. "this tiket, no good." the agent said with a lazy swoop of the hand. 

there was no point in arguing, all i could do was smile and walk away. i went back to my hostel where i was welcomed back with open arms. the next two hours i desperately searched online for other buses and flights to get to vilnius but all were either ridiculously overpriced or the timing didn't make sense. i opted to stay one more night in riga in the hope that lufthansa would still honor my ticket that originated from vilnius...not riga.
i slept for the next 15 hours on a empty stomach. i was on a strict budget so one more day of spending in riga was definitely out of the question. the next day i woke up and i headed straight to the fridge where i had my cold sandwiches ready. they weren't that great, but did the trick.
it was then where i met ryan, samantha, and this other kind man who i've forgotten his name. they were new yorkers who were also backpacking europe. we instantly hit it off! i think i had more fun in the three hours we hung out with each other versus the whole 48 hours i'd spent in riga. 
sammy kept bringing us shots of this medicinal herbal liquor that resembled jagermeister but with a much more bitter taste. after three of those shots, we headed to a restaurant where we had a latvian take of mongolian bbq. a few moments later we were at the bus station, the same one where 24 hours before i stood with a decimated look. it's crazy, i think i learned more about new yorkers in the few hours we spent together, than what i learned about the rest of the people of latvia. it's something that i'm not proud of but it's also something that i'm not ashamed of. we said our goodbyes and off they were.

now, i'm on a lufthansa flight a couple of thousands feet above eastern europe eager to see my kin, andy and phillip. usually i can go for weeks on these trips without being home sick, but the baltics has made me miss what i hold close. i cant wait to see them 

elk soup and beer for breakfast

beef in the baltics

there aren't that many things that i can say about latvia. this city, with its cobblestone streets and post-soviet defaced churches looks neat from the outside. but there are strong tensions between the russians and latvians that are hard to avoid. yesterday i hung out with a group i met during a walking tour of latvia, and the tour guide was giving us the breakdown of latvia's history. we were standing in front of the jewish ghetto when an older man approached the tour guide. the man spoke in russian, but our tour guide could not speak it back. she understood almost everything he said and the end of his rant, our guide's eyes became glassy from the anger. russians in latvia will not learn latvian, and i guess they still think that the soviet union lives on.

anyways, today is a new day. in a few moments my carry-on will be stumbling across the cobble stones headed to the great country of lithuania. vilnius is where i'll stop and find my next meal. 

estonian to latvian

its been three days since my last taste of some of that elk soup from tallinn; though the second time around was not so pleasant as the first. from what i gathered, estonians seem to be the friendly and outgoing type. they are also freaks! as in, the women seem to have the same mentality as the opposite sex. 

on the last night of my stay in tallinn, i was invited to an outdoor concert right next to the freedom steps. it was me and four girls from the hostel, which made for interesting conversations. as the concert drew to its end, it grew more patriotic and grand. "estonia!" from all over that specific pocket of the city were shouted as the crowd swayed from side to side. but from what i gathered, this emotion that estonians were displaying has been the same since they gained freedom from the russians in the early 90's. nina, a finnish girl who was studying in tallinn, explained how the movement hasn't really progressed forward. after hearing the same melancholic song for the third time, it didn't seem farfetched.  

the night ended, everyone went there way, and i began making sandwiches for the long day ahead. the next morning i said my goodbyes to john(sweden), and nina(finland), and off i was with roller in hand. i turned a corner and walked into a 'R kioske' and asked, in my most estonian english, "baass tiikettt REEEGAA". that sounded about right, but the lady across the counter just gave me a ticket for the local tram. i shook my head and repeated riga, this time including latvia; the lady laughed. she shook her head and communicated exactly what i feared.

i walked outside and took a cold deep estonian breath. a few seconds after, i heard a soft "hello" directed straight at me. during my deep conversation with the kiosk lady, a girl inside had been hearing our conversation and offered to help me. at first she tried explaining, but apparently the bus station was far. she asked me to follow her to the next block, for a better view of which street to take. her english was good, but very estonian. her explanations of getting to the bus station kept being interrupted by sub conscience. we kept walking until we approached a lot full of cars. she began walking to her car and i tried remembering the vague directions she had said. 

