Day 37-38: Spain advances, questionable hostel

Yesterday was all about recharging batteries- my iPhone literally, but also my body by sleeping in and siesta'ing later on. I got my laundry done for a reasonable price at a local spot. Madrid has a lot to offer as a city, and for visitors in terms of activities, museums, etc. but I've done all these things while abroad in Fall 2010. This return trip was more about the food (tapas), lifestyle, fiestas, and getting some spanish practice in when possible.

Fortunately my trip landed me here during the Euro2012 semifinals soccer/futbol match, with Spain playing their neighbor/ rival Portugal. Flat score led it into not 1 or 2 overtimes but a shoot-out with La Roja coming out on top. This game was a big deal. It's hard to explain- kind of like if the NCAA March Madness Final 4 only happened once every four years and everyone around you was cheering for the same team. But soccer IS the sport of Spain/ most of Europe so maybe it's like that but the upcoming finals is like the Super Bowl on steroids. Needless to say, big games being played and it's cool to be able to feel apart of Spain during them.

Couldn't help but think about Spain in a larger context- you have a country completely united one night through a game, and on strike the next day due to tough unemployment/ economic times. Food for thought on the importance of sports in society.

Missed the blog yesterday for obvious reasons (there was celebrating to be done and a personal favorite Wednesday night spot to attend to called Orange Cafe) but today we bussed to Salamanca, a Spanish college town where Ryan studied abroad. I visited a weekend while in Madrid and it was awesome, so here we are. Beautiful town, some pictures attached.

Oh and I left Ryan in charge of booking our hostel for here because he knew the area. Great location but questionable entrance (see pic) and we are actually the only ones staying here. Actually alright because He got us a double bed room (one double bed not two beds buddy) so she switched us to a room with 2 twins.

Day 36- Siestas & fiestas, great being back in Spain

Getting to Madrid wasn't as pristine as I would have liked. With my alarm set for 8am, I was at the bus stop in Dubrovnik at 830am waiting on the 2x an hour bus to the airport (costing about $6 US). 45 minutes later the bus was still a-wall. With my flight at 1030 i had to make moves. Yay for $35 cab alternatives.

I get there, get through security too smoothly (didnt take my toiletries nor iPad out of my bag and it got through no problem), and hop on the plane pumped for a 2.5 hr nap before arriving in Madrid. Then it hits me. I'm way too excited to return to my study abroad destination, a place I fell in love with but haven't returned since, and to meet up with my friend. I could barely keep my body still nor eyes closed let alone get any sleep. 50 songs later (Jack Johnson, Cris Cab, Jimmy Buffett, and eventually Jay-Z, David Guetta once i realized sleep was out of the option) I arrived and made my way to the "Way" hostel (what it's called) smoothly.

So far I've done Madrid, Spain pretty alright- rode the metro, ate a big lunch, had a siesta, went for a dinner of tapas and am now off to fiesta. Todo bien en Espana.

Pic of Watts and I going JAMON (ham).

Day 30-35: Driving boats and things

Didn't blog the past few days but basically I've been in Hvar, Croatia loving life. Not skydiving or Surfing or getting bar mitzvah'd. Just chillin' at beaches, going out to island/port bars/clubs at night. I did rent a boat with 4 English girls and cruised Around with them all Friday. And I guess I did that Saturday as well, just with a different 6 young ladies who needed a captain (no experience whatsoever driving boats but stepped up to the occasion). So much fun cruising around islands and down pretty coasts. A lot of Pictures will be hittin' the book (Facebook) soon, once those with real cameras return home from their travels.

The original day 1 crew all became great friends instantaneously and ended up staying close throughout our time In Hvar. Trip ended with us 5 at a nice seafood / sunset dinner and a fun night out with the hostel crew. Would have posted pic with them on the boat but the girl taking the snap didn't realize my iPhone was on selfie mode so yea it was just a pic of her focused taking the picture (haha). There is one below though of Captain Kenny correctly caught on the celly from day 2.

Hvar, Croatia was basically a vacation within traveling- beach/chill all day , party all night, it was alright. I loved it. If Spanish was the native language, it might be my new top spot. I'd move there. I was going to island hop but decided to just post up for 6 days, 5 nights because it's incredible here and I met some really cool travelers, sweet hostel, etc. The hostel had an outdoor shower which made it even better (evidence below). original plan was to remix Champagne Showers by LMFAO to Outdoor Showers but never quite happened.

