
It's time for another episode of Frame Breaking. [Previously on Frame Breaking...](/2007/04/14/frame-breaking/)

I looked through my entire library, and really didn't find many photos with 3D frame bursting action. So I had to borrow a few from [Jane](http://www.hillbillyplease.com/blog/), of [pimento cheese](/2007/11/30/pimento-cheese/) fame. She has photos of all kinds of strange objects. Hopefully she won't sue me for copyright infringement. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2076394256_df5366ce9d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Donkey Frame Break">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2075614705_c279585eb1_o.png" alt="Donkey Frame Break"/>
</a>

The first is a young "burrito" from [our visit to the livestock fair](/2007/07/30/sunday-livestock-show/). This was particularly hard photo to frame break because of how hard it was to cut out _just_ the donkey's head, with all his little hairs sticking out. I think I didn't a fairly good job, but I'm not very pleased with it overall. [Original photo](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/944989636/).

I also tried to cut out [this plant](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagosaurus/2060106613/) from a photo Jane took, but it was too fuzzy and was impossible to cut without the dark background coming through.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2075609395_d1a2f1c474_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Parrot Frame Break">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2075615269_f857fe6494_o.png" alt="Parrot Frame Break"/>
</a>

Handling a parrot in Venezuela. It'd be a better photo if it weren't for that girl checking me out. I love how, at the time of this post at least, the parrot is looking warily behind him at the [BITWRATHPLOOB](http://www.bitwrathploob.com/). [Original photo](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/1922338339/).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2076399148_247af13abe_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hot Chocolate Frame Break">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2076402692_ca3bde4327_o.png" alt="Hot Chocolate Frame Break"/>
</a>

This one was easy, and has a natural third axis that makes the break look believable. [Original photo](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagosaurus/2057645265/) by Jane.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2076401182_9baa18ecfc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cheverolet Frame Break">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-frame-breaking-2/2075615995_de7ded603c_o.png" alt="Cheverolet Frame Break"/>
</a>

I like this one a lot. The orthogonal nature of the subject made it a prime candidate for frame breaking. [Original photo](http://www.flickr.com/photos/jagosaurus/2038265538/) by Jane.

That's all for this episode! Vote for your favorite in the comments.


Frame Breaking 2


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075764700_533da16444_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Tada!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075764700_38a292669a_t.jpg" alt="Tada!"/>
</a>

The other day, I saw pimento cheese [mentioned in passing](http://www.hillbillyplease.com/blog/?p=2210) on a [sibling blog](http://www.hillbillyplease.com/blog/). As far as I know, pimento cheese doesn't even exist outside the Confederate States of America, so of course it doesn't exist over here in the Old World. It reminded me of my childhood, even though I've probably only eaten a dozen pimento cheese sandwiches in my life. I commented on it and was given [a recipe](http://www.hillbillyplease.com/blog/?p=2212) to make some myself!  The recipe:

> - 4oz cheddar, grated (sharpness dependent on your mood)
> - 1 small jar pimento (pimiento)
> - 1-2 Tbs. of finely chopped green onions (again, up to your mood)
> - 1/4 tsp. Old Bay Seasoning (or cayenne pepper if you are into that, which I am sometimes but my great aunt is not)
> - 4-5 Tbs. mayo
> - Salt and pepper to taste
> - Maybe a drop or two of the pimento juice
> 
> Mix until it is to your liking and refrigerate until ready to eat. (Alternately, eat directly out of bowl without refrigerating. Make sure the bowl is large enough to accommodate your noggin when you decide to lick said bowl clean.)

So I thought I'd give it a try. The main hurdle is the complete lack of cheddar cheese in Spain. We have a far greater variety of cheese available in even a small corner grocery store in Spain than even the largest supermarkets in the US. But there's just no cheddar. Even the Brits, who invented cheddar cheese, don't have as much of it in the stores as the yanks. It's confusing. Anyway, the closest thing I could find was Gouda. And, although they certainly exist here, I couldn't find any green onions at the grocery store yesterday, so I had to go without them in the mix. I also don't have, and even didn't know existed, Old Bay Seasoning, but the blogger behind the above recipe has agreed to send me some to try.

Ready or not, here we go!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075750308_b76c1bc3f9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Gouda and Canned Peppers">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075750308_6b1b71b627.jpg" alt="Gouda and Canned Peppers"/>
</a>

These canned fried peppers are pretty common here in Spain. In a pinch you can throw some into the pan with a pork chop and it really adds to the flavor and color of the dish. Gouda isn't required, [swiss cheese](http://www.sargento.com/products/54/sargento-deli-style-sliced-swiss-cheese/) would also work.

Note that they are _pim**i**entos_, not pimentos. The latter word doesn't really exist here. The former is the general term for all peppers. But what I took out of the can and chopped up would definitely be called "pimento" by an American.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075753204_6f547d4679_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bloodied Cheese Grater and Seasoning">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075753204_b0bf66c3fe.jpg" alt="Bloodied Cheese Grater and Seasoning"/>
</a>

My bloodied cheese torture device and the seasoning I used. I stole this seasoning from a restaurant in England on January 1, 2005, when we went out to eat with the group of friends that we had been partying with the night before. It's basically just salt, a little black pepper, and a little cayenne pepper. It does _wonders_ to french fries.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2074966455_15b18109f0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pre-Mayo">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2074966455_d022ac13ca.jpg" alt="Pre-Mayo"/>
</a>

Grated and chopped and seasoned...awaiting the mayo.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2074971263_b5a9842ad6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Gently Tossed">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2074971263_ea38b06a27.jpg" alt="Gently Tossed"/>
</a>

The [Wikipedia page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pimento_cheese) says,

> There is common agreement that the pimento cheese should not be a puree. But there are differences as to how much mixing and mashing should go on. Some favor a gentle tossing while other seem to advocate a more thorough combination.

I love that phrase, "some favor a gentle tossing".

After this photo, it didn't look or taste peppery enough, so I added another can of chopped pimento and a few drops of Tabasco. I then left it in the refrigerator for an hour, which I think helped it a lot.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075764700_533da16444_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tada!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-30-pimento-cheese/2075764700_38a292669a.jpg" alt="Tada!"/>
</a>

Tada! It was pretty darn close to what I remember from childhood. In the end, you're just eating a cheese and mayo sandwich, which can't be too awfully healthy as a regular part of your diet. But for special occasions...yummy!


Pimento Cheese


It is illegal to fish anchovies in the Cantabrian sea (the body of water to the north of Spain that borders my region). They have been fished to near extinction and the European Union has prohibited the capture of them, at least for profit. One of Marga's coworkers' husbands is a fisherman. He actually attended our wedding. Sometimes the occasional anchovy will get brought up in his net when he is fishing other species. He always throws them back, but the other day, he saved a dozen or so and gave them to us. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-29-contrabanchovies/2073573285_e97832837a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Anchovies and Garlic">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-29-contrabanchovies/2073573285_84f0884648.jpg" alt="Anchovies and Garlic"/>
</a>

Is there anything that you can't fry in extra virgin olive oil and garlic?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-29-contrabanchovies/2074368132_6579276835_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Anchovies and Garlic">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-29-contrabanchovies/2074368132_5351a135fe.jpg" alt="Anchovies and Garlic"/>
</a>

Shiny!

I'm pretty sure their capture wasn't against the law, because he didn't sell them for profit, but the _chance_ that they might be illegal made them all the tastier.


Contrabanchovies


During a [recent trip to Venezuela](/2007/11/13/honeymoon-wrap-up/), as I was holding on, white-knuckled, to a jeep I was standing up in as it sped around a curvy road, the following hypothesis occurred to me:

> **The number of _enforced_ traffic laws a country has is positively correlated with how mature the country is.**

Allow me to explain... In Venezuela, none of the traffic laws that I'm so accustomed to exist:

- There are no speed limits. But the roads are in such a condition that, even a skilled taxi driver never gets much over 110 kph (68 mph).
- Almost all cars have heavily tinted windows, the kind that are outlawed in other countries to allow authorities and their cameras to identify passengers.
- Seat belts are completely optional. I once road in a taxi where my seat belt was broken.
- None of the cars have airbags. The majority of the taxis are old pre-airbag-standard Nissans.
- License plates. If they are not completely optional, then there is no regulation about which end of the vehicle should have one. So, if they aren't optional, you'd have to see both ends to know if a car was in violation. I know which end I'd put _mine_ on if I planned on speeding away from a crime scene.
- No passing zones. Drivers regularly, and quite adeptly, I might add, cross solid middle lines to pass the car in front of them, even when oncoming traffic is already visible speeding towards them.
- _Very_ few traffic signs. The only real signage they have is to direct you to various destinations. As mentioned above, there are no speed limit signs. Occasionally there will be a stop sign, but only when it's not obvious who should stop and making everyone wary to cross the intersection would strangle the flow of a main artery.
- People standing in pick-up trucks. It's rare to see a pick-up truck without a few people, sometimes children, standing in the truck bed as it bends around curves.
- Blue lights. A lot of cars have blue lights on them for decoration, many of them even flashing.
- Modified car horns. It's common to hear little jingles (e.g. La Cucaracha) played when people honk at each other. Some of them even sound like just like sirens.
- Motorcycles. Despite being completely habituated to it from living in Europe, it's still outrageous that motorcycle drivers should zip between cars, particularly those stopped a red light, to get to the front of the line. And of course helmets are strictly optional.
- Mobile phones. By now it shouldn't surprise you to know that there's plenty of high-speed text messaging going on in Venezuela.

For most of the items above, I completely understand and agree with the laws that the US and Spain have to control the situation. From my point of view, the reason for having traffic laws is to prevent other idiots, or criminals, from killing or hurting me or my car. This reasoning justifies speed limits, no passing zones, etc.

After I got over the shock of all the lawlessness in Venezuela, I felt an incredible sense of freedom. Freedom from picky little rules. It's _fun_ to stand up in the back of a pick-up truck as it's doing 55 mph down the highway, dammit! Who's the government to say that I can't risk my life in such a way?

That was about the time that I began to question my assumption of the superiority the "many laws" strategy that I was accustomed to. One of the things that's always really irked me about traffic laws in the first world countries I've lived in is that they are impossible not to break. Therefore, no one is innocent, and anyone that a policeman chooses can be given a ticket. I present the following quotation:

> "Did you really think we want those laws observed?" said Dr. Ferris. "We want them to be broken. You'd better get it straight that it's not a bunch of boy scouts you're up against... We're after power and we mean it... There's no way to rule innocent men. The only power any government has is the power to crack down on criminals. Well, when there aren't enough criminals one makes them. One declares so many things to be a crime that it becomes impossible for men to live without breaking laws. Who wants a nation of law-abiding citizens? What's there in that for anyone? But just pass the kind of laws that can neither be observed nor enforced or objectively interpreted Â– and you create a nation of law-breakers Â– and then you cash in on guilt. Now that's the system, Mr. Reardon, that's the game, and once you understand it, you'll be much easier to deal with."
> 
> \- Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged, 1957

On a side note, I would like to commend the Judeo-Christian religions for figuring out this strategy of mass population control long before Ms. Rand. Original sin...genius!

So surely there must be some point at which the government's right to mandate exactly how we drive should be stopped. Or does it just stop in the fuzzy area of laws that exist, but remain unenforced, like eating or talking on the phone while driving. Both are prohibited in Spain, but you have to be _really_ unlucky to actually get a fine. For all the reasons Rand points out, I dislike that solution. I'd prefer as little government control over me as possible. I cannot, however, suggest a remedy.

In the end, it's always going to be the objectively provable, easily measurable laws like speeding and drunk driving that will be enforceable in court. Even though driving while sleepy has been shown time and time again to be at least, or more, dangerous than driving drunk, we lack an apparatus to measure sleepiness objectively, so it can't be enforced.

Doing anything at all, talking, tuning the radio, singing along to the radio, _anything_ other than concentrating on driving lowers your reaction time and puts other drivers in danger. Do you want to be pulled over one day and have the officer say, "Sir, our sensors detected some human voices in your car back there, and I saw your lips moving. Please step out of the vehicle and come with me." My point is that, until we get that teletransportation thing licked, there will always be traffic accidents caused by various lapses in concentration and bad judgement, and I'd like to question the need for so many laws. At some point personal liberty must prevail at the expense of the safety of others. Spain and Venezuela draw their lines at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Back to my original hypothesis. I think that if [Maslow's hierarchy of needs](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow's_hierarchy_of_needs) could be applied to countries, traffic laws would exist at the very top of the pyramid. Only a very stable, rich, peaceful country that has the general safety and welfare of their citizens taken care of can take the time to act on picky little "we need a law to prevent XYZ from happening on our roads" kind of legislation. No wonder Chavez calls Spain's government fascist.


Traffic Laws, Spain vs. Venezuela


Marga's boss recently gave us a simple, but thoughtful, wedding gift. As you may [recall](/2007/09/17/etxe-aundi-wedding-menu/) (and if you attended, how could you forget?), one of the dishes at our wedding meal was a Scallop Au Gratin. Her boss actually _saved the shell_ that the restaurant served him full of creamy cheese, cleaned it up, wrote our names and the date of the wedding in the smooth interior of the shell, and gave it to us as a souvenir of the day. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-28-wedding-scallop/1396222653_b3d613dd26_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Vieiras gratinadas">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-28-wedding-scallop/1396222653_10d1491d18.jpg" alt="Vieiras gratinadas"/>
</a>

This is how it was served at the wedding. I took this photo [when we went](/2007/09/17/etxe-aundi-wedding-menu/) to try out the wedding menu before the event.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-28-wedding-scallop/2071141864_179e080c55_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Wedding Scallop 1">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-28-wedding-scallop/2071141864_8f6166752f.jpg" alt="Wedding Scallop 1"/>
</a>

The cleaned outside of the shell.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-28-wedding-scallop/2071145958_6f1291156a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Wedding Scallop 2">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-28-wedding-scallop/2071145958_e19365d863.jpg" alt="Wedding Scallop 2"/>
</a>

Our names and the date.

Pretty simple, but no one else thought to do it.


Wedding Scallop


Some of you may recall that [earlier this year](/2007/03/28/incriminating-graffiti/), I found some "Sandra and Erik" lover graffiti on the side of my building. Well, apparently my ignoring her, as a direct consequence of not having any idea who she is, has finally worn her unrequited love so thin that she has fallen for another, a chap named Rooster. A week ago, the following enamored scrawlings appeared on a neighboring building...

