Day 2 in Rio de Janeiro

Day 2 started off with Caitlin and another of her friends {Erin} heading off to breakfast where I had a chicken sandwich and tried my hand at a new juice made from acerola (also known as barbados cherries); it was good, probably not worthy of a repeat, but good nonetheless!

The graffiti in Rio was beautiful!

Post breakfast we multiplied the troops and grabbed a couple of the student teachers and headed out to Lapas for a walk around the area. One of the main attractions of this area of downtown Rio is the famed Escadaria Selaron steps that were built between the years 1990 & 2013 by Jorge Selaron by using tiles from 60+ countries and places in the world. The colors and artwork shown were mesmerizing and so worth the trip if you find yourself in Rio! Walking a couple blocks further from the steps we found the ­­­Rio de Janeiro cathedral which was on my personal “to check out list”! Though the outside of the church was far from impressive {think modern bomb shelter look} the inside was quite unique and the choir practicing was a nice touch as well.

Leaving the cathedral we had every intention of grabbing dinner; but as anyone who has ever traveled knows…things don’t always go as planned! Rio isn’t exactly rated as the safest city on the planet {{ok let’s be honest, it’s got one of the highest crime rates}} and as we were heading to lunch we found ourselves in a *slight altercation* Said altercation meant no lunch for us and we all promptly headed back to Caitlin’s house….for several hours. Life’s got to keep us on our toes!  Maybe…someday…eventually…I’ll make a blog post about it lol…for the meantime, just know we are all alright and just had our guards up a tad bit higher for the rest of our stays!

When our heart rates had finally subsided we ventured out for dinner {{and hello my first official Brazilian açaí berry drink!}} and then wrapped up the evening hanging out and playing cards. Goodnight Rio!

Rio de Janeiro Day 1

April 8, 2017

My good friend Caitlin from college {you might remember when she came to visit me in Taiwan!} has been living and teaching abroad since we graduated from college and I've always been tempted to go visit, but have just never taken the plunge. She's been living the past 3 years in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, teaching 4 grade at an international school. Well after informing me that she {for real} was moving back to the states after this school year she really got my wheel spinning. I checked my schools spring break schedule, her availability, plane ticket prices; and the rest, as they say, is history!

Remember my whirl-wind-crazy-fast-mexico-trip....yeah apparently I didn't learn much! I finished school at 3:20 and was in the car headed to the airport by 4:00...talk about dedication! Columbus to D.C. // D.C. to São Paulo // São Paulo to Rio.  12 total hours in the air, but when I landed in Rio Saturday morning {{and my first time south of the equator!}} it was all worth it!

It didn't take long for me to get situated, and by situated I mean Caitlin and I grabbed her friend Matt and went for a walk along the beach along with my first ever caipirinha type of situated! We walked and snacked around (yes I'm making that a verb now!) and got me a little acquainted with the city before we met up with several more foreign teachers from her school and went out to grab dinner. Dinner, drinks, snacks, & laughs and it was time for an early bedtime {{after a long, full day of traveling} and ready for more adventures tomorrow! 

7 Wonders of the World

"In 2007, more than 100 million people voted to declare the New Seven Wonders of the World. The following list of seven winners is presented without ranking, and aims to represent global heritage." - Travel Channel

● Great Wall of China, China ● Christ the Redeemer Statue, Brazil ● Machu Picchu, Peru ● Chichen Itza, Mexico ● The Colosseum, Italy ● Taj Majal, India ● Petra, Jordan ●

7 Wonders; 7 Continents; 7 lives {ok we can only wish!}; 7 Goals --- {{ I've got this }}

I may not have all 7 wonders in yet, but I'm officially more than 1/2 way there with 4 down and only 3 more to go (we all have goals right?!) and I can't even lie, I'm pretty stinkin' proud of my progress!

(Click each link below to read a little more in detail about each of my encounters)

Colosseum - Rome, Italy - Summer 2010 - 4,698 miles from home

Great Wall of China - Beijing, China - Summer 2016 - 6,729 miles from home

Chichen Itza - Yucatan, Mexico - Spring 2017 - 1,441 miles from home

Christ the Redeemer - Rio, Brazil - Spring 2017 - 5,069 miles from home

Pyramids of Giza {ancient Wonder of the World} - Giza, Egypt - Summer 2010 - 6,019 miles from home

** So help a girl out now...what wonder do you think I should visit next?**

Merida y Mexican Matrimony

If you missed out on the previous few days be sure to check them out here: {Day 3} {Day 2} & {Day 1}

Saturday brought us to our last day in Merida {or my last day as most of my family was staying until Sunday or Monday...JEALOUS!} as well as the real "reason for the season" Sebastian && Rocio's wedding!

