Friday, July 18, 2014
Some more photo's from our time in Salvador
Here are some extra photo's of us during our time in Salvador...... Enjoy...!
Monday, July 14, 2014
They think it’s all over.....
Well in terms of the football, the World Cup is over.....
We watched the 3rd/4th playoff game at
our newly adopted bar of choice, Guapo, and enjoyed the company of Pedro and
his friends, complete with guitar and sing-a-long afterwards and far too much alcohol.
It was sad to see Brazil once again beaten, but by now I think everyone around
the world has come to accept that the current Brazilian team are a pale shadow
of the teams that went before them. I can only hope that this sense of
disappointment in Brazil is positively channelled into a deeper review of their
national game and that the required changes are made, so that we see a more
convincing Brazil at the next World Cup. I mean, can you imagine a World Cup
without Brazil..., it’s almost unthinkable....!
Yesterday we returned to Guapo for a more restrained afternoon
of Caiprahini’s/beer and occasional food, to watch the World Cup final. As we
had been following Germany throughout the tournament, we were very much looking
forward to the ‘Manshaft’ beating the Argentinians and taking the trophy for the
4th time. I my personal
recollection, the actual World Cup final is generally an anti-climax in terms
of the footballing on display, as both teams are so desperate not to lose, the
games become defensive 'grind-fests' that often go to penalties, which in my mind
is no way to settle a match, let alone the world Cup final. All we could do was
watch and hope for the best. Fortunately, the game started with a roar and
proceeded in a similar fashion for the whole of the first half, with a constant
flow of end-to-end action, with many chances going to waste, but alas no goals.
The second half was a little more defensive, but it wasn't for the lack of trying,
with both teams squandering great opportunities to take the lead 
Overall, in the scheme of things, I think I can safely say
that we have been lucky enough to have been a part of one of the best World
Cups experience ever. We have seen more goals, more saves, and more pure raw
excitement than during any of the past tournaments I have been to or can
remember, with a World Cup Final and a winning goal worthy of this great
competition. Germany are creditable champions, having played the most consistent
and direct game of any team at the tournament, playing with style and pace, and
putting in a ruthless performance when required. Well done Germany....
In terms of our holiday, we still have another month to go,
as we settle in to the post-World Cup phase. Today is wet and windy in
Salvador, almost as if the Brazilian weather is mourning the end of such a
great 6 weeks of football, but we have a few things left to do in this great
city. In a few days time we fly to Rio
de Janeiro for a handful of days and to see the sights before heading off to
the Amazon for a week. So plenty left to see and do, even if we don’t have a constant
diet of football to keep us entertained, we just have to wait for another 1425
days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia....
You coming...?
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Love & Destruction in a Time of Sickness
We have now attended our last World Cup Match in Brazil and
it will be another 4 years before we revive the experience in Russia. We
watched Holland scrape past Costa Rica in the last of the quarterfinals, in the
end relying on penalties to get the job done. Holland have been the villains of
this World Cup in many people’s eyes,
with Robbens diving antics, and their questionable tactics and gamesmanship, so
I was disappointed that the plucky Costa Rican could not pull a shock win out
of the bag and progress to the Semi’s. It was a good game to attend however with
our seats high up beside one of the goals, we endured the first half boredom,
enjoyed the improved second half, and were jumping out of our seats by the time
extra time had finished, as we settled in for the drama of penalties. It never
feels right to settle a game of such importance by the lottery that is penalties,
especially as Holland obviously deserved the win
Since that match we have been hunkered down in our apartment
trying catch up on some rest and relaxation, and Fiona & I have been trying
to shake the annoying cold/cough we have developed, (Ican hear Fiona coughing
as I write). We have spent 2 or 3 long days of listening to podcasts, wandering
to the supermarket, enjoying the brutal sunshine between the brief rainy squalls,
and deciding which bar we should honour with our presence to watch the
semi-finals. We have sort of made a small Mexican restaurant/bar called “Gaupo”
our local after meeting some really nice people there, and it was here that we
had decided to watch the Germany v Brazil Semi-final. Unfortunately, a large
number of the locals had the exact same idea, and with the bar being so small,
we were forced to cross the road and squeeze ourselves into another bar, where
we enjoyed the building atmosphere.