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-27-sandra-doesnt-love-me-anymore/2069087530_32c66f0820_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sandra and Gallo">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-27-sandra-doesnt-love-me-anymore/2069087530_d2faecbb0b.jpg" alt="Sandra and Gallo"/>
</a>

Gallo translates literally to "rooster", _Gallus gallus_. It must be a nickname.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-27-sandra-doesnt-love-me-anymore/2068294747_55899509a3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sandra and Gallo">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-27-sandra-doesnt-love-me-anymore/2068294747_de705ec103.jpg" alt="Sandra and Gallo"/>
</a>

Gallo also [refers to](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallo) the [fourspotted megrim](http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=27), _Lepidorhombus boscii_.

Farewell, sweet Sandra! Our non-existent love was fleeting...

Now stop defacing public property.


Sandra doesn't love me anymore!


This weekend, we finally moved our old British refrigerator into Grandpa Ramón's house (third floor, no elevator). It has been unplugged for three years, sitting in a corner of the covered area where my father-in-law keeps his chickens, so there's a chance it might not work anymore. They say you have to keep fridges working or they can break. Of course, he'll need to find a power adaptor first. The other thing in the pile next to the refrigerator was my old G5 box. We decided that we wouldn't be needing it anymore. In retrospect, it was rather silly of us to bring from England, but whatever. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-26-old-and-new-apple-products/2065286173_24e77895cd_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Styrophiles">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-26-old-and-new-apple-products/2065286173_c1ba3270d0.jpg" alt="Styrophiles"/>
</a>

So we left the box on the "to be burned" pile. The chickens seemed to really enjoy eating the styrofoam. They can't possible get any nutritional benefit from it. I think they just like the texture. It doesn't seem to be toxic to them, but, as a likely consumer of the little foam peckers, I was a little concerned that they'd eat a chemical that I might prefer to not ingest. Juan said they eat lots of crazy stuff like that and not to worry. Oh well.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-26-old-and-new-apple-products/2066089522_38f4e64d53_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Spanish Apple Keyboard">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-26-old-and-new-apple-products/2066089522_d748973ec9.jpg" alt="Spanish Apple Keyboard"/>
</a>

On Friday, in Vitoria, we passed by an official Apple reseller and I bought a new keyboard. I came really close to buying the new Bluetooth version, but I didn't like the idea of having to use the Fn key to access all the sound controls, and the wired version was 40% cheaper. Unfortunately, I've since discovered that, even with the larger version (it's longer than my previous keyboard), I still have to use the darn Fn key to control sound volume. Darn.

The other thing that I didn't consider properly at purchase was the obvious fact that the keyboard they sold me would be the Spanish layout (see the í‘ key?). This is less of a big deal, though, since I rarely look at the keys.

Anyway, I thought there was a strange symmetry between these two photos.


Old and New Apple Products


This Saturday, we returned to the restaurant where we had our wedding celebration, [Etxe Aundi](http://www.etxeaundi.com/), to eat a dinner for two on the house. Apparently they were pleased with our 10,000€ business. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063919480_fec9e68910_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Foie">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063919480_95e739e566.jpg" alt="Foie"/>
</a>

Foie paté to start with... There was more ham, too, but it didn't survive the time it took me to get out the camera.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063136271_f55313e12e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Clams">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063136271_f55dec55bf.jpg" alt="Clams"/>
</a>

Marinated clams, the most expensive starter on the menu (25€). I will never be able to eat clams without thinking of my great aunt, Betty.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063145149_e4703f5f6d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Creamy Fish Dish">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063145149_9667db4b23.jpg" alt="Creamy Fish Dish"/>
</a>

Some creamy fish dish that Marga ordered.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063946656_373fffa60a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sirloin Steak STUFFED with Foie!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063946656_3926a074b9.jpg" alt="Sirloin Steak STUFFED with Foie!"/>
</a>

My plate: Sirloin steak _stuffed_ with foie gras, with a side of potato puré. This meat was so good that my eyes involuntarily closed from pleasure with each bite. Unbelievable!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063954472_044b371083_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Ice Cream Sampler">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063954472_58f066b444.jpg" alt="Ice Cream Sampler"/>
</a>

For the dessert, Marga chose more wisely than I. This was her ice cream sampler with raspberry sauce.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063170871_fde147a6e0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cheesecake Ice Cream with fruit">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-25-free-dinner/2063170871_79a8ba4cbf.jpg" alt="Cheesecake Ice Cream with fruit"/>
</a>

Mine was cheesecake ice cream with a side of apples, bananas and kiwis.

We had a nice Rioja with the meal, and a coffee and brandy to finish it off. When it was time to go, we thanked the waitress and walked out the door. That's a nice experience.


Free Dinner


We've got a little tradition forming here. This is the [second year in a row](/2006/11/23/turkey-pizza-a-mediterranean-thanksgiving/) that we've eaten a turkey pizza for Thanksgiving. I've taken some photos during the cooking process to show you. Thanksgiving is just like any old Thursday here in Spain. Through television, most Spaniards are aware of the _dí­a de dar gracias_ in the US, but no one could tell you the "fourth Thursday in November" rule.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055042184_fba16be7aa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Onions and peppers">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055042184_bd884b9b01.jpg" alt="Onions and peppers"/>
</a>

Sautéing peppers and onions.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055046672_e3329a3228_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Turkey Breast">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055046672_3783789e27.jpg" alt="Turkey Breast"/>
</a>

Chopped up turkey breast. Looks kinda like chicken.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055052314_62e4cf671f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sauteed Turkey">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055052314_3ea492d345.jpg" alt="Sauteed Turkey"/>
</a>

Cooked.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054274067_790bb9c59b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Dough ball">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054274067_56f21b6ff9.jpg" alt="Dough ball"/>
</a>

My dough recipe is a secret.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054279483_de474cbdae_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pizza dough">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054279483_0803d47bd4.jpg" alt="Pizza dough"/>
</a>

Rolled into a pizza-sized disk.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054284793_d341504f45_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Step 1: Tomato">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054284793_1732fe005d.jpg" alt="Step 1: Tomato"/>
</a>

Tomato sauce.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054290301_f231be158a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Step 2: Turkey">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054290301_4516d5ae9b.jpg" alt="Step 2: Turkey"/>
</a>

Add turkey.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054296113_2932681ea6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Step 3: Peppers and onions">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054296113_71b63cb392.jpg" alt="Step 3: Peppers and onions"/>
</a>

Add peppers and onions.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055085414_3646a90a67_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Step 4: Mozzarella">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055085414_0415f0c274.jpg" alt="Step 4: Mozzarella"/>
</a>

Glorious, glorious mozzarella! [There _is_ a Cheese](/2007/11/20/separation-of-cheese-and-state/)! That's a little basil sprinkled on top.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055089834_208dccef39_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Step 5: In the oven">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2055089834_2a90a94622.jpg" alt="Step 5: In the oven"/>
</a>

And into the oven she goes!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054311361_7179e5bc87_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Step 6: Eat!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054311361_6a50ecabd1.jpg" alt="Step 6: Eat!"/>
</a>

Served with some left-over-from-wedding champagne.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054316107_b438a8ad94_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mmmm!!  Turkey pizza!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-22-thanksgiving-pizza/2054316107_4942c13a85.jpg" alt="Mmmm!!  Turkey pizza!"/>
</a>

Happy Thanksgiving!

When two pieces were left, I was already very full. Marga said, "We're gonna finish it, right?" I figured that, in the spirit of the holiday, the "comfortably full" point should be pushed beyond. In a rare intersection between Spanish and American tradition, a post-pizza nap was called for.


Thanksgiving Pizza


One of the first thing most visitors to our humble home say is, "So you guys got something against lamp shades, or what?" Our house still has the original light bulbs hanging from wires popping out of holes in the ceiling that the original builder left. And all the previous owners have shared our apathy about remedying the situation. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-21-naked-bulb/2052436795_4ffc8906aa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Naked Bulb">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-21-naked-bulb/2052436795_3183f7da71.jpg" alt="Naked Bulb"/>
</a>

Lit from my desk lamp.

By the way, if you want to get a lot of hits on an image you post to Flickr, try tagging it with [naked](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/2019436917/), [bikini](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/1860119227/), [striptease](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/1889809057/) or [nude](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/539992619/). The [freaks](/2006/09/15/bizarre-flickr-people/) come right out of the woodwork.


Naked Bulb


The following article appeared on the website of the local news channel in my home state:

[Cumberland Schools Crack Down on Bibles in Class](http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/2069375/)

The article is perfectly summarized in the headline. A stack of Gideons Bibles appeared in an elementary school classroom for the children to take. No one has claimed responsibility, but one of the parents complained to the [ACLU](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_Liberties_Union). These occurrences aren't really news anymore in the United States. Incidents like this are so common nowadays as the country slowly slides down the theocracy slope.

What I wanted to draw your attention to was some clever metaphor weaving that some of my coworkers did in the [comments section](http://www.wral.com/golo/page/1896337/?id=2069375) of the article.

> I think that they should put stacks of cheese in classrooms, that would be better for the children. I mean, who can get mad about cheese? Has there ever been a war fought over cheese? I have said it once and I will say it again: I LIKE CHEESE!
> 
> \- james23

> Now I just read how James23 proposed putting cheese in all classrooms and I'm all for it. I'd just like to mention that I'm a brie lover, unlike the majority of the population who all claim the cheddar is the best cheese. If its okay for people who like cheddar to give it to my children, isn't it okay for brie lovers like myself to do the same for your children? Are you cheddar lovers okay with that? Or should we perhaps all eat our own cheese quietly, giving it to others only when they show interest?
> 
> \- sonoluminescence

Bravo! I'm gonna go nibble some provolone...


Separation of Cheese and State


Just a couple photos I took last weekend. I really like the last one. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2045949343_d294d98461_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Palm Shadow">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2045949343_f07259d81c.jpg" alt="Palm Shadow"/>
</a>

Palm Shadow

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046742490_84f87a4e90_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pentagonal">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046742490_4a7421619a.jpg" alt="Pentagonal"/>
</a>

Pentagonal flowers. Any armchair botanists out there want to identify these?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046745260_b86061fe66_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="T Leaves">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046745260_80ce9a3ce8.jpg" alt="T Leaves"/>
</a>

T leaves. Get it?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046745808_d29f1d9e0e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Arroz Con Leche">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046745808_39910d750f.jpg" alt="Arroz Con Leche"/>
</a>

[Arroz con leche](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arroz_con_leche). A dessert served for free on plastic plates in Laredo. The line was long to get one, but it was worth it. That's cinnamon on top.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046749108_db1cf4e28c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Resting">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-19-five-pictures/2046749108_47fef1b4d4.jpg" alt="Resting"/>
</a>

Resting. I love the textures in this shot.


Five Pictures


Both of these are really clever parodies. The first perfectly parodies just about every tech support experience I've ever had.

And the second is a parody of one of my favorite television shows, 24, using technology from 1994.


Two videos that made me laugh


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-free-rice/2036588173_482560f094_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Free Rice">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-free-rice/2036588173_4f33e15f2d_s.jpg" alt="Free Rice"/>
</a>

My lifetime friend Charley directed me to this site, probably because he thinks my vocabulary needs some work. It's very simple, very well designed, and a win-win situation. So what is it?

[Free Rice](http://www.freerice.com/)

It's a simple English vocabulary quiz where, for each question you answer correctly, the website donates 10 grains of rice to help world hunger. That's all there is to it. The design is such that it's a very addictive "game". They show you each grain of rice that you've won and the questions never stop, so it's hard to quit. Not to mention the guilt you feel when you get one wrong.

The only downside I see is that they've stolen the domain name I wanted for the site I was planning called "Freer Ice" about reducing the consumer cost of solid water.

I'm really impressed when people find even a tiny solution to first world apathy/ignorance about the hunger crisis. Send the link to your friends, especially the wons dat ain't talk real good.


Free Rice


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2037370120_f84f4287e3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2037370120_4924e1289a_s.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

For some reason, we have really nice sunsets [this time of year](/2006/10/26/sunset-pics/). Plus, I become more aware of them because, around 18:00, my computer monitor gets bathed in gold light. The rest of the year the light from the sunset is blocked, by another part of the building, from entering my office window. These are some photos I took over the past couple weeks and a video I made last night. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036564025_6e5afd4962_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036564025_94595386f2.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

Darn cranes!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036565161_3a97ea4471_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036565161_02c79ffb88.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036566083_8cf8727d3a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036566083_d59c58a022.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

Nice [crepuscular](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepuscular_rays) action here.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036567173_c21b520993_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036567173_cc901b81d3.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036576857_f750c7926d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036576857_b4e073ec8f.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

This was the beginnings of the sunset last night. I immediately recognized a potential timelapse video.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2037370120_f84f4287e3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2037370120_4924e1289a.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

Recording...

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036569155_0e594247f5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036569155_57c6b42717.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2037372030_8c1ee58bb1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2037372030_ea31ca0c3a.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

This is the view from one floor up. Next time I'll have to record the video from up here.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036574615_94492abaaf_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sunset">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-16-sunset-season/2036574615_beb65c5914.jpg" alt="Sunset"/>
</a>

Niiice.

Here's the video. Like [the one I made last year](/2006/11/23/falling-fireball/), it's not really a timelapse video. It's a regular speed video that's been sped up. revver(486699)

Bonus points for anyone that can identify the soundtrack.


Sunset Season


This video is a little sloppy. When I saw the "phenomenon", ran to get the camera to film it. I'll have to do a better one some time that's more centered and with less reflection. But the real question is, can you figure out what it is? The music is from a five-minute Internet search for "relaxing midi". You know, 'cause it's a lava lamp.

revver(483680)

Pretty neat, huh?


French Lava Lamp


I miss Jon and Stephen. Luckily the writers are still generating content. 

Taken from [here](http://unitedhollywood.blogspot.com/2007/11/not-daily-show-with-some-writers.html).

[Sign the petition](http://www.petitiononline.com/WGA/petition.html). I was number 51573.


Not the Daily Show


[![llama llama duck](https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-14-no-naked-llamas/1949514111_8bab7b2989_s.jpg)](http://www.flickr.com/photos/you-did/1949514111/)Last weekend, the in-laws came to visit. On Sunday morning, my father-in-law somehow talked the rest of us into driving 15 minutes away to a mine because he thought he remembered seeing some trees nearby that he knows produce a [kind of berry](http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imagen:Madro%C3%B1os_1_rafax.JPG) that is in season in November.  The place where we parked near the mine smelled like gasoline, and there was this sign that made me chuckle.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-14-no-naked-llamas/2019436917_68ca3f3492_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="No Naked Llamas">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-14-no-naked-llamas/2019436917_659ae96ed0.jpg" alt="No Naked Llamas"/>
</a>

The correct translation of this sign is: "Smoking or naked flame in 15 meter area prohibited."

