Gotcha!

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Hi there, you unfortunate people that I have somehow tricked into viewing this page.

I was asked to do some sort of video/picture sideshow to show family and friends. But I feel a blog would capture, and be more appropriate to share our experiences. (ok I won't lie, it seems easier)

So sit down, take a little coffee break, take a load off, put that load back on, or even take a nap, and join us as we take you through our journey of unparalleled ridiculousness, in South America.


(click on the pictures to see it full sized)

Day 1: Brazil

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This picture pretty much sums up the entire trip:


3 gentlemen (4 including me) taking pictures of each other taking pictures.



view from our hotel

I saw a man in a business suit, wearing a plastic bag for a shoe.
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Day 2: Brazil

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I've been looking and looking, and not one person here looks like Blanka. NOT ONE.

Is it so hard to find a shirtless man with red hair, a grill of death, and just so happens to have green skin?

Rio de Janeiro is cool metropolis type place. Like all cities, they have a high class downtown section, homeless scattered around. The beaches are so big, like San Francisco beaches, except not cold and dirty.

As my family and I walked around, people were saying "Domo arigato!" But we didn't know how to say, " we're not Japanese" in Portuguese, so instead we opted to nod in agreement. We did stick out like a sore thumb though. Look at what my dad was wearing:


The only thing in the world to match those short shorts, are those shoes

Samba Show

Here's what we saw:

Soccer girl who
kept kicking a ball
without dropping it
for 30 minutes


Grandma's
reaction to the
soccer girl



Kobe Bryant apparently
does Samba shows on
his free time.



This Japanese guy felt left out after his wife got chosen to dance with one of the dancers, so he gets up and tries to dance with another dancer. But she was more of a side dancer. She didn't know what to do when he grabbed her hand, so she let him dance with her arm for the remaining of the song. haha! hilarious

Day 3: Brazil

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I don't have much for you today:


Hmm...I hope no one is looking at me, in fact I hope that no one is taking a picture of me. Further more, I hope that no one is taking a picture of me, especially a tourist, and then taking it back home to upload it onto a random blog and have family and friends mock me to their hearts content.


bird outside the Museum of Modern Art

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Day 4: Brazil

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Today, we went to see the giant Jesus, that overlooks the entire city:


view from the top

As we were walking back to the dreaded tour bus (yea, tours aren't really my thing) I some how managed to convince my parents to have the bus drop us off so we can wander around on our own. We ended going to the botanical garden.

I saw this giant ant, and I wanted to take a picture of it. But it was moving too fast to get a good clean shot, so my dad comes in , charging like a hero, and kicks the crap out of it to prevent it from escaping. So yea...this is the picture...enjoy




I don't know what this thing is, but it's hilarious.


Do you see the face?
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Day 5: Brazil

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Today was pretty much a travel day. We are leaving the country of Brazil, but before we leave, I'd like to share some additional pictures.


Not very conspicuous



He's so fast, its conspicuous (ninja-strategy)

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Chile: Day 1/2

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For some reason, I thought it was going to very hot in Chile. I also thought that Chileans had dark skin . But it was just the opposite, it's pretty cold and most of the people are light skinned with almost black hair.

I feel comfortable here, mostly due to the fact that my mom and grandma can now speak Spanish to help us get around.

I think I got on TV today. A camera crew came up to me, asking for me to participate in some magic TV show thing.


It kinda caught me off guard, because the light was so blinding, and they shoved a microphone in my face. They were waiting for some kind of response, and i said, "No habla espanol." He said "Es Bien," and started tell me to do things in Spanish.

Of course I had no idea what he was talking about, and I just barely got through one trick. Then I said, "Gracias," and I walked away.
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Chile: Day 3

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the vineyards

In Chile, there is a law that says you have to work a minimum of 45 hours a week. People work really hard to get an average American wage, most people have 2 jobs. In my two days of being here, I don't think I've seen a single homeless person. Santiago is probably the most modernized and contemporary metropolis in South America.

Today we went wine tasting with our tour guide:


Crazy San Francisco type city on steroids:

Val Paradiso
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Peru: Day 1

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Lima is much grittier then Santiago. We have some family here, so we should have a good time.


Reunification of Greatness

I met up with familiar faces, and well as new faces today. I've always heard about our family in Peru, but never thought much of it. They are very warm and welcoming. I got to see the people that my mom and grandma grew up with, and helped me appreciate what I usually take for granted, that we are a family of hilarities and compassion.
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Peru: Day 2

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Nasca Lines

For those of you who don't know about the Nasca Lines, let me tell you...Its crazy...Apparently, a long time ago, there were these mystery people carved these giant images into the floor. Supposedly, you can only see the entire image from a plane. Of course, they didn't have airplanes back then, so either they had a hot air balloon, or maybe they levitated into the sky like Dhalsim to check out their drawings.


Monkey


Flying back to the airstrip

It was pretty nauseating because the plane we took was a 12 seater. Needless to say, its really bouncy and scary. When we get to one of the giant drawings, we'd circle around it, then turn and circle around it again for the other side of the plane. I think everyone on the plane wanted to puke (except the pilot). As we got off the plane I heard some people regretting the decision to eat lunch right before take off.


"getting inside"
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Peru: Day 3

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We just arrived in Cusco, a beautiful city east of Lima. But we got our asses kicked pretty hard from altitude sickness. There was a problem with time and adjustment. We traveled from Lima (sea level) to Cusco (11,000 ft) in 1 hour and I guess our bodies didn't like it.

The only person that didn't feel sick was my Grandma. As the rest of us were knocked out, she was washing clothes, showering, etc. "Nay ho yeh..." I said to her with a thumbs up as I woke up.

But my dad wasn't feeling that great. We had to call a doctor in to check him out. Here, doctors are like the briefcase ones, like the olden days when they come to your house. He checked out my dad, gave him an injection and some pills, and within a few days was back to normal.



EPIC


market place

Today, I met some people who spoke english. It's great.
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Peru: Day4 at Machu Picchu

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The highlight of the trip. Enough said...


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