Aventura 38: Fiesta Sansur-Style

Fuego uoh uo Oh, sometimes I get a good feeling, yeah I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before, no no I get a good feeling, yeah h uoh la musiica del futuroo yeah!! Una vaina loca que me lleva ala gloria nunca he sentido nada como eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando Nossa, nossa Assim você me mata Ai se eu te pego Ai ai se eu te pego estamos a solas cuando yo siento eso es una vaina ratata Todas las noche ella me desea contigo yo lo hago donde sea se muere I'll never be alone, be alone, be alone, Cause you are in my soul, in my soul, in my soul I'll never make you cry, make you cry, make you cry You give me sunrise with your smile porque quiere que la pege a la pared Le gustan los tigueres que son Nata's Cousins Bar juguetones quiere que le cambie de posiciones y le gusta y disfruta duro quiere que le de Una vaina loca que me lleva ala gloria nunca he sentido nada como
  eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando estamos a solas Delícia, delícia Assim você me mata Ai se eu te pego Ai ai se eu te pego cuando yo I'll never be alone, be alone, be alone, Cause you are in my soul, in my soul, in my soul I'll never make you cry, make you cry, make you cry You give me sunrise with your smile siento eso es una vaina ratata Diablo que buena tu ta con tu pum-pum-pum yo voy a darte por tu pum-pum-pum cuando te choco mami tum-tum-tum si Oh, sometimes I get a I'll never be alone... good feeling, yeah I get a feeling that I never, never, never, never had before, no no I get a good feeling, yeah lo hacemos en Turn the lights A lil' down low We can be together Turn the lights a litle bit Delícia, delícia Assim você me mata Ai se eu te pego Ai ai se eu te pego So we can go slow And we can be forever. Give me a whole life We gotta be together ever moonlight I hold you so tight Till morning and the sun Will be our moonlight mi carro acemos brum-brum-brum Llevo mi tanque full ella quiere que baje pal sur y grita wou-wou-wou Nick Havana con actitud shory voy a darte luz Una vaina loca que me lleva ala gloria nunca he sentido nada como eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando estamos a solas cuando yo siento eso es una vaina ratata Nossa, nossa Assim você me mata Ai se eu te pego Ai ai se eu te pego Una vaina loca (tu me tiene loco mami) locaa (tu sabe) nadie como ella en mi vida (el manbo bacano) me descontrola (soy yo) cuando estamos a solas (F-u-e-g-o...Fuego) es una baina ratata (yah)  Todas
 las noche ella me desea contigo yo lo hago donde sea se muere porque quiere que la pege a la pared Le gustan los tigueres que son juguetones quiere que  Oh-oh-ohhhh, sometimes I get a good feelingle cambie de posiciones y le gusta y disfruta duro quiere que le de Una vaina loca que me lleva I'll never be alone, be alone, be alone, Cause you are in my soul, in my soul, in my soul I'll never make you cry, make you cry, make you cry You give me sunrise with your smile ala gloria nunca he sentido nada como eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando estamos a Gemma's House solas cuando yo siento eso Nossa, nossa Assim você me mata Ai se eu te pego Ai ai se eu te pego es una vaina ratata Fuego uoh uoh uoh la musiica del futuroo yeah!! Una vaina loca que me lleva ala gloria nunca he sentido nada como eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando estamos a solas cuando yo siento eso es una vaina ratata Todas las noche ella me desea contigo yo lo hago donde sea se muere porque quiere que la pege a la Sábado na balada A galera começou a dançar E passou a menina mais linda Tomei coragem e comecei a falar I'll never be alone...I'll never be alone...pared Le gustan los tigueres que son juguetones quiere que le cambie de posiciones y le gusta y disfruta duro quiere que le de Una vaina loca que me lleva ala gloria nunca he sentido nada como eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando estamos a solas cuando yo siento eso es una vaina ratata Diablo que buena tu ta con tu pum-pum-pum yo voy a darte Nossa, nossa Assim você me mata Ai se eu te pego Ai ai se eu te pego por tu pum-pum-pum cuando te choco mami tum-tum-tum si I'll never be alone, be alone, be alone, Cause you are in my soul, in my soul, in my soul I'll never make you cry, make you cry, make you cry You give me sunrise with your smile I'll never be alone...lo hacemos en mi carro acemos brum-brum-brum Llevo mi tanque full ella quiere que baje pal sur y grita wou-wou-wou con actitud shory voy a darte luz Una vaina locaOhh -oh-ohhh sometimes... que me Bailando por 5 horas en seguida lleva ala gloria nunca he sentido
 nada como eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando estamos a solas cuando yo siento eso es una vaina ratata Una vaina loca (tu me tiene loco mami) locaa Delícia, delícia Assim você me mata Give me all your love, love, love, love, love And I'll give you mine Alright Ai se eu te pego Ai ai se eu te pego (tu sabe) nadie como ella en mi vida (el manbo bacano) me descontrola (soy yo) cuando estamos a solas (F-u-e-g-o...Fuego) es una baina ratata (yah) Todas las noche ella me desea contigo yo lo hago donde sea se muere porque quiere que la pege a la pared Le gustan los tigueres que son juguetones quiere que le cambie Sábado na balada A galera começou a dançar E passou a menina mais linda Tomei coragem e comecei a falar de posiciones y le gusta y disfruta duro quiere que le de Una vaina loca que me lleva ala gloria nunca he sentido nada como eto en mi vida Ella me descontrola cuando estamos a solas cuando yo siento eso es una vaina ratata I'll never be alone...

