I'm in Guatemala...!! SAFE.....and loving it here already...!!
yeah, only just arrived here a few hours ago....but it's great...!! Juan Carlos and Luis from my Spanish School were at the airport to pick me up....and another guy who lives in the house next door...they brought me to my home for the next 4 weeks at Marta Julia's house.... she's grgeat...!! the place is perfect.... My room is big big big....I have 2 beds in there...huge wardrobe, table, chairs....just perfect...!! there are 3 other students staying there at the moment.... Sonja from Germany, Chris from USA and Hermes from France.....only met Sonja and Chris so far, but they seem alright.... talked lots of stuff with Marta Julia, all in Spanish....and she said I don't have a German or European accent at all....yaaiiii....great.... I think she was a bit impressed with how much I was actually able to speak, cause Sonja knows hardly anything...just looked around Antigua for a bit....beautiful...!! really like it....and everything is so easy.... Lots of Inet Cafes....got a 10 hours card for $ 6.00, so that's cool.... and tomorrow I can also use the computers at La Union as well...Found Carlos Salsa Academy and will go back there later to meet him.... so I think I should actually be really tired, cause for the last 4 days, nights, I really never slept more than 4 hours....kinda normal at a Salsa Congress, and I did actually feel fine the whole time and not too tired or worn out.... and still do now.... but I guess it's also cause everything is new here and exciting and soooooooo nice.....yeah, I think I'm gonna have 4 great weeks here....!!!and I napped a bit on my flights this morning from San Juan to Fort Lauderdale to Guatemala....so that's cool....stop in Florida was nice, especially to warm upin the sunshine there for an hour after the flight on the super air-conditioned and freezing plane....aaahhh - and reminded me a bit of the first time I went to Florida for New Year 95 - 96....the lady at the check-in in San Juan was super-sweet and offered me an exit-row seat for the first flight with lotsa leg-space..... and then on the flight from Ft. Lauderdale to GUATE I did actually enjoy sitting by the window - even though I normally much prefer aisle seats with more space....but it was really nice to just look out of the window, down on the ocean, clouds and the few parts of land that we flew over....thinking about the last few days in PR, ,the 4 weeks I've been trraveling so far....the people I've met, things I've seen and done..... and just replaying a song in my mind over and over again.... nice....oohh - and sth. completly different..... I took my first 2 Malaria tablets last night.... tasted a bit of Chlorine, but wasn't too bad....and I didn't die....ahhah...and now Marta Julia actually told me that there is no danger of Malaria in Antigua and I also don't need to worry about a Mosquito net here....yaaaiiii.....great....!!!okies, gotta go now.... hope you all had a great weekend.... Lotsa love from Antigua de G. und bis bald...!!
Last day in Puerto Rico...!!
and tomorrow morning I'll on my way to Guatemala....
yesterday it was a bit cloudy and wet here... not really great weather for the beach, but we had planned to go to Old San Juan anyway and spend the afternoon / evening there.... so that's what we did...
not always to keep everybody happy when you're doing stuff with 5 people and everybody has other interests and wants to do / see different things... it was Aneta, Larry, Jimmy, myself and Patricia - one of Larry's friends from DC.... but then we just split up for a while and it actually all worked out pretty well and everybody had a good time there...
we found a nice little local restaurant to eat before heading back to our hotel.... on a very speedy and bumpy busride over the wet streets of San Juan... ;)
but got back "home" safely and had a some rest before more dancing....yaaaiii.... :)
this morning we got up way way way too early cause the toilet in our bathroom had flooded and soaked the floor of our room while Aneta was getting ready to go on her trip to El Yunque... so she was calling the maids and maintenance guys, and they came with this huge and super-loud water-hoover to suck up all the water, while Larry and I went downstairs to have breakfast....
but still left the place pretty wet and soaked and we just had to move to another room....luckily on the same floor.... oh well... all done now... and I guess I'll be spending the rest of the afternoon realxing by the beach / pool, cause we won't get very much sleep tonight... ;)
last night of the salsa congress here.... and then there should be just enough time for a shower and packing before Larry and I are gonna catch a cab to the airport at about 5.30am.... we're both flying out of here just before 7.00am tomorrow morning.... just into different directions...
and the next time you'll hear from me will probably be from Guatemala...!!
