Winter Break!

Hello dear readers (if there are any readers!),

I suppose this is my first "real" post of the year!  I should think that we are all recovered from any New Year's Eve partying - we certainly took it easy, so there wasn't much to recover!

New Year's Day was pleasant.  Matt and I went up to his parents' house for brunch and watched the Rose Parade and some football.  Early in the afternoon, we got an e-mail from a former coworker of Matt's who had an extra pair of tickets to the Fiesta

Bowl!  Even though we didn't have a particular connection to either school playing (Baylor and Central Florida), we still thought it would be fun to go see a Bowl Game and to visit the University of Phoenix stadium, since neither of us has been there since we moved to Arizona.  Since Matt's coworker was rooting for Baylor, we did, too!  It wasn't very hard to feel an affinity for Baylor - the mascot is a bear and the opponent was a stuck up warrior... sound familiar?  (The UCLA mascot is the Bruin Bear and that other team also has a silly warrior mascot!)  And since Tostidos sponsors the game, we ate TONS of free chips and salsa!  And our seats were excellent - 11th row from the field!

Matt has been back at work, even on Saturday, working really hard.  The company is having a big sales push through the end of the month, so I probably won't get to see much of his handsome face this week.  Thursday I went out to Karaoke with Jennifer, a friend from my chorus, and had tons of fun!  The place was pretty empty, so we got to sing several songs.  I sang "Son of a Preacher Man" (my classic), "Man!  I Feel Like a Woman" (because, I mean, why not?), "Written In the Stars" as a duet with Jen (she even remembered the harmonies!), and "I Have Nothing" by Whitney Houston (because what is Karaoke without the immortal Whitney?).  Jen sang some Adele, "Life is a Highway", and one other song that I can no longer recall!!

Friday I made some challah (sorry no photos!) and I even made an extra, so I put that one in the freezer to eat next Friday.  I have never frozen bread before, so I hope it tastes good in a week!  I wrapped in up in two layers of saran and another of foil, under the advisement of wiser bakers than myself.   Yesterday, I got together for some singing while Matt took a day to read and relax after work.  Today has been mostly about errands and getting ready to go back to "real life" tomorrow.  I had back to work and should probably start exercising again!  I twisted my knee skiing in Seattle, so I've been trying to take it easy.  I did some yoga this week, but I'm gonna try for an easy run tomorrow and see what happens.

Anyway, I know it's not too exciting, but it was winter break after all!  I hope everyone else has enjoyed their time off (if you had it!) and has a good time getting back to work.  I'll write more, soon!

New Year's Resolution: Bring Back the Blog!

Hello Blog-o-sphere and Happy New Year!

While 2013 may not have been quite as "exciting" as our year (and a few months) of travel was, it was still an interesting year. Last October, as we commemorated the 2 years that have passed since we first embarked on Shapiro Adventures, I decided to re-read our entire travel blog. I so enjoyed reliving the memories, that I have decided to take up blogging again. It is my resolution to try to write at least once a week, maybe more, so in a year I can remind myself of the wonderful things I've done and thoughts I've thunk during the year. (Even if I'm the only one who ever reads them - in which case: Happy New Year 2015 Future-Me!)

So to kick off the New Year of Adventuring, I'd like to recap 2013: This time last year, we were celebrating the New Year in Rio de Janeiro!
 
 Shortly thereafter we returned the good ol' USA, but adventures continued!
 We took a road trip that went from the Bay area (to see friends), LA (friends and family), Arizona (family), Texas (friends and family), New Orleans for Mardi Gras (and a family visit), Memphis (more fun family), and back through Dallas, Texas for a reptile show!

Matt got a job with LearnVest and we soon moved to Scottsdale, AZ so he could open their call center. (And subsequently, had to cut his long, luscious locks!)
 

We celebrated Matt's 29th here in Scottsdale, our 3rd Anniversary on the Salt River, and my birthday by moving into a new apartment! (and now that we've lived here for 4 months, it's ALMOST entirely unpacked!)
 

We had some fun adventures, which included me going on "The Price is Right" with my brother Jeremy (we did win some bikes and a coffee machine, which Jeremy swears is the best he's ever owned!), going on a hot air balloon (and Jeremy skydived out the side!), getting in shape and looking great for Halloween (I went as a Vulcan science officer), and going to Seattle for a Cousin's reunion! I also joined the wonderful Scottsdale Chorus and competed on the international stage in Hawaii, where we won second place!
 

