At least WE did not go to jail....

My, my, my, it has been a long time since we last posted. This is both a good and bad thing, i think- bad for you guys but good for us because it means we were having so much fun that we could just not bring ourselves to slow down and blog. Given the time passed, it is probably imperative that i bring you up to speed on where we are and where we have been...

First of all, after Cancun, Em and J.Jane headed to Playa Del Carmen, where we stayed at the famous Playa Hostel. Now, this is one of the better hostels i have ever stayed at. We had a private room (we do not do the dorm thing anymore) and, although the room was not the best i have ever seen, the atmosphere of the hostel totally made up for it. Imagine a giant indoor tree house. There were huge wood beams everywhere and hammocks hanging all around. The place had a roof top patio and communal kitchen, so it was really easy to cook for ourselves and meet people. Two of the best people we met at the hostel were Vicktor and Marcus, aka : The Sweds. Now, Vicktor and Marcus are unlike most of the travelers i have met- they are balls to the walls crazy each and every night. They told the funniest stories while getting drunk beyond belief. The best thing about The Sweds is that they taught us many many many new card games, all made for consuming absurd amounts of booze. After the games, all they wanted to do was dance, so to the parties we all went... and it was all crazy fun.

Well, almost all of it. One night after dinner, The Sweds came home with a gallon of vodka. While Em and I saw this as a scary thing, The Sweds were pumped. We continued to play our usual games, with the boys drinking vodka in place of beer... 3\4s of a gallon to be exact. At around 1am they vanished- Em and I assumed they went to the parties, so I set out to find them, partially worried I was going to find them in an ally somewhere. While I did not find them that night, I did meet a very nice boy from Israel named Guy. (which is a whole other story I will get into later) Anyway, the point is, I did not find them. The next day, Em and I were having lunch and we see The Sweds stumble by. When we asked what happened to them the night before they infored us that THEY WENT TO JAIL!!! ha ha ha- They are not too sue what they went for, but they said it was the dirtiest, most horrible thing ever, but agreed that it makes a great story, even though the police stole all their money.
After a series of odd events that Em and I would rather not discuss, we decided to move hostels, this time to a beautiful little hotel by the beach with hammocks and balconies. This is where our new Israeli friends were staying and they said they loved it. Once we moved there, we spent a ton of time playing cards, drinking coffee and running around Playa Del Carmen with the Israeli boys- Guy, Nadav and Allad. They boys also had some friends, Shiron and Dikla who were amazing and wonderful woman...we are very lucky to have met the entire Israeli crew.
Our time spent in Playa Del Carmen has been some of the best of the trip. After Playa, we decided to go with the Israelis to Tulum, which I will have to tell you about later. Oddly enough, I am sitting in a cafe in Isla Mujeres and who just walked in but The Sweds! What a small world this is... They have a case of beer and a deck of cards, so it looks as though I am done blogging for the evening. Like I said before, we are living the dream :)

shake what your mama gave ya,
j.jane and em.

No Parking on the Dance Floor

The time has come- Em and I are on the move. We are thinking about catching a bus to playa del carmen or maybe puerto morelos, it just depends on what is leaving when we get to the station. Either way, we are in search of some serious snorkeling.



All in all, our time in Cancun was awesome... this place is nothing like I thought it would be. I was picturing the whole place to be just like the Hotel Zone, but I could not have been more wrong. We got to eat delicious food, hear beautiful music, swim with the locals and we even met some fellow travelers from Australia (hi Rhys, Todd and Jack!) While it was sad leaving our new friends, we are thankful for the chance to meet them, especially since they convinced Em and I to do something WE NEVER thought we would do...ever. Em and J.Jane went to a dance club in Cancun. A BIG dance club. There were lke 4 floors, open bar, an axl Rose impersonation show, glitter and paper that fell from the ceiling, top forty music, girls pouring shots in your mouth- the whole deal. While it was super bizarre, we are both glad we did it. Travelling is all about the experiece, right? Plus, I am pretty sure we are the only girls to ever set foot in that club wearing moccasins and topsiders. (side note, I was coaxed into dancing on the bar with a female employee of the club. way too funny. photos to come... maybe)



That is all for now, we have to go grab our backpacks and head for the bus station. I think I might try to convince Em to go to La Pasadita with me one more time before we head out, it was so tasty and the people were so nice. Not to mention, who knows how long we will be on the bus!



wishing safe travels to all our new friends,
J.Jane and Em

por supuesto!