Dancing in Puerto Rico... :)
so Aneta and Larry got here last night as well and we had a great time dancing at the salsa congress in San Juan.... great music, lotsa nice people... yaaaiiii.....still sad that Carolina and Carlos couldn't make it this year, but we had fun last night and also today hanging out in our room, by the pool, by the beach... aaahhhh - perfect here...!!sorry, not much time to write more right now, cause we only just got back from the beach, need some food and shower now and then off to more partying and dancing.... we're also gonna meet my friend Jose from NYC later who just moved out here to PR 2 months ago.... yep, small, small world... ;) ooohhh - and biggest surprised of the day - Jimmy just got here this morning from NYC as well...!! didn't really know what to say when he called me here in our room and was really just next door and came over... bit speechless, bit shocked and surprised.... oh well, we'll see....
Have a great day / night wherever you are and I'll write more again later...
Flying on JETBLUE...!!!
I've flown loads and loads with all kinda different airlines already, but today / last night was the first time I ever used JETBLUE... from San Jose, CA, via JFK to San Juan, PR....yaaaiiii - I just to to Puerto Rico again and will be here for 4 days now.... with lotsa salsa...!!but anyway, had heard lotsa good stuff about JETBLUE from friends before... and it's true for real.... great flights, personal TV, good space, friendly service (apart from one or 2 odd characters amongst the flight attendants... ;), nice drinks and snacks.... MAKE SURE YOU HAVE THE BLUE POTATO CHIPS if and when u ever use that airline.... they're great...!! was my breakfast today.... yeah, very nutritious I know.... hahha... ;)and I'm not even that tired although I really didn't sleep much on the plane.... oh well, I'm gonna go to the beach now and Larry and Aneta are gonna be here in a few hours as well... and then dancing, dancing, dancing.... :)hugs and kisses from Puerto Rico...!!
San Jose, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara....
Hi everybody.... on my last morning in California for probably quite a while....my last few days in the Bay area have been great and my first official CS host SEB (www.couchsurfing.com/SEB) has been just amazing.... the sweetest guy ever.....he came to pick me up from Jay's apartment in SAN FRAN on SUN morning and then we went to Santa Cruz for the day after a nice lunch at Santanta Row (www.santanarow.com)cool drive, nice beach..... bit too busy and touristy down there, but was great.... ooh - and we even went to see the Surfing Museum...!!! See Annie, I'm doing some cultural stuff as well.... ;)we met his friend Chris - very fun and friendly guy - on SUN night for some Flamenco shows in downtown SAN FRAN.... poor Chris got a bit sick off the muscles in his Paella but other than that the show, music, food and drinks there were great.... hhmm, the waiter and the flan maybe not.... but yeah - that's Silicon Valley for you, right...?? ;)afterwards Seb took us on the most amazing Night-sight-seeing-tour of SAN FRAN that almost left me speechless.... (and that after I had already been in the city for 5 days...!!!)but yeah - he knows some very cool spots there, for real.... and he even put the moon in the perfect place...!! ;) wow...I also met Lorraine, another very nice friend of his, when he was remixing some music for her friend's dance- and fitness competition.... and got a 90mins picture and video presentation of his trips to Hawaii and Brazil.... pretty amazing...!! "Couchsurfing.com right there by THE LAVA...!!!" great..... I loved it...during the days he let me use his Mum's computer, swimming pool, washing machine and even gave me his own bedroom... what an amazing host...!!aaahhh - and he didn't even mind listening to the same song over and over again for 3 days and 2 nights.... ;) Gracias por todo Seb - you're the best...!!I'm leaving from San Jose tonight to fly to Puerto Rico where I'll be arriving tomorrow (WED) afternoon and stay there for the Salsa Congress in SAN JUAN till SUN....a bit sad at the moment, cause Carolina just told me that she won't be able to make it there this summer.... :( :( triste, triste..... it's just not gonna be the same and as much fun as last year without her and Carlos.... :(oh well, but I will be seeing Larry and Aneta there again, so that's great.... !! and then just dance lots lots lots before I'm flying to Guatemala on Sunday...okies.... gotta go now..... my last chance to enjoy the pool and sunshine here...!!more news and pics again soon.... :)
my beautiful friend Katrin in all-white at a prom in Germany...