That's the fun thing about traveling like I've been lately. You never know what you're going to get into, who you'll meet nor what will come from it.

I could have just as easily remained at my other hostel, or switched to another one and had a completely different experience not knowing what it would have been like if I followed a different Croatian cobblestone path when looking for the magical hostel I ended up finding.

I ended up having an amazing time, can't help but smile as I write this, forming new, great friendships with the british girls (that will continue in London during the Olympics), Felipe from Chile (cool guy / great connect / place to stay and see the real Chile with when I take on South America in a couple years), and a fellow American college kid (UT-Austin) who i was able to pass travel knowledge on to as he just started his first-ever trip by himself. And I came away with potential business ideas by simply observing and being aware of the ways in which people travel that I'm not going to share on the blog because they're obviously worth millions.

I'm now in Dubrovnik for a couple nights, leaving tomorrow morning to meet up with my boy from UNC, Ryan watts himself, in Spain to revisit our respective study abroad spots- Madrid, Salamanca. Then we're heading up to northern Spain, vasque country to check out Bilbao and San Sebastian before heading to Ibiza!

I was going to go cliff jumping (into the sea) today but I really wanted to enjoy some sangria and tapas with Ryan (and my long lost Spanish amiga Ade) in Spain tomorrow so I passed on the activity. Instead I just went to a nice resort pool/ beach i probably wasn't allowed at and chilled out. Pretty stuff over here.

Day 29- Rock city, rock rock city beach

Got in to Pula at 4pm, left at 4am the following morning. For having just 12 hours there I think I did alright- went to the best beach, ate a local dinner, watched the Croatia-Spain game at a bar and saw the Coliseum.

The reason I had to leave so early is because it was harder than I realized to get from Pula to Hvar, where I was going to be meeting my good friend / ex-housemate from UNC, Mr. Andrew Sugrue. Unfortunately he had to return to the USA earlier than he anticipated, so that plan fell through. It's all good though, it's kind of nice already being here and comfortable, knowing I have like 5 days to chill before making another moved. I don't really see myself leaving here until the night or two before my flight (out of Dubrovnik) in a week unless someone out there has a recommendation on another island to check out? Fire away if this is the case.

Tonight I'm staying in "Hvar Out" Hostel. I like the name, hot location (ironically enough) but not the best hostel I've stayed in in terms of atmosphere. With that being said, I'm making the switch to a new one tmrw that seems awesome (based off reviews).

Oh and all the beaches here are rocks not sand. Gorgeous but it makes siestas on the beach a little more difficult than I was expecting. If the weather keeps up I'm gonna get hella tan.

The pic is of the ferry approaching Hvar.

Day 28- 3 countries in 1 day

If all went according to plan I would have had about 3.5 hours to head into Brussels, have an infamous waffle, check out some cool buildings, enjoy a beer and grab a little chocolate for the plane ride.

Plane touches down in Brussels and it's aggressively raining. All action in the airport was suspended so I had the privilege of spending an additional 45 minutes in my lovely middle seat before getting off the plane. Then I had to find a printer ASAP to print my RyanAir boarding pass to Croatia because, if you don't 4 hrs beforehand they charge you 50€, about $65US. After finding a printer and taking care of that I head to the information desk to get some quick words of wisdom on getting to downtown and whatnot. It's there I find out that my flight is out of the "other" Brussels airport, a casual hour plus to reach by train from downtown.

My time in Brussels went from a pit stop to a quick bathroom break. No time for beer (nowhere was really open anyways, 10-1045 am). I kind of just walked around in search of cool buildings then bought a couple waffles from a stand near the train.

All I have to show for the waffles is a quick picture and at least a pound of weight around the midsection.

Made it to Pula, Croatia / my hostel by 4pm. Settled in and went to the beach for the evening. Just not what I was expecting. It was gorgeous, but there were rocks, no sand. I went for a nice swim and then laid down for a rest "on the rocks."

