Dari and G Man in North America

As I am typing this, the 2007 Easter weekend comes to an end, which was for me, pretty quiet but actually again another weekend which was a great one in Puerto Rico.
We went out for dinner on Thursday night and played some pool at Douglas (love that place). And I seem to have developed a talent for the game after a few beers. Rob and I ended up unbeaten for the last like 6 games!





Friday was a good one.

We went to the beach for a while and then I took a walk around Old San Juan and took some pics of the restuarants which we frequently visit. I also took some pics from the walkway around El Morro.



Saturday I went to the Don Q (local great rum) tasting house - got to taste some 45 year old rum which is in the top 5 in the world. Good times.



Then to the Bacardi Factory - which was massive, and the tour was pretty good. Most of the Bacardi in the world is made here.



Also managed to finally watch 300 - it was good, not the ending I wanted but good. Blades of Glory is next.

Sunday I finally got round to diving in Puerto Rico. I had to drive about an hour East to Fajardo and then we jumped onto a boat and drove to the Palomino's islands where we dived.



The reefs are great, they are massive and full of life. We saw some sting rays which were pretty cool. One guy who was diving with us claimed to see a shark but nobody else did, then claimed to see a morey but again nobody else did - so we called hime Elvis.

Took lots of pics of the above, so check them all out.

So time came for Rob to depart and make his way back to SA, and like all others who depart the team, there is the traditional leaving dinner. It's like every other night at dinner (we always eat dinner out as we have to) except someone is leaving.
But due to this being Rob's (and Maria's actually)leaving dinner we did go pretty large and it had a great time.


We had dinner with the team and went to Douglas's Pub for a few more beers.


We also happened to make the pub record for Photo Hunt, Penguin Bashing (credit goes to other Rob) and Kids Photo Hunt - too much fun when you are drunk.



Check out the gallery for some winners...

So we heard(back when Rob was here) about cock fighting and we never really were amped to go until on Saturday afternoon we decided to go with other Rob who had been and said it was freakin awesome. So we went and it was!

We paid $10 to get in to the arena. As you walk in there are hundreds of glass boxes around the top of the arena each holding a cock - shaved clean and ready to fight (please read this post in context). So after examining the birds we bought a beer and sat down for the fights to begin.


Each fight lasts a maximum of 15 minutes or to the death or basically dead. No fights that day made the 15 minute limit. We watched from 3pm till about 7 and there must have been 40 fights that day!


Each cock has a ring on its leg - one blue (azule) and one white (blanco) and thats how you tell them apart. Betting is done by screaming at anyone who is screaming the opposite colour. After each fight, wads of cash are thrown around the stadium to all the winners by the losers. It is really unbelievable.


The cocks are brought onto the arena by a lift which moves their glass boxes above the arena then slowly lowers them down. They are then weighed and given a peck at each other and then put back into their boxes to be released.


The best part of the whole day was the waitresses who walk around the stadium selling chicken burritos! We all had one - freshest chicken ever!


Made a few dollar, had many beers - it was a great afternoon. Check out some more pics.

A couple of us, to celebrate Rob and Maria leaving, decided to head to the West coast of the island for the weekend. We headed for Rincon which is apparently a great surfing town. The plan was to leave at 8am and follow the girls because it is quite confusing to get there. That was the plan. The flaw in the plan was that all us guys only managed to crawl home at 4am from Old San Juan - 8am wasn’t looking to good at this point. So we decided that the guys would be leaving at 10 cause we can! So 10 rolls around the next morning and we leave in Dave's Camry with GPS but the GPS is pretty shit. So we select a random hotel in Rincon (of the 15 they had on the GPS) and started driving. When we got close we tried to hook up with one of the girls who tried to come find us but we both ended up getting lost. Then we decided to just follow the GPS to this random hotel anyway. This ended up taking us through town where we basically tore a hole in the front bumper of the car by going straight into a hole in the street and then almost had a head on collision when going the wrong way down a one way (or so we think).

