Jul 2008

Ok I lied about the weather. I just wandered outside for the first time today and it is gorgeous and warm. Maybe I brought the warm weather with me?!

Oh man I love the sun. I'd be lying if I said part of this trip wasn't about endless summer. I hope to skip winter...forever! hehe.

love,
Cristina

oh and ps. I LOVE the music Derran has on his ipod. He rocks! Not shockingly, I already lost the charger to my ipod. So I am talking 3 weeks without music. You all know how much I am dying on the inside :-P

Well I have just landed in the wonderful country that is Australia. Not much to report on just yet besides that the colder weather has struck my Cuban bones and has left me praying for warmer days. But I am sure they are just around the corner!

My wonderful and most loving college roommate, Mr. Derran Moss, has kindly taken me into his beautiful home, where he has showered me with nothing but warm showers, good food, and complete kindness. How nice it is to be in a home with the comfort of old friends! The little things you miss while traveling - a quick bowl of cereal, a shower that is warm and not shared by 10 others, and a quick peek at your email that doesn't cost 10 dollars - are some of the little joys of being in a true casa. And cooking! Oh a homemade meal, my mouth is almost melting from the tastes of some arroz con frijoles negros or a little Italian pasta a la Gabrielle. First stop: the grocery store!

I'm heading off to the Whitsunday Islands tomorrow. They are rumored to be some of the most gorgeous islands in the world. Plan on taking a sailing trip through the 74 gorgeous islands that make up this most glorious place, a trip which Cat promised was her favorite in 6 months in Australia. Can't wait! Though I am sure my bank account can...

Check them out here: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~atkinson/pictures.dir/Whitsunday_islands_2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.cs.uiowa.edu/~atkinson/pictures.dir/whitsunday_pictures.htm&h=501&w=751&sz=81&tbnid=LFeNKIohtz8J::&tbnh=94&tbnw=141&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dwhitsunday%2Bislands%2Band%2Bpictures&hl=en&sa=X&oi=image_result&resnum=2&ct=image&cd=1

Hope to have pictures soon. Like always, os echo de menos. Wish you could be here with me!

love,
Cristina

Amazing. Just one word to describe it. Today we drove 3 hours each way to Kanchanburi Park to ride on an elephant's back, take a bath with its cute large trunk, and pet tigers. What could be better?!

It's so incredible to see such beautiful creatures up close. I hugged that elephant until my arms were raw, and dreamily thought about keeping one for my own. Meanwhile, Cat and Cnuts were getting thrown around by Full Moon the crazy party elephant, with a tour guide jumping from water to elephant back like Vanilla Ice. After reading "Water for Elephants" - a book I LOVED and highly recommend - it was an amazing feat to be sitting upon one of the earth's largest and most gentle creatures. Life is in fact beautiful.

Man I love traveling. I feel so much more myself out here in this big bad world, where animals and humans are one, time is an unimportant detail in the seams, and the locals laugh with a hearty chuckle. This world is awesome. Thanks Discovery for reminding us.

Tonight is my last night in Thailand. Off to Australia tomorrow where I will be sure to upload some pictures of an amazing 3 week stint in this beautiful, friendly, and loving country. I will surely miss it. Besitos a todos.

love,
Cristina

The islands really are quite addicting. We have been having an extremely difficult time here. I mean waking up everyday, having breakfast on the beach, swimming, reading, and drinking pina coladas, these are all very tough activities, but somehow we have made it work.

We did find ways to amuse ourselves. The most important being: who can open their eyes the widest competition. We will let you guys be the judge:

Cat:

vs. Cnuts

vs. Cool girl

vs. Don don Damico

I think we all know the clear winner...NOT.

As you can clearly see I have very important things to get back to. Internet here is quite expensivo so I pretty much have to choose between eating or internet. Unfortunately, the latter usually ends up winning...

More to come on Koh Tao. We are allegedly heading to the North tomorrow, though truth be told, we are having trouble motivating ourselves to do anything these days. baha. I leave you with pictures our our personal paradise. I LOVE traveling!

love,
Cristina

So we survived the Full Moon Party and quite the adventure it was. Of course, after a week of beautiful, cloudless weather, the rain came down in full force Saturday night just in time for our departure. I literally was fearing for my life as the taxi went sailing down the mountaineous streets in pouring rain. All those stories of car crashes and bus accidents seemed to be hitting a little too close to home.

But we made the drive and arrrived at perhaps the biggest beach party I have ever seen. The sand was lined with massive dance stages, fire throwers, and bondfires. There were people everywhere for miles and the music - house, hip hop, and more house - was pumping to unfathomable levels. Indeed we had arrived.

We bought blue glowing wristbands to keep track of one another, and painted our bodies with flourescent colors to the likes of " I heart Cnuts" and "gato loves me" and proceeded along through the party. Inevitably I lost the girls about 3 hours in. Yet who did I find to replace them? ... Claire Hurley! We didn't even know she was going to be there. It is one small world my friends...

After 2 hours of a missing Cnuts, we found her just as the sun was rising, sleeping in the most comfortable position imaginable...sitting straight up. It was quite hilarious, and I believed Cat kicked her. Haha. But we survived, found Damico, and hopped on a boat about 2 hours later at 8am baby. On arrival, Cnuts fell asleep on the beach, and woke up to her true destiny: nose to nose with a dog.

Quite an adventure I must say. We have spent the last two days recovering. One of these days we may switch islands, but at the moment...that seems like a lot of work!

con carino,
Cristina