A breve comincerò a disquisire sulle origini del famoso liquore proveniente dal Messico, ma prima gradirei presentare ai lettori un nuovo fenomeno da baraccone: TILA TEQUILA (scioccante)

Chi è questa Tila??? Precisiamo subito che fortunatamente dalle nostre parti non è ancora nessuno, ma negli States è una vera e propria star!! Wikipedia ne parla più o meno così: Tila Tequila (vero nome Thien Thanh Thi Nguyen) è una modella e cantante statunitense, di origini franco-vietnamite. La sua fama è iniziata su Myspace dove da un po' di tempo gestisce una delle pagine più popolari del web. All'attivo possiede alcune canzoni (...una serie di guaiti fastidiosi su base hip-hop) CULturalmente impegnate, e un film di notevole spessore diretto da Dennis Dugan (?????) in cui ha "recitato" come ragazza hooters.

Tila si definisce una "convinta bisessuale", ma voci insistenti nel mondo del gossip statunitense affermano che in realtà sia omosessuale e che, sotto consiglio del suo agente, si proclami bisex per garantirsi una maggiore appetibilità da parte del pubblico.

Non è tutto...Mtv di recente le ha cucito addosso un reality show intitolato "A shot at Love with Tila Tequila". All'interno di una lussu(ri)osa villa la nostra protagonista verrà aiutata a fare chiarezza sulla sua sessualità attraverso la convivenza obbligata con uomini allupati e donne compiacenti!! Tila è contemporaneamente conduttrice, opinionista, corteggiatrice e corteggiata. La volgarità è ovviamente assicurata!!!

"Uomini e donne" di Maria De Filippi in confronto diventa un documentario per bambini da trasmettere durante le puntate della Melevisione!

Prendiamo ora commiato dal nome per concentrarci maggiormente sul cognome di questa impareggiabile e poliedrica artista!!

Il TEQUILA è la bevanda più conosciuta e rappresentativa del Messico, si tratta di un liquore ottenuto per distillazione del frutto fermentato di AGAVE TEQUILANA (che ad onor di cronaca può raggiungere il ragguardevole peso di 50 kg). Occorrono dagli 8 ai 15 anni prima che l'Agave dia i suoi frutti (pinas). Aspettando il giorno della tanto attesa raccolta i campesinos (coltivatori messicani) si limitano a recidere i forti aculei (pencas) che spuntano dalla pianta. La potatura ha lo scopo di migliorare la qualità del futuro frutto. Dalle foglie sottoposte a fermentazione si ricavano gli Agavosidi cioè delle saponine steroidee usate dall'industria farmaceutica per sintetizzare i corticosteroidi (ormoni che noi produciamo a livello delle ghiandole surrenali).

Il cuore di agave maturo (il nostro frutto) viene, dopo la raccolta, messo in un grande forno e macinato per separare la polpa dal succo; in seguito viene aggiunto dello zucchero per ottenere uno sciroppo dolciastro (substrato per la fermentazione alcoolica).
A seguito delle fermentazioni, attivate a partire da lieviti selezionati, si ottengono il "Pulque"(max 18% grado alcolico), il "Mezcal"(reso famoso per la presenza nelle sue bottiglie del Gusano, la famosa larva di Hypopta agavis, segno di scarsa qualità contrariamente a ciò che si pensa) e infine la Tequila che dopo la distillazione è pronta per essere imbottigliata e avviata o all'invecchiamento o alla commercializzazione.

Escuchen, no tolero agravios de este tipo. Soy libre para escribir en los medios en los que se me antoje. No soy su esclavo, Sr. Cozzolino, sépalo. Estoy cansado de ver a mi mujer cansada de mí. Y está cansada por estas cosas, porque no me defiendo Sr. Cozzolino. Váyase usted y el Sr. Grunauer junto al Sr. Patiño, váyanse ustedes a la mierda. No quiero más ataques. No los quiero, Sr. Cozzolino. Me causan problemas personales. Muchísimos problemas personales.

Y no soy gay. Esto también anotenseló. Lo siento.

Atte. SR. ZAMUDIO.-

Nos encanta ir a Oaxaca porque sentimos que algo sucede en el ambiente que genera catársis entre la música que hacemos y el público que la recibe calurosamente; la gente de Oaxaca baila con especial sabor nuestras rolas y eso hace que nosotros gocemos muchísimo el toquín.

Además, en esta ocasión quedamos sorprendidos con la transimisión en vivo de nuestro concierto a través de Radio Plantón, que es una estación independiente que ha sobrevivido milagrosamente a los embates del gobierno autoritario y represor que tristemente opera en esas tierras. Para todos aquellos que quieran conocer más de Radio Plantón y la gente y los conflictos que ha vivido Oaxaca, me permito hacer una amplia recomendación: llegó a nuestras manos un documental que se llama "Un poquito de tanta verdad", no se qué tan difícil sea de conseguir, si está en la red o no, pero para los interesados en conocer una versión muy directa, clara y bien documentada de los conflictos en Oaxaca, ahí está el dato.

Sin más, compañeros y compañeras del ciberespacio (y con una botellita del mejor mezcal habido y por haber entre mis manos), me despido deseándoles feliz semana.

Salud!

Max

La ciudad cuenta con varios bares, que si bien no hay gran variedad, cuenta solo con los mínimos necesarios para pasarla bien. (No incluyo franquicias aburridas y sin onda, como por ejemplo el Old Jacks, que está de huevita, incluyendo sus cuadros en las paredes hechos en serie.)

Guanajuato es una ciudad ultra conservadora y tradicionalista. No estoy diciendo que esto sea bueno o malo, solo que son dos características del lugar, y tampoco generalizo. Por lo mismo, es difícil imaginar un bar que se dedique al público gay o lésbico en la ciudad. Pues bien, el pasado Viernes fui a visitar a Toño, el dueño del bar Whoopees y para ponernos al corriente me comentó que hace un par de semanas decidió darle un giro a su bar, el cual, cuando iniciaba estaba dirigido a un público jóven, en su mayoría estudiantes universitarios foráneos. Sin embargo, en los últimos meses el lugar venía en picada y fue así como tenemos en la ciudad un bar dirigido a la comunidad lésbico gay. Aunque ya existía desde hace tiempo El Paraíso, ahora viene este bar muy trendy, muy bien decorado, cómodo y sobre todo respetuoso aún si eres heterosexual.

