Man, this week has been crazy. Between putting in a bunch of unplanned time on the server to get things back up and running, catching up with people in town and with work there hasn't been much time left to do anything else. Then add a month long business trip to London in the very near future, a country I have never been to, and you can imagine!

At least once I get there and I'm not home I can get back on a normal schedule. It's been hard lately since it's summer and Montana is beautiful in the summer, therefore everyone is always out doing stuff. Plus, one of my best friends Tony lives in Germany and I'm hoping to pop down for a visit!

Saturday is the day... I sure hope I can get everything done before then!

Living in Bozeman has it's pros and cons. One of the major cons for me is the cuisine. For those that don't know, I LOVE Japanese food, it's my favorite! As you can probably guess, the Japapense food in Bozeman is less then mediocre; probably due to the lack of Japanese people that live there! =)

Anyways, it's kind of rare when I get to have decent Japanese food. When I say decent, what I'm trying to say is that the sushi you can buy at any grocery in any major city in the US is better then either of the two places in Bozeman, MT (Jadre's or Dave's Sushi). Now, the grocery sushi it's not much better, but it still is, which is pretty sad. Jadre's by the way, is FAR superior to Dave's too, ugh.

Anyways, I found a really good place in San Antonio, TX I highly recommend. The fish was very fresh and I felt the prices were reasonable, even slightly cheaper then I expected to pay. The staff was great too, and made sure everything was perfect! If you are ever in the San Antonio area and like Japanese food, I would strongly recommend stopping by. You won't regret it!

Koi Kawa Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar
4051 Broadway St
San Antonio, TX 78209-6313
(210) 805-8111

Well, it's that time of year again, and Ian pulled through for the second year in a row with a Smith River permit. Fortunately, with Ian's persistence he was able to get a cancelled launch spot. He pulled the permit less then 7 days before we were supposed to launch. Needless to say, it's a miracle that I was able to go. Fortunately, I happened to be in between projects and could afford to take 5 days off; but the Friday before isn't much notice.

The float was absolutely amazing! On Sunday Zach, Beej, Crash and I rounded up our gear and headed up to Camp Baker pulling a raft and canoe behind us. Once we got to Camp Baker we linked up with Ian and Emily. Early Monday morning, and by early I mean noon, we launched starting our first 12 mile day down the Smith River.

The morning after we launched I woke up to snow, not much and it didn't fall for long, but it was a bit of a surprise. I also woke up to an absessed tooth, ugh. Other then that morning, the weather was fantastic! It was still getting a bit cold at night, and I noticed frost on my tent and sleeping bag. However, during the day it was in the 50's or 60's and into 70's after the first couple days.

On the last night, Thursday and also Ian's birthday, we found a trail that led us up to the top of a canyon wall that was way above our camp. The view from there was just awesome! I got some pics of it, disappointed that I didn't take along the SLR though. Next year perhaps.

All I can say is this was a much needed vacation and I'm stoked that I could spend it on the Smith. This is my second year in a row and I hope to go again next year. It's the most beautiful river I've been on and the camping spots are sweet! I didn't take as many pics as I wanted to, but you can check them out here.

Today we got up a little late, but considering it was our last day and we were just going to fart around, I felt it was okay. We ended up walking downtown this morning because it was so nice out; it was about 27 celcius. We went to LaFe for a very late breakfast, and I decided to have the enchaliadas. The girl that waited on us was not only nice but very beautiful. I really liked one of the songs that was playing on their stereo, since I love Thiervery Corporation and I recognized one of the songs. After she thought I was hitting on her, which I wasn't (this time) she talked to me for a while and mentioned a DJ spinning at a local club that night her and her boyfriend were going to later tonight. At least I snapped a pic of the cover of the album so I could get a copy when I got back to the States.

After a wonderful breakfast/brunch, we wanted down to 28 Norte where we found a great little shop. The guy working in the shop owned the place which isn't common on 5th Ave as most of those guys work for commision. I bought my mom a very nice opal and tazenite ring for Christmas, since we really didn't do any Christmas gifts this year; I negotiated it down to something like $85 USD, which was very cheap for what we got. Personally, I like the shops that are run by the people that own them, they are way less pushy and it's alot easier to make a better deal. I've also learned that you get an extremely better deal if it is their first sale of the day as it seems to be good luck for them or something.

We wandered around a little bit more and Andy picked up the few last things he wanted to get. I had already made all of my purchases, which I think peaved some of the shop owners as I was not interested in all at the "amazing deals" they were offering; oh well. Around 2pm, I hooked us up with a very cheap ride to the airport in Cancun for $400.00 pesos, which is the best price I've found. The guy even has a station wagon so we will have no problem getting all of our shit in there! Today I found the best price for a cab from down town to Playacar / Pakal is on 10th Ave and 2 Norte ($45 pesos, most of the time it's $50.00 pesos). He also agreed to the $400.00 pesos to Cancun where every other taxi I've spoken with quoted $450.00 pesos (roughly $5 difference, but that's an extra tip IMO).

When we got back to the condo it was time for a little R&R, drinks and lots of packing. Time to get all the shit we bought packed in to our bags... good thing I brought an extra, I needed it! I'm still not sure how the Cuban cigars and cigarettes will fair when I get to customs, but we'll see how that works out. Around 4pm, we decided it was time to head back downtown and find some food. Since we had so much time to kill, we decided to walk; it took about 35 minutes to get to La Prilla which is on 5th Ave and 8 Norte. We decided to take 10th Ave down to 8 Norte since we were kind of dodging a guy on 4 Norte and 5th Ave since we made an (as the Mexicans put it) "American promise" to come back but never did. Such is life right? If he wasn't so temerpental maybe I would have told him I decided against making the purchase, but they can be very pushy.