last night in SAN FRAN....belated birthday dinner....and more dancing.... :)
So on my last night in San Francisco Jay's friend Jeana had a belated birthday dinner.... lotsa super-nice people at a great spot right by the beach..... aahh - and her cake was fantastico as well.... ;)and later some more Salsa at Monte Cristo www.salsasaturday.com very nice and airy downtown venue..... but the tiled floor was pretty tough on the knees.... not good for spins.... :( 
that's me and Jeana's sister Alisha...
Dancing and friends in San Francisco....
that's Jay's friend Lee and me dancing at Roccapulco, SF, on FRI night.... they had a great band from Sacramento there that night.... nice music and great floor.... :)
and here on the right - Jay and his
very good friend Jeana.... sweet....
Golden Gate..... just amazing...!!
so yeah - today I did something that I really wanted to do here in SAN FRAN.... walked over the Golden Gate Bridge.... and back again...!! aaahhh - amazing..... and it wasn't even covered in the typical fog that you normally have in SAN FRAN all the time..... was a beautiful, super-sunny day here today....!! yyaaii - I took the sunshine from Seattle up to Vancouver and brought it down here to San Francisco as well.....Brooklyn Bridge in NYC is great, and Bay Bridge is nice too.... or some of the bridges that I crossed in Vancouver.... but Golden Gate....??? in a different league.... just soooo stunningly beautiful..... and the whole bay area around it as well.... I loved it.... really think I could live here... oh - and as you're supposed to do with every new bridge that you cross for the first time, I made a wish when I was right in the middle of it.... but can't tell you what it was, of course.... ;)oh well - if it ever comes true I will let you know....!! :)dancing last night at COCOMO's was really good too..... met a guy who had just moved here from NYC a few months ago and he was a lot of fun to dance with....and now we're about to go to Roccapulco.... yeah - Jay is a real good tour-guide of the SAN FRAN Salsa-scene... ;) hhmm.... "dance-guide" I should say.... :)
I loooooooooovvee SAN FRANCISCO...!!!
after another great night dancing @ DOWNLOW in Berkeley last night I finally made it into downtown SAN FRANCISCO today.... and soooooooo loved it....!! this city is beautiful...!!had to wait quite a while for the train at SFSU station and some guys said it was cause there was a bomb scare this morning at Montgomery station and maybe that was why it took so much longer than normal for the train to get there.....GREAT !! Exactly the stop I had to get off at...!! and I had just been thinking before how lucky I was to also avoid the 2nd day with bombings in London..... hahha...maybe not...anyway, then this other guy asked me for the time .... yeah - super-old chat-up line... ;) but he was actually pretty nice and friendly.... really into Tango and wants to go to Argentina next year for some competitions.... so we had this interesting conversation about how Tango and salsa and dancing and music in general bring people together and connect them all over the world..... soooooo true....