Estoy seguro que este giro al Whoopees atraerá a MUCHA gente que estba esperando desde hace mucho tiempo un lugar con este tipo de enfoque. Ojo señores empresarios: el mercado gay o lésbico es uno de los menos atendidos y vaya que ahí hay mucho dinero puesto que la gran mayoría son parejas DINKs (Double Income No Kids.)

Mucha suerte al Whoopees, que si bien aún no cuelgan la bandera del arcoíris afuera del lugar, lo harán en su momento, si no, no es necesario puesto que ya les pasé el tip. Finalmente, los Martinis son la especialidad del lugar. Yo por lo pronto me muero de ganas de pinchar puro electro muy rudo en el lugar. Ya les diré cuando.

¡Salud! y me saludan al Toño, díganle que van de mi parte, y no, este NO es un post patrocinado.

Olhou mais uma vez para o cadáver em decomposição, ele mesmo acabara de despachar. Puxou um catarro do fundo da garganta e cuspiu na carcaça do morto-vivo, chutou-a, guardou sua arma no coldre e continuou caminhando pelo asfalto quente.

Ele era o que os atuais sobreviventes daquela parte do mundo chamavam de “Coiotes”. A verdade é que após todo o caos ocorrido, inúmeras cidades foram evacuadas, devastadas ou abandonadas e poucas haviam resistido à “grande desgraça”. No entanto cada povo tinha suas próprias crenças a respeito de como os morto-vivos surgiram, por exemplo, naquela região a culpa era da “Brujaria”, mas essa é uma história que será contada em outra oportunidade.

Os ditos “Coiotes” eram os caçadores de recompensas, trabalhavam para quem os pagasse melhor, entenda que o dinheiro já não era exatamente uma recompensa muito bem-vinda para a época, aceitando assim escravos, bebidas e comida fresca. Seus serviços poderiam ter preços exorbitantes, dependendo da sua patente, que deveria ser comprada pelo seu soldado Coiote sempre com recomendação de alguém com patente superior.

Planejava seguir a caminhada por mais algumas horas, até encontrar um lugar aonde fosse possível descansar, fumar um cachimbo e arrumar botas novas, as suas estavam um trapo. Enquanto caminhava pela avenida que era margeada por grandes prédios abandonados há mais de anos, suas ruínas o sopravam uma brisa de nostalgia que fazia lembrar sua infância nas ruas de uma cidade a muito esquecida em sua mente.

Um berro foi desferido com um pedindo de clemência fazendo Julio se arrepiar, em questão de segundos já estava com a arma em suas mãos, entretanto não sabia para que lado se virar. O berro ecoava reverberando pelas construções à sua volta. “Seu zumbi viado, cadê você?” berrou Julio, enquanto girava em seu próprio eixo buscando algum movimento, não conseguia escutar nada.

Uma seqüência de dois tiros quebrou o silencio e depois de um curto intervalo de tempo mais três disparos. Um choro de criança surgia de um beco a oeste, Julio correu em sua direção com a arma na mão e sua mochila nas costas, adentrava cuidadosamente observando cada detalhe do lugar, viu uma mulher estendida no chão, estava morta com seus olhos abertos e entre eles um buraco de bala que escorria um fio de sangue, sua mão direita segurava uma foto, e a esquerda estava apenas fechada.

 Julio proferiu algumas palavras quase sem mexer a boca, estava evitando que os maus espíritos tomassem conta da alma da pobre mulher, assim achava ele, uma de suas mãos fechou os olhos de peixe morto da pobre vitima, e a outra corria com a pistola em direção ao coldre, guardando a arma.

Puxou sua mochila para frente, abriu-a e procurou alguma coisa, retirou uma garrafa de Mezcal e logo removeu a tampa com a boca, cuspindo-a no chão ao lado do corpo. Bebeu um gole que desceu rasgando sua garganta, e derramou o resto da garrafa no corpo, retirou uma pequena caixa de fósforos do bolso, Motel Xerife estava impresso nela. Riscou um dos palitos, arrastando-o em sua bota surrada e o arremessou no corpo, que imediatamente começou a pegar fogo. 

“Que sua alma vá para o além da maneira correta.” Disse o coiote, em seguida arremessou uma moeda de prata que caiu sobre o corpo em chamas.

Sabia que estava sendo observado, por isso prosseguiu naturalmente com suas ações, achava que poderia estar na mira de uma arma ou qualquer coisa parecida, o que de fato era verdade.

Os passos se aproximavam lentamente por trás dele, sua mão correu para o coldre e deixou a arma pronta para ser acionada, a qualquer instante poderia ter de usá-la.

O som de mãos batendo palmas se juntou aos estalos da vitima em chamas.

“Muito bom, muito bom... Vejo que você realmente é um homem de fé.” Disse o homem moreno que vestia uma camiseta florida que estava por dentro de sua calça preta, usava um tênis branco com detalhes em vermelho, seus cabelos estavam úmidos e penteados para trás presos em um rabo de cavalo, carregava uma shotgun que estava segurando desastrosamente em posição de sentido.

“Apenas tenho minhas crenças, assim como qualquer pobre alma que conseguiu sobreviver a tudo isso por tanto tempo.” Respondeu o Coiote

“Não se preocupe, apenas evitamos o pior.”

Julio se virou calmamente, tirando lentamente sua mão do coldre para mostrar que não pretendia cometer qualquer loucura, enquanto o homem moreno prosseguia a conversa.

“Sanchez, esse é meu nome.” Disse sorrindo, com seus dentes tortos e podres.

“Um coiote nunca diz seu nome.” Disse Julio calmamente.

“Certo...” disse Sanchez entendendo o recado.

“Responda-me uma coisa, de quem era aquele choro?”