After another amazing margarita at La Prilla (the Gold Margarita is the best; has a shot of Grande Maria on top) we were feeling a bit tipsy and ready to eat. We ended up at the Ula-Gula which is off 10 Horte and 5th Ave across from Haagen Dazs. It's an upstairs restruante and is the best meal we have had. Before today, the best meal we thought we had was at the Glass Bar, but this place is FAR superior. All of the kitchen staff is from Argentina, and the waiters are from Mexico with the exception of the guy who waited on us who is from Isrealel. The service as well as the food was amazing; I HIGHTLY recommend it to anyone visiting the area. If I had another night in Playa, I would go back! I ended up getting the fish of the day, which was a white fish caught off the coast that morning. The food was SO rich I thought I might need a wheelchair to get out of the place!!

Afterwards we went to see Noe, but unfortunately, he wasn't there. I have a feeling he was sick, since he had the sniffles earlier this week. He was a really really nice guy who helped us out a bunch, and didn't feed us to typical bullshit. He is an honest person and I would have loved to see him again before leaving; maybe next time I'm here I will get the chance to thank him. Although, I think he had a severe coke problem. I finally found something for Ellen though in his shop since she was considerate enough to give us a ride to the airport at 6am MST in the morning.

Well, I just got back to the condo and it's time to finish off our booze since we can't take it with us. I will really miss it here and would love to live here, despite the threat of hurricanes. I think the people are a major part of what makes this place so special and I can't wait until I get to visit again. I can't beleive it's been a week already, it feels like I've only been here a short time. Although, it's time to get back to the States and go back to work so we can work the debt off from this trip. We had a budget... but I guess that's for sissies since we all ended up spending SO much more. In the end, I should have quadruapled the budget for coming here and brought severl thousand. I just hope the duty at customs getting back into the States doesn't kill us; but then again, it would be worth it!

This morning was a little rough after toasting off that bottle last night. I wasn't TOO hung over though, but didn't get out of bed until about 8:45am, which was a little late. The bus that we planned the night before to take left at 10am this morning, and there was no way to catch it. We did sort of hustle though after Andy and I finally got up and we were able to catch the 10:20am bus which actually left around 10:35am (thankfully!). The bus ride cost $32.00 pesos per person plus tax which is fairly cheap, and it took roughly an hour. Tulum is about 45 kilometers (my guess) from Playa, but the bus makes two stops.

Once we got to Tulum, we decided to get some lunch and head to the Mayan ruins. Lunch was okay, and in my opinion a little pricey. We decided to walk to the ruins after that, which is less then a kilometer. It was a scorcher out today though, and the trolly for $20.00 pesos didn't seem too bad, although it IS slightly less then a kilometer so we walked. Once we got to the ruins, it was $38.00 pesos per person to get in. That didn't include a tour, and I would recommend against it. It seemed that so many other people were getting tours that we could overhear a lot of the tour guides anyways, so we got a lot of free information!

The ruins were amazing. If you ever come to this area in Mexico, I would say it is a must see, hands down. It's by far the best thing we have done since arriving here and I can't think of anything else that would top it. I really enjoy architecture, specifically when it's ancient. I blows me away to look at some of the structures and think what how they were able to construct it without the use of modern technology. I would also highly recommend taking a swim suit when visiting the ruins as there is the most beatiful beach there. We didn't know about it, but next time I will be sure to come better prepared.

After spending several hours wandering around the ruins, we decided to head back to town and get our bus tickets home. We had some time to kill before the next bus departed, so we grabbed a few beers and relaxed; it was nice to get out of the heat. On my way to buy us tickets home, I found a Collectiva that was getting ready to leave. For only $25.00 pesos, we could catch a direct (no stops) ride back to Playa! That is a WAY better deal then taking Ado. After getting back to Playa which only took about 35 minutes we wandered around some of the less tourist area. BTW, you can catch the Collectiva on 2 Norte and 15th Street, but I have also seen a few on Juarez and 5th Street, although not many. There was quite a few at the other intersection though.

We all really enjoyed our meal at the Glass Bar the other night and figured we had to have it again before we left. Since we only had today and tomorrow, we went for it today. The other day we had no problem getting a table, but tonight everything was reserved and it was not possible to make a reservation for tonight. Not suprising considering that it's the best place we have eaten while staying here. They were extremely nice however and hooked us up with a table either way, with the agreement that we would be out of there before 8:30pm. Since that gave us just under two hours, we went for it and enjoyed another wonderful meal there! If you visit Playa and don't eat there, your really missing out.

Once we finished eating, we headed over to Azurel for a quick night cap before heading home. They have very good margaritas there and I rate them pretty high. Probably the third best one I've had here. The lounge there is quite unique, and definitely has sex appeal. Their lounge is on the second story overlooking 5th Street (on the corner of 10 Norte). The lighting is all ambient using shades of blue and purple. They have a pool and a hot tub, with a glass wall along the edge of the building facing the street so you can look down on the crowded street below. While they have a few tables, the majority of their "tables" are futon style beds and drinks are served on trays. Essentially, people lay in bed by the pool, drinking and smoking while the DJ spins a mix of Mexican and American music. There is also a movie being projected onto the wall behind the pool which adds to the atmosphere. It's definitely a cool place to grab a drink. After a cocktail, it was time to head home and un-wind.