By kick-off we had been in there for almost 2 hours and many
Caipirinha’s had been drunk, but i could tell that something
out-of-the-ordinary was about to happen, don’t ask me how, but I just had that
feeling. I was expecting this to be an epic battle between the uber-strike force
of the Germans against the passionate defence and flair of the home team
Brazil, and that it would be a low scoring and cagey affair, boy was I
wrong....! After the first German goal went in there was still hope and belief
in the hearts of the Brazilian fans around us, but when the second went in,
suddenly the mood changed, both in the bar and on the pitch. The players lost
their composure, they lost any semblance of team structure and they fell apart
in a more spectacular fashion that anyone could have imagined. In the bar the
screams of anguish started, amplifying with every goal the German machine scored,
and the faces of the people around us made the painful one-way journey from rapturous
unquestioning belief to disbelieving and heart-breaking despair. By half-time
the collective dreams of a Nation, a Team, and the Brazilian People were irreconcilably
dashed against the rocks of the cold, hard truth, that Brazil were not going to
win the World Cup in their own back yard. I can’t say that I personally saw
people in tears in the bar, but I saw too many stunned expressions to believe
that tears were not far behind.
I was hoping that the Germans would have been happy with five
goals to nil and that in the second half they would carelessly stoke the ball
around the pitch, being noble enough to understand that inflicting any further
damage on Brazil would be cruel and unusual punishment. But no, they stuffed
another couple of goals past the hapless and almost non-existent Brazilian
defence with the brutality that we all know they are capable of. The single solitary
Brazilian goal scored at the very death of the game was no real consolation, more
of a single flower of remembrance being thrown upon the grave of Brazilian
football. This was a night that will loom large in the memory of those who
watched it, and we will all collectively remember where each of us were when it
happened, a new JFK moment for the modern football fan.
A little bit of the magic and memory of this and past World
Cups, died inside me that night...... Any football that follows so closely on
the heels of the Brazilian destruction will be made somehow less relevant, and
even though we watched the Holland v Argentina game in our favourite Mexican
bar, and even though Holland finally got their comeuppance, I was somehow a
little less involved and little less passionate about the result. But all is
not lost....This morning as I write this blog post, I feel a stirring in my
lizard brain as I contemplate the Germany v Argentina World Cup Final, two fierce
rivals that have the potential to put on a show worthy of this mighty
competition. There are three more days before the final and I am calmly hoping
I can regain my World Cup mojo, or at least shake this bloody annoying
cough....
We shall just have to mark the passing of time until Sunday
when we will see which of these 2 football behemoths comes out on top.....
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Happy Birthday Steve! - A Message from Fiona
Hey everyone, Fiona here:)
If you’ve read one of these blogs before you know that at
some point I make an appearance, and, as like last WC, its Steve’s birthday today
so here I am.
Well, I can’t compete against Steve’s writing prowess,
unless I’m writing about feeding baby lions :), so I’m going to bullet point my
way through this: -
Highlight - catching up with my cousin Christine and her
husband Andres in Santiago – 18 years is nothing to catch up on, and we had a
guest appearance via skype from Judy!
Chile – loved it (all of it, even the bits we haven’t been
to yet), we immediately thought about how we can move there, as we always do...
San Pedro de Atacama – OK, this is our third WC and as you
may have figured out, we love deserts – Sahara, Namibian and now SPdA – those
who know me know I can’t stand the heat but somehow it works (maybe it’s the
humidity I don’t like...)
Craft Beer – who knew, Chile has a huge craft beer scene,
yay!
Yates – great to see his friendly face waiting for us in Sao
Paulo – this is Steve and his sixth WC.
David, Yates’ brother, was able to join us for the Fortaleza leg – he is
well into his football and was able to offer a more sober view on some of the
games we watched.
Brew Dog Bar, Sao Paulo – let me set the scene, 3 or 4 months
ago I randomly buy some beer for Steve (Fresh Choice, Parklands – great
selection of craft beer). One of them
Steve particularly likes, Brew Dog Punk IPA, “where does this come from” he
wonders.... after a minute he knows it’s a Scottish brewer, just about to open
a brew bar in Sao Paulo – how awesome was that?
You know from Steve’s blog post what a great night we had there and how
much Steve enjoyed it.
Football Museum, Sao Paulo – obviously I like football but
even if you don’t this place is worth a visit. Lots of humour and a journey
through WCs puts them into perspective with what was happening at the time.
Mexico vs Brazil, Fortaleza – not the best
but two teams with great supporters so was awesome being part of the crowd.
7 v 1 – Right, out of sequence, but at this point I would
like to point out something I noticed after the opening game, which we watched
in a bar, the majority of Brazilians are not huge football fans, they are Brazil
fans – I think they just thought they’d win by default and couldn’t see what
the rest of us were seeing.
Mateus & Mariane – brother and sister waiters working in
the parents ’snack’ bar – this was opposite the stadium at Fortaleza. We went there before/after each game and got
to know them quite well, especially Mateus.
Very friendly and hard working family.