Marzo 2012

Aventura 37: Sintra

Wormholes: The name given to hypothetical tunnels through hyperspace that might connect two distant places in our universe.

(The Cosmic Perspective: Astronomy Textbook)

I'm sitting at my computer in Puerto Rico, almost a year after I departed for Barcelona and am desperately wishing I could find a wormhole.  A way to get back to Barcelona, to Lisbon, to Sintra. I want to find a secret tunnel that will take me there.

Yet, funny enough, I have found myself going back to Spain while here in Puerto Rico.  Entering the airport and seeing the Spanish language everywhere.  Exploring, adventuring in the rainforest, meeting new people, trying new foods; not the same adventures, of course, but adventures in and around the Spanish language, that are triggering many memories.

And you know what? At least for now, I think I have found my wormhole.  And that is memories.  Memories triggered by songs, by new adventures, by photos, by colors, by a language, by a place.  Memories are the way I can walk between here and Barcelona, between here and Sintra.  

So this post is just going to be fragments of memories.  But these fragments pieced together will create a bridge, a walkway, or a tunnel, that connects these two distant places in our universe.  

Catching an early morning train at Rossio Station in Lisbon, taking the escalator up through a sea of green and blue tiles, hitting up the ticket stations to grab train tickets, not expecting the huge lines, and almost missing the train. Arriving in Sintra, walking down the side of the train station to get away from the huge crowd of tourists, sitting down for a little while to let the crowd disperse.  Then, walking back to the information station, grabbing a map that was very helpful, and setting off way behind and way away from the crowd. Following the signs into the town of Sintra, spotting a small kiosk with a juicer - we have to try it - and maybe it's not the best pineapple mango juice...but it's a memory. Running into a friend, Min, from my Knox program. Small world.  Armed with a map, we start the winding path through the town, past stone sculpture on the road, a garden park below us, climbing higher and higher, past another colorful imaginary sculpture garden, not really knowing where to turn - I think we are actually following the car route? Okay, here's a fork.  Left? Right? Cars left.  So...pedestrians right! - Entering through a stone archway and suddenly finding ourselves alone trekking through a forest that feels worthy of old fairytales of knights, kings, queens, and trolls.  Passing a group of Spanish boy and girl scouts hanging out. 
Walking under the arch of the entrance to the castle.  I can imagine it being an old fortress, you are able to see for miles and miles, so no one can really sneak up on you.   And it's so well worn...the rocks crumbling in places, moss growing over the rocks, covering up what was there, staircases that don't lead anywhere.  But that seems to add to the mystery of stories it holds.  Sitting on a cardinal turret, watching out over the town below, eating our lunch: linguicia fried rice. Exploring the castle, in and out of turrets, up and down winding staircases, sitting for a while on rocks, discovering crumbled windows, having good and bad luck in taking photos through these windows, balance beam walking on the moss-covered wall, imagining a sword fight, looking down, down, down to where the enemy could be. "Expect Less, Dream More." Words graffitied onto the rocks.  At first, I thought this was a pessimistic idea, until I thought about it more.  Expect Less.  Don't expect things to always work out.  A job. An adventure. The way a person should act.  Lose that weight of expectations onto everything. Instead, Dream More.  Dream about what you want to do with your life, about who you want to be with in your life, about the adventures you want to take - in whichever direction you want.  Dream and imagine and inspire more. (One of those memories that didn't actually happen on these stone walls, but for some reason, helps complete the tunnel of Sintra).
Seeing the palace, thinking it'll be a short walk there, and only after about 1.5-2 hours do we finally switch places.  But it's a walk through green forests, over bridges, and by ourselves - no one else around. First impression of the Sintra palace: this would be an awesome place to play hide-and-go seek.  Man, could you imagine living here? I really can't.  But then I see the colors, the bright pinks, yellows, purples...and the patterns, everywhere.  And this place quickly became somewhere I could love to spend time.  In the same way the colors and patterns of the fish on the coral reef in Australia inspired me, these colors and patterns would later inspire me in some of my own metals artwork. 
Something about cookies and camas and turrets.
A room just for reading? A room just for writing? A ball room? A dressing room? A bathing room? Finding a quieter spot of the palace, overlooking the moorish castle, straddling the edge of the walls, and taking out a snack: banana and nutella.  The bananas aren't too too squished, the nutella is delicious, like always.Watching a little girl follow her mom and dad around the turrets.  Blond hair, ponytail bopping along.  I hope she was letting her imagination run wild with the thought of being a princess here. Watching the sun and the shadows touch the different layers of the trees, forests, and houses in the "backyard" of the palace. Sitting in the horse-shaped arches, watching all the tourists around, imagining what it would be like to live here, but also just....not wishing I were anywhere else.
Leaving the palace, walking over to the cathedral in the forest park, the actual backyard of the palace people.  About four pm, and the light is coming through the trees in the way that I love: long shadows, long sun rays, the leaves seem to sparkle, the nature around is quiet and reflective, a place where you feel alone but not alone at the same time.