Palm trees and beer...


So we tried to find the girls again who were trying to find us but with no road markings and/or English speaking people we decided again to trust the GPS and followed its dodgy directions to the random hotel. We eventually got to this hotel which was on the beach and had a beer and called the girls to let them know where we were, and can you believe it… it was like 200m from our place! Believe it cause its true.



The house we stayed in was pimpin, and had such a great bar and pool below it as well….




We also met the coolest dog, but we didn’t know his name so we checked his collar and it said 823 8135. Now that’s a pretty long name, so we decided to just call him 823 (who names there dog such a dumb name!!).



So anyway we had a beer and some lunch, hit the beach in the afternoon. That night we went for dinner and did a little drinkin at the bar on the beach. There was a "DJ" there who looked promising but actually set up her decks and speakers and then just basically turned one song lower and faded the new one in - so useless and disappointing.



The next day was a great day, so we hit the beach and played a little NFL which was so excellent. Finally got to catch a few waves - this has been the first beach since we arrived in the US that has had some decent waves.



All in all it was some good company and a great weekend.

More pics…

We arrived back home to the Sheraton in San Juan on a Friday. Rob and I checked in and Rob got one of the dud rooms with a shower that didn’t work properly. I got the room that everyone in the team calls "The Suite". I don’t know why I got it, or what I had done to get it but it was fantastic. Its on the top floor of the hotel with 3 balconies, a dining room and a flat screen TV.



We went to work on Saturday for a half day and then went to the COCK FIGHTS. Which must be one of the most funniest things I have ever done, so fun that it deserves its own post (see COCK FIGHT post - still to come). So we went to the Cock fights from about 3pm and started drinking a few beers and then when it was done we went to some sushi restaurant for dinner and a few whiskeys, and then we headed back to "The Suite" for a round of beer pong. Such a great drinking game - all you have to do is throw the ping pong balls into the opponent's cup and they drink. So simple yet so effective.

We kept playing until about 11 and then hit some bars in Old San Juan for a while. At about 2 when I thought the night was over, Adfred insisted we go to Calle which is a club outside of Old San Juan and then to some other club somewhere in Puerto Rico which ended up being a sunrise drink cause we only got home at about 6am. Fun times.

Sunday we went to the beach with the locals from the team. We also bought a dog for our office. Her name is GiGi. She must be one the best behaved dogs I have ever seen. Sit GiGi sit… good dog.



The following weekend, Rob and I were headed for Boston to celebrate St. Patricks day, but to our surprise there was a massive snow storm on Friday and our flights were cancelled! Saturday we decided to go to one of the only Irish pubs in San Juan called Shannan's to celebrate St. Patricks day. We had a massive afternoon and were pretty wrecked by 7pm.

Sunday, myself Robot and Steve headed out to Vieques again to check out the rest of the beaches. We managed to get a flight there and back this time (no more ferry with bad hangovers) for only $50. We got there and rented a Jeep and had some lunch and beers at Banana's which was a winner of a spot on the coast. We then put the Jeep to work and managed to see most of the beaches on the southern side of the island. This was good.







Eventhough were didn’t make it back to Boson, we had a cracker of a weekend.

More pics…

So we were in for another weekend in Washington cause we didn’t finish up our work in time, but this week we had to check out of our beloved Ritz Carlton and check into the Sheraton Premiere which was about 15 minutes away from work.

So over any other hotel now that I've been in the Ritz, its just not the same. Its like driving a Lamborghini for 2 weeks and then trading it in for an Citi Golf. But anyway, tears aside we moved to the Sheraton and for the weekend we decided to just hang around Tysons corner.

It was cold and we went shopping for anything really. We found a great golf shop but didn’t buy anything. There are so many car dealerships, all the cars just stand outside waiting to get bought. Here are some Hummers and Corvette's that we saw…



We ended up buying 2 baseball bats and a couple of balls just to mess around. On the way back to the hotel we stopped to get some water from a vending machine and my change got stuck inside. After pushing the button about 100 times we eventually realized that if we hit the machine the change came out. So this old lady walks past and there Rob is holding 2 baseball bats while I was screaming and punching the machine. Pretty funny (you had to be there).