Fan Fest, Fortaleza – this was right on the beach in front
of our apartment so really it’s the view of the Fan Fest. These guys were right up against the heat and
humidity – we only made it in there once – but they put on an amazing show, all
day everyday with live acts including dancers, musicians and DJs leading up to
the games. They put the Fan Fest here in
Salvador to shame, they only show Brazil games and games being played in
Salvador with no entertainment in between.
Rancho do Piexe, Jericoacoara – just go there if you can.
Salvador – my favourite city in Brazil so far, a nice mix of
Sao Paulo and Fortaleza – the beach, history, culture, architecture, shopping.
Elevador Lacerda, Salvador – for just 7c you can catch a
lift, seemingly suspended in air, from the lower city (port) to the upper city
– the difference in the two ‘cities’ was amazing – both beautiful, just
different.
Police – there are a lot of police here in Brazil and I don’t
just mean quantity, variety also, we have: Military / Local / Transport / Motor
Bike / State / Riot / Horse Mounted – I’m sure I’ve missed some – for the most
part they wear really cool uniforms and have guns! NB the police in Fortaleza are a lot more
laid back than the police in Salvador, just in case you find yourself in trouble
one day.
Fans – we have met some really cool people, some for a
passing moment, a bus ride, a queue wait, watching the same game – carrying the
NZ flag certainly helps. People
everywhere are the same and that’s one sameness I never get bored of.
Food – well, we haven’t gone hungry since we’ve been here
and having spent a lot of time on the coast there’s been lots of seafood. Salvador has an African heart and that shows
in the food and Steve had the most amazing broth the other day. Sometimes we
order things not really knowing what will arrive. Lots of meat and buffets/all
you can eat’s are popular. If you are a
vegetarian the best option is to go to a ‘self service’ restaurant (that’s what
they’re called!) they have great salads/bean/cheese dishes. If you go to a normal restaurant and order a
salad 9 times out of 10 you’ll be disappointed.
Booze – to counter Chiles fantastic craft beer selection,
and with the
That pretty much brings us up to day, Steve’s birthday –
happy birthday!
Thursday, July 3, 2014
Fun facts and Figures – Part 3
Here is another round up of some of the fun facts and
figures about our trip so far:
- Current Distance Travelled: 18,800
kms
- Distance walked so far: 279.7
kms
- Words Written in Blog: 17,728
words
- Football Games Watched: 6
Live / 31 on TV
- Goal Seen: 17
- Goals missed by Yates: 2
(in the beer queue)
- Favourite Goal so far: Tim Cahill Volley against
Holland
- Photos Taken so far: 1,782
- Strongest Beer Drunk: 18.2%
- Brew Dog Tokyo
- Most Expensive Bar Bill: R$351
(NZ $183)
- Planes Taken: 7
- Highest Temperature: +32
Degrees C (Fortaleza, Brazil)
- Lowest Temperature: -13
Degrees C (El Tatio Guysers, Chile)
- Number of Hangovers: 2
(Steve)
- Sweatiest Place Ever: Forteleza
First few days in Salvador
Before we left Fortaleza we attended the highly entertaining
and somewhat controversial Holland v Mexico Group of 16 game at the Estadio
Castelao. We were lucky enough to be sitting high up to the right of the goal
where Holland scored their 2 late goals, including the disputed ‘dive’ by
Robben, and got a fantastic view of the action. We had been cheering for
Holland all along, and when they turned it around, there was much whooping
& cheering from us in the stands. However, there were a lot, and I mean a
lot, of very disconsolate Mexican fans who yet again saw their team go out at
this point in the tournament once again, they were absolutely convinced that
Robben dived and it should not have been a penalty. He ho, that’s World Cup
football for you, no one ever said it was fair...?
The next day at the ungodly hour of 5:00am, we were up, packed
and grabbing a cab for the airport to start the next leg of the odyssey. I was
a little sad to say goodbye to the apartment & Fortaleza, which had been
our home for 17 days, but all good things must end. Our flight was once again
delightfully non-dramatic, and we flew the 1000 kms south to Salvador, arriving
around 9:00am. I had arranged a pick up from the airport to take us to our next
apartment which can be found in the city’s southern-most promontory, in an area
called the Barra. After the extreme luxury of the Fortaleza apartment and its
associated complex, we are in more modest luxury of a spacious &
comfortable duplex penthouse, replete with a roof terrace and bar, and of
course a hammock. Upon arriving, we met the owner and had a run through of the
apartment and once we had freshened up a little, headed out to explore the
locale, and find a bar showing the next game. 