Exploring the rest of the park, until we see a giant statue with two real men atop a huge rock.  I have to get up there.  But how? Walking around, twice, the hug rock formation, until finally we just have to make up the route, clambering up the not-so-steady little rock steps to the pride-rock like formation.  Drawing the knight of the rock, who overlooks the palace.  A giant who watches over the sunsets, the same colors reflected in the palace itself.  A giant who watches over adventurers, giving them a nudge when it's getting a little too late and they should start heading back home - because in this place, it's so very easy to lose track of time. Walking back down to the town of sintra, trying to find a short-cut that turns into a long-cut, some help with portugues directions from a father and his kids playing in the street before dinner, some fast walking on curvy, speeding roads, and a little bit of luck choosing the right direction (we know, at the least, we just need to go down.) The secret relief of finally recognizing where we are. Boarding the train to go back to Lisbon, just in the nick of time.  Falling asleep on the train ride home, figuring out those final memories to finish up constructing the tunnel that is able to take me back there next time I want to go to Sintra. 












el 10ish de marzo 2012

Aventura 36: Lisboa

Guest Blogger: Fellow adventurer, Nipheannaboth Long

"Lisbon. This trip was planned and organized pretty far in advanced. But no matter how much planning takes place, no matter how hardcore the organizing is; there always seems to be some kind of twist to the plan. 

Sam Platt, an old friend from high school, was visiting Barcelona during his spring break and bought a ticket to Lisbon-adding one more adventurer to the group. The three of us left for Lisbon, Portugal on two separate planes landing at separate times. The first 45 minutes of being in Lisbon were spent waiting on Sam’s arrival. While we waited, I taught some essential Khmer words to Megan as I tried to hide my worries about Sam actually being successful in getting on the plane on time and actually arriving in Portugal despite last minute planning and arrangement. Each and every new phonetic spelling of a Khmer word was accompanied by a growing sense of guilt about Sam being on a different plane on a half-baked plan of him buying a last minute flight to join us in Lisbon. Relieving me of my stress, and of my challenge of teaching Megan useful Khmer phrases, Sam eventually walked through the terminal gate. Obrigado a deus. 