“A filha da mulher, primeiro a criança viu sua mãe ser mordida, depois viu sua mão morrer pela segunda vez quando eu a matei.” Disse sorrindo e batendo com a mão livre na arma que estava em sua cintura, era um revolver de tambor.

“Onde está a pobre criança agora?”

“Dormindo, eu dei a ela um pouco de tchucli.”

Julio sabia o que era tchucli, havia bebido inúmeras vezes quando criança. Nada mais era que uma bebida típica dada para as crianças pequenas dormirem, era basicamente leite, mel e Mezcal. Entretanto cada região tinha sua própria receita.

“Muito bem Coiote, preciso que você leve essa criança para um lugar seguro, ela não pertence mais a esse lugar, aqui as noite são dos mortos que saem de suas covas e vem atrás de nossas pobres almas, aqueles imundos comedores de carne.”

“Muito bem. Que seja o que o destino me enviou.” Disse o Coiote, com o rosto queimado do sol.

“Que seja assim.” Abanando a cabeça concordando Sanchez.

Die breiten Kronen der großen Bäume sorgen für angenehmen Schatten, ein Viertel wie in einem Film. Das ist Coyoacán. Früher eine eigene Stadt gewesen, doch irgendwann wurde auch dieses koloniale Städtchen von der Krake D.F. geschluckt. Die Stadt frisst früher oder später jede umliegende Ortschaft - wo sollen auch 22 Millionen Menschen hin?!

Die Francisco Sosa ist wohl DIE älteste urbane Strasse in Spanisch-Amerika. Alte Häuser, bunt bemalt, teilweise aus dem 16. Jahrhundert stehen links und rechts. Es wirkt absolut entspannt. Eigentlich möchte ich jedes einzelne Haus fotografieren, so schön sind sie, so urig, so beeindruckend. Aber natürlich kann ich dass nicht. Also laufe ich einfach die Strasse hinunter zum Hidalgo (Hauptplatz), genieße den Schatten, die Ruhe (die immer dann einsetzt, wenn irgendwo am Anfang der Francisco Sosa eine Ampel auf Rot gesprungen ist), die nicht lange währt und staune.

Am Hidalgo angekommen, muss ich leider feststellen, daß die Plaza momentan unter Rekonstruktion steht. Der Park ist geschlossen, die Wege aufgerissen und man muss sich an Bauzäunen vorbei rund um den Platz schieben. Ich entscheide mich, zunächst ein Baguette zu essen und dann meinen Streifzug durch Coyoacán fortzusetzen. Mein Weg führt mich danach in die Calle Allende. Vorbei an Ständen, die jede Menge Ramsch anbieten, bin ich auf der Suche, nach dem Haus der mexikanischen Malerin Frida Kahlo. Der Casa Azul.

Es ist nicht schwer zu finden. Und ich entscheide mich für meinen ersten Museumsbesuch in Mexiko.Bislang hatte ich davon Abstand gehalten, weil ich mir Museen auch später noch anschauen kann, oder wenn es regnet. Aber da ich nun schon einmal vor der Casa Azul stand.... Das Haus ist beeindruckend. Groß. Lichtdurchflutet. Alt. Stellenweise Rustikal. Freundlich. Und ein entspannter Garten, besser Park, gehört zu dem Anwesen, in dem die beiden Maler Frida Kahlo und Diego Rivera einst lebten. Heute beherbergt das Haus viele Werke der Beiden, Fotografien, Briefe und andere Dokumente die aus ihrem Leben erzählen. Ich habe meinen kleinen Rundgang durch das Anwesen in Bewegtbildern festgehalten. Man muss dem heutigen Blog-Leser ja einiges bieten. Und als Medienwissenschaftler weiß ich - Multimedia es lo que cuenta!

Nach diesem Besuch wollte ich eigentlich das Haus aufsuchen, in dem Leo Trotzky ermordet wurde. Mit einem Eispickel. Wohl eher kein schöner Tod. Aber irgendwie war ich zwar in der richtigen Strassen unterwegs, fand das Haus aber nicht. Wahrscheinlich stand ich irgendwo direkt davor - aber konnte es nicht erkennen.

Nach meinen Ausflug nach Coyoacán fuhr ich wieder mit der Metro zurück in Bernhards Wohnung. Paola war schon von der Arbeit zurück und später traf auch Bernhard ein. Und was sollten wir anderes tun, als den Abend zu planen. Schließlich war Freitag.

Una noche en D.F.

Mit dem Auto starteten wir gegen Acht zu Freunden. Paola manövrierte den Honda galant durch den dicken Verkehr, nebenbei plaudernd und immer wieder kurz mit der Faust auf die Hupe, falls sich ein anderer Wagen gefährlich näherte. Und das kommt bei diesem Verkerh häufig vor.

In La Condesa parkten wir den Wagen, liefen an einer Tiendita vorbei und kauften zwei Sixpacks Indio. Mit unseren Mitbringseln unter dem Arm kamen wir in eine ziemlich große Wohnung. Xavier und Freunde warteten dort bereits auf uns. Die Wohnung gehört eigentlich Freunden von Xavier - er passt aktuell auf sie auf und macht eigentlich nieeee Party da. Claaro que si. Wir tranken ein paar Indios, plapperten über kuriose Sachen und rauchten Zigaretten. Ein Tütchen machte die Runde. Schon als wir reinkamen unterhielt sich Jungs und Mädels über absurde Themen. "Ya teniste sexo con animales..?" Muhahahahaahaaaa! Immer wieder seltsame Themen, Gelächter und Stories. Wir wollte weiterziehen. Es stand noch Kultur auf dem Plan.

In La Roma gibt es derzeit eine Videoinstallation in einem Café. Wir packten allesamt in inzwischen zwei Autos und starteten wieder über die nächtlichen Strassen durch die Metropole. Die Fenster nach unten, die Türen verriegelt. So macht man das hier, und das wohl irgendwann automatisch. Keiner fährt hier Auto, ohne, dass die Türen verschlossen sind. Zu groß ist die Gefahr, an einer roten Ampel ungebetenen Besuch im Auto zu bekommen und gezwungen zu werden, irgendwo hinzufahren, wohin man nicht will. Erst vor zwei Wochen hatten Bernhard und Paola eine Taxientführung über sich ergehen lassen müssen. Sie sind seitdem vorsichtiger geworden.