Now that I reminisce over the past year, I wish I had been better at documenting the good times we had. I hope that this post will indeed launch me into a wonderful new year, where I can write about, and remember, all the great things yet to come. And indeed, there are some great things to look forward to: Matt and I will be vacationing in El Salvador in February, there are regional chorus competitions in May, we are attending two weddings, and that's all just in the first half of the year!

So, stay tuned as the NEW Shapiro Adventures launches in 2014!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Scottsdale, AZ....USA

Hello from Arizona! As some of you know, we have been traveling a bit around our home country. After arriving back in LA and catching up with people, we left on the 22nd of January and headed north. Instead of using public transportation as has been our modus operandi for the past 14 months or so, we took Sarah's vehicle and had to quickly re-learn how to drive on the streets of America. We headed up through Santa Barbara and spent a few nights in Santa Cruz. We were lucky enough to sit in on a university course about South American civilization so we would learn about what we visited. Then we continued our northward trajectory to San Francisco, arguably the greatest city on Earth. Tasty food, expensive housing, and hipsters awaited us. Someone tried to convince me to buy a pair of Lululemon pants, however we are on a strict budget and I successfully resisted. We also visited some important Bay Area landmarks like the Golden Gate bridge, the East Bay Vivarium, and of course, Hobee's. The East Bay Vivarium was just as we remembered, full of exotic reptiles and amphibians. We are in the market for a new tank for our pet snake, and once we find a place to live permanently we will probably buy a new one from there. We also spent a night in the south peninsula near my primordial homeland. Burritos were eaten, internet speeds discussed, etc, etc. After a delicious breakfast at Google we hit the road for Scottsdale, Arizona.

About a month after Sarah and I had left the country my parents sold their home in the Bay Area in search of warmer weather and more venemous wild animals. They decided on the land of gila monsters and rattlesnakes, Scottsdale, Arizona. So far, the only venemous reptiles we have seen were in the Phoenix zoo yesterday, although we did see a cool blue lizard while hiking a few days ago. My parents keep telling us about the javelinas, bobcats, and other wildlife in the neighborhood, but they must all be in hibernation at the moment. Other than that, the house is very nice and as you might expect we have been providing around the clock tech support for their computing and technology needs. At the moment we are planning to head out of Scottsdale on Tuesday and head east. We will be spending a few nights in Texas, in Austin and Houston before arriving in New Orleans for Mardi Gras. After that we are hoping to spend a week in Memphis and then head back. Thanks for reading and Go Niners!!

Back in America and Brazil by the Numbers

Hello from the frozen tundra of Los Angeles. Last Friday, in Rio de Janeiro we caught a 3:30 AM cab to the airport so that we could get there with plenty of time to spare for our 3 flights back to Los Angeles. Our first flight went from Rio to Lima, and left about 20 minutes late, only to arrive about 30 minutes early. We were about an hour delayed in boarding in Lima for our second flight to San Salvador, and after we were on the plane the pilot came on to let us know that Lima was having some problems with their radar and it would be another hour or so until we could depart. This would put us about 2 hours behind schedule and since we only had an hour layover in San Salvador, we started to discuss which beach we should go to should we need to spend an extra day or two in San Salvador. Luckily (or un-luckily) they held the third flight for us and about 20 other passengers on both flights and we made it all the way home. We were greeted by a plethora of loving family members who even made a funny sign for us. Despite my passport being completely destroyed and filled with stamps, they still let me into the country. Since our arrival we have already eaten at some of Sarah's favorite restaurants, including In-n-Out on the night of our arrival. We have been taking care of some errands we neglected to do while away, (car registration, etc) and are starting to plan a small trip around the continental US. Be sure to check back over the next few days for reviews of our gear, favorite places to visit and to live, etc.

Here are the bank account-emptying numbers from Brazil. Keep in mind that Brazil is possibly the most expensive country on our trip by most measures. In addition to that we did take some Portuguese classes, and Rio over Christmas and New Years was especially expensive. We entered the country on December 2nd with $111 and left on January 4th with $95, a total of 33 days in the country. We also withdrew $4172 from various ATMs. This comes out to $126.91 per day. This does not include the first class plane tickets to get us home. I felt it would be unfair to include that in the Brazil numbers. Generally bus transport in Brazil is more expensive than most other countries, rivaling Argentina in that respect. Even intra-city transport is normally over $1 just to get around town. Food prices aren't that much cheaper in restaurants although fruits and vegetables in markets are very affordable. Anyways, once my calculator stops overheating I will put together a by the numbers for the entire trip and I'm sure Sarah will have some thoughts to post as well. Thanks again for reading, and we will keep you posted!

