your passport to the world

According to this church in North Berwick, Scotland, this is your passport to God's Kingdom. I still don't think Kim Jong Il will let you in North Korea though.
This is the greatest giveaway I've ever seen, although the consolation prize if you choose to opt against laser eye surgery is pretty weak. It might be worth it to get the lasik surgery anyway from a pricing standpoint.
He needs no passport nor eye surgery to get around, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

NYC in spring

It's been awhile since I've posted one of these things, so I might be a bit rusty. So here are photos from two wonderful weeks in New York, without as much bitter commentary as I usually indulge in:
east village rain
strategically placed advertising while sitting at home
2nd street view
brian jonestown massacre actually played
central park trees
token central park pond-and-tall-building-background photo
mami + duchamp at moma
yellow cabs
roosevelt island tram
nyc
bk
token elevator mirror shot
Always on point and never rusty, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

Global Motion Trailer online

most people put out a movie trailer before a movie. but we don't live by the rules around here (and the current employment situation buys me some free time). so here's the link to the new trailer for the old movie i completed last fall: www.renology.com

GLOBAL MOTION
filmed over a period of 555 days, this film is a collection of sights and sounds captured with a small handheld camcorder. it's a collage with no set plot in mind of various environments encountered over a 1.5 year trip around the world. during this journey, amateur filmmaker renato jose, visited over thirty countries touching all seven continents.
all the video, photos and sounds in the film were recorded on location.
EPISODE I :: COLUMBIA + SOUTH AMERICA
running time 24:44
EPISODE II :: CHINA + SOUTHEAST ASIA
running time 29:56
EPISODE III :: NEPAL + INDIA
running time 35:37
EPISODE IV :: TURKEY + MOROCCO
running time 23:18

i'm finally going home.

after travelling so much over the past three years, i think i'm retiring. not completely from travelling, but from long-term backpacker travelling. the body is getting tired, the tolerance level is not as high as it used to be, and the desire to see all of the world is waning. i'm missing the comforts of home, my dog, and maybe the simple life. but i must thank everyone over the past 6 months who've been kind enough to allow me to stay with them. it was great having their company, them playing host, and of course, such a big benefit for the travel budget. so thank you to ricky and paola in barcelona (who've hosted me more times than i can count), alison and sebas in barcelona, philippe and gaelle my french connection in piedralaves, marta in madrid, d-diddy and c-sparks in london (who were kind enough to let me extend and extend and extend my stay), freya in glasgow, renate in norway, and of course lucy in scotland (mami knows papi).
my last port of call on this trip, north berwick, scotland
and getting killed from the backpacker team in north berwick
i now head home ready to start the next phase. not sure what that means, but i'm sure it'll figure itself out.....so yes, this is my swan song. i'm hanging up the backpack, and nothing but 5 star hotels and restaurants for this homeboy.
for michelin's 5-star rated biggest smoothie, check out, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

Leaving Spain

I said my goodbye to Spain yesterday, flying out of Barcelona, and feeling a bit sad. I've spent about three of the last five months here, and it's hard not to get nostalgic. Barcelona has been a home away from home thanks to friends like Rique and Paola and also Alison and Sebas who all opened their homes for me while travelling. It's nice to be with locals, since you see the real Barcelona versus the watered-down Lonely Planet version. Needless to say, I wouldn't have been able to afford Barcelona without their hospitality. I was also nostalgic about my time in Piedralaves....I wrote about this a few posts back, so no sense in re-writing what has been written. I'm going to miss the Spanish culture, lifestyle, and all the wonderful people I met.....(but not gonna miss the food since it's not very vegetarian friendly). But now I'm in the wonderful tropical British Isles where the weather is a balmy 50 degrees F, under rainy, cloudy skies. I'll be here the final 2 weeks of my trip (aii mami!). I haven't been posting much and haven't been taking many photos either. I think it's a sign that it might be time for me to go into backpacker traveler retirement. But I'll make that decision at the end of the season when I return to the states. So this is not my swan song yet....but it could be coming soon.......
hell is not in any Barcelona guidebook

Speaking of white birds, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

Dear Mom,

I know I haven't written in awhile, but I've been busy back here in Spain. Everything is fine, don't worry, I'll be home soon. Having fun, wish you were here, hugs and kisses, etc. etc.
My new Spanish friends and I enjoying deep conversation.
For deep intellectual conversation, you'll need to answer, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

Leaving Norway

I'm not going to write about how expensive this country is. I think I pretty much covered that in the last blog entry. But since then, nothing has changed. It's still f*ng expensive.
I leave Scandinavia tomorrow, but I did manage to get up into the mountains for some hiking and taking in the alpine scenery. Unfortunately the weather was shite most of the time with rain and clouds, but somehow I managed to avoid getting wet while doing a two day trek. I stayed in huts run by the Norwegian Mountain Something (called DNT), and they're similar to the Colorado Mountain Hut system in guess which state, or the refugios that you find in Patagonia in Argentina. But can you believe it cost $40 a night for a measly dorm bed? Or that meals cost $20 each?!? Oye vay, I'm bitching about price again. Needless to say, I lived on bread cheese and tomato sandwiches. I'm becoming manorexic.
Anyway, here are some photos of the trip. They're not that great due to flat light and general travel exhaustion. But hey, what better things do you have to do right now.
Sheep and lake in Jotunheimen National Park
Gjende lake
Lake on top of lake on top of lake is the Norway norm. If you look at a map of Norway, it looks like it just rained and left puddles on the map since the entire country is lake after lake after fjord after lake after fjord.
Introducing reindeers Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, blah blah blah blah, no Rudolph
Sun came out long enough to capture the turqoise color of Gjende Lake
However, the DNT lodges were kept real nice, warm and cozy. The showers were hot and there was even a sauna. The most interesting thing I noticed though, were the toilet seats. They look more like basketball rims than seats. Overall, the Norwegians are tall, but not so gigantic as to have 22” rim seats. It made me curious since when I go to the bathroom, I usually throw down slam dunks. I wonder if Norwegians take jump shots. I was also concerned that if an eight year old used it, they might drown.

