I have come to Lisbon, and Portugal in general, with no expectations and no agenda. I spent the first day wandering the steep cobblestone streets up and down the seven hills that make up the city. With me are Chris, who has a fever, and Lauren who is coming down with a sinus infection (I'm popping Vitamin C).
The Castelo de Sao Jorge at the top of the highest point, is a natural first stop. While taxes and buses do head up there, we walked through the sleepy neighborhood of the Alfama, which was just starting to wake up on a Sunday morning.
The timeless alleys and squares are like living museums with white-washed or tiled houses with red-tile roofs, flower-laden balconies and old-world looking people in the windows or in the streets offering a friendly "Bon Dia" as we walked by.
At the top of the hill, we entered through the gates of the castle and were instantly transported back to the 11th century when it was built by the Moors, the Arab invaders that controlled the city until Dom Afonso Henriques led a siege in 1147 that ultimately drove them out.
The castle, once home to kings and queens, now has peacocks, turkeys, cats and tourists roaming the ground. We were fortunate enough to arrive before the nine o'clock buses carrying the masses. We took in the city from the castle's vantage point atop the hill. Boats were sailing in the Rio Tejo, a church bell was ringing somewhere down below and more areas to explore were beckoning.
The rest of the day, we meandered and really fell in love with the picturesque city. We finished the day at a small but packed restaurant serving fresh seafood and meat dishes, typical of Portugues cuisine.
As we fell asleep, a trio of musicians performed under our window at an open-air cafe four stories below us.
Puerto de la Cruz is the second largest city on the island of Tenerife. It is a picturesque port town on the north shore with cute shops and good restaurants, as long as you wander off the main boardwalk, lined with high-rise hotels and cheesy "handicrap" (as opposed to handicraft) stores.
The further west in town you go, the more authentic the experience. Colorful fishing boats bob in the gentle water of the port protected by a high wall from which the locals will dive into the water for a swim. A few blocks uphill, the main square is surrounded by Spanish colonial buildings that feature intricately carved wooden balconies that are typical of the area.
Just outside of town, you get into the heart of the island's wine-growing district--the Orotava Valley. The town of La Orotava is just a short distance uphill from Puerto de la Cruz, and can easily be explored on foot.
We wandered up the steep cobblestone streets passing the main church with doors that make you feel only inches tall. The Casa de los Balcones is an overpriced store that sells high-quality Canarian products at high prices. However, the building in which it is located gives you the chance to peer inside a historic building with its lovely inner courtyard. Plus, it is open midday when all the other businesses close for three hours for siesta.
It was in this town that we finally found a laundromat to wash our clothes. I can't think of a better place in which to be stranded for a few hours.
We headed back down to Puerto for dinner and finished out the night with sangria and dancing in the streets to the music of a Canarian band.
Tucked in a corner of the island not visited by most tourists you'll find the tiny seaside villages of Bajamar and Punta Hidalgo. They are both one hotel kind of towns that time forgot.
In Bajamar, older men chat on benches in front of the tiny church, people walk their dogs or stroll along the narrow streets. And some take to the waters at the "piscinas," two sea-water pools set on the rocky shore below the Hotel Delfin (50€, including breakfast), which caters almost exclusively to Germans and older tourists. We spent two nights with the sound of waves crashing over the espanade lulling us to sleep.
Early morning and late evening are the best time to watch the locals taking a dip in the natural pools that are filled with sea water that washes over the edge of the cement and into the pool. The Tenerife tourism literature describes this area as a health-conscious tourist destination.
We decided to dive into the healing waters this with the old folks. Brrrrr. The saltwater made my eyes burn, but did wonders for my blisters. Swimming over to the far side, we sat under the spray from the ocean only a few steps away.
As for food, we skipped the cafeteria-style hotel buffet and opted for a fresh dinner at El Abogado, halfway between Bajamar and Punta Hidalgo. The fish was freshly plucked from the water by a fisherman that day and now I stood before a tray of fish, from which I selected the one I would eat.
Before the grilled fish, we enjoyed Gambas al Ajillo (garlic shrimp), boiled potatoes and yams and Pimientos Padron (salted and roasted jalapeno peppers), a local specialty.
It's not easy to get a good understanding of the Guanache people who first settled the Canary Islands.