In La Roma angekommen dröhnte schon laut elektronische Musik aus einem Patio. Schnelle Bilder wechslten sich mit bunten Farben an einer Wand ab. Dazu gab es Mezcal und weitere Cervezitas. Gegen Mitternacht schloss die Bar und wir starteten wieder in die Nacht.

Nächstes Ziel: Die Wohnung von Umberto. Ein Arzt, der sich eine bescheidene kleine (räusper.... das war wohl das falsche Wort) gegönnt hat. Er hatte bereits Freunde zu Besuch, als wir mit Oxana, Omega, Carlos und Jorge bei ihm klingelten. Mit dem Fahrstuhl ging es in seine Wohnung. Mehr ein Loft. Riesen Wohnzimmer, wenig darin, zwei dicke Couches. Dazu eine große Küche mit einem noch größerem Kühlschrank, den wir mit mitgebrachten Indios füllten. Es wurde gequatscht, erzählt, die Wohnung bewundert und der kleine Perrito von Umberto vorgestellt. Ein kleiner Kampfhund, der momentan beim Laufen noch mehr das Umfallen verhindert. So jung ist er. Er wohnt momentan in Umbertos Kraftraum. Um 2 Uhr packten wir es auch bei Umberto. Umberto versuchte mich noch zu überreden, ich solle in D.F. studieren, weil hier viel mehr los sei. Und mi casa es tu casa und so weiter...

Auf dem Heimweg hielten wir noch kurz bei einer Taco-Bar. Fünf Blocks von unserer Wohnung entfernt. Drei Tacos del Pastor sollten den aufgekommenen Hunger bekämpfen und taten dies auch vorzüglich. Danach parkten wir den Wagen wieder im Parkhaus. Und aus. Einige Bier und der leckere Mezcal ließen uns schließlich friedlich und zufrieden schlafen.

A punto de veneno es una marca de mezcal de los Mezcales Tradicionales de los Pueblos de México
contacto: apuntodeveneno@hotmail.com

Mezcalito a punto de veneno, mezcal del bueno, es la marca a través de la cual la (UPSISUR) Union de pueblos de la sierra sur de Oaxaca, comercializa el mezcal producido por diferentes palenques del distrito de Miahuatlan.

A punto de veneno es un mezcal artesanal y natural, su proceso es el que cada palenque ha mantenido desde hace más de 100 años y conforme dicta su tradición.
Estos mezcales son elaborados con diferentes tipos de agave, por diferentes personas, familias y lugares.
También ofrecen ingredientes diversos y combinados en nuestras botellas, como lo son:
Gusanos de maguey, nanche, ramita de agave cocido, etc.
La diversidad de los ingredientes, climas y de cosechas de agave que se dan en la región
Se conjuntan en A punto de veneno, ofreciendo un mezcal puro, rico y único.
La misión de A punto de veneno es llevar a cuantas personas podamos la magia artesanal que hay detrás de la elaboración de esta bebida ancestral, natural y de sabores, olores y sensaciones únicos e irrepetibles, ya que cada cosecha envasada jamás volverá a tener las mismas características ni el mismo sabor.
A punto de veneno es una experiencia de mezcal dotada de originalidad y naturalidad que pocas bebidas típicas de México pueden ofrecer.

Y CON LA FINALIDAD de ampliar nuestra cultura etílica y para difundir uno de los bebidas más tradicionales "El Mezcal", pero, paradójicamente, poco conocidas, se dan a conocer estos puntos básicos que más adelante ampliaremos, para aclarar qué es un mezcal tradicional.
Es el que cumple estrictamente, entre otros, con los siguientes criterios:

1) se elabora exclusivamente con maguey maduro;
2) no utiliza ningún producto químico en su elaboración;
3) su nivel alcohólico mínimo es de 45 grados, casi siempre mayor;
4) tiene olor y sabor a maguey perfectamente definido e intenso;
5) se hace completamente apegado a la tradición mezcalera de su lugar de origen.

Fuente.
Logía de los Mezcólatras. Mezcales tradicionlaes de los pueblos de México.

A continuación presentamos un video de una de las pruebas que realizan los maestros mezcalilleros para reconocer el grado alcoholico de un mezcal, entre otras cosas.

El mezcal que vas a ver es un mezcal hecho de maguey espadín, la planta tardo más de 11 años en madurar para ser cortada y durante el proceso de elaboración no se utilizo ningun químico ya que cuidamos que nuestros mezcales sean hechos de forma artesanal y natural, pero sobre todo que mantengan la tradición y el gusto histórico de la región de Miahuatlan.

Este Mezcal se obtuvo gracias al conocimiento de los maestros mezcalillero Juan Vazquez y Santiago Vazquez.
Tiene 48.1 G.L y se le aplico una doble destilación en alambique de cobre.
Si quieres probarlo, no dudes en comunicarte con nosotros.

¿Cómo evaluar la calidad de un Mezcal Tradicional?

Frotación del Mezcal. Una forma simple de evaluar si un mezcal fue hecho de maguey es la siguiente: se pone una gota de mezcal en la palma de la mano y se frota hasta que se evapore; debe quedar fijo en las manos un aroma intenso a maguey cocido, además de que la evaporación será rápida, ya que un mezcal tradicional tiene, como mínimo, 45 grados de riqueza alcohólica.

Venenciar es un término derivado de la palabra venencia, utilizada para nombrar un carrizo aproximadamente de 50 centímetros de largo y de 2 a 3 centímetros de diámetro que, en uno de sus extremos, es cortado dejando una oquedad del tamaño total del diámetro y, en el otro extremo, se hace un pequeño agujero de 2 a 3 milímetros, convirtiéndose este carrizo en un popote o pipeta.