This message will self-destruct

This message was intercepted and decoded by the intelligence experts here at Shapiro Adventures:

Greetings fellow Americans. This is Jeremy, leader of the Shapiro Adventurer extraction team. I've been sent to Brazil at the request of the families of Sarah and Matt, and with the approval of the United States government, to bring them safely back home to America. Justine, my deputy leader, and I are happy to report that our mission is almost complete. In less than 36 hours, the famed adventurers will be on board an airplane headed home. This blog post is meant to serve as a mission update for the concerned parties at home. 

We arrived on the evening of the 27th after 3 flights covering over 24 hours of travel time. The adventurers were sitting outside the apartment waiting for us. It was good to see that they were alive and well.  Right away we began immersing ourselves in a taste of the lifestyle they had become accustomed to over the last 14 months. The first night we quickly learned that sheets and blankets are unnecessary in 90 degree weather with 80% humidity. The first day we met up with our local contact, Alessandra, who brought us to a local mall in order to purchase swim attire for Sarah and Justine. Matt and I both agreed that based on the cost of such little material involved in their bikinis, there is no way we could afford to buy one with enough material to cover ourselves, so we used the ones we brought from home. After acquiring the necessary equipment, we proceeded to the beach for some sun, sand, and water. For simplicity sake, I'll only describe Copacabana beach once: awesome. White sand, blue ocean, light breeze, hot sun. There are vendors that walk by every few minutes selling food and drinks. Our favorites were a mix of ice tea and lemonade, and pastries filled with meat. One vendor of such pastries, who happened to sell us food on two separate days, even offered to let Sarah stay at his house if she ever returned to Rio. (The extraction team assessed this vendor to be an agent of an opposing force, attempting to prevent Sarah from returning to the US, so we neutralized the threat.) Later that evening we visited Sugar Loaf mountain. I almost lost my sandal over the edge of the mountain, but was able to recover it and continue the mission. The views were great. The next day we practiced our alternate means of esacpe from Rio, AKA, hang gliding. Thanks again to our local contact for setting this up. After that, more beach going.

After two days of what Sarah and Matt described as "really busy days," (recall, day 1: shopping, beach, sugar loaf, and day 2: hang gliding, beach), we apparently had to take a day to relax, by--you guessed it-- sitting at the beach.

On the 31st, the police began blocking off access to and from the beach via the roads in preparation for the New Years celebration. We were prepared for this contingency, so we activated our emergency plan, which consisted of sitting on the beach and getting tan. The New Year celebration was excellent. Over 2 million people were estimated to be on the beach that night. Cruise ships anchored off the coast and barges laden with fireworks positioned themselved in between the coast and the cruise ships. At midnight, no less than 5 barges lit off simulatenous shows of fireworks for over 15 minutes. It was beautiful.

Yesterday, I attempted to track down a local operative who could help me keep up my skydiving currency, only to learn the hard way that Brazilian work ethic is not necessarily up to US standards. The rest of the day was spent napping and going to the beach.

Today the four of us went to the Christ the Redeemer statue that overlooks the city. Matt and Sarah weren't that impressed, as they'd seen a bigger statue in Bolivia. Justine and I, however, took cheesy tourist pictures in front of the statue, along with the throngs of other people there. On the cab ride down the mountain, we got an impromptu Favela (slum) tour, as our driver barrelled down steep and windy roads in a car with questionable brakes, yelling "Favela! Favela!"

And that is the progress of our mission thus far. The four of us are in great health, having maintained a steady diet of Acai (a frozen blended fruit dessert that we have all eaten no less than twice a day) and Brazilian meat. Thank you for entrusting the lives and safe return of the Shapiro Adventurers to us. We look forward to the homecoming parties. Extraction team--out.

This message will self-destruct

Happy New Year!!!

Hello from Rio de Janeiro! We have been here since the 23rd, but first a recollection of our voyage from Iguaçu. What was supposed to be a 22 hour ride was punctuated with technical difficulties, a flat tire around two AM and a "broken" accelerator around noon. We finally got in around 3PM, only about five hours late. We got comfy in our new apartment, and hit the beach. It has averaged around 95° every day, hitting 115° one day, so the beach is a welcome necessity. A few days after our arrival Sarah's brother Jeremy and my friend Justine arrived in Rio. Earlier that day we had gone to the national history musuem and learned about Brasil's history. We also saw some very old vehicles, both internal combustion powered and horse drawn. Our friend and local guide, Alessandra, was kind enough to take us to her family's Christmas party where we basically ate all night. We also got to practice our Portuguese. In the past few days we went up the Sugar Loaf Mountains, and Sarah went hang gliding! We also have discovered açaí. It is much tastier here than what you get in America, I'm not sure why, but I intend to figure it out so I can continue eating it at home. On Christmas day we went to a live concert on the beach featuring a local Brazilian star, Gilberto Gil and Stevie Wonder! It's great that the city puts on free events like this and supposedly over a million people attended.