Wow. Another amazing day in Cancun for J.Jane and em. We woke up late, got stuff for a picnic from the grocery store, took the CORRECT bus to the beach and ............. nada mas. The entire day was filled with people watching, swimming reading and laughing at one another. I cannot remember having a more relaxed and enjoyable day. The silliest thing of the day was my crazy belly burn. I must have been very lazy while putting on the sunscreen, becuase i had two perfectly white hand prints on a rather burned red belly. HA.

One of the reasons our day was so relaxed was due to our adventures the night before.

First, we headed down to this little plaza that featured traditional dancing, tons of food stalls and families and friends everywhere. We ate some delicious corn, saw some beautiful shows and watched the children play. Also, we found a guy with an espresso machine and I had one of the best cafe con leches of my entire life. After that, it was off to find some live music at the jazz bar.

The jazz bar was unreal. The beer was good, the tequila was awesome and the band blew my mind. The people we met at the bar were real charecters- from the 45 year old cougar pickin up boys half her age, to the grizzley busiman from Brussels, the adorable waiter (with whom we plan on going to salsa with later in the trip and the super duper hot bass player from the band... everyone was interesting, they all had a story.

After the jazz bar, we went back to the hostel to freshen up (at 3am HA) and were planning on going out dancing. Just as we were leaving our hostel we heard drumming, mad-wild-kinetic drumming, along with hoots and hollers and laughing. Upon review we realized that there is a reggae bar not more than 200 yards away from where we sleep. The decision was made- we had to go there. It was the type of bar dreams are made of. Not a gringo in the joint, 20 people pounding on drums in the corner, and only 40s of Sol on the menu. It was dirty, dark and just the place I wanted to be.

The night ended on a rather high note, with members of the band from the jazz bar showing up. They were all really sweet and I hope to meet up with them again on the way out of Cancun.

Where ever we end up, that is where we are going.

Greetings from Mexico! After a hilarious night of not sleeping, a plane ride next to a screaming child and some of the most interesting people watching ever to be done at an airport McDonalds at 4am, Em and I are finally enjoying the warm breezes of Mexico.

A few things-
1) our hostel is pretty amazing. The people are cool, the location could NOT be any better, we have our own private room AND they feed us twice a day. ¿Did I mention that it only cost us $12.00 (usd) a night? Score big time team jess/em!

2) the beach was freaking beautiful. we snuck onto the beach through a fancy hotel and spent the afternoon lounging on comfy beach chairs- then we walked the rocks all the way down the beach. (side story, we got back on the bus that took us to the beach, but that bus DID NOT take us to where we needed to go. we must have changed busses at least three times, with the bus driver being sweeter and more patient with ever wrong turn we made)

3) em and i stumbed upon the most amazing restuarant today. the entire clientele was male and the super kind female waitress fell in love with em. she could not get over how pretty she was. because of this we taught the woman how to say ´beautiful´ in english. it was really neat. on top of finding em amazingly beautiful, the woman also insisted that we were brothers. i told her she was correct. :)

4) we are off to a jazz bar for some tequila right now. after that we might explore this hoppin plaza down the street from our hostel. rumor has it that there is a bitchin heavy metal bar in the area. we will find it, have faith.

so yeah, the internet in our hostel is down and i don´t feel like sitting in this internet cafe any longer. hope all is well in your respective places in the world.

love your mothers,
J.Jane
ps- em would like me to ask you to excuse our punctuation, or lack there of- these keyboards are no0t making any sense and we are in a hurry.

dos amigas, uno pais. finally!

Okay, so this is really it. Em and I are leaving in 30 minutes. I am super duper excited/anxious/restless/inebriated. The iPod is loaded, we've got our passports and we have been stumbling through homemade Spanish lessons for the last several hours. Aside from finding out that someone stole my identity and drained my bank account yesterday, things are absolutely wonderful. Em's good friend Marianne is taking us to the airport and we could not be more thankful. We booked a hostel for our first night so that we are able to get off the plane, drop our stuff and go straight to the beach. After that, we will probably catch a bus to _____?

