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