The wedding ceremony didn't start until 7pm so we had plenty of time to soak up the sunshine before we had to stop playing tourist and transform into full blown wedding mode. We took advantage of our lazy day and had a later start to our morning and decided to walk through downtown Merida as we had really only seen pieces and parts of it in passing thus far. 

We began by walking down Paseo de Montejo {a main road in town boasting dozens of large colonial style homes that have been renovated into museums, offices, and memorials of the homes and families they once used to be}. Later we grabbed breakfast at an out door market venue that we had passed several times and ran into a couple other people who were in Merida for the wedding, the more the merrier...always! Next stop was downtown {{el Centro}}. After our late breakfast we strolled around town without a real agenda in mind {including forgetting to reapply sunscreen...lovely burns for 1/2 the people at the wedding!} stopping by the Plaza Grande (a large, open plaza boarding the local government building), Santa Lucia Park (a park full of food vendors tucked away in the middle of town), Merida Cathedral (beautiful both inside & out), & Casa Montejo (an old time home restored & set up to mimic the home that it had once been for the local noble family).

Tired, hot, and ready for a nap before the wedding we began to head back to the hotel {{things don't always work out as planned, we hit a detour...ran into my grandma & uncle who were on the hunt for food}}....ok so after our 2nd late lunch of the day we actually headed back to the hotel with just over an hour of time to get ready and change for the big event of the day...wedding time!

---> Shower, wardrobe change, some makeup, & pre-wedding pictures <---

We were ready to hit the road! The ceremony was in a small church in downtown Merida and it was an absolutely beautiful mass for Sebas & Rocio. Afterwards we hopped in a van and drove nearly 30 minutes out of town to a beautiful hacienda {a Mexican ranch} that was the backdrop for their amazing reception. I'll let the picture mostly speak for themselves here but I'll recap some of the night's highlights! Reception ran from 9pm - 6am, delicious food, live band to dance the night away, && family galore...what more could we ask for?!?!

Reception venue hall

My flight out of Merida was scheduled for 7:30am so around 5:30 we said our goodbyes and headed for the airport. It wasn't until I was checked in and through security that I finally was able to stop for 2 minutes and change out of my floor length dress and into some more travel appropriate ware! Live life on the edge a little....until next time Mexico...I love you!

Flamingos, Family, & Celestún

Merida, Mexico Take 2!

If you missed out on the previous few days be sure to check them out {here} & {here}

After our whirlwind day checking our the A.M.A.Z.I.N.G pyramids and natural sinkhole at Chichen Itza my grandma decided she wanted in on the fun and just had to see the wild flamingos...we happily obliged! 

My uncle Pablo rented a gigantic van and loaded my cousins, grandma, aunt, mom, brother, & I {{all 8 of us}} into this thing and hit the road. Close to 2 hours later and finally in Celestún we stopped, meeting up with another aunt & uncle, rented a pair of boats and guides and hit the open waters. 

Celestún is a narrow peninsula off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula right inside the golf of Mexico and is a well known destination for wild flamingo sightings and this day was no let-down. We traveled one boat after another for close to 10 minutes enjoying the scenic views, wind in our hair, and smiles on our faces. Next thing we know the horizon slowly began to turn pink and before we knew it, we were surrounded on all sides by bright pink flamingos.

{flying, squawking, eating, sleeping...they were everywhere!}  

5 hours with the flamingos probably still wouldn't have been enough, but just over a half hour after we first met the little guys, we were on our way back to the open waters. Before we knew it there were pelicans flying overhead {{like almost hit my head overhead!}} and we were being introduced to "Bird Island". Holy Moly, I have never seen so many giant birds so up close & personal. These pictures don't even begin to do it justice. We all craned our necks to looks up and out of the boat to ensure that we din't miss a single bird flying overhead! Spectacular!

Driving past Bird Island we had one more, magnificently beautiful, stop of the day before returning to shore. Los Manglares {or the mangroves}. I had become quite familiar with mangroves while living in Taiwan as they were less than 5 minutes driving distance from my house, but the mangroves near my home in Taiwan had nothing on these in Celestún; they were beyond beautiful! Clear waters, twisty tree roots, fish of all sizes, (and apparently alligators that we luckily didn't see that day!) After a quickly dip for the family in the cool & refreshing waters we hopped back in the boats and headed for shore. 

Afterwards we agreed that we were unanimously starving and stopped at a beach-side restaurant for some mouthwateringly fresh seafood {like my teeny shrimp ceviche pictured above}, family time, walks on the beach, and an abundance of seashells. The evening came to a close and Pablo drove as we napped! Returning back to the hotel we headed out with the remainder of the family for drinks and dinner until a typical Mexican 2 am when most of us called it quits for the night!

Saludos Dia 2!