Sidenote, does anyone know how to say 'nailed it' in Spanish? What about 'deal with it'? How about 'your bad'? ... These are just a few of the phrases that we have found that we do not know how to translate, but may or may not imperative.

Wish us luck on our departure. (We finally got to have some SERIOUS FUN with my roomie, Brass Tacks. score.)


cheers,
J. Jane

Strong Mexican Magic (or something like that)

"Going loco down in Acapulco,
If you stay too long.
Yes you'll be going loco down in Acapulco,
The magic down there is so strong."
-The Four Tops

Today is the big day. While I have to work for the next 7 hours, the minute I get off I am picking up Em and we are consuming a bottle of wine while going through the numerous checklists I have made. Given that we have to be at the airport at 3am, we figure a) it will be best not to sleep and b) a bottle of wine will make the whole 'quadrillion hour plane ride thing' much more manageable.

I still have some stuff to take care of before I leave, but I was able to say some requisite goodbyes yesterday, which was revivifying. Considering that I still am not 100% sure when I will return, it seemed imperative to spend some time with the people that I may miss the most.**

Currently, I am struggling with what to put on my iPod. I am famously bad at choosing a wide array of tunes... I tend to load up on whatever I am in the mood for at the moment, as opposed to selecting music for all occasions. That, or I just go 100% Phish and podcasts. (I could listen to This American Life for weeks at a time). Needless to say, this endeavour is not to be taken lightly. This is what I have on my playlist so far...

Esbjorn Svennson Trio
Medeski, Martin and Wood
Frontier Ruckus
TRex
Talking Heads
Of Montreal
My Morning Jacket
Neutral Milk Hotel
Grateful Dead/Grisman & Garcia
Prince
The Smiths
Justice or/or Girl Talk
Joy Division
Cat Power
Bonnie 'Prince' Billy
David Bowie
Billie Holiday
The Cure
Bill Withers
The Flaming Lips
This American Life/ Radio Lab/ The Moth/ Weekend Edition/ Splendid Table

So, what do you think? Where are the holes obvious to everyone but me? Strangely, this is one of the things causing me the most anxiety today, which is silly.

On the topic of anxiety- it comes as no surprise to those who know me that I tend to be a tad anxious at times. I get myself all worked up and have a slight propensity to spaz, but just a little bit... in a endearing way. (right?) Taking this into consideration, I have made two MAJOR decisions within the last twelve hours that are entirely antithetical to the way my mind usually works.
1) I am NOT taking my phone to Mexico. Although I have spent countless hours on the horm with AT&T, trying to figure out how much calls from Mexico would cost and whether or not I can access email while scuba diving in a cenote, I have come to the conclusion that it will be an advantageous experience to be sans cell phone.

2)I will NOT be obsessively compulsively checking my email/skyping/telepathically summonsing my place of employment. I have to wrap my mind around the fact that the place existed for over 150 years before I came along and therefore will probably not fall to pieces within a few weeks of my absence.

Ok, enough of this. I have to get to work on the multitude of tasks I must complete before my departure this evening.

stay sassy and eat your veggies,
J. Jane

**Speaking of people I may miss the most, where the hell has my roommate been the last few days? Seriously, she is either working or sleeping and there is some serious fun to be had before I leave tonight. Hear that, Michelle? SERIOUS FUN. (hot date with hulu, perhaps?)

24 Hours and Counting

Welcome to Two Girls. One Country :
Mexiblog 2009.

To bring you up to speed- Em and J.Jane are going to Mexico, the Yucatan to be exact. They are looking for little more than sun, sandy beaches and hot boys. Okay, maybe I was kidding about the last part. Maybe not.

Their plans are as follows: _______.

Yeah, we have no plans. The only thing we are sure of is our arrival city and date. Pretty dope, no?

Anyway, I promised like 4,342 people that I would keep in touch and let them know where our travels take us. Rather than spending my time in Mexico writing 4,324 personalized accounts of our antics, I figured I would start a blog. Revolutionary, I know.

So yeah, stay tuned to stay on top of the people/places/trouble/love/wanderlust we are all sorts of mixed up in.

peace and seitan grease,
J.Jane