The word _llama_ has three meanings in Spanish:

1. Flame
2. A conjugated third person singular form of the verb _llamar_ meaning "to call". For instance, "_Él se llama Juan._" means "He calls himself Juan.", and "¿A quién llama?" means "Who is he calling?"
3. [Llama](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Llama), the camel-like animal. Same as in English.

If you read the sign using the last definition, it's kind of humorous that they would ban smoking and nude even-toed ungulates within 15 meters. These are the kinds of strange thoughts that pass through my head sometimes.

The trees weren't the right kind and we didn't get any berries.


No Naked Llamas


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997725719_6ef9919c39_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Masculine Drink">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997725719_1b57175fdb_t.jpg" alt="Masculine Drink"/>
</a>

We had little to no plans for Sunday, other than to head to the mall for some more lobster with our friends. Marga and I spent some time by the side of the pool, me typing away the events of the previous day on my laptop, Marga trying with all her power to part the clouds and let the sun through. Eventually we met our mates and caught two taxis to the mall. Once in the mall, a few people had errands to run, so we split up and decided to meet back at 1:30. Marga and I had no intention of buying anything, but what else is there to do at a mall but look at stuff on sale? I noticed a polo shirt that I liked and it turned out to only cost 9€, so I bought one of each color. While I was trying them on, Marga found some nice trousers that looked good on me, so I had to buy that too. As I was paying for my clothes, Marga found some nice underwear for a really low price, so I had to go and buy that too! After I signed the receipt, we got the heck out of there, so we wouldnâ€™t spend any more money.  The lobster was, again, excellent. I ordered it â€œa la Diablaâ€, like I had the first day, and it was just as good and spicy. After that, we headed to have some more drinks next door to the Hard Rock Cafe. We had been admiring the Hard Rock paraphernalia that people had bought a few days before, and we succumbed to the opportunity to have a shirt and hat that says â€œHard Rock Cafe - Margaritaâ€. I mean, how often are you in a place that shares your name? Like last time, a tip to the waiters and they looked the other way while our glasses disappeared into our bags. Buying them clean in the shop cost twice as much as the drink thatâ€™s served in them.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998473148_9b6b227f7e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sambuca">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998473148_6c0dffbd01.jpg" alt="Sambuca"/>
</a>

Finally, a focused photo of this sambuca drink.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997699945_990b73db5b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Appletini">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997699945_7022b32851.jpg" alt="Appletini"/>
</a>

Marga wearing a sweatshirt I bought and sipping an Appletini.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997725719_6ef9919c39_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Masculine Drink">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997725719_1b57175fdb.jpg" alt="Masculine Drink"/>
</a>

Could I _be_ any more masculine?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998532674_83d5fde9ac_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hard Rock Cafe">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998532674_02081e16af.jpg" alt="Hard Rock Cafe"/>
</a>

Wait! There's alcohol in these drinks?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998558732_2653ba10ed_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Creepy Waiter">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998558732_db92509130.jpg" alt="Creepy Waiter"/>
</a>

Me and freaky waiter guy.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997783529_7625c41dbc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Puedo take it conmigo?">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997783529_93bed0f330.jpg" alt="Puedo take it conmigo?"/>
</a>

Because of my appearance, they brought me a menu in English. At least _most_ of it was English. They rather comically left in a Spanish word: "You can _llevarte_ the Souvenir Glass." As if you couldn't guess from the context, "llevarte" means "take with you".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998608814_5328e6b3c7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hard Rock Cafe Party">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998608814_467024f5f3.jpg" alt="Hard Rock Cafe Party"/>
</a>

Finally our friendly waiter from the other day arrived for his shift and a photo-op. Creepy waiter still managed to get in the shot, though.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997827315_0103737be5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Slurp!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1997827315_0f125a89d8.jpg" alt="Slurp!"/>
</a>

Slurrrrrrrp! (you know the sound)

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998650544_1709016e33_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="50 Grand">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/1998650544_5831655bb6.jpg" alt="50 Grand"/>
</a>

Showing off her 50 grand bill. It was part of the ransom tariff that we had to pay to leave the country. More on that later.

Back at the hotel, some of the others had dinner, but I wasnâ€™t remotely hungry, so I just watched them choke down some nasty macaroni. I mean, how can you screw up macaroni!? More political discussion and drinks, but the lazy bartender closed the bar early, so we decided to go and sleep our last night ever at Pueblo Caribe...or would it be?

Up next: Going home.


Even More Lobster - Honeymoon Day 13


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999159199_e6b5cba7d5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Don't call me stumpy!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999159199_2e94dad330_s.jpg" alt="Don't call me stumpy!"/>
</a>

The sun was shining early, so Marga and I got up at 7:00 to have breakfast and spend a few more minutes on a Caribbean beach before packing up the suitcases. We used the morning to take a walk around the hotel and snap some condemning photos to show our travel agent when we got back home. Pretty disgusting, all of it. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999719732_3c279523c9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999719732_9bdbe5ca1b.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe"/>
</a>

The stairway to the left went up to our room. Where the guy in the blue shirt is is where the hotel employees come to clock in. Just outside the broken gate are some broken down old cars and garbage.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999747584_a7a456526a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Entrance">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999747584_5e0d15cfd9.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Entrance"/>
</a>

Another enhanced shot of the paving at the hotel entrance.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999283179_accd23c494_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Gate">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999283179_57b429721c.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Gate"/>
</a>

I got a chuckle out of this every single time I saw it. Check out the mechanism for opening the gate.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999129079_54594e98a4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Station Wagon">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999129079_2396b79ed4.jpg" alt="Station Wagon"/>
</a>

This rusting heap was literally parked right outside the hotel gate.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1998976891_9c00fd1d8d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Negligence">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1998976891_a48062fc53.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Negligence"/>
</a>

One day we were sitting having lunch and this huge dead palm branch went WHOMP! right between some tables near us. Judging from the force it hit the ground, I think it could have killed or paralyzed someone if they had been unlucky enough to be walking underneath. Don't be fooled by it's feather-like appearance. No hotel employees came to investigate the noise, and two days later, the branch had been pulled into this corner, but still not disposed of.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999002859_e167730b94_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Neighborhood">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999002859_259cc1cc0f.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Neighborhood"/>
</a>

This is our hotel.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999849344_d121d13d39_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Garbage">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999849344_44c5fcd4d6.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Garbage"/>
</a>

Here's a better angle. It was surrounded by empty trash-filled lots on almost all sides.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999028387_d1ff8c523f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Beach">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999028387_40962a043a.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Beach"/>
</a>

Garbage near the beach.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999078555_501b18c1d3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Beach Bathroom">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999078555_478369e5e2.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Beach Bathroom"/>
</a>

Amenities galore!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999097229_bf79222a97_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tattered">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999097229_0ca2745e03.jpg" alt="Tattered"/>
</a>

I thought this tattered flag was kinda cool.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999988056_8ad41ecbc1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Trash">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999988056_9555e87f87.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Trash"/>
</a>

See the tall cement wall protecting the yellow hotel from the garbage?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999222535_4bc2f7beec_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Basura">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999222535_3c0ae91d77.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Basura"/>
</a>

The neighborhood.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999252067_716092ac49_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Neighborhood">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999252067_39992a81ab.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Neighborhood"/>
</a>

At the end of this street was a collection of small fisherman's houses. See the folks sitting in the street with nothing better to do.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999159199_e6b5cba7d5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Don't call me stumpy!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999159199_2e94dad330.jpg" alt="Don't call me stumpy!"/>
</a>

This stump near a closed-down bar was kinda funny.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999411131_3fbe2e200b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Garbage Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999411131_dff1a7950d.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Garbage Panorama"/>
</a>

A garbage-filled panorama.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999499649_e6c47919b5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Isla Caribe Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/1999499649_8255107a73.jpg" alt="Isla Caribe Panorama"/>
</a>

This was the empty area on the other side of the adjacent Isla Caribe hotel.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/2000110188_2ba011a972_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Pool">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-13-going-home-honeymoon-day-14/2000110188_c31e6d05ef.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Pool"/>
</a>

To end on a more aesthetically pleasing photo, this is the hotel pool, and as far as either of us got into it. The photos advertising the "resort" show only this part.

The fact that we spent such a large portion of our stay on a Caribbean island in a shopping mall is pretty damning of the hospitality at our â€œall-inclusive resortâ€ hotel. That sentence makes me sound like a snob, but our options were, A) hang around the filthy hotel ordering drinks from indignant, unfriendly bartenders that never had the necessary items to mix the drinks you wanted to order, B) walk around a garbage-filled neighborhood more-or-less with a â€œPlease mug me!â€ sign around our necks, or C) go to a clean, air conditioned shopping mall and absorb a little bit of culture that way. Believe me, we tried the first two, but being isolated in the hotel is the least interesting thing to do culturally, completely wasting your opportunity to expand your mind while in a foreign country. And thereâ€™s only so much trash you want to wade through in your honeymoon.

For no good reason at all, we had to have our suitcases in [the "lobby"](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/1919754676/) under little to no supervision very early in the day. We were basically stuck at the hotel doing nothing all day. There wasnâ€™t any pizza like weâ€™d found the day before, but I found some pasta that I could eat without gagging. At least we knew everybody by then, so we could sit and talk in groups to pass the time. We mainly talked about how much fun it would be to see the new bus load of freshmen Spaniards arrive from the luxurious cruise ship and discover themselves in the Pueblo Caribe shit hole. Just before our scheduled meeting time, Alejandro, our cruise company guide came and told us that the plane was delayed and that we should wait here a little longer until there was more information available.

About this time the new Spaniards started arriving. We were quite disappointed that they didnâ€™t seem very angry. I turned out that they were just stunned for the first little bit. After seeing their rooms, they came and complained how unacceptable everything was to Alejandro. Just as heâ€™d done with us, he diffused the situation with smiles and "well now that you're here, there aren't many options" logic. Marga and I tried to console one woman by explaining that weâ€™d survived, but one too many anecdotes about what we'd seen escaped our lips and she got spooked. Anecdotes such as this:

> One day we saw a couple that we knew walking to have breakfast. They looked a little tired, so we asked how things were. They explained that, during the night, one of them had woken up with an itch on his arm that wouldnâ€™t go away. He turned on the light and found that his arm and bed were covered in ants, and there was a steady black line of them going across the room and under the door. They quickly realized that it was going to be futile attempting to sleep any more in that room, so they went down to reception to complain. The receptionist, who clearly resented having someone to deal with, told them that there were no rooms available and that they could change rooms in the morning. The couple explained that there was no way they were going back to that room, and that they would sleep on the lobby couches if necessary. A little later a room was "found" for them, and they moved their luggage, carefully checking it for ants. They changed back into their pajamas and went to bed. As soon as they turned off the light, WHACK! One of the legs at the foot of the bed broke. They managed to prop it up somehow, maybe with a suitcase, and sleep the rest of the night.

And here we thought that, when referring to our hotel, they were using the first definition of resort, "a place that is a popular destination for vacations or recreation", and not the second one, "a strategy or course of action that may be adopted in a difficult situation."

Eventually, a new Pullmantur (the cruise company) representative came to explain our situation. We had our plane, but the flight crew for our return flight was stranded in the Dominican Republic, where there was a huge tropical storm, Noel, that we later found out killed a bunch of people. They told us that it looked like we weren't going to be leaving that day, and that they'd try to get our rooms back from the hotel. Sure enough, we got our same room back, and took our heavy suitcases up to it. Several people decided to go for a swim in the pool, and others went to the beach. One hour later, just as the idea of another night in the warmth of the Caribbean had settled on our brains, we were all told that our plane _could_ leave and that we should get our bags and meet the bus in one hour. Everyone from the beach had to be located and told of the change of plan.

We were loaded onto the bus, which had its air conditioner set to "see your breath" and were taken, shivering, to the airport. Marga and I had brought our long pants and jacket in a carry-on to change into the warm clothes we'd be needing in Madrid at the last possible moment. When we arrived at the airport, our new guide explained how we had to pay our ransom tariff to the authorities.

> ### A Quick Guide To Leaving Venezuela
> 
> This was not explained to us by our travel agent. In order to leave Venezuela, you have to pay 134,000 (approx. 34 USD) Bolivars per person, in cash, to the authorities at the airport. Otherwise they won't let you leave the country. We had to pay part of it upon entering the airport, and then the rest when we checked our bags. The travel company can't pay this for you, because the authorities insist that it's paid in cash by each traveler at the time of departure.

The plan was to fly to the Dominican Republic, change crews, and then continue to Spain. There was no drink service on our 90-minute flight into Santo Domingo. Our crew for that flight had come that day from Madrid and were exhausted. For our hour-long can't-leave-the-plane layover, they at least opened the doors. Marga and I cleverly positioned ourselves so that we could stand up near the open door to breath the tropical-storm-drenched Dominican air. The ground was wet, but we saw no sign of any storm. Noel must have already left on its ambitious trek northwards to become the last hurricane of 2007.

The flight back was one of the most uncomfortable pond hops I've ever done. They woke everyone up just after we'd all dozed off to offer us our dinner at 2:00 AM, and then they woke us up an hour earlier than they should have to give us breakfast a few hours later. The plane was packed and had much less legroom than I've had before. As Spaniards are particularly prone to do, the plane erupted in applause upon touchdown in Madrid, and then everyone stood up to get their carry-on luggage way before the "fasten seatbelts" sign was turned off. Right about the time we touched down, our connecting flight to Bilbao was scheduled to take off. Believe it or not, we were only two hours late, but since our connecting flight had been moved up a month earlier, we had no chance.

We were certain that we would have to buy another ticket to Bilbao and maybe even stay the night in Madrid. To save money, we'd booked our Madrid-Bilbao flights with another company, Spanair, and it looked like we were about to get screwed for being such Scrooges. I'm still confused about what happened next. The representative from Spanair gave us, absolutely free, a place on the next flight that evening to Bilbao. As far as I know, the two companies we flew with have no relationship. Spanair had no responsibility whatsoever for our late arrival. They could, very reasonably, have charged us to book the other flight. But they didn't! The answer is, of course, that it didn't cost them anything to move us to the other flight, but still...that they didn't try to get any money out of it still amazes me.

In Bilbao, it was a cold, rainy, October night and we longed for the climate we'd come to know in Venezuela. But it sure was nice to not have trash all over the ground.


Going Home - Honeymoon Day 14


Finally! One month after the wedding, and the blogging from the wedding and honeymoon has come to an end! Whew! I've put together a little slideshow of [my favorite photos](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/sets/72157603141441355/) from the trip.

Here's a list of all the blog entries in order.

