EL TOUR GRANDE

ObaMao – This will go down as one of the craziest things we’ve seen at a Del Taco. Some good ole American military prose. Everyone’s is a poet.

This would not be an Eric Cruz trip if it didnt involve some drama! On the first leg of our journey, our bags were lost and broken into at the airport!!! Someon had cutoff the entire lock and zipper. These were TSA safe locks, so US customs could open them with ease. And if they did inspect it, they would have left a a note. Hmmmm. Suspicious! oh well. Luckily its only a few things missing. Glad we took out some travel insurance just in case the airline does not pay us back. But its Singapore Air, they should be good about this kind of stuff.

Ok. So after our brief pit stop in LA, SingaporeAir loosing our luggage, having one of them broken into at LAX, loosing some stuff, continuing our househunting with Jo, replacing our unusable luggage, and getting some supplies at Target, we are finally ready to go.

Our new route starting from Mexico and ending in Bali. We’re off! For real. Very soon.

This trip is a gift to ourselves. Well, perhaps mainly for me. Every some odd years or so, I get the itch to just walk the earth and see things firsthand for myself to see what life is really about. This will be my second big one since doing my first epic journey across China in 2001 after graduate school, before moving to Tokyo. Only this time I wont be solo, Myung Jin and I will embark on our biggest trip together. There really isnt any big theme to this trip except to say “THE places Eric Cruz has not been to”. How’s that for a theme? Ignorance is the best motivation. Always works for me…

01. Teotihuacán, MEXICO
Our first stop is The City of the Gods. Its been a life-long dream of mine to see the ancient ruins and pyramids of the Pre-Aztec Empire. It’s the Indian Jones in me. They even have a his and hers pyramid climb… Sun pyramid for me, Moon pyramid for MJ. I CAN. I CAN. I CAN. Wiki Teotihuacan

02. Buenos Aires, ARGENTINIA
Our second stop will be to say hello to our friends from Amauta Inc. – Carlos and Martin. We hear the economy is not doing so well, so well come to spend some ¥en there before it goes back up ;-)

03. Marrakech, MOROCCO
It’s been a place I’ve been thinking of since growing up in España. I’ll trade that Lots of graphic Arabic patterns and the doorway to our Mediterranean journey.

04. Bucharest, ROMANIA
Earlier this year we had planned an Eastern Bloc European tour which never came to fruition. And last year I did some work for Google Romania and have been hearing some animation festivals starting to sprout in this country, all of which has re-awakened my interest visiting this side of Europe which I have explored so little.

05. Veliko Tarnovo, BULGARIA
Bulgaria, is that in Romania? So along with Bucharest, Veliko Tarnobo will be our second stop in East Europe. Simply because… We have no idea what one of the most beautiful city in Eastern Europe looks like. To be honest, I’ve never even heard of it til MJ brought it up. I never even knew Bulgaria was a country. Hope to finally make sense of Bulgarian Rhapsody after this visit.

06. Istanbul, TURKEY
Istanbul was once Constantinople. The second stop to El Mediterrañeo. We’ve been trying to make it out to this ancient place since last year but haven’t made it so far.

07. Cappadochio, TURKEY
Well see if we can’t squeeze in Cappadochio, the world of lunar landscapes, ancient churches and cave dwellings. I think they shot Star Wars and Indiana Jones here. I’m a fan.

08. Cairo, EGYPT
Another life-long dream of mine to see sunrise with The Pyramids, even though MJ has been here before. I have not. Gotta cross this one off from my list of places to go before I die, better late than never.

09. St. Petersburg, RUSSIA
One of the only major countries neither MJ and I have never been to.

10. Moscow, RUSSIA
This will be the gateway to our Trans-Mongolian Rail Journey. We’ll mos def be opting for the Deluxe First Class, WITH shower. There’s no way I’m sitting on a train for 2 weeks without showering. Along the way we’ll be hopping on and off to explore the in betweens.

11. Ulaanbaatar, MONGOLIA
Hop off the train we go and gaze at some… Wide grasslands. Hope I can stand all the vastness.

12. Beijing, China
The end of our Trans Mongolian Rail Journey and a stop over for a nice meal in the hutongs, perhaps a nice shower. Then off we go to finish off in…

13. Hanoi, VIETNAM
Simply because MJ has never been here and I wanted to show her what its like before it gets too commercial. The crepes and cuisine are great!!! Maybe this time I will make it to Sapa.

I know 13 aint a good numero, but Beijing doesn’t really count ;-) So there we have it! 12 is one if my lucky numeros!

We’ll see how this all comes together, we’re still in the planning stages. So it will change somewhat here and there. But we hope to see all of this, or at least I do. Now for some MJ endurance training.