and get this - his first name was BISMARCK...!!! funny, hmm...?? especially since his Mum is from Nicaragua and his Dad from Venezuela... !!! oh well.... so we talked a bit about Europe (he wants to move there in a couple of years) and Nicaragua (cause it's also one of the countries I'll be passing though in a few months), before I had to get off at Montgomery station....and all seemed to be fine there..... no more bombs around anymore... so please don't worry about me....then my first destination in downtown SAN FRAN was my bank HSBC to pick up my travellers cheques.... was funny cause they were already expecting me there since my bank manager from NYC had called them to order the cheques for me and I had also called them from VAN last week to confirm and double-check....so they were like - "Oh Astrid... you're the girl who's gonna travel through Central America, right...?? Yes, we have everything ready for you..." SWEET.... they were so lovely and helpful and even gave me a little map of downtown SAN FRAN and showed me how to get to Fisherman's Wharf and the Golden Gate....yeah - talking about customer service.... ;) great...!!so then I just walked through Chinatown and down Market Street till I came to the seaside and Ferry Terminal and market there.... looked around the market hall in the terminal for a bit....really nice there too.... !!
and it happened to be Michael Recchiutti's birthday today - some kinda famous chocolatier who has his shop there..... and they were serving his birthday cake and handing it out just when I was walking past... :)yyaaiii.... so I had some of that amazing chocolate cake..... and it was free.... even better.... !! ;)
then I walked along the piers and Fisherman's Wharf... saw Alcatraz, Forbes island and the famous sealions too.... soooo nice everything...
oh - and of course GOLDEN GATE BRIDGE...!! wanna walk over that tomorrow... :)
at municipal pier those 2 guys had just caught this huge starfish which was really pretty... pink and grey....they asked me if I wanted to take it home, but not sure if Jay and his Mum would have been so very excited about that.... ;) so I just took a picture of it.....
also, saw the CROOKEDEST STREET and COIT TOWER on my way back to the station..... beautiful views from up there...
yeah - I love it here...!! SAN FRAN is great...!!
and now we're about to go dancing at COCOMO's.... yaaaiii...some more Salsa.... ;)
A nice quote by Mahatma Ghandi
Live as if you were to die tomorrow,
Learn as if you were to live forever.
a looooonng walk on the beach....
so I was gonna look around the area where Jay lives a little bit today.... walked around SAN FRAN State campus for a while, then along Lake Merced and then I came to the beach..... only like 20mins from Jay's house.... aaahhh... so beautiful.... was walking on the beach between Pacific Ocean and Highway 1 for like 2 hours.... until I couldn't go any further cause there were those rocks in the way..... and then found this little cave that opens up to the water on one side.... soooo cool.... just loved it there....!!and I had to think again - some of the most beautiful things in life you can really get for free....so downtown San Fran will have to wait till tomorrow.... at least the sight-seeing part.... ;) cause we're gonna go dancing there later anyway... :)
first night / morning in SAN FRAN...!!!
after a great last day with Carolina in Seattle that we spent finding a birhtday present for Bob... picking and eating blueberries... and listening to music, I flew to SAN FRAN last night....
Jay picked me up from the airport and we went straight to GLAS KAT where Rodney, one of his friends, had his birthday party.... since my flight was a bit delayed we didn't get there till about 1.00am, but the band was still playing and there was still some birthday cake left as well... ;)
had a good time dancing there for an hour....
I'm staying here with Jay and his Mum at their apartment very close to SAN FRAN State University.... he had to leave at about 10.30am to go to work and his lovely mother just made me a coffee before she had to go to the dentist... aaahhh.... she's so sweet.... and they both really make me feel at home here....
okay, gonna go downtown now and will write again when I've seen more of the city.....
OH - and HAPPY BIRTHDAY to SASKO for today...!! Have a great day..... will have a belated b'day dance with you the next time we meet....
lovely people and great friends in Seattle and Vancouver... Carolina, Georgio and Adil...
just a few thank yous... :)
I've only been travelling for 2 weeks so far, but have met sooooo many great people in this short time already and just wanna send some "Thank Yous" to them.... (and they are in no particular rank or order....)
CAROLINA - quien eres tu if not my long-lost twin sister that I just met 2 years ago.... Amazing that there's someone who is / thinks / acts soooo much like me.... !!!