"alright, well thank you so much for everything. so i make a right on..." she didn't let finish my sentence. "no! no, you its too complicated! you will get lost, you come with me." as she pointed to her car, "i will take you"

now, going against all my judgement, i had to make the call. on the one hand, what i had here was a stranger, inside a strange city. but on the other, she seemed sweet, genuine, not out to harvest my kidneys for profit. she was also good looking, so in case of rape, i would rather it be from the opposite sex. 
well, everything turned out fine. her name is christina, and she was very nice. she dropped me off right in front of the bus station which was about a 10 minute drive from where i originally was. we exchanged emails, and parted with a gentle smile. a few hours later, i was on a bus headed to latvia. 

helsinki sunrise

helsinki it is.

it pains me look at the clock. and more painful than that is thinking about the last 4 hours. i could've been in tallinn, inside my highly rated hostel, eating a warm meal and perhaps sipping on a cold beer. i was so close, the agent had given me my boarding pass, the seat 19d. 
my boarding pass got within a few inches of the scanner; that was the closest it would ever get. a few seconds later it lay on a counter torn into small pieces, just like my hope. 

back in san francisco, the boarding agent gate had gate checked my roller bag and i completely forgot that i left my ZED tickets inside. for those who aren't familiar with ZED tickets, they are paper tickets that act as money for whichever corresponding airline you are trying to fly on. i knew i was doomed since we were boarding from a remote gate. there was no way that they were going to find my bag and bring it up in time for me to catch the flight to tallinn.
the next flight to tallinn didn't leave until the next day and i did not want to spend the night in frankfurt airport. the boarding agent then suggested another option; flying to helsinki, finland.

i didnt think about it much. in my mind, things usually follow the same logic; and that is asking myself "why not?" the flight didn't leave until another 5 hours but it sounded better than staying another 20 hours in frankfurt until the next flight to tallinn.

so now, i'm on a plane, currently working on my second warfteiner not knowing what to think. it'll be midnight by the time i land in helsinki so it doesn't make sense in my world to head into the city at night and search for a hotel/hostel. this means that i will be adding one more airport in which i've slept in. 
here lies the beauty of traveling, especially when it's only you, yourself, and yee. expect everything, because anything can happen. plans and itineraries are as good as the weather. i landed in germany this morning thinking i was going to tallinn and now my boarding pass says helsinki. let's see how the next journal entry ends  

and again i find myself in frankfurt.

i'm not sure if i can describe the wide spectrum of feelings i've felt during the last 24 hours. currently, i feel exhaustion. didn't get much sleep two nights ago and i certainly did not get enough sleep on my trans-con flight with lufthansa. yesterday i awoke with the task of packing two weeks worth of clothes into one roller bag and a backpack. i gave myself a two hour buffer before my flight to san francisco. i made a quick stop to the bank but in between the car ride from my house and the bank, my debit card disappeared. luckily, by the grace of God, my friend Hugo a.k.a "juice" happened to be working. he's the bank manager so he quickly cancelled my debit card before a "paco" or "chuy" had the chance to use it. a couple of minutes later Hugo had a temporary ATM card ready for me to use. 
i made my way to LAX with a heavy foot. i got there fast but was stuck inside a shuttle bus for about 30 minutes, all thanks to the genius behind the wheel. by the time i got to terminal i had about 25 minutes before departure. i got through security quick, and made my way to the service center. breean was controlling the SFO flight, she told me that it was completely full; my heart sank.
the boarding agent was checking on a seat and it turned out that the guest was not boarded. and being that it was a little under 10 minutes before departure, i got the seat! i did get scolded though by my supervisor : / but either way, i wouldn't have been able to get the seat any sooner since they had to check if the seat was open. 
that was probably the most stressful leg of this journey so far. the SFO--->FRA flight was smooth. the agents were nice and gave me a seat as soon as i got to the gates. one thing about the A-380: it is huge! the seats comfortable, leg space generous, the food tasty. though the filipino lady next to me kept bumping my shoulders every hour leaving me in a perpetual state of half-sleep. 