They are believed to have been blonde-headed, blue-eyed Berbers from Africa. They lived in caves and made pottery using clay from the abundant volcanic material on the island.
That's all we could really figure out from the archaeology museum in Puerto de la Cruz. There are "pyramids" on the islands, but they are shrouded in controversy. The Guimar Pyramids were discovered in 1996 and thought to be of great significance. However, the terraces of rock yielded no artifacts and resemble the agricultural terraces still in use on the island today.
Only one pottery figurine (El Guatimac) was discovered at the site but it was found in a cave, along with bones fragments and potsherds.
However, founders of the museum at the site go to great lengths to try to make an arguments that the islanders were great pyramid builders, like those in other parts of the world. The museum has photo after photo of pyramids from Peru, Guatemala, Mexico and Egypt.
Yes, I believe that there was contact between early civilizations, but the assumptions and connections made by the Canarian museum were based on the research of a Norwegian man who recreated full-size reed boats, made like those from antiquity, and sailed across the Atlantic successfully.
He just happened to settle in the Canary Islands toward the end of his life and after talking to people on the island about his theories someone decided to take a pile of rocks and build pyramids and call them ruins.
Now, if someone comes forward with more compelling evidence, I'm willing to entertain the idea, but for now, I remain skeptical.
If you're ever in Tenerife, pay a visit to the Pyramids of Guimar to decide for yourself . . . if you are willing to pay the 10 Euro ($15) entrance fee.
Excluding the national park at the top of the Teide volcano, the island of Tenerife has two distinct sides. The south is known for its sandy beaches and sunny skies, while the north is higher and cooler with crashing waves under plunging cliffs.
The south is touristy (full of visitors flying in from London, Madrid and Miami to stay in high-rise hotels on the beach), but there are some gems.
El Medano has the longest beach in Tenerife. The black sand beach is the result of Teide's eruptions, the most recent being in 1909. The sand is interrupted by flat layers of lava rock that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
The beach is littered with millions of colorful pieces of tumbled sea glass in colors you just can't find on Lake Erie. So, Lauren and I scoured the beach, picking up glass in shades of lavendar, light blue, turquoise, cobalt, yellow and olive green. Oh my!
During our hunt, we watched surfers hanging ten, nude bathers strutting and dogs patiently waiting for their owners to return. As the last bit of sun passed over a distant peak, we wandered into a beachside bar for a pizza run by an English bloke who had traveled extensively in the United States and had lived briefly in Hawaii.
"I really loved the scenery in Hawaii," he told us. "But, I loved the Canarian lifestyle."
In that moment we could understand what he meant. We've eased into island time, living in the moment without a car in the world.
What do you get when you cross a parrot with homing pigeon? A bird that will ask direction if it gets lost.
Jose Ledesma tells me that joke while dining at a local Canarian restaurant owned by a friend of his.
Ledesma raises racing pigeons. In fact, one of his birds, Bayo Casablanca, holds the world record for longest distance traveled. Facing extreme conditions, the bird traveled from Morocco, over the open ocean and made its way back to Tenerife.
"The fact that they know how to get back is one of the mysteries of the world," says Ledesma. "They have a sense that humans just don't have."
Ledesma, who once raised and trained falcons, stumbled across the racing pigeon industry purely by chance. Now, he is considered a respected leader in the field, and is known all over the world. He raises pigeons that are purchased for racing.
Once every two years, he organizes a pigeon race that begins in Fuerteventura, one of the other islands in the Canaries. Participants from countries such as Belgium, Germany, Ireland, China descend upon the islands to cheer on their bird, and hopes it will be the first that arrives back to the loft, which is in the backyard of Ledesma's home.
The prize: 12,000 Euro ($18,000). A couple from The Netherlands were the most recent winners. They shrieked with joy when their bird was the first to enter its roost.
When I first started to research the Canary Islands, I thought I'd find the canary bird here. Nope, I haven't see Tweetie, but I now know more than ever about the pigeon.
The amount of ground we've covered so far is astounding, but now that we are in the Canary Islands, it's time to slow down and enjoy things on island time.
The Canary Islands are located off the coast of Morocco, but belong to Spain. The flight from Madrid cost under $200, and it's worth every penny to make the three-hour journey to this island chain.