You'll be excited to know that Sarah has purchased a new bikini to fit in with the locals. I have not. We have also eaten a lot of the meat that Brazil is famous for, as well as experiencing enormous portions. Five of us shared a churrasco for two and there was still a pork chop left over! As I write this I can hear the firecrackers starting to go off. In a little bit we will be on the beach enjoying a cold beer, some champagne and NYE fireworks.

Happy New Year!!

No end of the world in Foz do Iguaçu!

Well, dear readers, it would seem the world hasn't ended after all, much like we knew it wouldn't after having visited all the Mayan ruins in central America.   We've spent the last two days in Foz do Iguaçu, the town on the Brazilian side of the beautiful Iguaçu/Iguazu/Iguassu Falls that border Brasil, Argentina, and Paraguay.  The place is HOT with a subtropical climate, meaning VERY humid (yes, the caps are necessary!).  Yesterday, we crossed to the Argentinian side (yay, more passport stamps!  That's 8 stamps from Argentina for those of you counting at home, 6 from Chile, 4 from Honduras, and just 2 from everywhere else, except only 1 from Nicaragua and El Salvador which has zero... not to mention several commemorative stamps), where you get a very upclose look at the waterfalls.  We started by taking the train up to La Garganta del Diabo, the Devil's Throat, which is a large horseshoe shaped collection of incredible waterfalls with about an 80 meter drop.  They have built some impressive bridges so you can walk over the river to see the falls. This is normally where I would put in some pictures, however, Matt decided to shoot in RAW format, so they are too big to upload from the ipad!  If we are able to find a locutorio, we will try to upload them from there. We then hiked the upper and lower circuits, which were more bridges that allowed us to see several falls from the bottom and top, respecitvely.  It was quite hot and we worked up quite a sweat, so the spray from the falls felt nice!  We had wanted to take a ferry over to San Martin Island for some more hikes and up close views, but unfortunately, the island was closed yesterday for an unknown reason.  We decided instead to do the allegedly challenging Macuco Trail to see another falls.  We walked about 3 kilometers and saw a lot of great wild life on the way, including coatis (racoon like animals with long snouts), capuchin monkeys, tiger ants (they are about an inch long and emit a sort of smelly acid), and some very large lizards, that may have been tigus or monitors, we are not sure.  So after walking about 45 minutes on a relatively flat trail, we got to the spot where you shiuld descend to see the falls, however, the bridge had been washed out and the trail was closed!  We were so bummed and had to walk the whole way back without having been refreshed from the water.  We then walked back to the visitor center and checked out the small museum before heading back.  All in all, I reckon we walked about 12 kilometers, about 7.5 miles.  We were quite lucky with the weather, because it started thundering as we exited the park, but the rain didn't hit until we were already in the van.  It rained off and on all night, cooling the air to a much more pleasant temperature. This morning, we headed to the Parque das Aves, the Bird Park, where we saw an incredible number of beautiful and exotic birds.  There were several walk-through aviaries where there was nothing between us and some very large-beaked toucans, pheasants, cassows (not sure on the spelling), macaws, and other birds.  They was also a butterfly and humming bird walk-through and a reptile portion of the zoo; they don't let you into the Anaconda pool though, I wonder why?  We also a Carrowary, a bird I am pretty sure is the direct descendant of the Velociraptor; it's like a raptor and an ostrich had a baby that mated with the baby of a hen and a peacock.  (Definitely need to post a picture of that one!). We ended by getting to have a Macaw perch on our arms for a photo. Around noon we headed to the Brazilian side of the falls, where you can really see the entire set of falls at once.  It's truly breath-taking!  We then followed a path to a bridge which takes you right out into the falls near the Devil's throat - water protecttion necessary!  There is a strong wind from the falls and the water that gets pushed up gets everyone wet!  Just as we were finished walking along the path, which is much shkrter than the Argentinian side, it began to rain again, so we caught the bus back to the entrance of the park and then another bus back into town.   Tomorrow, we catch a bus to Rio de Janeiro, a 22 hour trip, and arrive there on Sunday.  We've rented an apartment in Copacabana which we'll share with my brother, Jeremy and our friend/his girlfriend Justine, who arrive a few days later.  Rio will be our last city in South America, and it is so hard to believe our trip is nearly at an end!