well, i'm back in frankfurt. hopefully i don't get to spend the night here. if i do, i've already picked a great spot. 

back to the land of polygamy: salt lake city

all things considered

monday has arrived and the setting is salt lake city, utah. the past three days have been spent driving from omaha, nebraska, where our last event was held.

there is nothing special about the city omaha, which makes me sad to report. the only glimmer of hope for the omahanians is nebraska football; it begins next week. this will probably be the only exciting on-going event of the year. from omaha we drove straight to fort collins, colorado. the drive was a bit exhausting, the scenery flat. the only thing i know about ft. collins is that the "new belgium brewery" is located here.
and that is still the only thing i know. the true tragedy about my visit to this town was the fact that the brewery was closed when we got there.

makes me sad to think about it again.

from ft. collins we drove to ogard, utah where we stayed at this hotel called the "ben lomond". this brick building with all of its fourteen floors gave me the creeps from the moment i stepped inside. maybe it was the rickety wooden elevator, or possibly the faded burgundy flower-pattern carpet and its peachy colored walls; i really don't know, but this place was cut straight out from an alfred hitchcock movie. all along the walls, black and white pictures of western men gathered together holding different varieties of farming tools and rifles.

an hour later, jessica googled our hotel and uncovered some interesting facts.
in its history of existence, the lomond was the following:

a bank
a boarding school
a brothel
oh, and it is also said to be  ...HAUNTED.

anywho, my night at the "ben lomond" went by without a paranormal encounter. still, the place gave off some twisted vibes.

the morning after, which was today, we drove to antelope island where we saw wild bison.
we kept driving around the island seeing these huge beasts and all i kept thinking about was how they tasted. was their meat tough? soft? gamey?

we drove to the only place in the island where they sold bison burgers, but after walking to the front door, we couldn't believe it. it must have been two in the afternoon and the place was closed!
that was pretty much it, the rest of the day was uneventful.

now, on this plane, i'm surrounded by kind hearted mormons who are about to journey all over the world for their two year mission trip. i spoke with elder stuckey and we had an interesting conversation about theology. i heard him out, and learned some new things about the church of mormon. in the end, i spoke about the difference between the bible and the book of mormon, and most importantly the difference between the Jesus that i believe in, and that of his. fumbling through four books, stuckey kept looking for different passages and all i kept thinking about was, "wow" this kid is only 19 years old.

the initial descent is right around the corner and all i can say is that these past two weeks have been amazing. i've learned new skills, met some old friends, heard some good artists, all while getting paid! not bad in my book. but i do miss my familia un chingo! can't wait to see them :)

more lightning

nebraska welcomes us :)

someone decided to turn on the strobe lights.

bloody wednesday in the ozarks

i'm still trying to digest the events of the last 48 hours, but i know that it'll take a while.  the pack of cigarettes on the pavement or maybe that lone sandal next to a purse scattered of its contents has broken the vcr inside my head leaving it stuck in replay. amarillo seems like such a long time ago. the drive eastward was going great, we had just zipped right through texas and oklahoma. i'd never spent time with andrew and jessica before this tour. luckily they're both very laid back people, which is great since we were about to spend much time together.

a couple of miles after passing the arkansas border, we took our two-car caravan up the scenic route on highway 16, which happens to cut through the ozarks. driving through this heavily wooded area, i began to get this strange feeling. we were pretty much the only ones driving though this desolate road. around and round we went on this hazy road huddled by ancient trees with thick sacks of cobwebs hanging from below its limbs. luckily we still had about 3 hours of sunshine, which gave us a good blend of darkness and light. the windows were down, moonroof open, it was just us, the road, and the loud sounds of the forrest. we passed a eerie town which was the only sign of civilization on highway 16 before we had our fateful encounter.