El acto de venenciar consiste en lo siguiente: se llena la venencia con mezcal, el cual se vierte en una jícara o jomate, formándose perlas (burbujas) que, según su tamaño y duración indican, en primera instancia, la riqueza alcohólica del Mezcal. En seguida se aspira el aroma y se bebe el Mezcal, terminando así el método tradicional de catación.

Es necesario decir que el perlado del mezcal sólo se forma a partir de los 45 grados y que, además de indicar la riqueza alcohólica, nos muestra el tipo de maguey o magueyes empleados, su procedencia, el sistema de elaboración, el maestro mezcalero que lo elaboró y los posibles defectos y virtudes que tenga el mezcal en cuestión. Obviamente, esto sólo puede detectarlo un maestro mezcalero consumado.

Esta prueba de calidad sirve para cualquier bebida destilada del mundo (whisky, ron, aguardiente, calvados, armagnac, cognac, orujo, vodka, brandy, grapa, tequila, bacanora, etcétera), siempre que tenga calidad similar a la de un mezcal tradicional, situación imposible en el mercado de bebidas destiladas de México. Un equivalente al acto de venenciar es agitar la botella que contiene el mezcal para observar el perlado que se forma.

Para continuar nuestro propósito de ampliar la cultura etílica, damos algunas recomendaciones para identificar un buen Mezcal tradicional.
Si está embotellado con marca comercial y muestra el sello “Mezcales tradicionales”, cómpralo. Si no lo tiene:

1. Busca en la etiqueta la frase “100% de agave”, que significa que está hecho solamente de maguey.

2. Su riqueza alcohólica mínima debe ser “45% alc. vol.” o mayor.

3. La etiqueta debe indicar población y estado de origen, tipo de maguey y nombre del maestro mezcalero.

4. Agita la botella para ver el perlado; si no se observan burbujas, no lo compres, a menos de que sea un mezcal de 55 o más grados; en este caso sólo se formarán perlas mientras lo agitas.

5. No compres mezcales reposados y añejados en barrica (se reconocen por su color ámbar): la madera destruye sus sabores y aromas más finos.

6. Frota entre tus manos una gota de mezcal; al evaporarse ésta, olerán a maguey cocido.

7. Saborea el mezcal en jícara de bule o en vaso de boca ancha.

8. Vierte la bebida de un vaso a otro para ver el perlado (recuerda el punto 4).

9. Huele el mezcal antes de tomarlo. Busca el aroma que percibiste al frotar las manos; después descubrirás otros diferentes. Cuando aspires, cierra la boca; entreábrela y procede a reconocer el olor. Notarás la diferencia.

10. Toma un sorbito y enjuágate la boca 10 segundos; sin tragarlo, deja que salgan vapores por la nariz. Trágalo y atiende los sabores en tu paladar.

11. Toma otro sorbo, pásalo 10 segundos por la boca y saboréalo antes de tragarlo. Percibe los sabores que regresan de tu estómago; son los más finos y exquisitos del mezcal. Pasados algunos minutos, tu paladar estará impregnado del maguey cocido.

Si tu bebida pasó las pruebas, cómprala. Si no está embotellada, pregunta por los requisitos de los puntos 1 a 3. Exige que se te muestre el perlado. Sigue con los puntos 5 a 11. Si pasó la prueba y es un mezcal tradicional, cómpralo; si además te pareció exquisito, invítanos a saborearlo.

apuntodeveneno@hotmail.com

La cocina de México tiene sus raíces en el imperio Azteca. Segun los mitos que figuran en las ruinas de Palenque, el mundo fue creado por Hun Nal Ye, el primer padre. Su nombre se traduce como Uno Maíz. Transformado, este dios vino a la tierra inferior, creo a los hombres, y les dio por alimento maíz. Y el maíz sigue siendo la base de la alimentación del pueblo mexicano. Los tacos, que tanto auge tienen hoy, se comen en el país desde antes de la conquista.

¿Que es un taco? Es, simplemente, una tortilla de maíz rellena de los mas diversos ingredientes. Una variante de los tacos, que se dio en el norte, y luego se hizo muy popular, son los burritos. Estos se preparan con harina de trigo y son mas grandes, pero los rellenos son similares a los tacos.

Como la de otros países de clima caluroso, la comida mexicana se caracteriza por ser extremadamente picante. El uso de los chiles es masivo en la cocina del país. Los chiles son ajíes de muy diverso tipo.

Un párrafo aparte merecen los moles. Reciben este nombre las salsa espesas hechas con distintas mezclas de chile. Pero, ademas, se llama así a los sabrosos guisos que se preparan con estas salsas. El mas conocido: El mole poblano.

Las bebidas tradicionales de México son: El tequila, el mezcal y el pulque. Todas derivadas del maguey.

Durante los ultimos años la cocina mexicana se a internacionbalizado, y su popularidad continua creciendo a grandes pasos.

Yummmmmm........ I would to say that nothing reminds me more of summer than orange creamsicles. My mom was one of those moms who never ever had sugar or treats or unhealthy snacks in the house. The only provision to this rule, was Popsicles in the summer. And creamsicles just remind me of how long two months lasts when you are a kid. When every day is a play day and anything can happen.

I found this grown up version of the creamsicle on the foodnetwork site. Enjoy and think back to those crazy, lazy days of summer from when you were six.

ORANGE CREAMEZCAL

-In an ice cream glass, place four mini scoops of Vanilla ice cream.

-Add 1 ounce Mezcal (sweeter, softer tequila)

-Top it off with 6 ounces of cold orange soda.

Works best if the glass is pre-chilled in the freezer.

Clockwise from top left: Wine labels designed by artists Liam Gillick, Raymond Pettibon, Jim Lambie and Anna Gaskell on recent vintages by Betts & Scholl.

Anyone who stumbled their way across MoMA’s lobby in the last couple of months has trampled over an explosive arrangement of multicolored stripes on the floor by the Scottish artist Jim Lambie. The experience is a full frontal assault on a viewer’s sense of balance — akin to guzzling a bottle of fine Shiraz. Aficionados interested in all of the above can buy a $79 bottle of Betts & Scholl's 2006 vintage of Black Betty Shiraz, which features a red-and-black inkblot label designed by Jim Lambie.