We are lucky enough to be about 5 minutes walk from the
Salvador Fan-fest, which is set up at the very tip of the Barra peninsular
right in the shadow of the famous Fort. The whole area is a newly created
pedestrianised zone with bars and shops on one side, and views out over the
beach and the ocean on the other side, very unique and different. The only
downside is that they only seem to be showing the matches being played in
Salavdor, in an effort to allow locals who could not afford tickets to be part
of the experience, and showing games involving Brazil, which I can imagine
would very popular. No problem, there seem to be plenty of bars and restaurants
in the area with big screen TV’s, and we found one right on the seafront with a
great view of the France v Nigeria game, with a few caprihina’s and several
bottles of beer. After the game we returned to the apartment to relax for a couple
of hours before watching the Germany v Algeria game, which was a real humdinger
of a game, in which Algeria acquitted themselves finely but ultimately losing
to the power of the German ‘Manshaft’.... I had started to come down with
something and went to bed after the match, but Fiona and Yates popped out to
the local supermarket to get something to eat.
The following day was the day of our first match in
Salvador, the very juicy encounter between USA and Belgium. This was a particularly
important match for us as we have been following the USA all the way through
the group stages, and this was to be their chance to progress to the Quarter-finals,
if they could get past a pretty unremarkable Belgium. We decided to leave early
to make sure we knew where we were going to catch the bus from and also find a
bar to watch the early 1:00pm game between Argentina and the Swiss. As in
Fortaleza, the city of Salvador have also set up a bunch of special buses from
all parts of the city to get fans to the stadium, but as with most things in
Brazil, nothing is ever exactly the same from place to place, and this time we
would have to buy a re-usable card and charge it with money to cover our travel
to the stadium. Luckily the buses run from very close to where we are staying and
we managed to find all the details we needed and find a bar well within the
time we had, Fiona even had some time for some window shopping in the mall.
We knew that if the Argentina and Swiss game ran into extra
time we would still have to leave the bar and make our way to the stadium
regardless, and that is exactly what happened. We only found out the ‘Argies’
had nicked it with goal late late late into extra time on the bus as we sped
towards the Arena Fonte Nova. The bus did seem to take the most convoluted
route to the stadium, and even when it did finally drop us off, there was still
15 minutes more walking to do to reach the gates. Once again, things are a
little different in Salvador, with military police conducting ticket checks
well before approaching the stadium gates, and the whole queuing system appeared
far more overly complex than in Fortaleza, but after a little pushing and
shoving we got into what is a very beautiful stadium. This time our seats were in the direct sun so
we stood in the
Once the Belgians brought on their hulking great beast of an
attacker, Romerlu Lukaku, at the start
of extra time, I knew it was going to be curtains for the USA. Having watched Lukaku
all season for Everton, it was obvious that the US centre-backs were going to have
a problem with him, and it was like boys-against-men from the very start. Even
the fittest and freshest centre-backs in the Premier League have problems
keeping Lukaku at bay, so how were the tiring US centre-back going to fair
after already having played 90 minutes..? It didn’t take long..... He burst down the right, sweeping all before
him, and his intercepted cross found its way eventually to De Bruyne who
finally got the better of Tim Howard. Just ten minutes later, it was the other
way round, this time De Bruyne passing to Lukaku, who bowled done the middle to
blast into the back of the net.... Bugger...! Game over I thought, but 2
minutes later the US substitute Green
We slowly made our way out of the stadium and back to the
buses, stopping along the way for the odd caprihina to lift our spirits, (Yates
was taking the defeat hard), and then to a local Mexican restaurant, where
further caprihina’s were needed, along with a little food. We made it back to the apartment somewhat
tired, hot and drunk, and called it a night. The next day was a complete rest
day with no football being played, and nothing on our agenda except chilling
out and maybe a little shopping. My traditional World Cup cold had started to
make its presence known, not helped I am sure by the late nights, tiring days,
and copious amounts of beer and caprihina’s, and what had started out as a dull
ache has now turned into a nice chesty cough. Today is another rest day, but we
will be mounting a expedition into the heart of Historic Salvador to get a bit
of art and culture in. There may or may not be a caprihina involve, purely for medicinal
reason you understand.
SWEATING UPDATE: for those of you interested, Salvador is
1,000 kms south of Fortaleza and is somewhat cooler and less humid. When I say
somewhat I mean it may be only a degree or two cooler in terms of temperature,
but the humidity is about 30% less. This
in theory should help with the sweating, but mainly because our apartment block
is nearly at the top of a small hill, which once reached is followed by 3
flights of stairs, (no lift), to get to our place, there has been a
continuation of the sweating we have ‘enjoyed’ elsewhere. The good news is that
generally throughout the day, with no hard physical exertion, we are a lot
better off .... I thought you should know...!Some More Photo's from Fortaleza
Here are some extra photo's of us during our time in Fortaleza...... Enjoy...!
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