I'm still trying to figure out whether I saw the body first or the totaled montero sport. peripherally, I think I saw the body first because as soon as i entered that curve to the left, i saw the lifeless body on the pavement but since we were descending down the mountain, the wreck aligned in my vision. chris and mike drove past the mangled steel and countless keystone ice cans and pulled up next to the woman's body. mike quickly jumped out of the car and stooped down low to listen for any signs of life or faint breathing. chris walked towards the suv to see if there were any other passengers.

my knuckles coiled the steering wheel. i began to get that feeling similar to that of the beginning of a roller-coaster. the fear that i felt wasn't based on whether she was dead, but more on the possibility that she might be alive. i backed the car into a ditch on the side of the road. all three of us got out of the car into the hot and humid air of the ozarks. we looked at mike and he looked right back signaling that she was gone. jessica's hand began to shake a bit, she covered her mouth as her eyes began to water. andrew stood quiet as he wrapped his arm around her.

with hands and feet completely drenched in sweat, i decided to look inside the mangled suv. on the ground i noticed a chunk of brown hair, the wind was moving it slowly across the pavement. there were so many cans of beer along with the woman's purse, pills, and other personal items. the sound of crunching glass was all i heard and the smell of beer and alcohol became stronger as i got closer to the wreck. i looked inside but i don't remember anything because as soon as i peered inside, a loud burst of white noise blared out of the suv's speakers. i jumped backwards with my heart in my hand.

i walked back towards our group and the suv belched out another loud noise. we decided that we were to stay with the body until help arrived. our 911 calls were useless since there was no reception. i was about to jump on the car and drive back on the road we had just driven on when we heard the sound of choppers. 3 bikers were coming down the road. they rode right past the dead woman; none of them seemed affected by the sight, like if it were just another roadkill. we explained to the bikers that we were the first ones on the scene and they said that they would alert the local authorities a few miles ahead.

a few minutes went by when we finally heard the faint sound of an ambulance. i have no idea why but i felt compelled to see the woman's body. past the beer cans, past the suv, her corpse laid parallel of the road. all of her limbs were intact, although she did have many broken fingers and toes. her face was severely torn, and the right side of her head had a massive gash. i kept thinking in my head that this was all fake, someone was playing some sick joke on us and that this would all be over, but that wasn't the case. it was all real. i looked back and saw the faces of my friends and the woman's belongings on the floor, herself on the floor; everything was surreal. the ambulance finally came and we decided to leave.

we drove off, but not before andrew snapped this shot of the woman covered in a white sheet.

drinking and driving is not a good idea people. that's all

the southwest, yay!

sprinkles of lightning lined the east as the sun sunk back west. the last 48 hours have been spent inside a toyota corolla slicing through south western desert trying figure out the meaning of life(no, not really). during these next 2 weeks i'll be living in-between hotels and in this 4-door japanese machine. flagstaff, az was our first stop, and now we're in glamorous amarillo, tx. the only thing i know about amarillo is that a huge tornado touched down not so long ago. the weather has been ok so far, but we got a quick taste of how easily mother nature can change her mood. i'm excited about this trip, i've spent so much time discovering other countries that i've forgotten how vast mine actually is. and vast it is; from petrified forests out in the middle of nowhere to weird oscallating red lights stretching from miles, there are some crazy weird things hapenning in our southwest that we probably will never know exists. well, here goes texas!

maui with kin

the bright spectrum over the horizon is quickly waning as we zoom westward towards stateside. and with it, the end of my weekend getaway in maui. this trip has been nothing short of perfect. no itinerary made, no concrete plans. only a flight, car, and hotel reservation.

this trip was made more special because i was able to bring my sister stephanie with me. in all this time that i've had these special flight privileges, i haven't really taken my sister to a remarkable destination as maui. she had a blast; also due to the fact that her boyfriend, andy-who is one of my best friends- also came.