1. [Grenada](/2007/11/01/grenada-honeymoon-day-1/)
2. [Barbados](/2007/11/02/barbados-honeymoon-day-2/)
3. [Mayreau](/2007/11/04/mayreau-honeymoon-day-3/)
4. [At Sea](/2007/11/05/at-sea-honeymoon-day-4/)
5. [Aruba](/2007/11/05/aruba-honeymoon-day-5/)
6. [Curaí§ao](/2007/11/06/curacao-honeymoon-day-6/)
7. [Isla Margarita](/2007/11/08/isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/)
8. [4x4 Jeep in Isla Margarita](/2007/11/08/4x4-jeep-in-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-8/)
9. [Lobster Surprise](/2007/11/09/lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/)
10. [Isla Cubagua](/2007/11/09/isla-cubagua-honeymoon-day-10/)
11. [More Lobster](/2007/11/12/more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/)
12. [Swimming with Dolphins](/2007/11/12/swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/)
13. [Even More Lobster](/2007/11/13/even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/)
14. [Going Home](/2007/11/13/going-home-honeymoon-day-14/)

Although there were some unpleasant surprises and things we would do differently, overall, we had a wonderful time. Thank you all for traveling with me over the past fortnight on this blog. I hope you all enjoyed yourselves.

Hopefully before the end of the year, we will acquire the professional photos from the wedding and I will share some of them here for you, but for now...

Back to the regularly scheduled programming....


Honeymoon Wrap-Up


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980883786_d1a4cc79ca_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Yummy Lobster">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980883786_b5e72d1259_t.jpg" alt="Yummy Lobster"/>
</a>

The available excursion on Friday was to drive tiny little two-person speed boats. From what we heard from people that did it, it wasnâ€™t very fun. The boats were hard to drive, had two speeds: full staring-at-the-sky throttle or stopped. We chose that excursion as the one to pass and take a day easily at our own pace. After breakfast, we headed for the beach.  The beach is at the other end of our hotel, about 300 meters from our room. Without being there very long, I had to go back to the room and get my wallet. The beach vendors are ruthless. This one fellow had some really nice necklaces that I liked. Two of them were stated as 20,000 B each, but I got him down to 20,000 B for both ($5). Then there was a really nice one with a huge great white sharkâ€™s tooth. It was really sharp. To demonstrate, the vendor shaved some plastic off my beach chair with it. He said it was 80,000 B. I offered him 50k, and he said that he absolutely couldnâ€™t go lower than 60k. I offered 55k, but he held firm, and I could tell that he really wasnâ€™t going any lower, so I accepted. Then Marga found a couple that she liked. The vendor was really trusting and nice. He put the sharkâ€™s tooth necklace on me for my walk back to the room to get the money. We also ended up buying some little sandstone sculptures and some linen beach wraps (those cloth things that women wear over their bikinis) from two other vendors. The sky started to cloud over and we decided weâ€™d better go back to the room to stop spending money.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980650134_c7bc7834f3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Isla Margarita Lightning Damage">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980650134_f45f76c831.jpg" alt="Isla Margarita Lightning Damage"/>
</a>

Apparently, during the huge storm that we witnessed from afar [the day before](/2007/11/09/isla-cubagua-honeymoon-day-10/), a lightning bolt hit the neighboring hotel and broke off part of the roof. According to rumors, there were people pretty close by, but no one was hurt. Knowing what I now know about Venezuela, I suspect it will remain broken like this for 5 or 6 years.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980690140_dea749714a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe Beach">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980690140_c77e0ceb59.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe Beach"/>
</a>

The beach by the hotel wasn't anything like [our favorite one so far](http://www.flickr.com/photos/erikrasmussen/1826626979/).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980753322_fae042b63f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Beach Sports">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980753322_d83694591b.jpg" alt="Beach Sports"/>
</a>

Some brown-skinned hustlers were taking money from pasty white tourists.

I talked Marga into going back to Rancho de Pablo for some more lobster. As Iâ€™ve often found in life, when you have a truly magical surprising experience, when you go back to repeat it, itâ€™s never the same. The wine they gave us was different (worse), the bread was different, things were different. We varied our lobster dishes to experiment and ended up liking them less. Oh well. It was still a fantastically delicious lunch. After lunch we went to buy some luggage we saw the other day. Margaâ€™s suitcase has made its last flight and will be retired here in Venezuela. Before getting to the suitcase store, I spotted a Mac Store. Note that it wasnâ€™t an official Apple Store, I donâ€™t think, but they had all the latest equipment. I left [a blog entry](/2007/10/26/in-an-apple-store-in-venezuela/) on one of the new aluminum iMacs with the new keyboard. Unfortunately, the connection was really crappy, so I couldnâ€™t connect to a chat service. Otherwise I would have talked with the folks at my work.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980000525_d4d3a5b2df_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Lobster eater">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980000525_44eb289bb8.jpg" alt="Lobster eater"/>
</a>

Lobster eater.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980883786_d1a4cc79ca_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Yummy Lobster">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980883786_b5e72d1259.jpg" alt="Yummy Lobster"/>
</a>

Yummy!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980129443_7162af833b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="White shark's tooth 1">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980129443_918349a4d1.jpg" alt="White shark's tooth 1"/>
</a>

Marga was admiring the whiteness of my shark's tooth, and wanted to compare it to our teeth.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980202349_a1c381715f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="White shark's tooth 2">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980202349_e593220223.jpg" alt="White shark's tooth 2"/>
</a>

Do sharks eat lobster?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980247961_e35700c68b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The bill">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980247961_8c8d66b9a0.jpg" alt="The bill"/>
</a>

The bill. Or at least the one that some poor bloke named Eric Rassmusem paid. 42 grand tip included. Ouch!

The taxi driver that took us back to the hotel was a Colombian who had been living in Venezuela for more than a decade. He had an ex-wife, son and daughter that live in Santander, Spain, about 30 minutes away from us. Small world, eh? He told us that we were in the worst hotel in the entire island and that our hotel had been shut down for many years, but had recently been reopened by someone who knew how to market it into package deals for foreigners. Yeah, tell me about it!

We had time for a little nap before dinner. We had dinner at the special one-day-per-week-of-stay restaurant down by the beach. The food was noticeably better than in the other included dining areas. The waiters were much more attentive. Marga really loved her steak. I would still rate my meal as on par with a cheap restaurant in Spain. The wine was too hot and not very good. We dined with the two other couples that were [in our jeep](/2007/11/08/4x4-jeep-in-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-8/) a few days earlier. Thatâ€™s when we heard about how the excursion we passed up that day went. One guy in our group, Paco, had to keep reminding us to steer the conversation away from how crappy the food in the rest of the hotel was, because there were plenty of waiters and cooks within earshot. Towards the end of the meal, we started getting out tip money, 10k B (2€) per couple. We set it on the table, and our wine glasses were immediately refilled. It was like turning on a switch. When we left, Paco, the oldest (35), handed the money to the main waiter and said, â€œWeâ€™re signed up to come tomorrow night, too.â€ The waiter simultaneously winked, nodded, and pocketed the money.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980287209_092b2a7a5b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Descending in black">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980287209_26dbc76151.jpg" alt="Descending in black"/>
</a>

Heading for dinner.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980346483_4f8a23233d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cheap-ass Margarita">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980346483_4891a58dbd.jpg" alt="Cheap-ass Margarita"/>
</a>

This photo is enough to condemn Hotel Pueblo Caribe. Salt around the rim of a plastic cup! How sad.

We went back up to the main hotel bar area to have some drinks. Marga was drinking cuba libres (rum and pepsi), and I experimented to much success with piña coladas and coco locos. At eleven oâ€™clock we went down to check out the beach discotheque. The first song when we arrived was salsa, so Marga and I lay down some elegant spin moves until the next song came and we went to get drinks. The music got progressively worse, moving more towards thump-thump trance music. I went to the loo, and when I returned, Marga was gone. I asked one of the others where she was, and I got a point towards the water. I gazed to sea and saw the silhouette of my wife in a long black dress, bathed in the reflected moonlight, with the waves lapping at her bare feet. It was a beautiful moment. As I went out to her, the music turned to something somewhat meringue-able, and we danced in the Caribbean moonlight. It was by far the most romantic part of the entire honeymoon.

I forget who suggested it, but we both wanted to do it. We walked hand in hand 200 meters down the beach, and went for a midnight swim in the Caribbean sea, our bodies glistening in the moonlight. Definitely an unforgettable experience. Eventually we emerged onto the beach, donned our soaked clothing, and walked dripping back to the hotel room, Marga remarking that we could check that item off lifeâ€™s todo list.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980407759_dc2bd08fa8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sandy Sandals">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-11/1980407759_047b37ef76.jpg" alt="Sandy Sandals"/>
</a>

My sandals upon return to the hotel room. Notice the painted concrete floor. That's class, baby!

Up next: [Swimming with Dolphins](/2007/11/12/swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/)!


More Lobster - Honeymoon Day 11


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982122403_3aa5df8417_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="ren164">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982122403_cbe7421114_t.jpg" alt="ren164"/>
</a>

We had a relaxed cloudy morning by the pool. We got up at 9:45, way later than any other morning of our honeymoon. Breakfast was crap, as usual. Marga was feeling a little ill, so lying down for a bit was good for her. We took a little walk down a street we havenâ€™t been to yet and found some more garbage-filled poverty. For lunch, we found a secret lid covering some slices of pizza. As in school cafeterias growing up, the pizza is by far the best thing that the chefs can manage to make for a large number of people. It was way better than anything else weâ€™ve eaten here, the previous evening excluded. At 1:15, we were waiting for the van to take us to swim with the dolphins.  We were taken to a closed down amusement park. There was a huge parking lot with two cars in it. We parked and walked by spookily silent roller coasters and animal cages. We were sat down in a waiting area where there were already two obese Americans, one of them cheekily wearing a Miami Dolphins jersey. He was delighted when I noticed and made a comment about his shirt choice for the day. We were made to sign some forms that stated that we understood that there might be some bumps and maybe a few bites, that we couldnâ€™t wear any jewelry, no suntan lotion, and no cameras. They took us in to watch a short video about dolphins that contained the precious line, â€œSome people consider dolphins to be a more advanced and perfect version of ourselves.â€ What a great sentence to have burned digitally onto a DVD that is read with lasers and projected onto a painted wall in an artificially air conditioned structure while we sit comfortably in chairs and the dolphins are swimming around with their own feces in a concrete human-built pool hoping for some fish to be thrown to them.

After another short wait outside, a guy came out and said that we could pay 10,000 B per couple to have our photo taken with Susie, the sea lion, kisses included. I decided to wait until I saw the beast before agreeing to pay to have it kiss me. But Susie was so pretty that I quickly chose to shell out the two euros for the photo op. Marga and I sat down on some chairs, I gave my camera to one of the staff members, and Susie jumped up on my legs and planted a big whiskery kiss on me. She was pretty heavy. Then she leaned over and kissed Marga, another kiss for me, and she moved over to the corner, allowing us to get up and the next couple to sit down. Her every move was puppeteered by her trainer moving his hands over our heads.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1981893933_c5adc5fbe2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mac store billboard in Venezuela">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1981893933_e19a94effa.jpg" alt="Mac store billboard in Venezuela"/>
</a>

The billboard for the Mac Store in Venezuela. I saw it every time we left the hotel, and finally timed a photo to capture it.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1981909783_db53188e28_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Apprehension before Threesome">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1981909783_f1e08e9398.jpg" alt="Apprehension before Threesome"/>
</a>

I bet everyone is nervous before their first threesome.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1981925685_afac874fa2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Susie kisses Marga">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1981925685_8a5c193d3b.jpg" alt="Susie kisses Marga"/>
</a>

Susie plants one on my wife.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982765610_2fc053ca61_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sea lion love">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982765610_0f02b40eac.jpg" alt="Sea lion love"/>
</a>

Marga's not that "into" it.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982789438_762b471179_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Whiskery">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982789438_3e30145759.jpg" alt="Whiskery"/>
</a>

Mmmm! Fishy!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982029259_bdb8b91c93_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Evil Frog Garbage Can">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982029259_a1a41396ed.jpg" alt="Evil Frog Garbage Can"/>
</a>

This garbage can in the waiting area creeped me out.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982816920_a2ef7a36ab_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bye, Susie!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982816920_40056da3be.jpg" alt="Bye, Susie!"/>
</a>

Susie waddles away.

Eventually we were lead to the dolphin pool, given life jackets and were told to get into the pool. They explained where and how to touch the dolphins for each of the â€œexperiencesâ€ we would be having. There were about 20 of us in the pool and only two dolphins, Belén and Macarena. I commented to Marga that it would have been really cool if Macarena was called Margarita.

First both dolphins swam by us and let us pet them. The skin was smooth and about how I expected it to be. The underside of their bellies was a softer texture. And the tails were hard. After a half-dozen passes, it was time for â€œSinging with the dolphinsâ€. In pairs, we went with some trainers out into the open. We patted the water with our hands to call the dolphins, they dolphins popped out of the water in front of us, and we waved our hands in the air like a music conductor. The dolphins started â€œsingingâ€, and we were encouraged to make similar noises ourselves. It lasted about 10 seconds and the head trainer whistled, and the dolphins went to him to get a treat. Then we had to wait while everyone else did it.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982851244_ef947449be_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren009">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982851244_32f67d4c6a.jpg" alt="ren009"/>
</a>

Meeting the dolphins.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982859778_efffe0b3a2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren036">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982859778_43227f0baa.jpg" alt="ren036"/>
</a>

They weren't at all frightened by my snow white shoulders.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982868364_d0a9277b28_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren047">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982868364_233a4b8200.jpg" alt="ren047"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982876264_6f4d0e9621_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren106">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982876264_8c8d7899f3.jpg" alt="ren106"/>
</a>

My dolphin was the only one that really sang.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982884140_eab81d3c7e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren107">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982884140_46bd31a907.jpg" alt="ren107"/>
</a>

Marga's only lip synced. Do dolphins have lips? More on that later...

Next was having the dolphins pull us in the water. We could choose to grab the dorsal fin, or have the dolphin swim upside down and grab his lateral fins and lie on the dolphinâ€™s stomach as she pulled us. Marga and I chose the latter lateral method. It was pretty awesome.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982077365_24c11311bc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren158">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982077365_f03c2c374d.jpg" alt="ren158"/>
</a>

Saddle up!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982898374_9a019bfbd6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren159">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982898374_20d94d33dc.jpg" alt="ren159"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982092433_0b6176c027_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren160">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982092433_34fb179a5e.jpg" alt="ren160"/>
</a>

This is pretty cool.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982913478_ede8e1b8fa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren161">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982913478_3c47c98912.jpg" alt="ren161"/>
</a>

Oh no! Marga's winning!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982107851_be8bd9f1bd_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren162">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982107851_8513fed0b4.jpg" alt="ren162"/>
</a>

But Erik pulls away at the finish line.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982929862_8c9df11009_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren163">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982929862_8f267e64df.jpg" alt="ren163"/>
</a>

Wheeee!!

