4th May
Ok it's May, we're one month in, but first we need to wrap up April. In Merida we stayed at Hostel 'Insects' otherwise known as Mayan Backpackers, very friendly but overpriced and crawling with creepy crawlies. We followed a good tip from Keira's brother and went to stay at Hotel Los Arcos. We met Bob and Angel (yet more friendly Mexicans) and Bob made us the best salad and strongest coffee we have ever had! At the hotel we also bumped into the hammock and panama hat seller we met the previous night (we don't know his name but he is pictured with us two and Bob). We saw some traditional Mexican dancing which was a bit like an Irish jig but each dance tried to better the previous one. For example, not content with dancing with a beer bottle on their heads (G's friend & cousin Rob & Daniel have tried this many a time in Leeds and don't even come close), they began dancing with trays of drinks on their heads and finally (as if this wasn't enough), they did this on top of a tiny box.
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Bob, G, K & ? (Panama hat man) |
Show offs |
After Merida, our final stop in Mexico was Playa Del Carmen. Very different to the rest of Mexico, more cosmopolitan and touristy. After 1 night in a hostel, Keira's brothers' friends, Xavier & Steve, took pity on us smelly tramps & invited us to stay with them. Thanks God! Because the hostel was closing and the hotels are out of our Mexico budget! Since then we've been enjoying excellent Mexican hospitality with home-cooked food, a comfy water bed, laundry facilities, and all those luxuries we've long forgotten. In return, we treated them to a traditional Sunday roast and wrote them this poem:
Xavier y Steve, we'd like to say thanks,
For letting us stay, and washing our pants!
You gave us a bed, some great home-cooked food,
Two sarongs for the beach, and conversation so crude!
The Mayan ruins at Tulum were a treat -
We got sunburned & hurt our feet!
Next time we won't have far to roam,
As Xavier's rebuilt his own at home!
You showed us where to eat and have drinks,
And all we gave you is a toilet that stinks!
You've been our nurse, our guide, our friends,
And we hope this is not the end.
So "hasta luego" amigos,
Because this is not "adios"! |
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Playa Del Carman |
K, G, Xavier and Steve (and Steve's new cone hand!) |
We visited Tulum. More ruins, but this time on the beach. It seemed like where the Mayans would've gone on holiday. Very beautiful - even with the scary iguanas! We've lazed on the beach, been snorkeling in the sea and basically chilled out. Thanks to the generosity of all our friends & family, we treated ourselves to a visit to Xel Ha, where we could swim with dolphins. It was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING! They are beautiful and intelligent creatures and the experience will stay with us forever. Thank you! So it's "adios!" to Mexico, & "howdy" USA! Next stop is Washington DC (slight change of plan from the original route). Bye-bye tortillas and hello Club sarnies & burgers!
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Butterfly at Xel Ha
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G in snorkel gear
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Underwater fish
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K with Delphinus
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"I wont that one" |
K & G with Dolphin (This is the natural looking one - not us posing) |
16th May
Well here we are in the USA and we're having a "swell" time. We felt very at home in Washington DC. It's easy to get around, they speak the same lingo, the hostel was really welcoming and well-equipped and we soon decided to stay for a good week. There was so much to do so we didn't cover everything but we managed to visit the White House, which was pretty non-eventful. the most interesting thing about it was the protesters outside two of whom between them have been there since 1981. There is a clear Anti-Bush feeling in the Capitol city from what we've experienced. The other more interesting thing was the squirrels in Lafayette Park just behind the White House, who were on a not very secret mission to search out the President's nuts!
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Hilltop Hostel |
The Presidents Nuts |
We have also been to Arlington Cemetery to see JFK's tomb (eternal flame), the tomb of the unknown soldier and Iwo Jima. Saw the Pentagon (pretty dull really), the national zoo (excellent!) and after six weeks together, we were sick of each other and decided to explore a few things separately (basically we wanted to see different things).
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US Capitol Building |
Dogs and Lincoln Memorial |
Keira went to the Spy Museum where she learnt how to pick locks and listen in on people's conversations (Graham says she is pretty good at this anyway) it was the highlight of her week. Then she went to the Museum of the American-Indian, which was OK but seemed to gloss over the bits that might make white Americans feel uncomfortable.
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Vietnam Memorial |
Cute Panda |
Graham checked out his highlights on the Mall: Lincoln's memorial; Vietnam memorial, which was very simple and very moving in stark contrast to the WWII memorial which was more pomp and ceremony; Next stop the Hirshhorn Gallery and the National Gallery of Art to see some Warhols, Rothkos, De Koonings and some post impressionist and impressionist works amongst others; then to Capitol Hill to take in the US Capitol building, Supreme Court and Library of Congress, of which the Jefferson Building was particularly impressive. We checked out some other Museums together and saw Judy Garland's ruby slippers which were actually a bit dusty and not at all sparkly. It reminded us that "there's no place like home" and we wished we were there (NOT!).