3 nights, 4 days. we filled this weekend with as much activity we could find. it felt great because it didn't feel rushed. we pretty much woke up, looked at the map and drove: the road to hana, 2 mile hikes up 400ft waterfalls, red sand beaches, and much much slacking.

next week i officially switch to full-time at work so trips like these will be a bit tough. i'll still make them happen but they will have to be more "planned"

chica-go! pt. 2

the journey into the center of chicago's concrete heart began with a trip on L train's blue line. as a native angelino, i couldn't have asked for a more beautiful day. with clear skies and temperature in the low 80's, a nice cold flat beer was definitely in the near future.


choosing the L train is probably the cheapest and most amazing way to see chicago and its suburbs(but don't be surprised if your train breaks down for a bit while getting there). on our way to the center, breean had found a place called sultan's market where we were going to meet one of our real good friends bryson, who had just recently moved.

we took the damen stop and got off in wicker park/chicago's hipster mecca. my first impression of this skinny jean walkway was, "wow, how in the hell do they fit in those jeans." on top of that, i was attracted to the laid back and relaxed atmosphere that people, including those who ran the restaurants had.

prior to this trip, i had been on a tortilla/flour/rice/anything containing bread diet. but being that this was my first time in chicago, it would have been disrespectful not to eat what the natives ate. i bull-dozed my "diet" with a hearty lamb schwerma paired with rice and humus, my halal socks were blown off!

the afternoon gave way to a brisky evening, but nothing uncomfortable. after our lunch, bryson took us to his new neighborhood, which was a block away from a local pub. his apartment was about a ten minute walk from the blue line. we witnessed a friendly game of corn-hole while we walked past the local pub, which is also the place where bryson's neighbor works.

bryson scored on his new place, he gave us a quick tour of his abode but what was truly breathtaking was his rooftop view. from it, one can truly see the splendor of chicago's skyline.
since we were too cheap to pay 20 dollars, we decide to visit the next best thing, john hancock tower. it was free to go up the top floor-a whopping 96 stories- if you bought a beverage: we were sold.
the view was truly amazing. it took 50 seconds to reach the top, and once there, the view had us. we had about 30 minutes left of sunlight, which was perfect. for that next half-hour, we joked and spoke lightly of our jobs and lives and then the sun began to wane into the horizon. halfway down, our sun began to taper from the bottom and mushroom from the top like an atomic flash; it truly was a magnificent. 96 stories down, we headed to millennium park to see the highly coveted, facebook default pic seeking, "bean."

we found it and, of course, could not resist the urge to take a picture next to it. i scoured the big group surrounding the metallic bean. and, just my luck, happened to choose the one person, in all of chicago with the crippled hand. i didn't notice it at first and actually got a little frustrated at the fact that the lady took a long time to take the picture. bryson was the one who noticed first and could not keep his laughter. it took me a second to put things together as i saw the lady struggling to keep the camera straight and level...i was not the biggest fan of myself at this moment, so pizza was going to play the perfect distraction.

giordano's, known for their deep dish pizza, was only a few blocks away. and when the pizza did finally reach the 4 corners of my mouth, the sweet taste of tomato sauce accompanied with the thick mozzarella cheese made my knees a bit weak. the sausage, mushrooms and garlic only magnified everything else. this pizza was a beast, one that i was only able to conquer 2 slices of. the night ended in a slow pace, me walking a bit sluggish, with a frown overdosed in deep dish. we hopped on the blue line and parted ways with bryson. 30 minutes later we were back in the hotel, comatose.
my short stay in chicago was incredible. if i could sum this city up it would be this: people are friendly, tip-top public transportation and great food! this city is totally worth visiting, which is why i will return, soon. cheers!   

chica-go!

this trip didn't have the smoothest beginning but all of that's been forgotten; the fact is that i'm in chicago! this is my first visit to the windy city and i've heard nothing but great things, all but the weather. speaking of weather, it's not so bad out here. the forecast called for scattered thunderstorms but stepping outside the terminal all i saw were scattered rain drops falling from metal rafters. good weather follows me, and for that, i am very fortunate.

so, it's noon and i am still inside the hotel. it's probably not the best place to be which is why in a few moments i will get ready, hop on the L train with my friend breean and bryson and head towards the center of this city where i'll be a fat kid all day long. results will quickly follow

consolidating

this will now house the future stories, if any, in which i'll more than likely find myself lost in different countries around strange people and distant tongues. some may also be from the past, while some may not make sense whatsoever. i will try my best to sound coherent as much possible, but i make no promises.