He's toilet seat is a 360 tomahawk jam,Dónde está Che Pelotas?

High Taxes x Semi-Socialistic Society + Crappy US Dollar = Really Expensive Norway

or in a simple equation form, HTx3(S)+CrUD=REN
I finally found the cure for drinking too much cheap rioja wine in Spain, or the binge drinking drink till you absolutely collapse mantra of the British. Head to Norway. Your cheapest drinking option is picking up beer at the grocery store which costs a whopping $16 for a 6-pack of crappy lager. And if you go out to drink at a bar, drinks are at a minimum, $10 a drink. But don't worry, if you decide to nurse your hangover, a cup of coffee costs around $5 a cup. Food isn't cheap either. A bag of chips cost about $8+. Entertaining isn't cheap at around $30 to get into a club. Low-income entertainment isn't cheap either. Renting a DVD costs $11. It would be cheaper to have NetFlix ship a DVD from the states to Norway.
It looks like I'll be losing weight on this portion of the trip and doing a lot of reading.
No these aren't models. Everyone here looks like this, chock full of caucasian goodness.
I think this was the original SMART car

I'm grateful that I've got friend's places to crash at. Don't even let me tell you what lodging and transportation costs......
Oslo street art near where I'm staying


The grave of Oslo's most famous artist, Edvard Munch
You know, the guy who did 'The Scream'. He painted some of the most depressed looking paintings that I've ever seen. But then again, tragic artists are the most talented. Maybe not the most likely to attend a company barbecue, but talented nonetheless.
The one good thing here in Norway is that they have the world's best health care. Full coverage and absolutely free. Education is free at universities as well......It's just too damn bad that none of this applies to me.
With these everyday low prices, I hope my wallet survives this ass-raping that it's been receiving............

Speaking of ass rape, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

Coming Full Circle

Fifteen years ago, my first long overseas trip started here in Glasgow, Scotland. And like a prodigal son, I have returned. Some things are still the same here such as the weather is complete shite, drinking till you're absolutely pissed is the norm, and the Indian curry is still incredible if not even better.
like a tropical beach paradise with a UV index of 8+
But I also noticed some differences such as the value of the US dollar being equivalent to the Indian rupee has made things expensive here, there are a lot of security cameras everywhere as in an Orwellian police state, and this last one confused me. While walking the streets of Glasgow, there's a lot of people just sitting in cars doing nothing. There's a lot of this, but I'm not sure what it means or if it existed so prevalently 15 years ago. Usually it's just one guy just sitting there in his car.....just sitting there. It's a bit creepy, like Facebook.
a bunch of heads at the Kelvingrove Gallerythe cloisters at the University of GlasgowPosting bills in glasgow is illegal. To combat this, the city council came up with the brilliant idea of tagging all illegal bills with a 'CANCELLED' bumper sticker. I wonder if they see the irony of this, cancelling the next coming of god.He can never be cancelled, we just don't know where he is, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

A Religious British Institution

Went down to Cornwall this weekend, which is England's tiny version of summer beachfront living.
England's only turquoise water. It's surprisingly clear water, but you'll freeze your bollock's off.
Just like all towns in England, St. Ives in Cornwall has many many pubs. One might say that they're a religious institution.
The Golden Lion Pub in St. Ives
And doing a pub crawl is akin to making a holy pilgrimage to Mecca. For instance in this one pub called 'The Three Ferrets', I saw this holy prayer to all ye faithful to drinketh plenty on the wall.
Our Lager, Which Art in Barrels, Hallowed Be Thy Drink.....etc. etc., get pissed.
Speaking of religious institutions, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

British Signs

I know the English invented the language, but some of the stuff is just funny if you're an American.
this is asking whether you are hungry, not if you're a chicken with feathers up your ass
as funny as this may seem, you would not believe how many times these signs on the road have saved meevangelical rant is universal...so is pick up your dog shit...or dog foulingmust be the hooker district the next 1/2 mile......and this must be the street where to find them
I love British sarcasmThis lady kept walking back and forth. I guess her priorities in life kept switching back and forth
His smoothness is universal, Dónde está Che Pelotas?

Jolly Old England

I've temporarily left Spain and have headed up to Northern Europe, first stopping in London (the weather sucks) catching up with old friends. It's a different change of pace, lifestyle and scenery (the weather sucks). I've taken in some cultural gems such as the Tate Modern Gallery (the weather sucks), walking along the Thames (the weather sucks), visiting Borough Market (the weather sucks), Hyde Park (no sunny Sunday walk in the park, the weather sucks) and so forth.
truffles for sale at Borough Market
sunflowers for sale.....
and chilling in a vase at home
Have also caught a couple music shows in central London (the weather doesn't suck too bad when indoors), and many pints crawling from pub to pub (the weather especially sucks after leaving the warm indoors).
a rare blue sky spotting
a bicycle sitting in the warm summer sun with the Thames and St. Pauls Cathedral in the background
The one thing I've been having trouble with though (besides the crappy weather), has been the crappy dollar exchange rate. London is expensive (and guess what the weather is like), and with the dollar being worth half a British pound, expenses are tight. But thankfully I've got friends to stay with which helps things a lot (the weather's not so bad, I haven't gotten frostbite yet).

If he was English, he'd be knighted by now, Dónde está Che Pelotas?