The island oof Tenerife is the most popular with tourists. The beach resorts in the south appeal to sun and surf lovers, the legends of the Knights Templar, the colonial past and Mary of the Sea attracts history buffs and the volcano that rises from the center of the island is a mecca for nature lovers, not to mention UFO enthusiasts.
"There are a lot of sightings, especially on top of El Teide [the volcano]," says Kalani Hano Hano, an American friend of a friend, who moved to the island in 2005 with his wife, who is Canarian. Kalani, himself, witnessed an event that he can't necessarily explain that lasted four hours. "Lights would appear every few seconds and shoot across the horizon," he says. "I've never seen anything like it."
It's no wonder that you can spot unusual phenomenon on the island, especially.on the volcano. There is no light pollution obscuring the night sky and we witnessed a shooting star within minutes of looking skyward from our vantage point at our hotel, which is located high on the volcano.
This spot will be our home for the next couple of days and we're looking forward to seeing what's out there in the daylight. We arrived well after dark, mostly because I had to stop to take pictures of sunset behind the peak, which poked out of the clouds that were below us.
After killing a bat with our windshield on the way up, we pulled into the parking lot of the hotel and I was amazed by the rock formations. When I got out of the car for another picture, I could hear the pitter patter of feet on the pavement, but I could see nothing. There were no lights in the parking lot. But, I felt something lurking behind me. Kalani had just warned us about packs of ferocious wild dogs roaming the highlands, so when I finally saw the creature by the light of the car's dome light, I froze with fear and whispered to Lauren, "There's something out there; I think it's a wild dog."
She couldn't see anything, but once her eyes adjusted, she could see the Unidentified Feral Observer (UFO) with its pointy ears and muscular body.
"Oh my god," she cried. "It's a dingo. Get in the car. Hurry!!!!!"
I jump in the car and close the door, not knowing what to do next. I drive 15 feet from our parking spot to the entrance, and Lauren runs in to find out if it's a friendly pet or not. The desk clerk confirmed our suspicions that it was indeed wild, but assured us that we would not be eaten. But the behavior of the animal was so strange. If we turned our back on it, he would approach closer and closer as if he was going to pounce or try to take our grocery bags. Lauren and I backed slowly toward the front door, closing it behind us.
"You know, the wild dog reminded me of the dog in the animated film 'Lilo and Stitch,' says Lauren. "In the movie, the dog was actually an alien that the girl adopted from the pound. Maybe there are aliens here after all . . . or maybe it was the chupacabra."
It looks like we're going to have a good time here. The stranger the better.
Gibraltar is the only place in all of Europe where you can find primates in the wild. Known as the Barbary Apes (a misnomer: they are macaques), the endangered animals nearly went extinct in the early 20th century. Today, nearly 300 primates live on the rock, and most of them gather around tourist sites hoping to catch an easy meal.
The best way to get to the top of the iconic rock is by cable car, which takes about 6 minutes. For roughly $20, a one-way ticket includes a self-guided multimedia walking tour and access to the major attractions on the way down to the town at the base.
As you step off the cable car, the monkeys await. A young boy eating a candy bar as he exited was stunned when a monkey charged at him, jumped on his back and stole the candy bar from his grasp just as he was about to take a bite. The boy was fine and was laughing about it, but it was still a shock to see it as it happened.
First lesson learned: Don't eat around the monkeys.
We spent the next few hours strolling from site to site, enjoying the monkeys along the way. Babies jumped from tree to tree or clutched their mothers; juveniles wrestled and clacked their teeth together and the older males napped on the rocks.
If the monkeys weren't cool enough, we went subterranean a few times, which provides respite from the sun and heat.
St. Michael's Cave, with its high ceiling dripping with stalgmites, was incredible. The first visitors to set foot inside were Neanderthals nearly 40,000 years before Christ. Later, the caverns were thought to be the Gates of Hades, the entrance to the underworld. In the 20th century, the caves were used by WW2 soldiers as an emergency hospital, and it serves as a concert hall to this day.
After all our walking, we stopped for a beverage at the eatery next to St. Michael's Cave. While Lauren ordered a passion fruit slush puppy for us to share, I watched the tourists taking pictures of the monkeys gathered outside. One woman was nervous, so I told her there was nothing to worry about unless she had food on her. Lauren came out and started telling the woman about the boy with the pilfered candy bar.
