Topacio

Topacio is a nature reserve in Cali, Colombia which was recently inaugurated and re-opened. It was closed the past 10 years because it was considered a red zone (FARC activity was rampant here).

On our way to Topacio we passed a waterfall that was in the street. That's Colombia for ya.

The street side waterfall

Here we are climbing the rocks

The beautiful waterfall

La familia Buritica

My cousin Eduardo

Organic Colombian Beauty

Eddie

Rio Pance

Here you see the dessert thats made on the side of a tree, I don't remember the name, but it's sweet and comes off the side of a tree and is served in a cone

Enjoying sancocho de gallina

ahhh Colombia....

Cabalgata

Cabalgata is spanish for horse ride. They are super famous and lots of fun here in Cali. Basically you go to a horse farm, rent horses and go on a two hour long horse ride through the river and mountains. People drink during this outing too...drunk on top of a horse can be slightly dangerous. I had some bruises the next day. At least i didn't fall off.

Que Viva el Guaro!

Here's the troupe: Vicente, German, Andres, Susana, Francisco, and Me-- All Buritica!!! (except Susana, but she's an honary Buritica, so she counts)

Susana going through the river

I got so nasty dirty taking this pic

My nasty dirty leg

Yee-haw! A Colombian Texan!

Vicente and me

At the end of our Cabalgata we enjoyed a Fritanga-- basically fried good stuff, very Colombian.

Museo Larco

This entry is out of order, I should have placed it before Rio, but you get the idea....

We visited el Museo Rafael Larco Herrera in Lima one sunny afternoon. To our surprise they had an erotic gallery. We weren't sure what to expect, but I left satisfied.

Sex is probably one of the most natural things a human can do. I suppose that's why the Inca's made these:

I love this pic!

This was a room in the museum (not part of the erotic gallery) filled with tons of Inca artifacts

The courtyard in the museum, just lovely

One of the coolest videos of ALL TIME

http://www.soulpancake.com/view_post/210246/just-remember-this-word-muto.html

Rio de Janeiro

Brazil is filled with beautiful people and lots of sun, two of my favorite things. Ricardo and I had a ball, although the party would have been a lot different had I had some of my girls there with me. But Ricardo served as a good body gaurd, so that was nice.

Here are the highlights

View from on top of the Pão de Açúcar. A huge granite rock in Rio that 5000 years old. Cable car ride costs $20...the view was worth it

Estádio do Maracanã

Pele's feet

I'm flying


This was the first futbol stadium I've ever been to, so it was a good one to start with. I love the colors of the brazilian team and the fact that they are winners is cool too. According to wikipedia:

"Although the paid attendance at the final game of the 1950 FIFA World Cup was 199,854, the stadium currently seats 95,000 spectators. Despite the reduction in capacity, it remains the largest stadium in South America".

I like how they put "paid" attendance

My favorite brazilian Ronaldinho

Corcovado

The huge statue of Christ the Redeemer is on top of this mountain. Very cool to see at dusk.

Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí
It's carnaval time! Supposedly this is the biggest party on Earth...I've been to better parties, but this one was good too

Here we are in the stands. What isn't so cool is that the Sambodromo is segregated. On one side all forgieners sit, on the other, all the Brasilians. Boo! I wanted to party with some brazilians.

An extravagent float

The world famous Sambodromo

Another crazy float

An afternoon on Copacabana beach...nice view

Enjoying a Sol beer on Copacabana beach

Enjoying a Bavaria Beer on Ipanema beach


I love how the beach had a bamboo walkway, no burned feet here

On Avenida Atlantica in Copacabana

Just chillin in Ipanema beach

The guys in Brazil are HOT! Too bad most of them are gay :(


I like the short shorts though

Our last night in Brazil we went to Vinícius. A bossa nova piano bar in Ipanema. She sang my ultimate favorite song, Chega de Saudade.

Here we are in Vinícius, I love my new fish earings.

Vinícius is across the street from the bar where A Girl from Ipanema was written. It was written in 1962, with music by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Portuguese lyrics by Vinicius de Moraes.

I love what Moraes says about a girl from Ipanema:

In Revelação: a verdadeira Garota de Ipanema (Revealed: The Real Girl from Ipanema) Moraes wrote she was:
"o paradigma do broto carioca; a moça dourada, misto de flor e sereia, cheia de luz e de graça mas cuja a visão é também triste, pois carrega consigo, a caminho do mar, o sentimento da mocidade que passa, da beleza que não é só nossa — é um dom da vida em seu lindo e melancólico fluir e refluir constante."

Translation:
'"the paradigm of the young Carioca: a golden teenage girl, a mixture of flower and mermaid, full of light and grace, the sight of whom is also sad, in that she carries with her, on her route to the sea, the feeling of youth that fades, of the beauty that is not ours alone — it is a gift of life in its beautiful and melancholic constant ebb and flow."

Dancing during a "Bloco"

Blocos are street bands with groups of people that start dancing and all of a sudden a party starts. They are held in different parts of town at different times. The biggest bloco is the Cordão do Bola Preta that attracts some 200,000 people to downtown Rio.

Everyone dresses up, here is a brazilian witch

We attended the Banda de Ipanema, one of the more popular ones...crazy!

I found Amy in one of the parades

Drag Queens everywhere!

Angra dos Reis, two hours south of Rio and well worth the trip, I saw a sea turtle here

Samba music all day long

What can I say besides that it was badass. It was crazy, gay, colorful, loud, and hot. I feel lucky to have been able to experience an event such as Carnaval. I never thought I would do something like that, but lately, I've been surprising myself more often than ever.