The final â€œexperienceâ€ was â€œKissing the dolphinâ€. We patted the water as before, the dolphin popped up and kissed us, holding the pose for the camera. Their snouts are pretty sturdy. The one I kissed had a little bit of fish breath. Their species has clearly evolved past the breath mint.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982122403_3aa5df8417_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren164">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982122403_cbe7421114.jpg" alt="ren164"/>
</a>

Nope. No lips.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982129941_3f20be30d3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren165">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982129941_b73ca2fa04.jpg" alt="ren165"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982949528_4ca979f04c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren166">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982949528_b6cd951dde.jpg" alt="ren166"/>
</a>

Susie had more passion.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982955482_7b54d5c7ea_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren167">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982955482_296420ee48.jpg" alt="ren167"/>
</a>

We applauded, the dolphins did some jumps, and we were instructed to leave the pool. We were in the water for a total of 30 minutes, and each spent about a total of one full minute in contact with the dolphins. Still, it was pretty cool, and something Iâ€™ve always kind of wanted to do. I can understand how the dolphins can help autistic kids a lot. Itâ€™s nearly impossible to not smile when in contact with them. Very cool.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982964636_0ef24b88f7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="ren197">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982964636_2bfa369727.jpg" alt="ren197"/>
</a>

Applauding.

The photos were 12,000 Bolivars each, or 75k for a CD. I mentioned to one of the other Spaniards that I had a computer in my room that could burn CDs, so we decided to buy the CD between us, buy a blank CD at the mall on the way back, and I made him a copy. It worked out well, I think.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982992612_7c6575b5f8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Backstabbing Penguin Piñata">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982992612_30e2fc88d4.jpg" alt="Backstabbing Penguin Piñata"/>
</a>

On the way out, I saw these two piñatas getting read for a children's birthday party. It looks like the penguin had already stabbed his companion (Pooh?) in the back.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1983021336_1530152116_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Let's go play in the shoe!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1983021336_d64283ee44.jpg" alt="Let's go play in the shoe!"/>
</a>

Abandoned amusement parks are full of [IWUS](http://www.flickr.com/groups/iwus/pool/) material.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982236511_226358efa2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Celebrity Birds">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-12-swimming-with-dolphins-honeymoon-day-12/1982236511_d8b18bce86.jpg" alt="Celebrity Birds"/>
</a>

These two birds were at the entrance. As I approached with my camera, they turned their backs on me. No love for the Paparazzi.

We went to the once-only restaurant for the second time that night. My steak was fantastic and all the rest was mediocre. I cleaned my plate, though, so I must have been pretty hungry. Some drinks and heated political discussion in the bar with some friends and off to bed.

Up next: [Even more lobster](/2007/11/13/even-more-lobster-honeymoon-day-13/)!


Swimming With Dolphins - Honeymoon Day 12

Isla Cubagua - Honeymoon Day 10


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931585381_6101ffb3f9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Three beauties">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931585381_a59ac138d8_t.jpg" alt="Three beauties"/>
</a>

The organized excursion was â€œShoppingâ€. It cost 12€ each to be taken on a bus to several shopping centers. When we got there in the morning, all the slots had been taken. Luckily some of our friends were in the same situation, so we decided to share a cab. Alejandro told us the name of the mall and how much the taxi should cost, so we went for it. The taxi to the Sambil Mall cost 25,000 Bolivars. That sounds like a lot, but get this. The sly cabbie didnâ€™t have a 5k note on him, change for a payment of 30k. But instead he accepted 20,000 B plus a one dollar bill. Thatâ€™s how much a Bolivar is worth. My hypothesis from the day before that the country didnâ€™t have any coins was shattered when I saw some 100 B coins in the cab, each worth roughly 2 US pennies.  Weâ€™ve started exchanging money on the black market. At first it didnâ€™t make any sense to me how anyone could or would want to give you more Bolivars per euro than the local bank would, but apparently they have channels to take the foreign cash to the foreign country and spend it on goods, where itâ€™s actually worth more than what they could buy with the equivalent Bolivars from the bank. But then I heard that, starting in January 2008, they are changing to â€œStrong Bolivarsâ€ (Bolivares Fuertes), which is just like the current Bolivar, but with three zeros chopped off (which is how Iâ€™ve been thinking about the money anyway). The shops already display things in both prices (e.g. 185,000 B, 185 BF). Somewhat easier than the EU countries switching to the euro. On the black market we get 5,500 Bolivars to the euro rather than the 5,000 B that Alejandro gives us. Itâ€™s kinda fun meeting with people in their car, counting off thousands in cash and making the exchange.

The mall was very nice. It was just as huge and clean as any in the United States. But what the mall had that was really special was a restaurant that our Venezuelan guide, Alejandro, had recommended called El Rancho de Pablo. This was actually El Rancho de Pablo II, since the original was in another city on the island. As soon as we entered the restaurant, we were enchanted. Every table had at least one bottle of 2002 Bordeaux Cabernet-Sauvignon on it. We had lunch with two other couples, so we were at a table for six. When they brought us the menu and a basket of bread, we were delighted, because we could tell that a gastronomic experience like little other awaited us. The lobster was priced by the kilo. 140,000 Bolivars, in case youâ€™re wondering. We ordered a mixed seafood platter and some mussels for an appetizer, and I ordered the langosta a la diabla (deviled lobster?) for the entrée. First they brought out the lobsters before cooking them. They were either dead or had just had their arms chopped off, so there wasnâ€™t much danger. Thank god we got a photo of them, because otherwise youâ€™d never believe how enormous they were. The food and the wine was absolutely fantastic, way better than anything we had on the cruise, and such and enormous contrast from the shit weâ€™d been eating at the hotel that we felt like gods. Marga said that it was so nice to be eating again without being disgusted with every bite. We had five waiters attending to our table, and at least one of them was deaf. There is something to be said for having a lip-reading waiter, I must say. My glass was never completely empty, an occurrence that happened several times each meal on the cruise ship. We vowed to return a few more times during the trip. I cannot convey what a huge contrast it was from the hotel food. Unbelievable.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932329926_bfa6594bab_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Two Million Driver">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932329926_6dbb772135.jpg" alt="Two Million Driver"/>
</a>

A driver in a sporting goods store for a mere 2,000,000 B. Weak currencies are amusing.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932365240_3e532ad9a1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="El Rancho de Pablo Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932365240_47c9de3039.jpg" alt="El Rancho de Pablo Panorama"/>
</a>

A panorama from my chair at El Rancho de Pablo. They really nailed the "feels like you're outside" atmosphere. The place next door was a sushi restaurant with the "must be the most common" name of Bonsai Sushi.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932389420_fe95904d1e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cool olive oil receptacle">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932389420_2a55a76a48.jpg" alt="Cool olive oil receptacle"/>
</a>

This olive oil receptacle tickled my love for all things quaint and Mediterranean.

One interesting thing to point out about this photo is the red line on the wine bottles. Every single alcoholic beverage bottle on the island, with the exception of beer, has a red line through it. This means that for all the wine they import, they have to remove the original label and print a new label with the line. I know that they do this because all the labels also specifically include the text, "Imported to Isla Margarita. Tariffs paid" or something similar. A strange practice.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931585381_6101ffb3f9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Three beauties">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931585381_a59ac138d8.jpg" alt="Three beauties"/>
</a>

Me and the beasts.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932438190_826420c622_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Our table ">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932438190_2712da1a29.jpg" alt="Our table "/>
</a>

A view of our table from inside the restaurant.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931634099_c4da4474b8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Shellfish platter">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931634099_f5ba8eb6e7.jpg" alt="Shellfish platter"/>
</a>

A huge communal platter of seafood for a starter.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932483934_459ccb04d7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Strange fish parts">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932483934_34ffa785c2.jpg" alt="Strange fish parts"/>
</a>

Some strange-tasting fish parts.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931666961_4af14adc5a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Mussels">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931666961_efa0ba4261.jpg" alt="Mussels"/>
</a>

Mussels with lemon and garlic.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932518236_984ba8a1d6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Happy customer">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932518236_f4b8a93174.jpg" alt="Happy customer"/>
</a>

The first happy customer to be served at our table.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932542532_5b58557c23_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Gastronomic Euphoria">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932542532_50aaa904b0.jpg" alt="Gastronomic Euphoria"/>
</a>

My euphoric wife.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931737421_b32f7ba79a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="a la Diabla">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931737421_63d9f205ec.jpg" alt="a la Diabla"/>
</a>

Langosta a la Diabla. Lobster in a delicious, spicy sauce.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932590412_8ee5138c3a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Half lobster">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932590412_8dba7fc3bf.jpg" alt="Half lobster"/>
</a>

Yummy!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932613702_1fb59c7891_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Munch!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932613702_f2881175fc.jpg" alt="Munch!"/>
</a>

Chomp!

After dinner, Marga and I ordered a glass of sambuca, which is like an anisette that they light on fire with some coffee beans floating in it. And youâ€™re supposed to drink it in one gulp, but I must admit that it took me three. It was my first experience sucking (and chewing) on coffee beans. I was surprised by how nice that was. Then things got a little crazy, and two more were ordered. Marga was the happiest Iâ€™ve seen her in a while, if you know what I mean. With the good food and drink, we were beside ourselves in contentment.

revver(475171)

Our waiter and his deaf assistant light our [flaming sambucas](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sambuca#Flaming_Sambuca).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932632556_2567de787f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Blurry sambuca">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932632556_29c07f75af.jpg" alt="Blurry sambuca"/>
</a>

An attempt to photograph an invisible flame.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932656244_1094907ee8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sipping sambuca">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932656244_4b17194bf9.jpg" alt="Sipping sambuca"/>
</a>

The rim of the glass was quite hot!

The total for the bill didnâ€™t fit in the machine, so it came out as â€œ\*\*\*,\*\*\*.\*\*â€, because we went over the million Bolivar mark. Oops. The quality was so good, we didnâ€™t care. After dinner, the others starting talking about going to Harrodâ€™s to buy a t-shirt and have some coffee. They kept talking about Harrodâ€™s, and Marga and I were looking at each other like, â€œAre we in Knightsbridge, London?â€ When we finally arrived to â€œHarrodâ€™sâ€, it all became clear. They were referring to the â€œHard Rock Cafeâ€. Itâ€™s like during the Tour de France when all the Spaniards were talking about â€œAstroâ€, and I finally figured out they were trying, and lazily failing, to say â€œArmstrongâ€. I ordered a Strawberry Daiquiri and later a Margarita Meltdown (which I joked weâ€™d seen earlier with the sambuca). Marga ordered a coffee and later an Appletini, which is an apple-liqueur-based drink served in a martini glass.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931847543_7b649a9711_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tropical drink">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931847543_d2086e119e.jpg" alt="Tropical drink"/>
</a>

Huge tropical drinks at the Hard Rock Cafe.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932723886_8303389d33_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Piolin">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1932723886_bce37d05d5.jpg" alt="Piolin"/>
</a>

Marga and I left briefly to make a run to a nearby alcohol and candy store to buy some rum. These little "Tweety spinners" caught my eye.

In Spanish, the sound a bird makes is "pio pio!" So Tweety's Spanish name is "Piolin".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931914973_9a693669da_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Buffy Flying Bat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931914973_45d284f88f.jpg" alt="Buffy Flying Bat"/>
</a>

One of the members of our group saw this flying bat toy (I assume it's one of those things on a rope that flies in circles) that he had to buy for someone. Gosh, I wonder why they named it Buffy?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931939099_e22aaa1299_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Posing with the Hard Rock Cafe waiter">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-09-lobster-surprise-honeymoon-day-9/1931939099_eb17ae58ca.jpg" alt="Posing with the Hard Rock Cafe waiter"/>
</a>

Our Hard Rock waiter was really nice.

We left the mall after dark and very happy. We went straight to bed, although it was pretty early, and didnâ€™t get up until the next morning.

Up Next: [Isla Cubagua](/2007/11/09/isla-cubagua-honeymoon-day-10/)!


Lobster Surprise - Honeymoon Day 9

4x4 Jeep in Isla Margarita - Honeymoon Day 8


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919572100_cc20f981a8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Cruise Amigos">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919572100_84dddd717d_t.jpg" alt="Cruise Amigos"/>
</a>

We were told to have our luggage packed and leave it outside our cabin in the hallway before going to bed the night before. This seemed rather ridiculous when we woke up the next day and realized that we didn't hit land until noon. But oh well. We had breakfast and spent some time out on deck lying on chairs. At 1:30 PM we had to meet in the main lounge to go through Venezuelan immigration and get grouped by hotel for our further stay. There was a lot of bored waiting, and we were finally loading our suitcases onto a bus by 2:15 PM. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919448746_80984b6539_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Out on Deck">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919448746_1a3a3e12e2.jpg" alt="Out on Deck"/>
</a>

Tanning my sexy lower legs.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919474812_57e2cecdf3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Last tanning on boat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919474812_09cf6c2245.jpg" alt="Last tanning on boat"/>
</a>

Our last hours on the cruise ship.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918665297_47460c1e8f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="How I would like to dress for work">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918665297_2fa164973d.jpg" alt="How I would like to dress for work"/>
</a>

When we move to the Caribbean, this is how I'm going to report for work every day.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919514152_bd3af70e74_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Member of the IT Crowd">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919514152_d657115ddb.jpg" alt="Member of the IT Crowd"/>
</a>

And this is how I'll leave work at the end of the day.

The champagne bottle they left in our room for us due to our "honeymoon" status didn't get much use. Getting drunk in our dark little cabin wasn't very appealing. If we could have taken it out on deck, that'd be a different matter.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918701461_c8948c2575_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Return me to the bar">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918701461_33da45af20.jpg" alt="Return me to the bar"/>
</a>

All the glasses used at the bars on the cruise ship had these strange little first person messages on them.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918717565_4d853c9d6c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Don't discard me">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918717565_141dda91c6.jpg" alt="Don't discard me"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918727981_8c6a871487_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Happy face, sad face">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918727981_54d6e0ecea.jpg" alt="Happy face, sad face"/>
</a>

See what happens when you look at a sad face through the effects of beer?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919572100_cc20f981a8_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cruise Amigos">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919572100_84dddd717d.jpg" alt="Cruise Amigos"/>
</a>

A group shot of our social group on the cruise ship. You wouldn't believe how many tears were shed when we broke up. Some went back to Spain right after the cruise, and others stayed in different hotels in Isla Margarita and we never saw them again until the plane back home.