We found a place to schmack the balls around in some park. Rob managed to smack a ball from the other side of the park and land it directly into the storm water drain - talented.



That night we hit Georgetown for a few beers. We ended up having about 15 and stealing straws and just causing shit cause nobody was really paying attention to us. Not one of the best nights out but what can you do!



Sunday we chilled, and Monday back to wek!

Check out a few more pics here.

Put some new pics in the gallery and I will add a story to them as soon as I get time!

The last weekend in Washington.

Weekends 9 & 10 in Puerto Rico.

This last weekend in Rincon (west coast of PR).

Peace.

Due to working responsibilities, Rob and myself got sent to the place where we were originally supposed to spend our 6 months - Washinton DC. I left on Sunday and flew in to the freezing DC and caught a taxi to Mc Lean - Virginia, which is about 15 minutes outside the capital. The best part about the trip is that we are staying in the Ritz Carlton - so pimpin. It has to be the most awesome hotel I have stayed in ever - from the Ritz slippers to the chocolates on the pillows to the "only way to get to the top floors (my room) is to swipe your card in the elevator" to the free champagne after work. You appreciate these small things when a hotel is your home! View from my room...



We had a rough week at work and hit the town on Thursday night for a few beers with a couple of the guys from the team that came with us.


Ricardo and Greg and Marky Mark the rapper.

We headed out of Tysons corner to stay in a hotel in the city for the weekend to do some sightseeing.

On Saturday we headed out and started of at the White House...





We tried to take a short cut across the road and as Rob lifted his leg to step over the below pictured chain, we heard a "SIR". Out of the blue there was a police officer about to taezer him if his foot hit the tar. So funny.



Then we hit the Washington monument...



The World War II memorial - took a pic for every state we have been to - check out the gallery for the rest...



And the Lincoln Memorial with the reflecting pool (empty) where Forrest Gump run into the water to meet Jenny...



One more photo of the "Monument"...



We also checked out some of the Museums and US Capitol building.



After a good weather day (still about 10 degrees celcius - see the pick of the hairy guy playing soccer in no shirt?? in the gallery), Sunday I woke up and looked out the window and it was snowing, hard. We went out side, made a few snowballs and threw them at the Faragut statue in the park (until we hit him in the head) - that was fun.



We walked a couple of blocks in the snow trying to find a place to get a haircut but couldn't, so we went back to the hotel and phoned a couple of numbers and evetually found a place. When we got there it was slighly different to what we expected...



After the visit to the Barber Shop we called it a day - back to work (and the Ritz - Yessa!) tomorrow. Check out the gallery for some other pearlers.

We had a rough Friday night and only stumbled back to the Sheraton at 3:15. Waking up with a hangover is rough, but waking up with a hangover and having to work is just plain unfair. So we worked on Saturday (planning to stay until about 3pm but ended up only finishing at 7:30pm).

Sunday we walked around Old San Juan and hit a few beaches on the way (snuck into the Hilton but the beach wasn't that great) - it wasn't the most exciting day, but what can you do!



Check out a few other pics of the city and the hotel.

Next weekend is Washington DC baby!

Weekend 4 was a work weekend, but we did get out of work at about 5 on Saturday so we decided to go to El Morro which is the fort at the end of Old San Juan. It was pretty cool. There are tons of people flying kites, so we bought one (to try and fit in). But we got bored after about 5 minutes so we bought and extra line of string to make it go higher. Then once we had done that we were bored again so we bought another line of string so it would be the highest out of all the kites on the field (cause I have to be the best).


The 1st pic is with one line and the 2nd is with 3 lines.