With Black Betty, the sommelier Richard Betts (of The Little Nell in Aspen), and Miami Beach art collector Dennis Scholl (whose collection is on view at World Class Boxing in Miami) follow Château Mouton Rothschild's tradition of art-wine collaborations. Betts hunts down the quality vines and Scholl procures artists to design the labels. The company has released a total of seven vintages since 2003, featuring the work of established contemporary artists such as Anna Gaskell and Liam Gillick, as well as Raymond Pettibon, a painter who once inked album covers for the punk band Black Flag. “The wine world is so staid and serious,” says Scholl, of the outré labels. “We’re like, ‘It’s wine — c’mon, it’s fun!’” Not that Betts & Scholl aren’t serious about their business: all seven wines have landed scores of 90 or higher from Wine Spectator.

On Thursday, Betts & Scholl will announce the release of its first ever distilled liquor: a mezcal called Sombra, that will be accompanied by one of the industry's most unorthodox pieces of label art yet. The image, produced by an Aspen-based art collective, is an abstraction of a Mexican soft-core comic — a figure that Scholl merrily explains, "looks like turtles humping." Safe to say that it's not the sort of illustration that will ever grace a bottle of Mouton.

A música era "Preciso me encontrar", imortalizada na voz de Cartola e popularizada mais recentemente por Marisa Monte. A letra é memorável, mas ainda acho que seu título deveria ser "Cansei da mesmice e fui!".

Candeia. Com seis anos, ele já freqüentava as rodas de samba da zona norte do Rio. Seguiu o exemplo do pai, religioso do samba, e começou cedo a tocar guitarra e cavaquinho. Foi autor de míticos sambas-enredo da Portela, como o Vai como Pode. Era daqueles que não aceitavam as superfícies. Defendeu as raízes afro-brasileiras e tinha paixão pela capoeira e pelo candomblé. Em 1975, fundou a Escola de Samba Quilombo para valorizar o samba autêntico.

Sua história é daquelas cheias de reveses. Em 1961, decidiu ser policial e foi ferido por uma bala. Segundo a lenda, no dia anterior, uma prostituta havia lhe almadiçoado após ter sido esbofeteada pelo sambista. O acidente obrigou Candeia a usar cadeira de rodas pelo resto de seus dias de samba. Aos poucos, ele se tornou um homem melancólico e arredio. Mas não menos brigão.

O homem era duro de roer. Como mostra essa maravilhosa matéria publicada em 78 pelo Correio Braziliense, que mostra o bate-papo do mestre com Paulinho da Viola:

Candeia – A comissão de frente, por quê? Porque comissão de frente são aqueles coroas da antiga, e que até não podiam mais sambar, tavam naquela de prestar um serviço à escola, era um negócio de manter aquela dignidade do sambista e tal. Isso foi substituído por mulheres jovens, exuberantes, lindas. É isso. Então, esse processo, entra por quê? Pra agradar o chamado mercado de consumo, agradar o turismo. A imagem do nosso carnaval não está sendo vendida corretamente, porque o carnaval é uma festa que devia ser vendida como integração do povo, quer dizer, o patrão e o empregado desfilando na mesma escola...

PV – Você se engana. Ela está sendo vendida corretamente, porque ela está, você usou bem o termo, quer dizer, sendo vendida. Então, corretamente, por quê? Porque os caras querem isso mesmo. A gente, você já cansou de ver anúncio, assim, não tô falando que o turismo fez isso, entende, mas a gente já cansou até de anúncio. .. Eu já vi declaração de nego, aqui, de autoridades aí, dizer que o que nós temos que vender mesmo é mulher pelada, e que nós temos que vender mulher, futebol, samba, essas coisas todas. Que isso é que nós temos que vender. Turismo daqui, não pode vender outra coisa. Quer dizer, existem essas implicações, que precisam ser analisadas, entende? O que eu sinto é isso. O que tem de ser denunciado, rapaz, é essa coisa arbitrária, que vem de cima pra baixo, dentro de uma escola de samba. Quer dizer, um cara se arvorar e dizer: EU mudo o samba-enredo, EU decido o que é isso, EU faço isso, EU faço aquilo, ou então vira um outro e diz: “quem não estiver satisfeito vá para a arquibancada”. É isso que tem que ser denunciado, quer dizer, nenhuma escola de samba...

C – Brasil, ame-o ou deixe-o...?

PV – Não... é o cara chegar e dizer: olha aqui, quem não estiver satisfeito que vá pra arquibancada. Isso aí...

... longe do Brasil, o que tocava em mim esta noite era a voz de Cartola. Mas, com alguns shots e o som das ruas da Cidade do México, "Preciso me encontrar" ficou algo como ... (clique aqui para escutar a versão da música por Dead Rocks)

Move over, tequila. Mezcal is taking over as the dominant distilled spirit in chic Mexico City these days.

At least, that is what I'm starting to believe after learning that a third location of the adorable and chic mini-chain La Botica opened up this past March in the Zona Rosa, joining the two previous locations in the Roma and the Condesa.

Unlike tequila, which is made only from blue agave grown in the states of Jalisco or Guanajuato, mezcal is predominantly produced in Oaxaca. Like tequila, it can be classified as añejo (which has been aged for at least a year and has a dark caramel color), reposado (which has "rested" between two months and a year), and blanco (which has a clear color and has been aging for less than two months). Each style has its own flavor and finish.

La Botica, often referred to simply as "La Mezcaleria" could be considered a mezcal boutique, offering a nice variety of high quality mezcals made in Oaxaca. The maguey has a nice golden color and a rich, almost smokey flavor, the papolote is clear with a sharp, almost grassy finish, and there are over a dozen other selections to chose from. Additionally, they serve several different cremas, in flavors such as cafe, mango, or coco (my favorite), and sweet, flavored licores. (As a fan of marzipan, I recommend the almendra flavor.)