Thanks so much for the wonderful time with you in Seattle and for everything you did for me.... thanks for having such a sweet and easy-going husband and so many wonderful friends..... I know we'll be spending more great times, road-trips, vacations and adventures together.... yyaaaiii.... can't wait....
CARLITO - Thanks for the beautiful music and for making me fall in love with a song again.... thanks for the nice times that Carolina and I spent with you and thanks for your ever-lasting smile.... we'll miss you in Puerto Rico this summer.... it's just not gonna be the same without you....
ROGER - Thanks for you hospitality in Vancouver..!! I couldn't have wished for a nicer Welcome, a more fun first dance and a better first 24 hours in your city...!!
GEORGIO & SASKO - Thanks for the great time with you in VAN & Seattle.... thanks for the chauffeur, bodyguard and butler services... ;) but most of all, thanks for that eye-opener.... can't wait to see you again....
FRANK & HOAMI - Thanks for 3 great days and nights at your house in Vancouver.... you guys are the sweetest.... Muchas gracias tambien for the amazingly delicious meals that we shared - and this goes to Rachel & Corby as well... :) and thanks for letting me borrow your cool bike.... You made Vancouver so much fun for me...!!
ANETA, ANJA, KATRIN and LOTTA - Thanks for being the "bestest" and most wonderful friends that I could ask for...!! and thanks for always keeping in touch the way you do.... love you guys mucho....!!
MY MUM, NONA and my FAMILY in Germany - Thanks for always being there for me and always thinking of me.....thanks for all your love & support...
OLAF - Thanks for being the best brother in the world...!! thanks for all your medical advice and consultation... ;) and thanks for just being the way you are.... hugs & kisses to you and Claudi....
All my CS friends in SEATTLE & VAN - Thanks for offering your help, advice and support...!! was great to meet some of you while I was in your city.... everyone else - hopefully c u next time....
LOUNGE-FAMILY - Thanks for being my wonderful extended family.... You guys are the best...!! Enjoy all your travels as much as I do and I know we'll be in touch and see each other again.... yyaaiii....
EVERYONE ELSE - Thanks for being a part of my life.... thanks for being my friend and caring & thinking about me enough to read this.... You'll get your personal dedication next time... ;)
Sashko, Cobs, Nat and me in MESA LUNA
sweet couple dancing... :) Sashko and Roger
Dancing with Sashko at Mesa Luna....
looks all a bit dark I know..... but wa
s super fun....
and next time Nath is gonna
use the flash when taking pics.... ;)
living a dream...
my last day in Seattle today....tomorrow night I'm flying to San Francisco.... had a great weekend here and in Vancouver....
FRI night I was still in Canada and went dancing with some friends there at MESA LUNA.... good night.... and biggest surprise ever - met Cobana, a friend from London in that place...!! he was just standing there by the bar when my friend Nathalie and I walked in..... what a surprise...!!!
he had just got to VAN 3 hours earlier for some meetings over the weekend.... and first thing he did, was find his way to a salsa place... ;) yaaaiii.... soooo great to see him there.... yes, this small small world.... :)
on SAT I drove back to Seattle with Sasko, George and their friend Iman.... nice road-trip with good company and I had my 3 personal bodyguards with me at the border crossing.... ;)
ooohh - and the beautiful view at Mount Baker while we were driving South.... loved it... !!
we managed to find Cheesecake Factory in Bellevue thanks to some great directions and sense of orientation.... yeah Sasko, don't miss that hand-wave to the left again... ;)
nice food there....and more dancing at Century afterwards.....
they all stayed at Carolina's as well.... was a nice SAT night / SUN morning....
after the guys left again on SUN afternoon Carolina and I went to Snoqualmia waterfall.... about 20 mins from Bellevue.... it's higher than the Niagara falls, but not as wide.... still really impressive and beautiful.... and nice little hike over the rocks there.... and yeah - I did take a picture and will post it here as soon as I have it developed on disc....