The words "They won't bother you, as long as you don't feed them" were still hanging in the air as a monkey lept from the roof onto Lauren's back. She shrieked and the frightened woman looked horrified as she watched the monkey try to snatch the slush puppy from her hand. Lauren didn't relinquish the drink, but some spilled on the ground and the monkey bent down to lap it up.
Meanwhile, another monkey swooped in and grabbed the styrofoam cup from behind, and finally Lauren let go. The monkeys had won, and we were still thirsty.
Second lesson learned: Don't drink around the monkeys.
We wandered off down the path again, laughing all the way. And by the way, I got it all on camera. Pictures to come....
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Planes, trains, buses, ferries, grand taxis and subways. It's been a whirlwind of public transportation on two continents. Yes, the schedule has been quite ambitious for the first few days of this trip. However, a visit to southern Spain afforded us short jaunts to Gibraltar, which is owned by England, the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on the African coast, and the country of Morocco, just beyond Ceuta's border.
There is a saying that a Moroccan man told us: If you slow down, you'll catch the monkey, but if you go too fast, you'll kill it.
Four days is not enough time to really get to know a place or its people, but I've been here before and I wanted to give Lauren, my current travel companion, a taste of Morocco so she plans her own trip back.
"It was chaotic, yet it was fascinating," she says. "The cultural differences were astounding. The world is so small but so different. Morocco got my travel bug itching. I would like to go back."
From the souks of Morocco, we are heading to the Rock right now. Gibraltar is just across the strait from Morocco, but instead of figs and cous cous, we'll be eating fish and chips.
Whether we kill the monkey remains to be seen. The Barbary Apes await. Stay tuned to find out.
Excuse me, pardon me. Do you speak French. Or maybe German. Or Spanish. You English? Please let me show you special exhibition. Today only. I take you there. No problem.
The touts in Tetouan, Morocco, are relentless, especially since we seem to be the only tourists in this town. They say the want to practice their English, but they really want to take us to a carpet shop, so they can get a commission on whatever we buy.
Yesterday, we arrived with packs on our backs and we stuck out like a sore thumb. Our first priority was to find lodging, but the touts were trying to lead us elsewhere.
Now, after 24 hours, we can not only spot them coming, but we've managed to avoid them rather successfully. First sign that he's a tout, he seeks you out and speaks English very well. The second sign: he is missing teeth. He likes to tell you lies; anything to get you to follow him.
What business do you do? I'm a photographer. Oh, he says, come take picture of my home. Uh, no. No really, please come. I live just here.
Okay, I have to admit I was curious to see if he was for real. And of course he led us directly to a rug store. He said he was the owner, named Hassan, but there was no way.
He really pulled the rug over our eyes.
However, we started talking to a man in the store, who was likely the owner, and he seemed to know a lot about Ohio, including the area codes. And he said he'd been to Put-in-Bay. Interesting.
Anyway, we've wandered the souks of the medina, just enjoying the day-to-day activities. We'ved stopped at coffee shops and patisseries.
And soon we'll be going to Ceuta, the Spanish enclave on the African coast and returning to mainland Europe. The excursion to Morocco was respite from the Euro, and it paid off. We slept (or not, depending on whom you ask) for only $15, compared to nearly $50 anywhere in Spain.
In a move that has the bullfighting industry seeing red, a matador has agreed to advertising a beverage on his cape. According to industry experts, this is the first time such a promotion has appeared in the ring. Some say the cape is sacred part of the "ritual of bullfighting," while others say sponsorship has become the standard in other sports and bullfighting should be no different.
"All sports teams have advertising on their uniforms," matador Joselito Ortega told CNN. The next time he steps in the ring, he will be using pink capes embroidered with the words "Gay Up," the name of the energy drink, which targets the gay market.
Ortega, who is heterosexual, just wants to perform well.
"I am a bullfighter. That is not going to change," he told the press. "I am going to go out into the ring as I have done until now, to risk my life, and the seven goring wounds on my body prove that. If the gay community welcomes me as an image or a symbol, that is fine."