The decor at La Mezcaleria is a chic mix of modern and retro details: small cafe tables and chairs sit on a floor made of paving stones and all the signs and menus are written by hand. A glass display case filled with miniature toys doubles as the bar. The bottles of mezcales, cremas, and licores themselves add to the ambiance of the bar, displayed elegantly in small bottles on rows of shelves behind the bar. The lighting is warm enough to reveal the variations in color between the different bottles, but dim enough to give the place a romantic, almost speakeasy atmosphere.

The location in the Roma is very small, with only four or five tables inside and a few spilling out onto the sidewalk. There is little street traffic, especially as it gets closer to midnight, and several times I've had to walk a few blocks to catch a cab. (The original location is in the Condesa on a much more crowded strip. )

In March of this year a new location opened up in the Zona Rosa. This space is considerably larger, which, combined with the neighborhood, makes it a much nosier and livelier scene, especially on the weekends, when the mixed gay/straight patrons are starting to crowd in. As in the Roma, the crowd is mainly in their twenties and thirties, though I don't think younger or older patrons would feel out of place.

The waiters at both the Roma and Zona Rosa locations have always been friendly and helpful and have never even batted an eye when faced with a loud group of tipsy machas.

Prices for a caballito (small, thin shot glass) run between 25 and 41 pesos. (Larger bottles are also available for purchase: they make smart gifts for the non-AA set.) My only warning for beginners is to not get carried away; the drinks are smooth buy very strong. Sip it, don't shoot it, and if you go with a group, I suggest taking sips from each others' glasses to appreciate the many delicious options available to you. Small bottles of Corona and Victoria for 15 pesos make good chasers between rounds, and there are large tin cups of habas con chile for those in need of something solid in their stomach.

Well, it's Cinco de Mayo again and we all know the drill.

During daylight hours, we reflect on the many wonderful cultural gifts our Mexican neighbors have bestowed upon us -- such as the paintings of Diego Rivera, the extraordinary cuisines of the different regions of Mexico, and Salma Hayek.

Before the sun goes down, we may also learn that Cinco de Mayo is not, as commonly believed, "Mexican Independence Day." According to Wikipedia, Mexican independence day is celebrated September 16. Cinco de Mayo is a celebration of General Ignacio Zaragoza Seguín's victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.

Unfortunately, Seguin's victory was short-lived, as the French eventually overran Mexico City and occupied the country until they were sacre blue'd in 1867 by Benito Juarez. So despite the popularity of Cinco de Mayo, the holiday rates only regional status in Mexico. It is not even an official Mexican holiday.

By now you're thinking:

"Wow. Mexico is more than just margaritas and chimichangas. The history of that nation is a vivid tapestry of indigenous and European influences, of conflict, trials and celebration -- a melting pot in the truest sense and a testament to the human experience."

And...

"Damn, I could really go for some margaritas and a chimichanga right now."

Which brings us to the evening portion of Cinco de Mayo, in which Americans under the age of 32 gather at chain restaurants and frat houses to wear souvenir sombreros and do body shots of Cuervo Gold.

As a red-blooded American I'm not above such antics. But I would like to offer the following Pax Arcana Official Rules for the Celebration/Mexican Stuff Brain Dump of Cinco de Mayo:

1. Margaritas should be served straight up or on the rocks. Not frozen. Why the F do people always want to drink the ice?
2. Cuervo Gold is only "gold" because they put a coloring agent in it. Sauza Gold is naturally that color because it's been aged appropriately. It's also cheaper and better in margaritas. Of course Sauza Hornitos + real lime juice + Cointreau (just a tiny bit, please) = Official margarita recipe of Pax Arcana.
3. Ground beef and sour cream are not traditional elements of Mexican cooking. Or as former Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit once said to my friend Greg, "There is no ground beef or sour cream in Mexico."
4. The origin of the salted rim on a margarita glass comes from the days when the bitter milky fermented pulp of the agave plant had yet to be refined into tequila. This drink, called pulque, was so potent that Mexicans would roast the grubs (or worms) living on the plants, crumble them up, and put them on the glass they used to cut the harshness. The roasted worms had a nutty flavor. That's also why there are worms in the bottom of some bottles of mezcal, which can loosely be defined as halfway between pulque and tequila.

We should also remember that Cinco de Mayo is Pax Arcana's birthday, which the Mexicans celebrate by thanking their dead ancestors that the Vikings never caught a whiff of cochinita pibil. Because we would have been all up in that place.

[For a peek at Pax Arcana's kick-ass birthday present, follow the jump]

Say cheese, bitches.

While I strive to find as many liquors and liqueurs as possible out on the shelves and through the internet, there is no way possible I could have come up with this list on my own.  I refer often to many of my books and online references.  Please check out Gary Regan’s book The Joy of Mixology the Consummate Guide to the Bartender’s Craft available in bookstores and online. 