NB - for everyone I haven't told before, I'm just using disposable cameras on this trip cause I don't wanna take fancy electronic equipment on my trip through latin America.... not the best idea....
when we got back to her house her husband had made some huuuuuggee hamburgers for us.... they were great, but way too big to fit into your mouth for a normal bite.... yeah, that's America for you.... but thanks, Bob...!!! was super-sweet of you.... and we managed to eat them with knife and fork.... :)
then more nice music from Carlos at Mojito Cafe, and Salsa with TUMBAO at Triple Door that night....
don't really wanna write much about the little car accident we had on our way from one place to the other.... no worries - nothing serious happened, noone got hurt.... just car damage and the other guy was at fault so his insurance will have to pay....
and we had some great witnesses with us (behind us) as well.... thanks Andre and Kathy... :)
MON - another hot and sunny day in Seattle...!! Carolina had to work so I took her bike to Lake Sammamish State Park and went swimming there.... beautiful day and the lake was just perfect....not too cold and not too warm.... first time I went swimming in a lake on this trip.... sooooo nice.... yeah - life is great....
we went up to Newcastle, WA, Golf course after I got back to her house to see an amazing sunset over Seattle's skyline and Olympic peninsula..... this world can be sooooo beautiful....
so tomorrow I'll have to do some laundry, pack my stuff and will be dancing in SAN FRAN tomorrow night..... Jay just told me it'll be Salsa straight after the airport... yyaaaiii.... :)
more soon.... xxxx
Lori and I in MESA LUNA (and ADIL in the background as well...)
I met Nathalie in Vancouver.. for coffee and ice cream... ;)
First travel updates.... "Wows" from Canada...
hey everyone.....sorry, have't forgotten aboutyou..... ;)
so yeah....Seattle was great.....had a really nice time there, but mainly cause I was spending time with Carolin, Carlos, Andre and their friends and dancing lots (www.centuryballroom.com) .....as a city Seattle is pretty nice as well, but I've never seen soooooooo many homeless people in thestreets as there.....not even in NYC...!!
got to Vancouver last TUE and it's really nice here too....weather has been great, lotsa sunshine.....they have a lot of fantastic beaches here.... Vancouver is a great city..... and Hoami and Frank have been wonderful hosts as well....salsa here is good too... :)
see www.vancouverlatinfever.com and tonight we're going to MESA LUNA on Broadway.....
but I think I've been to so many beautiful and amazing places on this planet already that it just takes alittle bit more to impress me..... and yeah - STANLEYPARK in Vancouver did just that today...!!
www.parks.vancouver.bc.ca
www.stanleyparkecology.ca
took Hoami's bike over there today and biked allaround it by the seaside and then also went on some of the hiking trails through the park..... so so so beautiful...!! I just loved it....went on a trail around this lake called BEAVERLAKE...... BEAU-TI-FUL..>!! it's completely covered with waterlillies (Seerosen)..... amazing.... hopefully is looks at least half as nice on my pictureas it does in reality....!!then I went all the way up to PROSPECT POINT where u have a great view over Vancouver....saw some racoons (Waschbaeren) running around there too.... and all those Japanese, Chinese and some German tourists up there were going crazy trying toget pics of them...
.then, all along the fences there - signs "WARNING -RABIES (Tollwut) ALERT" !!
so that was the first time of my trip that I was actually really happy that I went through all those vaccinations and felt realy good and safe...!!!
heard from Frank's and HOami's friends last night thatthere are also wild coyotes here in Vancouver who frequently eat people's cats and dogs.... hhmmm....haven't seen them yet....and don't think Iwant to....
and after we had an amazing BBQ with salmon on Spanish banks last night, it's gonna be bison steaks for dinner this evening....
so I gotta love you and leave you now.....hugs and kisses to all of you and I'll be sending more updates of my trip again....
lotsa loveAStrid