I took the hostel Rec on dinner. Completely forgot to take a picture of the authentic Balkan dish but imagine 6 sausages, one much bigger than the others, and 2 pieces of pita and you get the idea. Saw the coliseum at night (picture) and watched Croatia lose to Spain in Euro2012 tonight with some fellow hostelers from Singapore, South Korea and Germany.

I have a travelathlon tmrw (traveling by air, ground and water) to make it to Hvar. Time to shut eye for a bit.

Day 27- Skydiving and the Swiss life

Today I went skydiving for the first time.. Which means I was dropped from an airplane 13,000 feet up (with a professional), free falling at 120 mph for 45 seconds (dropped 1.5 miles, the same distance it took me 3 hrs to ascend hiking yesterday.
Interlaken is known for being one of the best places to skydive in the world and I can completely understand why. The journey started with a 15 minute scenic flight over the 2 lakes of Interlaken and through the Swiss Alps. After the drop, there was an enjoyable 5 minute canopy ride before landing, where the guy let me take control of the turning, spinning, etc. Incredible, incredible, incredible experience. I attached some pics of me skydiving, note the hair.

I got back from skydiving around 4, grabbed my things from the hostel and caught a train to this town called Thun. Not a touristy spot at all but I was invited to come visit the Swiss lady, Elli, who I met in Israel, shared a cab with and Recommended the hike I did yesterday so I said just why the hell not.

Ended up being an awesome evening. She picked me up from the train with an extra bike and we biked through/around town (I had my 30lb backpack on but it was still enjoyable) with the end destination being a gorgeous lake with white swans and sails all around. She said the water was "refreshing" which apparently means 62 degrees Fahrenheit and freezing. I logged a solid 20 minutes in the lake, about 17 of them standing at the bearable below waist mid thigh level and 3 minutes of actually committing. Gotta love some sweet swimming with swans in Switzerland and a good alliteration.

After the lake, we went to her friends to barbecue sausages and chill. When it's nice out on a Sunday, this is exactly what the Swiss do. Around 830, we hopped on the train to Bern, the cap of Switzerland where she gave me a quick 30 minute tour of the city before training to the airport.

My flight to Brussels is at 630am so my bed last night was the airport floor, my pillow my hoodie. Next blog post will be from Croatia, after a pit stop in Belgium- I hear they have good waffles, chocolate and beer? Could be a hell of a morning.

Day 26- hiking the Swiss Alps

I woke up with the intention of going skydiving today but since it was full I decided to go on a hike recommended by this nice Swiss lady I met on the train to Interlaken instead.

It was beyond beautiful. I took on the Swiss Alp from the absolute base and enjoyed 3+ hours of rise (about 1.5 mile rise) and the beautiful scenery around.

At the top they had lounge chairs to chill out on and yes I dozed off for a solid 30. When I woke up it was getting kind of late so I took the gondola down and got back to the hostel around 6. I was starving because I basically just had hostel breakfast and snacks throughout the day so I crushed the hostel restaurant/bar's famous "3 species" burger (pic attached of the hamburger, chicken, bacon, cheese, BBQ sauce pile).

Please take a look at the views from the top, and the pic of the mountain ram on the side of the mountain. tell me that's not awesome.

Tomorrow I'm going skydiving at noon and then working my way back to Geneva for my 6am flight to Brussels. Along the way, I'm stopping at that Swiss lady's lake in Bern to canoe around then barbecue with her friends. No idea what to expect here but I'm pumped.

Day 15-25: 10 days in Israel

Sorry for the lack of blog the past 11 or so days. I just finished a 10-day free birthright trip of Israel and it was very go-go-go. While it was an amazing trip, the schedule was so packed there wasn't significant time to blog even when wifi was available.

Not sure who saw my tweet but the trip started with me getting interrogated and detained in JFK from past travels. Apparently Israel security wasn't too down with the fact that I've been to Turkey, Morocco and Indonesia over the past couple years even though this travel was for academic and philanthropic reasons. On a good note, it led to priority boarding.

My first two hours in Israel consisted of nothing more than waiting in the airport because a kid in our group lost his passport on the plane. I definitely wasn't thrilled about it but he turned out being a cool guy and I ended up kickin' it with him and his high school friend the whole trip. Our days started with a Duck Sauce "Barbra Streisand" iPhone alarm going off and often ended with "pillow talk" (day- debriefage, story-sharing, etc.). Reunion in NYC Labor Day weekend (beginning of September) is in line.