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One for the Spotters! |
Iwo Jima (Navy Memorial) |
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Protesting since 1981 |
Us at the White House |
26th May
Since our last update we've been to Philadelphia and New York. In Philadelphia we managed to get into a good hostel which showed films every evening. The first film we watched was quite appropriately 'Supersize me' as we'd been feeling a bit lardy since arriving in the US. You can't escape the fast food culture, especially when you are on a budget. This provoked a new game for spotting hugely ginormous fat people whereby when one of us sings the 'Supersize me' theme tune the other knows to look out for one. The next day we went for a whiz, a traditional 'Philly' cheese steak whiz, which is a lightly toasted soft bread stick with finely chopped steak, fried onions and a cheese whiz sauce. Lardy...YUMMY!! Not quite full yet we then stumbled across an Irish pub and whilst sheltering from the rain, decided we needed something traditionally British. So we then enjoyed a homely pint, steak pie and chips (well really thin fries actually but hey, we are in the USA).
Talking of 'cheesy' Graham did his Rocky impression running up the steps of the Philadelphia Art Gallery just like in the 1976 film.
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Keira's Mint! |
Graham 'Rocky' Relton |
Not content with our fleeting visit to the scary doll museum in Mexico we went to the Mutter Museum - a weird collection of dried, pickled and wax body parts, including Siamese twins (this was Keira's idea). Graham described it as 'Freaky but Uniquey'. We also went to the Museum of the Constitution where it appeared to us that the US had basically ripped off all the British ideas and passed them off as their own invention, even "Democracy". Something else of note, whilst there Keira came into some money (see pic!). Next stop New York...
30th May
We spent a whopping £6 on 2 tickets to New York on the Chinatown bus! Our first introduction to New York cam in the form of a robbery/mugging in the subway, 2 minutes after arriving (luckily it wasn't us and made us extra vigilant). We then made our way to our hostel and once settled in we consulted our guide book which stated that the are we were staying in was "one of New York City's most dangerous and crime-ridden neighbourhoods"....we made sure we were home before dark!
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G & K Times Square
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G & K Statue of Liberty |
During our stay we checked out Times Square. Keira was surprised as she thought it was going to be "just some old square", but it was a bigger version of Piccadilly Circus. We had a jam-packed day visiting the statue of Liberty (great views of Manhattan), Wall Street, Brooklyn Bridge and ground zero. Another day we went to yet another museum...the Museum of S.E.X., got a traditional New York yellow cab (this time Keira didn't leave the driver a huge tip) and stopped briefly for the obligatory picture at the 'Friend's' fountain. We moved to a better located hostel and went to see a Broadway show - the Threepenny Opera with Alan Cummings, Cyndi Lauper and Jim Dale.
The Threepenny Opera
Debauchery and crime
Where everyone's a villain
In a twisted pantomime |
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Brooklyn Bridge
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Ground Zero cross |
The next day was a day of two halves: Graham got mightily depressed in the morning as Leeds United lost the championship play-off final. But the afternoon got better as we watched the Harlem Gospel Choir at B B Kings off Times Square. After the dancing and singing to the religious anthems, we decided to strengthen our pact with the devil, fighting our way through the protesters to go and see The Da Vinci Code at the movie theatre (a cinema where they clap at the end).
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Central Park haven
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Imagine (Strawberry Field) |
We had a day in Central Park - a bit of sunbathing, lots of walking, a brief visit to the Shepherd's Tavern (the shepherd's must have been pretty rich as it was $8 a bottle of beer) and to the John Lennon memorial (Strawberry Field). The following day we split up....
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Central Park from Rockerfeller
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Manhattan Skyline |
....to see different sights. Graham popped in to Madison Square Garden and decide to face/compound his fear of heights by scaling the Rockerfeller Tower with great views of Central Park and the Empire State Building. Keira went to the Museum of Natural History but quickly moved on as it was infested with loud, obnoxious, ignorant kids. After a couple of unsuccessful attempts to enter museums/galleries, she had a stroll down Fifth Avenue, where she began to feel very tramp-like next to the posh people. We then met up to trek the popular tourist rail up the Empire State Building. We both got stopped by security, Keira for her pen knife (multi-tool) and Graham for the solar-powered battery charger, which they were quite bewildered by.
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At the top of the
Empire State Building
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Chrysler Building |
On our last full day, to reduce our risk of supersizing, we went for a jog in Central Park. In the afternoon we went to the NYPD Museum and the Ground Zero Museum Workshop, both of which had every moving tributes to 9.11. Next stop Keira's sister's (Joliet) - YIPPEE!
Stuck on every corner
Fast food joints
"Make it big" or "Supersize"
Everywhere you look
Jiggling and wobbling
Fat bellys and fat thighs
On the sidewalk
On the subway
Every day and every hour
Just look at us
We're big and fat
We are the superpower
So if you're on a diet
With you're weight
You do grapple
Make yourself feel slimmer
Why don't you....
Visit the Big Apple!
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Usual Suspect #1
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Usual Suspect #2 |
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Crappy Hostel!
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Chance encounter? |
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The rats in the subway were massive! |