Some cruise afterthoughts... I went on a Caribbean cruise 8 years earlier with my grandparents and parents and some uncles, aunts, and cousins, courtesy of my grandparents. That cruise was with the [Princess](http://www.princess.com/) company and had to have cost double what our cruise did. So what happened was I spent the entire cruise comparing it to the luxury of my previous experience. My first cruise was full of food that made you go wow. Just about everything about our honeymoon cruise could be described as "Good, but not great." All the food seemed particularly normal, the wait staff was friendly, but often had to be flagged down to refill a wine glass. The cabin was bigger than I expected, but we had to specifically ask for the shower gel dispenser to be refilled, and the toilet seat broke and came off and had to be repaired. The drinks were free, but came in goofy little cups and weren't very well made or consistent in strength. Like I said, it was all "good, but not great". It was Marga's first cruise, and she was very pleased. We'd definitely do it again, but I'd love to show Marga the luxury I experienced with Princess.

When we got off the ship and headed for the hotel, we knew very little about our hotel or what our next week would be like. All our travel agent told us was that there would be a cruise with organized excursions at each destination, and then "a stay" in Isla Margarita. She told us that all the hotels on Isla Margarita were more or less the same and we could choose whichever we liked. The extra seven-day stay only added 200€ per person extra to the full price of our trip. It sure sounded like a hell of a deal. And...well...

## Hotel Pueblo Caribe

At the end of a 45-minute bus ride, in which we were entertained the entire time by a guide explaining things about Venezuela, and particularly about excursions that we could and should take during the week. As we were arriving at the hotel, we pulled into an area that looked extremely "third world". There was trash lining the streets, children riding 20-year-old bicycles in the street. Our guide said, "Okay, we're here!" and we all thought, "Um, where's the hotel and the beach and the luxury?" As we left the bus, we were all looking at each other with stunned, speechless "Oh shit, what did we agree to here?" looks on our faces. We pulled our suitcases over horribly rough pot-hole-filled drop-off area in front of the "hotel" entrance. The receptionist told us that our rooms weren't ready yet, and that they would be ready at 4:00 PM, so we were given "all inclusive" bracelets and sent to a little sandwich bar by the pool. The whole place felt very run down and cheap and a little dirty. The sandwiches were pretty good, at least. We went back to reception at 4:00 PM, but our rooms still weren't ready. Have you ever been to a hotel that doesn't allow check-in until after 4:00 PM? Fifteen minutes later, we got our key and went to our room. Our room was huge, but with a general cheap feel. The furniture, the paint job, and above all, the bathroom was considerably worse that what we're used to at home.

I had expected at _least_ as much luxury as we'd had during the cruise. I was expecting a week of a short walk down to the beach and lots of reading books on the beach and drinking daiquiris. Instead we'd taken a huge step down. We went back to reception and found a pile of steaming Spaniards. They were all really pissed off at the quality of the hotel. The truth is that we had been lied to considerably. Unlike the others, Marga and I realized that A) we really had paid a very small amount for the hotel and shouldn't be surprised, and B) getting upset about it will only ruin the week for us. Our guide showed up and expertly handled the steaming Spaniards. He had clearly done this every week for a while now. He said that he could upgrade us to another hotel for only 100€/person for the whole week. We asked if it was better, and he said it was substantially better, and that he'd make the upgrade. I later found out that every single one of the 16 couples the previous week made the upgrade. How ridiculous is that? When we realized that "the other hotel" was the one next door and didn't look any better, we decided to stay.

Our guide, Alejandro, finally got us all calmed down a bit and gave us another overview of the excursions. We also exchanged some money. The currency in Venezuela is the Bolivar. One dollar is worth 4,000 Bolivars, and one euro is worth 5,000. We exchanged 100€ and walked away half-millionaires.

After the meeting, we decided to leave the negative atmosphere of the griping Spaniards and we took a little walk around town, trying to find a laundromat. The streets were full of garbage and people hanging around doing very little. The irony is that one of Marga's biggest fears with the cruise and hotel stay was that we wouldn't get a chance to see how people actually lived in the country. And here we were in the middle of it. We saw some women cooking with stoves out on the porch. Since it doesn't rain much and is always warm, why not? Some people were sitting out on the curb with plastic plates eating their dinner. It was very enlightening. On our way back from the located laundromat, we stopped to chat with some children playing in the street. They explained that they were playing some card game. Another guy came and chatted with us for a bit, pleased to see that we responded "Hola" to his "Hello". As we approached the bright lights of our hotel complex, we began to understand the level of luxury we really had. Luxury is all relative, you see. I was disliking the cruise because I was comparing it with a more expensive one. But after seeing the hotel, the cruise seemed incredibly luxurious. And we were disliking the hotel because we were comparing it to the cruise, but after our walk we had gained new perspective.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919729434_6a0f22404a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pueblo Caribe">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919729434_773ae4afa6.jpg" alt="Pueblo Caribe"/>
</a>

Pueblo Caribe (that's Spanish for "Caribbean Town")

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919705742_a9aa6151c5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Entrance to Pueblo Caribe">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919705742_c03c4f6814.jpg" alt="Entrance to Pueblo Caribe"/>
</a>

The entrance to the hotel.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919811522_31d12ae27d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Horribly paved entrance">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919811522_effa14ac5d.jpg" alt="Horribly paved entrance"/>
</a>

The horribly cared for paving inside the hotel gate.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919754676_b0b70dfbfc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="The ">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919754676_7ed40d0a5c.jpg" alt="The "/>
</a>

The hotel "lobby".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918953887_e763e8d7c1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pool">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1918953887_ae78bcc08b.jpg" alt="Pool"/>
</a>

The swimming pools were the only things that appeared in the literature advertising the hotel. For a reason.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919867404_bdba2a9ab5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Trash and debris near Pueblo Caribe">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-08-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/1919867404_bbcbb91b01.jpg" alt="Trash and debris near Pueblo Caribe"/>
</a>

A panorama showing the garbage lying all around just outside the hotel. What slobs!

Up Next: [4x4 Jeep Safari](/2007/11/08/4x4-jeep-in-isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-8/)!


Isla Margarita - Honeymoon Day 7


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890658760_079e6a3b3f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Tropical Night">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890658760_2a1fa84dd2_t.jpg" alt="Tropical Night"/>
</a>

Like Aruba, [Curaí§ao](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cura%C3%A7ao) is Dutch, and the population speaks four languages. We went with our internet-informed friends onto shore and quickly found a taxi driver, Franklin A. Concepcion, who wanted to take us to a few notable places. We negotiated him down from $20/person to $25/couple and off we rode.  Our first stop was some caves, complete with stalactites, -mites, and bats. When we arrived, there were several bus loads of people just going in. The lady that took our $7 each to go in the cave told us to wait for a few minutes and then came back and said that it was okay, that she'd lump us onto the last of the large groups. While waiting in line to get to the cave, we saw a few iguanas roaming around. We then climbed some steps up to the cave entrance. The guide said that the cave was 300 million years old, but that it had only been discovered in the 1800's by some slaves who were looking for a place to live. They lived there for a while until slavery was abolished in the late 1800's. Several times the crowd would stop and we could faintly hear the guide explaining something way further ahead that we couldn't see. Then the crowd would move again and we'd have no idea what was going on. At one point, we reached a dead end where the crowd had to make a u-turn and come back on the same path. The guide told those of us at the end to wait at the end of the path because he'd come back and explain some stuff. We waited...and waited. When it became apparent that he wasn't coming back, we had to find our way back to where the people were. Treatment like this really pisses off Spaniards. When we finally got out of the cave, which was incredibly hot (in a cave, really!), we were covered with sweat and pretty peeved. We found our chauffeur, Franklin, we told him that we'd had a really bad experience. He said that he didn't like to hear that and went to talk to the folks that took our money, leaving us conveniently by some little shops. Ten minutes later, they came back and a boss-looking guy explained that they had been surprised that morning by so many buses of people and that they were sorry what happened. We explained that if they had told us that the service was going to be substandard at the time we bought the tickets, we could have made an informed decision to enter or not. The guy said, "Well, what can I do to make it right?" One guy from our group shouted, "Cervezas!" So the boss guy led us to the bar and gave us some beers, which seem to be about a $2.50 value here. Not bad. And that beer sure went down nicely after our time in the sauna caves.

After the caves, Franklin took us to a private beach. Private means we had to pay $3/person to get in. And then it was the worst of the beaches we've been to. The sand was rocky, the water was cloudy, and there were very few gray colorless fish to see on the bottom before it dropped to a depth where you couldn't see the bottom anymore. We spent a few hours there. I had a very nice frozen banana daiquiri at the bar ($6.00), and there was a lovely platform with tables in the shade right on the water that I spent some time in. Finally, Franklin came to claim us again and took us back to the boat. With the twenties given by the other passengers, Franklin had change for the bill I gave him with his name on it.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888859911_ac8a6629c3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Jesus Lights My Path">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888859911_e6bef6dbc4.jpg" alt="Jesus Lights My Path"/>
</a>

Jesus lights my path. I got a good chuckle from the obvious metaphor. This decal was on Franklin's van. If you couldn't guess from his surname, he's Catholic.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889709376_db4d56bd4e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Raining Over There">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889709376_f018e0c73a.jpg" alt="Raining Over There"/>
</a>

Some rain clouds in the distance.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888901923_5bcbb9a569_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Awesome Cloud Formation">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888901923_d7edf6c2f0.jpg" alt="Awesome Cloud Formation"/>
</a>

The Caribbean has some of the most awesome cumulonimbi I've ever seen. And how cool of a word is "cumulonimbi"?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888924707_82a38d3ed3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Military Boat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888924707_a7fa06bebf.jpg" alt="Military Boat"/>
</a>

The canal our cruise ship was parked in. Isn't it just like the Dutch to build canals everywhere they go?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889532835_ef4f06aa2b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Curaçao Canal Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889532835_dfefe10830.jpg" alt="Curaçao Canal Panorama"/>
</a>

Canal panorama. The architecture was very "colonial", and reminded me of some of the older buildings in the eastern US.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888946977_7afbb6bee4_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Another Caribbean Beach">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1888946977_83e9c715ab.jpg" alt="Another Caribbean Beach"/>
</a>

The beach.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889809018_38fe6c51ce_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Sun Worship">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889809018_c38ca8a051.jpg" alt="Sun Worship"/>
</a>

Marga didn't like the rocky sand, so she found these steps on which to meditate with Helios.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889867928_b422977591_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Stairs">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889867928_ce9b41ab50.jpg" alt="Stairs"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889058733_fae71a0041_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Friends on the beach">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889058733_f7ba5dcc5e.jpg" alt="Friends on the beach"/>
</a>

Our friends in the water. José in the water, Vero (José's wife) lying down, and the other two are Sergio and Eva. All newlyweds.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889915638_f899d4ec66_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hat and shades">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889915638_e57961b977.jpg" alt="Hat and shades"/>
</a>

My hat and shades. Still castigated to the shade, I spent most of my time sitting at this table taking photos. So that's why there are so many photos with this table.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889121049_948127f97a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Thatch Roof">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889121049_2a5f8bc3bd.jpg" alt="Thatch Roof"/>
</a>

The thatch roof above me.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889989406_8b4ae4382c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Inside of My Hat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889989406_b36a8b1925.jpg" alt="Inside of My Hat"/>
</a>

The inside of my hat. Pretty neat, huh?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890021952_ef63429f7d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Resting shades">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890021952_c0b54010bb.jpg" alt="Resting shades"/>
</a>

Playing with sunglasses reflection.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890065098_f138fe1cfa_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Reflection">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890065098_5a6bf556c4.jpg" alt="Reflection"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889618319_97161f753d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Curaçao Beach Panorama">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889618319_ab076d2c3a.jpg" alt="Curaçao Beach Panorama"/>
</a>

Hopefully you can see why I liked this spot so much. What a great view.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889257033_dcc06cbfae_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Vacationer Silhouette">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889257033_1b5f570c3c.jpg" alt="Vacationer Silhouette"/>
</a>

My silhouette.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890109836_66f2540c19_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Black man?">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890109836_8266936085.jpg" alt="Black man?"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889310103_3fab7da6f9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="In the shade">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889310103_8e0cbe99cf.jpg" alt="In the shade"/>
</a>

Marga.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889345057_617ad2fcb3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Eva posing with infamous hat">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889345057_2ede5cd7a1.jpg" alt="Eva posing with infamous hat"/>
</a>

I got quite a few compliments on my hat. And several people wanted to borrow it for photos. This is Eva, from our group of friends.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889362815_e904e150bc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Eva in the shade">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889362815_00acb2f721.jpg" alt="Eva in the shade"/>
</a>

Eva on the silhouette chair.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889380037_40d720d2bb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Nice hat!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889380037_249031d376.jpg" alt="Nice hat!"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889405497_6338bba37d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Bird Chair">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889405497_55f9435ed1.jpg" alt="Bird Chair"/>
</a>

A visitor came and sat on a chair beside me.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890252144_9a5c700f0b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Perched">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890252144_5cc3a2a8b3.jpg" alt="Perched"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889441179_1188b5995d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Wind surfer">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889441179_68acd2d554.jpg" alt="Wind surfer"/>
</a>

Wind surfer.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889465213_0c4bac3dc5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Blue tail">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889465213_9585bb0f3f.jpg" alt="Blue tail"/>
</a>

When leaving the beach, we saw some wildlife crossing a boardwalk. Check out the color on that tail!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889469111_c4b9e6bed3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Lizard rear">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889469111_029cfd8d6a.jpg" alt="Lizard rear"/>
</a>

Bye, Mr. Lizard!