The trip was so packed with activity that I could probably write a novel, maybe call it "Israel is Real" or something, with each day of this trip being a different chapter but that would take forever so I'm sticking to the blog and highlighting the main points.

We did everything from nature walks/hikes to rafting down the Jordan River to viewing Israel's bordering countries (Syria, Jordan, Lebanon) from observation points to visiting old Jerusalem, to relaxing on the Tel Aviv beach to visiting Yad Vashem, Israel's holocaust memorial/museum. And we also hiked through the Negev desert... In silence. A place untouched by civilization, the same as it was thousands of years ago. I couldn't help but think what my ancestors were like, if we had any similarities.

It might seem like I listed everything we did but it's maybe half. And it doesn't include anything we did on June 11th, one of the coolest (and longest) days of my life.

By 8am, i had already hiked the Masada and had my Bar Mitzvah in its synagogue. People always tell me I act immature sometimes, like a 12 year old boy, but now I feel like a much more mature 13 year old Jewish man. One of the coolest parts of getting Bar Mitzvah'd was the preparation. There were about 10 others in the group that, like myself, weren't raised very religiously and were clueless at reading Hebrew / certain pronunciations. However, two more experienced guys in my trip offered to devote their free time in Israel to helping us prepare for this entrance to Jewish adulthood. They both went to UNC. I've never been prouder to have graduated from UNC-Chapel Hill just over a month ago because this is exactly what the school creates- young men and women willing and wanting to help others succeed, not looking at it as an obligation but a fun, meaningful way to spend one's time and connect with others. One of them, Ryan, said that one of HIS Highlights from the trip was helping others prepare for their Bar/bat mitzvahs- he didn't bring up any of the other awesome things I mentioned above.

After this amazing experience, we descended the ancient mountaintop fortress, went floating in the salty Dead Sea (lowest point on Earth), road camels through the Negev desert (groin still sore) and slept in the Bedouin tents. That's what you can accomplish when you rise and start the grind at 3:30am.

It would be impossible for me to recap this experience without mentioning how cool and enhancing it was to have 8 Israeli soldiers with us for 5 of the days. In Israel, it's required for all young men and women to serve in the military when they are 18 years old (for 2 and 3 years respectively). Our soldiers were all 20-22 but they seemed older/ more mature than us. They were really fun to hang out with and luckily I became good friends with a few of them. For those reading that are or have been 18-22 years old, imagine having spent years in the army, what you would have seen and been exposed to. A little different than the college experience I was fortunate enough to have.

My goals (as written down during orientation) going into the trip were to 1) get good exposure to Israel 2) connect more with my religion 3) get bar mitzvah'd 4) make some new pals. Went 4 for 4.

Even with the restrictions of a 6 year old, birthright was a blast. It helped me connect more to the homeland and I'm proud to be a part of such hard-working courageous people. I have to end this with a popular phrase from the trip- YOBRO, You Only BirthRight Once. Drake's half- Jewish.

Pics of Bahai Gardens, Israeli bunker at Syria border, My new killer tourist hat, sunrise over Dead Sea/ from masada, me fake hitting head on roof during Bar mitzvah celebration, and selfy with my camel cheesing in the background can be found attached.

Alright wheels up lets hop continents.
After a full day of shared taxis, flights and trains I made it to Interlaken, Switzerland. Purpose of this trip is to have fun in a legendary hostel, attempt sky diving for the first time ever and go hiking in the Swiss Alps. I'm not sky diving at night so time to go do the have fun in a legendary hostel thing.

Day 13/14- 20 hours in NYC

After a long day of travel yesterday, I made it back safely stateside... For about 20 hours if you include the time in the airport. I would apologize for missing a day in my blog but nothing too crazy happened. Basically woke up in Panama City, got to the airport, took a melatonin and snoozed my way to Newark, NJ, then scrambled to NYC via trains/subway.

After a phenomenal 1st leg of my trip in Central America, I enjoyed a nice evening with some good (and new) friends in the big apple. Attached is a picture of Brooks and I at one of the bars we checked out.