Now it was time to find our hostel. Using my very rusty Portuguese, I took on the task of figuring out where exactly our next step would take us. After fumbling around with a language I hadn’t practiced in almost a year I finally managed to get directions to take a bus from the airport towards the coast to a street that would eventually lead to Beira Mar Hostel. The 1.50 euro bus ride was a gradual process of realization that we had left our comfort zones and were somewhere completely new to all of us. I would have paid a lot of money to know what was going on in the heads of the rest of the group. Hell, I would’ve paid a lot of money to know what was going on in my own head. I took note of nearby grocery stores and possible landmarks for some kind sense of direction in this new world. Megan voiced out loud a mental list of places that we had to visit the next day. And Sam sat there comparing his tattoos to graffiti that covered entire buildings. We spent the 30 minute bus ride pointing at illuminated buildings that seemed to glow at night, and marveled at larger than life graffiti art murals until we finally reached our stop. A hastily drawn map of the area was our substitute for a smart phone in our search for the hostel.

At first glance (and even a second glance) the Beira Mar hostel did not look anything like a Backpacker’s Recommendation spot but if there was ever a good example of not judging a book by its cover” , this was it. Hidden in darkness with an ominous looking metal door the hostel reminded me of bad scary movies that pits young college kids against some kind of horrific evil. Trying to differentiate one bad scary movie from another, I thought to myself, “no wonder we got lost trying to find it-it’s a place we probably did not want to find.” After asking a few people we were finally able to ring the doorbell and walk up the poorly lit stairs to check into this hostel. 

Completely the opposite of what the exterior looked like, the hostel itself was vibrant and lively. Wow. Crazy hand painted rooms full of color. Amazing kitchen and eating space that was tended to by a sweet woman named Rua. And delicious chocolate milk. As I drank the free lemonade reclining in a cool looking bed, I admitted how wrong I was about Beira Mar. 

After breakfast the next morning we found out that the hostel wasn’t the only thing that was hiding its true beauty. Our walk to the grocery store to pick up our adventure food led us to believe that maybe all of Lisbon was hand painted. We could barely stay focused on our task of getting food with castles and shiny coastlines making up the backdrop of this adventure land, soccer magazines and soccer newspapers also added to the challenge of staying focus. Once we did manage to get to the store there was only one thing on my mind: Linguicia. Portugal’s spicier and heartier rendition of the beloved American bacon, Linguicia is just too good not to eat while in Portugal (Sam and I already knew this and it was time we shared our secret with the third member of the adventure). 

The creation of the“3LT” Sandwich was the start of our adventures in Lisbon. We visited a castle fortress that sparked our imagination. Sam and I relived our childhood ideas of hide and seek as we ducked and hid behind corners in the fortress while Megan lost herself in between her imagination and her sketch book. We fabricated elaborate life stories for each stray cat we came across. We looked out on the rest of world from binoculars that didn’t work. Sam fought the urge to yell at an overly touristy family taking pictures. We got yelled at for climbing high onto a ledge, the guard that blew the whistle on us (literally) wasn’t Megan’s favorite person and was recipient of a dirty scowl as we walked by him. We came up with one last story for a cat as we ate our sandwiches and left the castle. 

After our visit to the castle, we ended our day somewhere without an admission fee. Tired from walking around we made a nonverbal agreement that we just wanted to chill. A balcony terrace overlooking the coast played host to a local hangout spot. A spot that I think kind of found us instead of the other way around.  Just a few minutes looking around gave us the impression that this hangout spot has been around for a while. A little bar off to the side provided the drinks for the locals this evening, just like it probably has for any other evening. Two mothers catching up on life. Rap groups freestyling and battling each other. Groups of friends just enjoying each others company. Musicians smoking funny smelling cigarettes. Everyone was too concerned with enjoying the sunset to worry about anything more than who would buy the next round of drinks. And as the old saying goes, “when in Lisbon, do as the Lisboans do”. Megan busted out her sketch book and Sam and I used the rap battles as background music to our drinking. The hours ran by and it was a done day. Done and successful.

I am convinced the next day was meant for me. Europa League knock out round match between Manchester City and Sporting Lisbon. We treated ourselves to some gelato and watched Manchester City fans sing their chants in Lisbon’s main plaza. A real live European match day atmosphere. So cool. Witnessing Europa League match day festivities was painful knowing that we didn’t have the tickets to join the party. Luckily we were able to find a soccer bar to help remedy the pain. It wasn’t the crazy soccer pub that I had always read about and dreamed of, but at least they had jerseys on the walls and were showing the game on TV. The day ends here at this bar with me somehow managing to spill my beer all over the walls. We meander on our way back to the hostel and settle in for a quiet dinner at nearby restaurant. 

Lisbon left us with a feeling of Saudade and we have already promised ourselves a return to this city that we only began to discover." 

- Both Long