After lunch, we went up on deck to watch as the ship pulled out of the canal and out to sea. After a two hour nap, we headed to an information session about how to check out the next day, and went to dinner. The theme for the night was "Tropical Party". Luckily, I had purchased a Hawaiian shirt the day before. At dinner, all the waiters were wearing Hawaiian shirts and danced around and got the customers up dancing a little meringue. The show in the Broadway Lounge was a display of salsa, meringue, samba, and other "tropical" dances by the ship's Brazilian dance troupe. When the show was over, they lead us, in a big parade with beating drums to a bar out on deck where the real Tropical Party began. They had a buffet of fruits (more food!) and did some organized meringue-based line dancing. It was really hot, and I'm sure I sweat a few liters of the champagne we had for dinner. There was unfortunately little time and space to dance by ourselves (we know little meringue), but it was definitely a festive atmosphere there under the moonlight. We made it back to the cabin at 3:30 AM.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1891023974_6c035ec800_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Piggy Stripper">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1891023974_aaf20cc6bf.jpg" alt="Piggy Stripper"/>
</a>

That evening, some of our friends showed us this provocative porcine souvenir they picked up in Aruba.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889809057_c660e4be38_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Porcine Striptease">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889809057_bda3f2c2c1.jpg" alt="Porcine Striptease"/>
</a>

This object is just wrong.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890658760_079e6a3b3f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tropical Night">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890658760_2a1fa84dd2.jpg" alt="Tropical Night"/>
</a>

Having champagne at the tropical dinner.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889846787_a8776b2327_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Meringue Line Dancing">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889846787_06d36eccc0.jpg" alt="Meringue Line Dancing"/>
</a>

Marga line dancing.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890698604_146a8797d5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="More Line Dancing">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890698604_4c282c22a5.jpg" alt="More Line Dancing"/>
</a>

It was _really_ hot doing the line dance. Doing constant aerobic movement at 85°F with 90% humidity in a tight group of people causes a _lot_ of sweating!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890719890_f4aac0f108_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Marga Gittin' Jiggy">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890719890_fc7ef65046.jpg" alt="Marga Gittin' Jiggy"/>
</a>

Marga doin' her thang.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890728794_60143b5d48_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Marga under the moonlight">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1890728794_3abe42b14f.jpg" alt="Marga under the moonlight"/>
</a>

Luckily, you could walk a few meters to the stern and get that nice 35 mph wind in your face. Very refreshing.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889918021_c7884f4c75_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Moonlight Reflection">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889918021_65b4965e0b.jpg" alt="Moonlight Reflection"/>
</a>

The reflected moonlight was so beautiful that I had to try and capture it. I knew I'd fail, but I had to try.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889944101_888f186d77_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Marga picks up a boy">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889944101_483d5b7932.jpg" alt="Marga picks up a boy"/>
</a>

Later in the discotheque, I went to get some drinks and came back to find this bloke with his arm around my wife.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889972803_d1e743034c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Some guy dancing with my wife">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-06-curacao-honeymoon-day-6/1889972803_2337d58cf8.jpg" alt="Some guy dancing with my wife"/>
</a>

He was a pretty good dancer.

Up Next: [Isla Margarita](/2007/11/08/isla-margarita-honeymoon-day-7/) (the cruise ends!)


Curaí§ao - Honeymoon Day 6


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871672974_1055a933ed_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="Honeymooners">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871672974_2d21e58afd_t.jpg" alt="Honeymooners"/>
</a>

After a full day at sea, we finally arrived to the Dutch island of Aruba.

## Aruba

Check out the road names on Google Maps. Road 1, Road 2, Road 3...

A few days earlier, we canceled our cruise-sponsored excursion at Aruba because some of our cruise friends told us that they had inside information from their Internet forum that the same tour could be bought right outside the cruise ship for 10 USD each that was going to cost us 50€ each with the cruise company. Sure enough, an obese black woman was waiting for us outside the cruise ship to offer us the $10 bus tour. So we all hopped in and drove round Aruba. Aruba is a tiny island, that is still under Dutch control. The locals speak four languages: English, Dutch, Spanish, and the official island language, [Papiamento](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Papiamento), a conglomeration of the previously mentioned languages with a little French and Portuguese thrown in. The island gets 25 inches of rain each year, and never for more than about 15 minutes at a time. The main vegetation are cacti, with the only useful plant being aloe vera, which provides a local skin ointment and perfume industry. They eat mainly fish and iguana, the main native wildlife. Our first stop was a â€œ4 t-shirts for $10â€ outlet store that the bus driver probably gets kickbacks from. We didnâ€™t really have anyone to buy a t-shirt for, so we didnâ€™t spend any money there.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870622844_82101a634d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="WTF are these things?">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870622844_16571d1b85.jpg" alt="WTF are these things?"/>
</a>

Strange miniature bobblehead creatures in the store they took us to.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1869817919_6cf5317108_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Witchdoctor Pipe (?)">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1869817919_72edcafc4f.jpg" alt="Witchdoctor Pipe (?)"/>
</a>

Is this a pipe?

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1869907349_0cceb99df1_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Aruban Nativity Scenes">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1869907349_cdb88f45e1.jpg" alt="Aruban Nativity Scenes"/>
</a>

Little miniature Aruban nativity scenes. I liked the idea of Mary and Joseph next to a cactus.

Next we stopped at the tallest hill on the island, it is 540 feet tall and there are 545 stairs to get to the top. But our tour guide didnâ€™t let us go up there. Next we stopped at a strange rock formation that no one really knows how to explain. After that we headed to a beach, saw some million dollar homes, and saw the local golf course, with two huge tanks of water nearby to water the grass. Our guide says it costs $300 to play a round there. Later we went to a beach, took some photos, and then were dropped off at another beach to swim and lie in the sun (I was in the shade). A $1.35 bus back to the boat and time for lunch.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870799632_e2d9689266_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tallest hill on Aruba">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870799632_76aa3305c9.jpg" alt="Tallest hill on Aruba"/>
</a>

The tallest hill on Aruba.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870096023_e29dc78740_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Aruban Cacti">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870096023_e46b0aa21f.jpg" alt="Aruban Cacti"/>
</a>

The main vegetation is the cactus, almost all of which are, at our present state of science, completely useless to mankind. And I used to think that the term "desert island" was a mistaken attempt to say "deserted island".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870198905_ab691c27f6_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="As close as I wanted to get">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870198905_62443b9a35.jpg" alt="As close as I wanted to get"/>
</a>

As close as I wanted to get. I hope my cactus at home doesn't get jealous.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870278425_1641971848_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pointy Cactus">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870278425_a1651acc15.jpg" alt="Pointy Cactus"/>
</a>

Another shape.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870315113_c9c9013cfd_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Funny Restroom Sign">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870315113_b36eaf3e47.jpg" alt="Funny Restroom Sign"/>
</a>

This sign made me chuckle.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870351295_b62897d28f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Rock Climbing">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870351295_ff5f5eba93.jpg" alt="Rock Climbing"/>
</a>

Climbing a rock formation.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871213482_a4b22bb3d0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Duck!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871213482_94fb6ff5f4.jpg" alt="Duck!"/>
</a>

Marga ducking under signs with errors in both English _and_ Spanish. I guess the authors of the signs hit their heads a few too many times. No one said they speak and write all four languages _well_!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871253006_264ba8c55b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Jeep Safari">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871253006_3466a6c1f6.jpg" alt="Jeep Safari"/>
</a>

One of the other excursions was to drive a jeep around the island.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871291008_fdd1b8ec2b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="High in Aruba">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871291008_d389a31a9b.jpg" alt="High in Aruba"/>
</a>

From on top of the rock formation, looking towards the tallest hill.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871328112_392c6c5686_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="View over Aruba">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871328112_872b800fc5.jpg" alt="View over Aruba"/>
</a>

You could see the sea in almost all directions from up there.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870537551_db4069c52e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Margarita on the rocks (again)">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870537551_6e0f75dd40.jpg" alt="Margarita on the rocks (again)"/>
</a>

Margarita on the rocks. (caption reuse)

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871394670_d1d5d52f1b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Maiden in Distress">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871394670_5f3c273685.jpg" alt="Maiden in Distress"/>
</a>

Maiden in distress under a huge tyrannosaur mouth...

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871415852_c0fe9378b5_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Annual Aruban Traffic Fatalities">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871415852_43f7f21f11.jpg" alt="Annual Aruban Traffic Fatalities"/>
</a>

More than one traffic fatality per month on such a tiny island. Pretty sad.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871456148_68febfe3e2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Crazy Party Buses">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871456148_d2744cbd1c.jpg" alt="Crazy Party Buses"/>
</a>

Some buses used by the heavier partiers for touring the island.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870657563_28886da0e0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG5005">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870657563_374a875b5c.jpg" alt="CIMG5005"/>
</a>

A huge portion of the water on the island goes to the golf course.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870695975_fb45caa6a7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG5006">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870695975_7f4c733ee7.jpg" alt="CIMG5006"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870709927_af5a4bd66a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG5007">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870709927_2fb6f26e2a.jpg" alt="CIMG5007"/>
</a>

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871556198_c315c64dcb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Tourist">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871556198_0a3e48d791.jpg" alt="Tourist"/>
</a>

Another gorgeous Caribbean beach.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871578604_48a8a0b8c2_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hello from Aruba">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871578604_12bedd4ecc.jpg" alt="Hello from Aruba"/>
</a>

Honeymooners in Aruba.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871600964_540bbbd2d9_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Beach Puppies">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871600964_65acc87495.jpg" alt="Beach Puppies"/>
</a>

Some small westie-like puppies. Pretty easy to lose them on the snow white sand.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871649624_69db31383c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Beach Puppy">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871649624_a8e749b53e.jpg" alt="Beach Puppy"/>
</a>

Puppy getting attention.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871672974_1055a933ed_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Honeymooners">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871672974_2d21e58afd.jpg" alt="Honeymooners"/>
</a>

This is what I had in mind in choosing a Caribbean honeymoon.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870853781_d5f8549bb0_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Pirates?">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870853781_cbb94a7db3.jpg" alt="Pirates?"/>
</a>

Some pirates on the horizon.

revver(468319)

A brief look around.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871693698_3108cc1f8c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Aruban Wildlife">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871693698_9eb6497937.jpg" alt="Aruban Wildlife"/>
</a>

A lizard overseeing some chairs at a hotel.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871726752_015cac2b6a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Cruise Ship Flags">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871726752_37ccf8b7c3.jpg" alt="Cruise Ship Flags"/>
</a>

We dropped off and picked up some new passengers in Aruba. These flags weren't on the bow before we got there.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870921849_5b4a941fab_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Rope Perspective">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870921849_fa22908265.jpg" alt="Rope Perspective"/>
</a>

A rope's eye view of the ship.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870941013_179b90e99a_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Hang in there, it's almost Friday!">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870941013_161013188e.jpg" alt="Hang in there, it's almost Friday!"/>
</a>

Tough window-cleaning job.

We spent the afternoon shopping in Aruba. Our friends said that stuff was cheaper than in Spain, but all we found cheaper were some colognes. We also bought some lotions and things with local aloe vera. I bought a couple bathing suits, some flip-flops, and a Hawaiian shirt. When we got back to the boat, we found some new neighbors in the dining room. Aruba is one of the two places where people disembark and embark for the cruise, so there are some new freshmen to harass.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870976699_70bf2203d7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="USA Allies">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1870976699_19959ec674.jpg" alt="USA Allies"/>
</a>

I saw this chess board in a shop window. On one side, you have the Bush administration and its allies, and on the other side, you have the so-called "axis of evil".

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871825224_60f75a5460_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Axis of Evil">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871825224_e483707de9.jpg" alt="Axis of Evil"/>
</a>

You can click through on both pictures and help identify the pieces.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871038471_8b9ecb2fbe_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Typical Aruban Convenience Store">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-05-aruba-honeymoon-day-5/1871038471_0690154b2e.jpg" alt="Typical Aruban Convenience Store"/>
</a>

A typical Aruban convenience store.

After dinner, we went to see the show in the theater, again. This time it was â€œDecades of the 60â€™s, 70â€™s and 80â€™sâ€. They started the show singing Rock Around The Clock and did several tunes from Grease (I was unaware that all the songs have near perfect Spanish translations), somehow missed the Bee Gees completely, did a groovy Age of Aquarius number, and then finished with some songs from the 80s in Spain that I was unfamiliar with, but that Marga could sing along to. At the end of the show, one of the main performers on the ship did some ventriloquism with a little doll that looked a lot like him. During his performance, a gentleman in the audience, who had since been identified as being from Poland during a walk through the audience asking for songs from the 80s, began saying loudly, â€œSpeak English!â€ and â€œI donâ€™t understand you!â€ The performer made a few jokes in Spanish at the hecklerâ€™s expense, but soon it became too much. The head cruise director came on the intercom and said, in English, â€œWe would like to remind you that this show is a Spanish product and cannot be done in both languages.â€ The Polish heckler continued and eventually had to be escorted out by security. It was all a pretty strange incident.

Up next: [CuraÃ§ao](/2007/11/06/curacao-honeymoon-day-6/)


Aruba - Honeymoon Day 5


After a photo-heavy [day 3](/2007/11/04/mayreau-honeymoon-day-3/), we left the camera in the cabin and explored the ship during our full day at sea.

## At Sea

On our fourth day, we had to start heading back to where we started, so we spent the entire day at sea. This gave us an opportunity to take advantage of the swimming pools and lounges and things throughout the ship. We spent most of the day with a little group of friends weÂ’ve made, all honeymooners like us. Most of them are a few years younger than we are, but theyÂ’re pretty fun people to hang out with. With the open all-inclusive bar, there was a steady stream of margaritas and other tropical beverages coming to our table. The cruise directors organized a Â“menÂ’s sexiest leg competitionÂ” which I didnÂ’t enter, but several of our group did. They had to dance through a line of a dozen seated women (all the partners of the contestants) and the women had to touch their legs and decide which was sexiest. It was all pretty silly and voted arbitrarily by applause. The psychologically probable result of the first and last contestants being chosen for the finals occurred. With this and the drag queen thing, I think itÂ’s funny how itÂ’s politically okay to objectify men, but not women. If it was a womenÂ’s sexiest leg contest, it wouldnÂ’t go over as well. Later, there was a thing I participated in with the other guys in our group. We had to sit on four chairs in a square, be Â“hypnotizedÂ” (told to lie backwards onto the legs of the guy behind us). Then the chairs were removed from beneath us, forming a table using only our back muscles. We stayed like that for all of 1.2 seconds before collapsing into a heap. Concept described better [here](http://pbskids.org/zoom/activities/games/chairbalance.html).

Dinner was our elegant night, and we got to pose for a photo with the captain, who is a generally unimpressive late-fifties Spaniard who looks like heÂ’s a little lost all the time. Just the guy to have his finger on the Â“abandon shipÂ” alarm button. After dinner, a short nap, and then a Â“cabaretÂ” show. It wasnÂ’t bad, but it wasnÂ’t great. Actually that sentence applies to most everything about this cruise. We looked around for our friends but couldnÂ’t find them, so we headed for bed.

Up next: [Aruba](/2007/11/05/aruba-honeymoon-day-5/)!