Near perfect drive-by of New York City, but my backpack is a lot heavier as I lug it around the airport today. Got a load through the washer last night, only to find that the laundry services room of my friends appt calls it quits at 11pm. With that being said, I have a bag of wet clothes, towels, etc to accompany the weight on my back for these ~100 days.

I'm back in the airport to go to Israel for my free Birthright trip. I'm very fortunate to have the opportunity partake on this 10 day adventure before popping up to Europe for the next 10 weeks. Goals of the trip in no specific order.. 1) learn a lot about Israel/ being Jewish 2) make some new friends 3) get a mini Bar Mitzvah. I'll also be turning 22 while on the trip. Not sure where in the country we will be, or what we'll be able to do but it might be a different experience than my 21st birthday in Ibiza last summer :)

Excited nonetheless! Hope June is off to a great start for everybody. I'll hit you guys up from the homeland!

Day 12- Panama Canal

From the hilarious English slang-learning session with two ladies from Liverpool to the swimming at the full-moon party, I had a fun last night in Bocas. I would definitely recommend Mondo Taitu- the hostel/bar I stayed at as it is fun, affordable, and well-connected within the city. The beautiful beaches I visited and the snorkeling/ dolphin excursion I went on were set up right at the hostel. Bikes can be rented cheaply next door. You won't be bored, nor regret staying there is what I'm saying. If you go to Bocas, I recommend you stay there. If you go to Panama, I reckon you go to Boca and stay there. If you want to go on a trip and don't know what to do- consider the Costa Rica / Panama route I traveled. Definitely going to miss the place.

It's kind of a blur how I ended up waking up at 130pm in a hostel bed at Luna's Castle Hostel in Panama City. As I mentioned, I had the early flight there this morning. I was packed last night before going out and definitely went through the motions from alarm going off at 610 to walking the 5 blocks to the smallest airport ever. I was ear plugs in eye mask on asleep before we even lifted off into the humidity. Naturally I woke up at the precise moment in which the stewardess was dishing out oatmeal cookie bars and water but I probably fell back asleep mid-bite because I woke up in Panama City with my tray table up and 2.5 of the 4 cookies on my lap.

After splitting a cab with a couple from Switzerland, I checked in to Luna's Castle around 10. Luckily, there was an AC dorm bed already ready so I joined those that were still asleep in darkness and snoozed until 130. Then got up and at it.

Saw the Panama Canal today. That's probably worth mentioning in my travel blog. After surfing the Pacific waves in Costa Rica and snorkeling in the Caribbean Sea/ Atlantic in Panama, seeing the incredible engineering project that connects the two large bodies of water and simplifies global trade routes was a cool way to end this leg of my trip. It's one of those things you have to go see if you're in the vicinity but it wasn't a mind-blowing experience or anything. You basically just watch absolutely massive ships ride through. I called it after 15 or so minutes, but pressed the camera button on the iPhone a few times so you can get the picture of what I saw.

Also included is a picture of modern Panama City from Old Town (where my hostel is).

Headed to the big apple tomorrow where I'll get the chance to see friends from UNC and Colorado and crash for a night before meeting up with the Taglit Birthright group and heading to Israel for 10 days.

Day 11- livin' la vida Bocas

It's only fitting that I ate during work first day on the job. Is it my fault they have tasty meat/veggie skewers being vended on the same streets I was hostel bar promoting? Aside from the 5 minute break for food, I'd say my first day on the job went pretty well. Of the 30 young people I talked to in my hour or so promoting, about 25 or so actually ended up coming and some brought friends. It was actually pretty fun, and as a traveler in town for just a few days it's a phenomenal way to meet people outside the hostel and get a better feel for the town. Plus, it's during that downtime in between daytime activity and nighttime festivity, so why not do something that covers my drinks for the night?

Slept in until noon today which was nice given the rise and grind I've had the past 10 or so days between surfing, excursions, and transporting to new destinations.

I walked into town for an amazing fresh mango- strawberry smoothie then started my version of a triathlon... I rented a bike and spun petals to this beach (attached pic, note girl walking on tree) 8km away for some scenery and a quick swim.

I have a little break now but the third leg is running the block 530- 730 promoting the bars and then celebrating the completion of this race with a fun last night in Bocas before my 740am flight to panama city. Work attire? Flip flops, bathing suit, tank, hat. I gotta go get ready! Oh wait I already am..