TRAVEL TOKEN: Which souvenir would you like me to bring home from Spain: a four-pack of "Gay Up," a pink bullfighting cape, or Joselito Ortega? ___________________________________________________________
You won't see these suitcases coming around the baggage carousel any time soon:
1. This meat bag was part of a print advertisement campaign launched by VLCC, a beauty and fitness company in India.
2.French designer and artist PinkWolf has created luggage that makes a bold statement in the security line. If the gun suitcase isn't quite your style, perhaps the knife or hatchet might be more suitable.
3. While this was a Amnesty International campaign designed to call attention to human trafficking, I would like to see a piece of luggage with a 360-degree photo-realistic image of someone stuffed in inside.
Travel is full of unexpected surprises (good or bad); that's one thing I like about it. But sometimes, things can go a little too far. In this case, it's far more enjoyable to read about travel mishaps than experience them first-hand.
"Monkey pushes woman off cliff" read the headline on Wednesday's "Weird News" feed. Naturally, I had to click the link. The woman, who was visiting the Chengdu Wildlife Park in China, fractured her hip and broke three ribs after plunging 20 feet off the side of a cliff when she was pushed by a primate in hot pursuit of goodies she had with her. A spokesman for the park told the press, "Her mistake was to show fear. If you show fear, a monkey will bully you." Yeah, but getting thrown off a cliff? The 60-year-old woman is suing her travel agent.
A woman got more than she gambled for on a Southwest flight to Las Vegas last month. The San Francisco Chronicle reported that a man exposed himself to his female seatmate, then punched her when she screamed. He proceeded to removes his clothes as flight attendants and passengers tried to subdued him. The woman was taken to the hospital for treatment, and Darius Chappille was carted off to jail.
Speaking of naked antics . . . last month, Reuters reported that an extremely drunk, nude man stumbled back to the wrong hotel room in Queenstown, New Zealand. He fell asleep in the room where another couple had been sleeping; the female occupant hid in the bathroom while her husband called the hotel staff. The drunk man could not remember with whom he had been, nor which room. No charges were filed in the incident.
If you want to check out more tales of travel gone wrong, visit TitanicAwards.com, which nominates the best of the worst travel experiences. There is a particularly harrowing bus ride that scares me silly. See below or click here to view.
In a few weeks time, I will be going abroad once again. Chris will be attending a conference in Madrid, and then we will travel together to Portugal. After I got laid off in February, I extended my travels on either side of his conference, which means I'll be out and about for a total of 21 days.
This time around, two "guest travelers" will join me on different legs of the trip. Lauren, a fellow Lake Erie Living alum, is coming for excursions to the North African coast and the Canary Islands. Jen, who is on my rowing team, will meet me in Portugal on the day Chris flies home.
The itinerary will include . . .
. . . Gibraltar. Spain wants a piece of this rock, but it's still in the hands of the British. The territory on the southern tip of Spain is home to the only population of wild primates in Europe, known as the Barbary Apes.
. . . Ceuta. Spain has two territories on the African mainland: Ceuta and Melilla. Ceuta is only a 30-minute ferry ride from Algeciras, Spain, and local bargain hunters head there for duty-free shopping. From here, it's possible to enter Morocco.
. . . The Canary Islands. Before starting to plan this trip, I knew very little about the archipelago, which is considered the "Hawaii of Europe." We are extremely fortunate to have a contact on the island of Tenerife who has kindly offered his services as tour guide. We're looking forward to exploring Mount Teide National Park (according to a tourism brochure it's the most-visited park in Spain), and the black sand beaches on the northern shore.
. . . Sintra, Portugal. According to Frommers: "Since the Moorish occupation, Portuguese kings and nobles have recognized this town's irresistible charm. You'll find a denser concentration of beautiful villas and gardens here than you'll find anywhere else in Portugal. At least five major palaces and convents are tucked amid the lush vegetation."
Should a 13-year-old be allowed to sail around the world by him or herself? That was the question posed on yesterday's "World Have Your Say" on BBC Radio.
Laura Dekker, 13, wants to do a solo voyage around the world, but The Dutch Council for Child Protection has asked a court to intervene in order to keep her from going. A ruling is expected by the end of the week.
Dekker was born on a boat while her parents were sailing around the world. She has extensive experience, but there are concerns for her well-being.
An editorial in the Dutch daily De Volkskrant critiqued: "She simply does not have the experience to anticipate the problems and possible crises that await her."