On Sunday we hit the golf course cause we couldn't leave PR without playing at least once, and we chose an awesome course - Dorado Beach East. Steven and Dari, you would have both loved it. It cost us a pretty penny - $100 to play and another $60 to rent clubs, but we did get a set of Cobra's - was deshtroying the driver!

I played alright, a birdie on a long par 5 was the highlight of the day, Rob played ok. Besides the golf, the place was unbelievable, check it out...





For the rest, we just had a party during the week with the team, which was greatness...


A - for Africa

Besides that, we went back to f#cken freezing Boston for the weekend to do some admin. We met up with a few new SA secondees and had a bender at one of the many night clubs. Here are some after photos...



Note that the bodylining is from left over pasta (thats all we know how to cook).

Check out the gallery for more.

Culebra - we finally get to go there after 2 failed attempts. This time we went big and organised to stay there for Saturday and Sunday night and get there by plane.

So after a big Friday night out with the team in Old San Juan, we woke up still drunk at 6:30 to check out the hotel and jump on the plane. The plane ride was amazing. It was a 10 seater so it was pretty tiny but we flew over PR and I got some fantashtic pics...





These two are pics of Flamenco Beach from the air.

So we managed to get a villa on Flamenco Beach (one of the top 5 beaches in the world!). The villa's were great and the beach has the most amazing clear blue water and white sand. It is unbelievable.





We also hired scooters to get around the island...



We spent most of the day on the beach and we also took scoot over the rest of the island.



We also went to a beach where you can see the islands Saint Thomas and Saint Croix and we walked to a beach to snorkel at which had an awesome reef as you stepped into the water. Really incredible snorkeling, the reefs are like the ones in Mozi but the are only a couple of metres into the clear see.



We flew back early on Monday morning to get back to the office and back to work, but the whole trip was machette.

Check out the gallery for some more great pics.

So its been a while since I've updated due to the large amount of work we are doing down here. The team I'm working with is pretty cool and the work is different but still auditing - what can you do!

We normally get back to the hotel at about 9pm every night and then go out for dinner and by that time its bed time (need my 8 hours). So nothing much happens during the week. I will take some pics of Old San Juan and post then cause its really amazing.

So for the second week here, we worked on Saturday and decided to take the Ferry on Sunfay to Culebra (island off the east coast of PR). We were staying in a different hotel at that stage - one on the beach. Here are some pics:



View from my hotel room, and Samai, Rob, Sung and myself on the biatch. They are working with us on the job.

So anyway, we went out to a festival on Saturday night and got home late. We had to get up early on Sunday morning to drive an hour to Fajardo on the east coast so we could catch a ferry to Culebra. Due to the night before, we got there a little late and the ferry was full. So we decided to go on the other ferry which goes to Vieques, which is another island (bigger than Culebra) off the coast.

The ferry trip was long and tought to swallow with a hangover, but we made it.



Check out the guys box boat - pretty funny.

So we had finally made it out to the island and now we wanted to hit the beach. We thought we could just catch a taxi but due to the island being and old bombing target of the US (closed in 2000), most of the roads are dirt, so we took a taxi to a place that hired jeeps! Then they were out of jeeps cause we didnt book, but after a bit of convincing we finally got the lady to rent one to us. So we were finally off to the beach - Red beach (one of the many, but apparently the best one). But before we got there there had to be one more delay... We got pulled over by a cop cause I was speeding (doing 50 mph on a dirt road with a limit of 25). The traffic officer was a complete chump who thought he was the hero of the island for stopping me "speeding" on a dirt road with no cars on an island with a population of about 2000 people - nothing better to do. And nothing made me happier than whipping out my SA drivers and him squinting to understand it and leaving him not much of a choice but to warn me.

So we eventually reached the beach and all the crap was worth it, check it out...





We swam for about 2 hours and then had to make the long trip back again. Before we jumped on the ferry we had a few sundowners at a pub with the most awesome view evers...



So for the one day a week off, it was a good one. Check out the gallery for more pics.