At Sea - Honeymoon Day 4

Mayreau - Honeymoon Day 3


<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827521352_7fb46c9065_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image post-thumb" title="CIMG4876">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827521352_602a57f489_t.jpg" alt="CIMG4876"/>
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Again on the second day, our clocks were still off, and we were wide awake at 5:00 AM. We figured it'd be silly to miss another Caribbean sunrise. And it was a good thing that we didn't, because we saw a beautiful sunrise including a pretty cool atmospheric phenomenon. <a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1825868318_d5e2bbfcea_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Crepuscular Sunrise 1">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1825868318_4efbec0343.jpg" alt="Crepuscular Sunrise 1"/>
</a>

I was so pleased that the crepuscular rays were captured by the camera. At least I _think_ these are [crepuscular rays](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepuscular_rays). What's odd about them is that it's only the anti-ray (shadow) lines that are visible as the blue streaks.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1825042573_64c8fa2cca_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Crepuscular Sunrise 2">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1825042573_821462fa94.jpg" alt="Crepuscular Sunrise 2"/>
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I looked _so_ hard for signs of [anticrepuscular rays](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anticrepuscular_rays), which are an extremely rare phenomenon, but there were none to be found on the western horizon.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1825916996_a590306477_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="Looking overboard">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1825916996_00c10b52f0.jpg" alt="Looking overboard"/>
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I love this photo. The wind out on deck when at sea was so strong it was hard to breathe. It had to be at least 35-40 mph.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827345960_3b694314a6.jpg" alt="CIMG4868"/>
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Morning sun hitting the life boats.

## Barbados

We were too late to sign up for an excursion for the second day, so we went on our own to a nearby beach. The woman at reception said it was 20 minutes walking, but it took us 40 going at a pretty good pace, so I donâ€™t know what she was thinking. The beach was simply idyllic. We were the first ones there. Upon our arrival, a local gentleman offered to rent us two chairs and an umbrella for 15 USD for the entire day. We accepted. Our chairs were 5 meters from the crashing waves. We were there for 4.5 hours and saw no perceptible tide change. The sand was perfectly white and the water was a beautiful turquoise. We went immediately into the water and then came out to lie on the chairs. I was a little concerned that we might get bored without any books to read, but I turned out to be wrong. There was a constant train of black Caribbean fellows coming to try and sell us stuff. Some wanted to take us in their boats to snorkel with the turtles (for much less than the cruise excursion offered), some wanted to let us snorkel in a shipwreck. Others had jet skis and other water toys to offer. And yet still more walked around with briefcases full of shell and stone necklaces. We were the first ones on the beach at 10:00, but soon more people arrived, almost all from the United States. The currency for all transactions I saw on the beach was US dollars. Barbados has their own dollar that is worth 0.50 USD.

As the day wore on, I kept chatting with the local vendors. Eventually a jewelry guy offered me a pretty nice necklace for $10. I talked him down to $5 and bought it. Then, a fascinating fellow came along who calls himself â€œTrevor the hat guyâ€. He makes hats out of a single palm tree leaf. He had several to display. He first said that they cost 20 USD, but that, since he hadnâ€™t sold any yet, heâ€™d offer me one for half price. They were pretty cool. He showed us one that was 15 years old that had turned brown, but was still springy and maintained its shape. I said that $10 seemed like a lot, so he offered to make one for me right before my eyes, custom fit to my head. Marga said to me in Spanish, â€œOffer him five.â€ I said Iâ€™d take one for five, and he said, â€œLook man, I can do it for eight, but you gotta keep quiet about that price.â€ I hesitated, and he said that heâ€™d â€œmake a little bird for the lady, tooâ€. Before I agreed, he whipped out a strand of palm leaf, cut it into strips and began making a little bird, identifying to me the wings and tail as he made them. It was pretty darn impressive. He said his grandfather had taught him to make hats and that heâ€™d been making them for 20 years, and it was his only job. The hats were pretty darn unique, so I agreed to $8 if he made it for me. So he pulled out a huge palm leaf from his knapsack, put it around my head, attached one part of it together with a paper clip (the only non-palm-leaf item involved) and went to work. As he was doing it, several other Americans approached and asked how much for a hat. I kept quiet and Trevor said they cost $15. One lady talked him down to $10 and took one of his pre-made hats. Trevor kept working for 10 minutes on my hat. It was pretty fascinating to watch him work. While he was doing it, he told us a story of a guy that had found him recently. The guy had shown him an old brown hat that Trevor had made for him 17 years ago, and it was covered in those little flag tie-clip-like pins from various countries. Trevor said he was pretty touched by this. I promised to return in 17 years and look him up. He assured me that heâ€™d still be there and to ask for Trevor â€œthe hat guyâ€. He finished the hat and made a little fish thingy to stick in it. It was a pretty neat experience. Walking back to the boat, several of the local drivers saluted me in a way that I donâ€™t think they would have done if I wasnâ€™t wearing a silly hat. And I didnâ€™t think I could stand out any more as a tourist.

Barbados is much more modern and less foreign than Grenada was. They are part British, speak English, and drive on the wrong side of the road too. But the country feels a lot richer.

Upon returning to the ship, I became aware that I was pretty severely sun burned, despite spending so much time under the umbrella. At lunch, we were seated with some other couples that we sort of knew from the flight over and other meals. They are all Spanish, all on their honeymoons, and all a few years younger than us (80â€™s kids). Thereâ€™s Diego and Jessica, Sergio and Eva, and Vero(nica) and Jose. We had sort of been wondering what it was about us that was repelling people. It seemed that everyone else had already had a group of friends that they were hanging out with.

So far, weâ€™ve seen both sunrises on the boat. The first night we couldnâ€™t even stay in the restaurant for dessert because we were so tired. The second night, we changed our meal sitting from the second (of two) at 10pm to the one at 8pm. When we did it at 8:00, we were expecting to return at 9:00 for dinner, but they seated us immediately in our new table. When we got back to the room, Marga wanted to lie down for â€œjust a bitâ€. I knew this was dangerous, but I lay down too. We woke up at midnight and decided it was too late to do anything social on the ship, so we changed out of our nice clothes and went back to bed. So of course we were up at 5:00 AM to take a walk around the deck and see beginnings of the 6:00 AM sunrise.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826559037_89ae0cb570_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4869">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826559037_363c20af8b.jpg" alt="CIMG4869"/>
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On the walk to the beach, we passed this runoff of fresh water into the sea. See all those little things on the rocks? Those are all crabs, running back and forth. [Zoom in](http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=1826559037&size=l).

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827427760_cd00f00800_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4870">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827427760_40cb024be5.jpg" alt="CIMG4870"/>
</a>

Now this is the life! This is the view that I want when I raise my eyes above my laptop screen.

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826626979_5ff2c505fc.jpg" alt="CIMG4871"/>
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Just when I thought the view couldn't get any better, my new bride climbs, dripping, out of the crystal clear Caribbean water in a bikini. I'm in heaven!

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826639239_00ddd92123_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4872">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826639239_198dfab421.jpg" alt="CIMG4872"/>
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_This_ is what Marga's heaven would look like.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826651893_7490448ebc_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4873">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826651893_0a07264a1b.jpg" alt="CIMG4873"/>
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Love that color.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827521352_7fb46c9065_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4876">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827521352_602a57f489.jpg" alt="CIMG4876"/>
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Pure paradise.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826724663_034074e6f3_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4877">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826724663_b3f5b38a27.jpg" alt="CIMG4877"/>
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There were some pretty funny looking tourists there.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827594968_32819bb8af_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4878">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827594968_1813e736e3.jpg" alt="CIMG4878"/>
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The sun shining through our beach umbrella.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826791489_3bad58a26d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4879">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826791489_0725a17eda.jpg" alt="CIMG4879"/>
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Trevor, the hat guy, begins his masterpiece.

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Trevor's a weaving machine. The person he's talking to was the obese black New Yorker lady.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827656378_fd76636d6c_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4883">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827656378_59968fe638.jpg" alt="CIMG4883"/>
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The brim completed. Brim is a cool word.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827691884_5671e8d612_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4884">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827691884_03bc314d76.jpg" alt="CIMG4884"/>
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This is a super shot.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826895433_4d6f3d819b_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4885">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826895433_11a8da7a35.jpg" alt="CIMG4885"/>
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Meanwhile, another guy came buy selling his coconut art. All his pieces were made from one single coconut. The wings come off for easy suitcase packing. We don't have a place for a bird feeder, so we turned him down.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827777254_b5eb54475e_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4887">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827777254_c1e3229b62.jpg" alt="CIMG4887"/>
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Almost done!

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Closing the top.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827805594_bb4bc23482_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4890">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827805594_8948824aab.jpg" alt="CIMG4890"/>
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Trevor, the hat guy, and a happy customer.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826979837_fd420c736f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4891">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1826979837_f722667ce7.jpg" alt="CIMG4891"/>
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The bird he made for Marga.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827850438_9c067229d7_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4892">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-02-barbados-honeymoon-day-2/1827850438_c3df98e106.jpg" alt="CIMG4892"/>
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Yet another necklace vendor. Marga's a tough customer.

A quick note about the lack of tidal movement near the equator. I like to think that I'm fairly informed about [how the tides work](/2006/12/22/days-getting-longer/). But it doesn't make any sense to me why the tides wouldn't change _at least as much_ at the equator than they do up north (or down south). Can anyone offer a theory on this?

Next up: [Mayreau](/2007/11/04/mayreau-honeymoon-day-3/)!


Barbados - Honeymoon Day 2

Grenada - Honeymoon Day 1


On the Sunday after the wedding, October 14, we spent the morning saying good-bye to departing American guests. Then my new actual in-laws picked us up at the hotel to take all of our luggage to their house. I recall sitting for several minutes at a time with my father-in-law in the living room in a silent stupor, staring blankly at a turned-off television, with an occasional comment about how well everything went bubbling to the surface. After a much-needed shower, we headed to the Centro Extremeño to meet with the in-town relatives, and some of the Spanish relatives that had come up from Extremadura for the wedding, to consume the mass quantity of leftovers. Through some communication error or just refrigerator size, the extra paella had been left out and was no longer edible. But there was plenty of other ham and cheese and tortilla to be nibbled on. I must say that the tortilla (potato omelet) provided at the wedding party was the worst I've ever had. It was burned and the unburned parts were unflavorful. I certainly hope that none of the non-Spaniards took that experience away as the archetype tortilla.

The conversation at lunch revolved around fresh memories of the wedding. The sentiment from the Spanish side was similar to that from the American side: what a nice bunch of people that it's a pity we couldn't talk directly to. There was a special fondness for the more charismatic, extroverted Americans. My aunt Diane was recalled to have done a lot of dancing and repeated "muy bueno" (very good) to several people, obviously struggling to show her appreciation for the event. Marga's aunts each had stories of the hundreds of kisses and smiles received from Debbi. The men were enamored by Tom's apparent ability to drink strong alcohol. One guy said, "The godfather would come up to us at the bar and hand us an empty glass and stare at us expectantly until we ordered him another. And then he'd go away and come back a few minutes later. Amazing!" The women all agreed that my mother had dressed very elegantly, and that it looked like my grandmother had had a good time. I'm sure that same sort of stories and comments were exchanged among the Americans dining in Bilbao. It was all positive, from what I can tell.

Back at the in-laws, Marga started packing her suitcase. Mine was already fully packed, so I watched some television with Juan. Marga left to go say thanks and good-bye to the neighbors. Eventually, Belén and Gorka showed up walking her dog, Tico. They sat with us for a while. Then, all of a sudden, Belén exclaimed, "I'm going to try on the dress!" It soon became clear that there was a lot of pent up jealousy from watching her sister try on dozen after dozen of wedding dresses, and Belén not getting to try on even one. She grabbed the dress and ran into her parents bedroom to don it.

Belén's body type is nothing at all like Marga's. Although she weighs less, Belén is somehow wider than Marga is, so the dress wouldn't quite attach at the back. But she put on the little vest thingy to hide the back and she looked pretty nice. After staring at herself in the mirror for a while, she called into the next room, "Gorka, sweetheart, I wasn't really interested in getting married, but the more I look at myself in this dress, I'm starting to change my mind." Poor deer-in-headlights Gorka came out of the living room and stammered some of the "Yes, honey, you look very nice," rhetoric that all men can spout on queue. Being in the house of your girlfriend's parents, the day after her sister's wedding, with your girlfriend in a wedding dress, and her parents standing around praising her has got to be a horribly uncomfortable situation. Gorka handled it well, I thought.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1812872817_7d61e07dbb_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4851">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1812872817_e02c7751f2.jpg" alt="CIMG4851"/>
</a>

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  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1812875271_0f9cf4ed29.jpg" alt="CIMG4852"/>
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With veil.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1813724432_2dd6010368_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4855">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1813724432_1ec854e2f8.jpg" alt="CIMG4855"/>
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Belén is much more photogenic than Marga.

<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1813729136_55f748d37d_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4858">
  <img src="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1813729136_146aee55e6.jpg" alt="CIMG4858"/>
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Poor Gorka forced to participate in a wedding fantasy.

Marga returned just in time to see the dress on her sister before it was boxed for life. She wasn't at all angry and was actually rather happy to get to see her dress on someone else to admire it from a different perspective. It was agreed that the dress could obviously not be used by Belén, but that the veil, which cost about 80% of what the dress cost, might be reused.

After that, we finally got around to opening the big inflated condom that Marga and I had found on our hotel bed the night of the wedding. It had apparently be placed there as a gag gift from Belén and Aunt Marga. Its main contents were Adam and Eve costumes. With Belén's pushing, we agreed to try them on over our clothes.<a href="https://d1js6qm6cshi0v.cloudfront.net/oldblog/2007-11-01-post-wedding-pre-honeymoon/1812889233_5c8b0f2d8f_o_d.jpg" target="_blank" class="flickr-image" title="CIMG4859">
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Complete with apple!

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Later, in the Caribbean, we regretted not having brought these costumes to wear on the beach.

Soon it was time for bed, and seemingly before I could shut my eyes, my alarm was going off telling us to get up and go to the airport. As I kind of suspected we would, we found my parents and grandmother wandering aimlessly at the airport, several hours early for their flight. There was more hugging and goodbyes. And then there was even more after we'd made it through security and found each other again. I reached in my bag to get my camera to show my parents the photos of Belén in the wedding dress. But I couldn't find my camera!! I, Erik, the photo-heavy blogger, had left my camera at home while leaving on a trip to the Caribbean!! Marga looked at me with a, "God, I married an idiot!" look on her face. I said, "Well, I guess we'll be camera shopping in the Madrid airport." Then, my mother remembered that she had her old camera (actually newer than mine) that had been superseded by a new one for the wedding trip, plus an extra battery! What a life saver. So she gave me the camera and we said a final goodbye and headed for our gate.

In Madrid, I was digging in my backpack for my iPod, and I ended up finding my camera. What I really did not have, however, was the charger for my camera battery. So having my mother's camera, and extra battery, really came in handy and we returned with more and better photos than if she hadn't given it to us.


34 posts from November, 2007