What do you think? Will it be the adventure of a lifetime or an error in judgment on the part of her parents should she go?
I'm having a difficult time adjusting to Eastern Standard Time again. Yesterday, I fell alseep watching TV at 11 a.m. and again at 8 p.m. Then I woke up this morning well before the sun rose, but it gave me time to put together the following memories from the trip. Here are a few things that stick out in mind:
I'll never forget . . .
. . . Ray getting through the labyrinth in seven minutes. Lucky, bastard! :-)
. . . Pat giving it her all despite being ill early in the trip. Next time, don't drink water from the Jet d'Eau.
. . . Teri maintaining her cool despite missed trains and closes venues.
. . . Veronica's extensive knowledge of Broadway musicals and Comi-con lore. A girl after my own heart.
. . . Dan never needing an excuse to strip down to his skivvies. I'm surprised you didn't film yourself at the FKK area in Munich's Englischer Garten!
. . . Karen describing Dan's edible underwear in front of the chocolate museum. I don't think i would've been able to keep a straight face.
. . . Jan is a seriously competitive adventure junkie with some mad survival skills! If the civilized world would come to an end right now, I'd stick by your side.
. . . Sean's acting abilities and charisma. He can channel Donald Trump, Howard Cosell or a used car salesman. And that's just scratching the surface.
. . . Margaret's ability to warp time and space--doing things in half the time it takes a normal person. She's also capable of leaping tall mountains in a single bound.
. . . Tyler's party tricks. He always kept us entertained with drinking games and human knots. Might I add, he's also a heck of a pianist.
. . . Ally's style and grace. She always looked calm, cool and collected, even zip-lining over Munich's Olympic stadium.
. . . Bob's laid-back attitude. For him, Competitours wasn't about winning; it was all about enjoying the ride. And what he told me outside of Loden Frey in Munich helped me foster a more cooperative relationship with other teams.
. . . Judy's marksmanship. Are you sure you didn't train with the special forces?
. . . Sherri's rebellious nature. She wasn't afraid to say, "To hell with the game, I'm drinking a beer instead!"
. . . Ksenia and I straddling three countries together while we waited for lunch to appear at Dreilandpunt. It still hadn't been served by the time we got back to the table.
. . . Lyndall kindly sharing her wine and her seat with me on the train to Cologne. Thanks!
. . . Lanthy on the toboggan run. I nearly rear-ended her after she and Rad got stuck behind some kids.
. . . DeAnna sharing her shoes with me at the Conquest Go Kart Center in Koblenz! Without her generosity, and close-toed shoes, I wouldn't have been able to race at all.
. . . Kelly's superhuman intelligence. I think she was the only one to get that crazy math equation in the underground bunker.
. . . Steve for getting us where we needed to go just in the knick of time (mostly).
AND FINALLY
. . . Sheila's ability to put up with me! You never know how two strangers are going to get along when thrown into a stressful situation. We complemented each other very well and I'm happy to have been her partner. We may not have won the grand prize in the end, but we received the longer-lasting gift of friendship.
I got a kick from watching videos from other Competitours teams. Here are some of my favorites from the trip:
Day 1:
Sean is clearly a skilled impersonator. He adopted a few other voices during the course of the trip, too.
Way to pull out "Little Town" from the music cache. It really does exemplify this scene!
Are you sure you're not a used car salesman in real life?
Day 3:
I like Tyler's version of "encouragement."
Same, same, but different!
A very creative solution to the fact that these teams did not get to the actual toboggan run. Some people call it poor time management, but I call it brilliant.
Day 4:
Sherri and Judy proved themselves to be the rebels of the bunch in this act of open defiance against Competitours.
Sorry Sean and Jan, Manuela is the true star of this video with her sign language for bird poop.
Day 5:
I didn't realize how close Tyler and his mom really are until I saw this video!
A bathroom turned nightclub. The 80 cent cover charge is a bit steep, though.
I have to admit that I was worried Bob wouldn't turn off the video at the end. Phew!
Day 6:
Way to channel your inner Merman, Rad. I felt this video showed your range and your potential to become the victor.
Teams Absolutely Fabulous and Shake & Bake really work well together.
This wasn't the first or last time Dan took off his pants in front of people on this trip.
So what if the museum was closed; if this spy had more time, she would have climbed up on the roof to get in through the ventilation system.
Sean and Jan definitely have a way with people; and this video shows they can talk locals into having their way with each other.
Day 8:
Happy Birthday, Sherri! If I wasn't in contention for the big prize, I would've been doing the same thing.
That girl's got skilz!
I'm detecting a recurring theme in Team Shake & Bake's videos.
Say what you will, but here are some our our personal favorite videos from our Competitours' adventure.
Day 2, Salzburg, Austria: Part of the movie "Sound of Music" -- specifically the song '16 Going On Seventeen' -- was filmed at the Baroque Gazebo at Hellbrunn Palace. One of the challenges there was to conjure up and sing a quick verse and chorus of new lyrics based on using your age (ie- 42 Going on 43').
Back story: We were exhausted after hitting the ground running on Day One and we hadn't mastered a routine for planning and researching our challenges yet. But, we had a couple hours on the train to Salzburg to start re-writing the lyrics to this song. However, we didn't have anything solid by the time we got off the train. We made some last minute changes at Hellbrun as we approached the gazebo, and this was our second take. The judges didn't award us full points on the Hellbrunn Palace multi-part challenge, but this particular video earned the respect of Judge 2 who said: "I love the team chemistry shown in this duet. It's not hard to see they're enjoying themselves in this self-effacing parody."
Day 4, Munich, Germany: The challenge was to go to Loden Frey, a large department store that has a wide selection of traditional folk clothing, and pick an item, say its original function/significance and what situation could you justify wearing it in America and why.
Back story: When we got to the department store, all we could see were dresses after dresses. I headed over to the men's section and saw a hat with what looked like a duster on it. Perfect, I thought, but no one in that department spoke English. We headed over to the hat section and the sales woman was very helpful. At one point she disppeared and I wasn't sure if she was coming back. She had been researching the traditional function for the trachten hute and gamsbart. We didn't even ask her to do that. I give her most of the credit for this video. After all, other teams were told they weren't allowed to film in the store, but Daniella was an active accessory to our "crime" in the accessory department.
Day 6, Koblenz, Germany: Speedy is my middle name, which made this challenge appealing. We were to record our fastest laps around the track at Conquest Go Kart Center and the lowest times would received the highest number of points.
Back story: While there is not much to this video, we got a good laugh when Sheila went the wrong direction on the track and I caught in on tape. Needless to say, her times weren't so good, but luckily we had two chances to better our lap times. Team Swift (DeAnna and Kelly) actually talked us into doing this challenge with them and it turned out to be a blast. The place required racers to wear close-toed shoes, which Sheila and I did not have. Kelly and DeAnna offered to lend us their shoes and we took turns racing. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts for being so generous. I also credit Kelly for giving me pointers on how to take the turns without taking a foot off the gas pedal. I'm now working toward becoming a professional drifter.
Day 8, German/Belgium border: On our last day of challenges, we opted to take a railbike tour through some tiny villages. Our task was to find out from the locals some quirky fact or legend or event/person that should put those villages on the map.
Back story:Very few people speak English in these small towns, but we met Alexandra, who spoke very well. I find the video very funny, because I say in it that there is something very special about the town and ask her to tell us what it is. Alexandra responds, "Yes, that's a hedge." Every time I watch the video, I laugh hysterically at that part. But, you have to admit, that's definitely a quirky fact about Kalterherberg. Apparently, the wind is so bad in the winter, that the locals grow their hedges high enough to block their homes from the cold. They also get frost starting in August. Anyway, Alexandra was so helpful and friendly and I love how she concludes the video: "Yes, come here!" So, if you are reading this, Alexandra, I want to say thank you, thank you, thank you!
Also on Day 8, The Netherlands: From Germany and Belgium, we headed to The Netherlands to go skiing at Snow World. While on the ski slope, our job was to film a 30-second video with some color commentary about how well we were (or not!) skiing.
Back story: I always bring Peruvian finger puppets with me on vacation so I can pass them out to kids. Well, this time, they came in handy for one of our challenges. I had an Andean shepherd wearing a colorful manta and knitted cap, so he essentially became the mascot for the ski slope. People were laughing and looking at me as I gingerly made my way down the slope with "Snow Joe" on one hand, and the camera in the other hand. This video is the very last one we did for Competitours. It goes show that we kept our humor intact, despite the crazy pressure we had been under for the entire trip.
Sheila hit it off with Snow Joe immediately and she took him to Paris with her as she decompresses before returning to Canada. It looks like they are having a great time, together!
On Thursday morning, the scoreboard reflected what Sheila and I already suspected. We finished second in the race across Europe with Competitours. But "As Seen on TV" (Lanthy and Rad) brought their A-game and it paid off. We're very happy for them.
"We fell short of first place by 21 points, but in our minds we are very much winners - in many ways," Sheila says. "This adventure and the new friendship was great."
Doing something like this trip can test a relationship, but throughout the week, Sheila and I were rarely, if ever, at odds. We seem to like to do the same things. We always looked deep into what worked, what didn't and how we could improve our game, but never took constructive criticism personally. We were flexible enough to change on a dime and try something else if it was necessary. And most importantly, we kept our head in the game, but had a lot of fun, too.
This trip may not be for most people, but it's well suited for someone who likes to be on the go, is willing to try new things and isn't afraid to talk to people. From the moment I heard of Competitours, I knew I wanted to do the trip and I want to give a shout out to Fran Belkin, who told me all about it.
I can't believe this is the last day of our trip to Europe. It's flown by. To recap, we've been to Switzerland, Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and the long lost country of Moresnet.
In Day 7, we slipped to second place, but the challengers, "As Seen on TV" are only 10 points ahead of us. Furthermore, Lanthy and Rad couldn't stay the extra day to compete because they had to get back to NY for work. Instead of getting no points for today, they will receive an average number of points for the last seven days.
When we did the math, it was clear that we would only win if we received full points for everything we were going to do on Day 8. We had to be on top of our game. No pressure or anything.
We picked two challenges that were worth a maximum of 75 points that would make us the victors as long as we won them. Otherwise we would receive a minimum point value and land in second place.
The first was to go railbiking on the German / Belgium border. The task involved interviewing locals in some of the towns the rail bike went through to find out what is interesting about their communities. But many people did not speak English. I used an online translator to write out the instructions in German and French, and thank goodness I did. We did find a woman in Kalterherberg, Germany, who did speak English well. She was very helpful and funny and the video we did with her was one of my favorites from the day. The other two were mediocre, which led Sheila and I to believe that we wouldn't score well on the task.
Hoping that no other teams would arrive, we waited to see who would come for the later tour. Margaret and Tyler were there and Jan and Sean showed up late with Steve, but they still were able to do the tour.
We tried not to think about the outcome. We just tried to forget about it and have fun with our last challenge at Snow World. Waiting for the train to take us there, we were pacing. "This is what happens on race days," she says. We just wanted to get a move on, but the public transportation forced us to slow down.
After spending the afternoon under the hot summer sun, we were transported to winter in an instant. I didn't have mittens, but I brought an extra pair of socks to wear on my hands. Hey, you have to be resourceful.
To help with our challenges, I brought along one of my Peruvian finger puppets. I usually carry a handful when I travel so I can give them to kids. I thought for sure I would use them in a challenge or two, but so far I hadn't. When I found out we'd be going skiing, I knew I could use them for something. One of the puppets was an Andean shepherd with a colorful manta and a blue knitted cap. We nicknamed him "Snow Joe," and he became our commentator on the slopes.
I can't begin to tell you the strange looks I got as I skied down the slop with socks on my hands, a talking finger puppet on one finger and my video camera in the other hand. Honestly, I was probably a danger to myself and others, but most people just thought it was mental.
Anyway, it worked out that we got the highest score on that challenge. It was all because of Snow Joe.
We returned back to the hotel pleased with how hard we had played the game over the last eight days and how we had had fun along the way, too. Sure, we wanted to win, but we would be happy with second place, too.
But we would have to wait until morning for the results.
Laura Watilo Blake is an internationally published photographer and journalist specializing in soft adventure and cultural travel stories. For more information, visit www.farflunggallery.com.
I have come to Lisbon, and Portugal in general, with no expectations and no agenda. I spent the first day wandering the steep cobblestone streets up and down the seven hills that make up the city. With me are Chris, who has a fever, and Lauren who is coming down with a sinus infection (I'm popping Vitamin C).