• Absente – dry French absinthe substitute
• Absinthe – spirit with anise flavor banned in the United States in 1912
• Absinthe Substitute – spirits with an anise flavor used in place of absinthe (Absente, Herbsaint, La Muse Verte, Pernod, and Ricard)
• Abricotine – apricot flavored liqueur from France
• Advocaat – brandy based liqueur made with eggs, vanilla and other flavorings
• Alize – passion-fruit flavored liqueur from France
• Alize Red Passion – passion-fruit and cranberry flavored liqueur from France
• Amaretto – almond flavored liqueur primarily from Italy (Disaronno)
• Amer Picon – French aperitif with hints of orange and a bitter herbal backdrop
• Anisette – anise flavored liqueur
• Applejack –  versatile spirit made from a blend of distilled cider, neutral spirits and “apple wine” which is derived from hard cider and apple brandy
• Apricot Brandy – apricot flavored liqueur
• Apry – French apricot flavored liqueur
• Armagnac – French brandy distilled from a fermented mash of grapes
• Aurum – orange flavored liqueur from Italy
• B & B – Benedictine and cognac
• Bailey’s Irish Cream – cream based liqueur flavored with Irish whiskey
• Benedictine – French herbal liqueur
• Blackberry Brandy – blackberry flavored liqueur
• Blue Curacao – blue colored, orange flavored liqueur the equivalent to triple sec, but often sweeter
• Campari – Italian form of bitters that falls within the technical category of liqueurs
• Chambord – black-raspberry flavored liqueur from France
• Chartreuse – herbal liqueur from France available in green and yellow (sweeter version)
• Cheri Suisse – chocolate and cherry flavored liqueur from Switzerland
• Cherry Brandy – cherry flavored liqueur
• Cherry Heering – cherry flavored liqueur from Denmark
• Cherry Marnier – cherry flavored, cognac based liqueur from France
• Cointreau – high end triple sec from France
• Crème De Ananas – pineapple flavored liqueur
• Crème De Banane – banana flavored liqueur
• Crème De Cacao – chocolate flavored liqueur available in clear and dark
• Crème De Cassis – black currant flavored liqueur
• Crème De Menthe – mint flavored liqueur available in white and green
• Crème De Noyau – almond flavored liqueur
• Crème Yvette – violet flavored liqueur
• Cuarenta y Tres – Spanish herbal liqueur with hints of vanilla
• Curacao – orange liqueur similar to triple sec, but often sweeter
• Danziger Goldwasser – aniseed and caraway flavored liqueur flecked with gold flakes from Germany
• Drambuie – scotch based herbal liqueur with hints of honey
• Dubonnet – wine based, similar to vermouth, available in red and white
• Forbidden Fruit – American brandy based fruit flavored liqueur
• Framboise – raspberry flavored liqueur made from the mash of fermented raspberries
• Frangelico – hazelnut flavored Italian liqueur
• Galliano – Italian liqueur with hints of vanilla and orange
• Glayva – scotch based herbal honey liqueur
• Grand Marnier – cognac based orange flavored liqueur from France
• Herbsaint – absinth substitute from New Orleans
• Irish Mist – Irish whiskey based liqueur with hints of herb and honey
• Izarra – brandy based herbal liqueur from France available in green and yellow
• Jagermeister – German herbal liqueur with a medicinal flavor, slightly licorice
• Kahlua – coffee flavored liqueur from Mexico
• Kirsch – un-aged fruit brandy made from the fermented mash of cherries
• Kummel – caraway flavored herbal liqueur primarily from Holland or Germany
• La Muse Verte – French absinthe substitute
• Limoncello – Italian liqueur flavored with lemon zest (Massa & Giori)
• Madeira – fortified wine from the island of Madeira
• Malibu – rum based, coconut flavored liqueur
• Mandarine Napoleon – cognac based, tangerine flavored French liqueur
• Maraschino – European liqueur flavored with whole Dalmation marasca cherries
• Marc – French un-aged fruit brandy
• Metaxa – Greek brandy mixed with aged Muscat wine, botanicals and aged in oak casks
• Mezcal –Mexican distillate from fermented agave
• Midori – melon flavored liqueur
• Ouzo – Greek anise flavored liqueur
• Peach Brandy – peach flavored liqueur
• Peach Schnapps – peach flavored liqueur, usually drier than peach brandy
• Peppermint Schnapps – peppermint flavored liqueur, usually drier than crème de menthe
• Pernod – French absinthe substitute
• Pisco Brandy – Peruvian grape brandy often made in other South American country
• Ricard – French absinthe substitute
• Rock and Rye – whiskey based liqueur flavored with fruit juices and horehound (herbal plant)
• Sambuca – anise based Italian liqueur available in white and black
• Southern Comfort – fruit-flavored liqueur
• Strawberry Brandy – strawberry flavored liqueur
• Strega – Italian herbal liqueur
• Tia Maria – rum based, coffee flavored liqueur
• Triple Sec – orange flavored liqueur (Cointreau, Van Gogh O’Magnifique)
• Tuaca – herbal liqueur with hints of vanilla and slight undertones of orange
• Vermouth – aromatized wine fortified with the addition of brandy available in sweet (red) and dry (white)

Coming soon….carbohydrate counts to as many liqueurs and liquors as possible as well additions to the list as they are available.  If you have liqueurs you would like to see on this list, please email me at str8up@cox.net.  I would be pleased to hear from you and will research the liqueur to find out what is in it and the carb count as well.  I will be making this post available in the “Pages” content in the right hand column and updating it as well. 

Thank you for your patience! 

la carrera de Ingeniria Comercial claramente forma lideres de opinion los cuales tienen el compromiso de llevar a Chile al desarrollo, son los llamados a liderar las empresas del mañana, quienes deben ver mas alla de lo que ven las demas personas, son quienes sin lugar a duda tienen un compromiso pais en lo social y empresarial.

y para lograr esto siempre sera necesario estar actualizado en conocimientos, en tecnologias y en desarrollo academico. Es por esto que creemos que los cambios necesarios en la carrera de Ingenieria Comercial de la Universidad de Tarapaca, debieran ser en el ambito academico, reconocimiento de nuevos tipos de enseñaza, mejoramiento de la plana academica, nuevos profesores profesionales trabajadores, que nos entregen una mirada mas real del mundo tanto empresarial y laboral.

el mejoramiento de las tecnologias tanto en conocimientos como en recursos y como se planteo en la discucion

haciendo enfasis en las ayudantias; es que en otras Universidades tienen mas de 2 ayudantias a la semana, mientras que nosotros tenemos 2 al mes (y en muchos ramos no tenemos ninguna ayudantia"

son necesarias mayores ayudas de aprendisaje y cuales creemos en un principio se pueden ver reflejadas en mayor numero de ayudantias.

mejorar los niveles de idiomas extranjeros que principalmente se vea reflejados en que los egresados de la carrera de Ingenieria Comercial de la UTA, tengan un certificado que avale su nivel de ingles, el cual se debiera ir dando en el transcurso de la carrera

como punto final creemos en el compromiso tanto de academicos como de estudiante para mejorar la carrera esto debiera ser un trabajo conjunto el cual impulse a mejorar en conjunto a la Carrera y a la Universidad.

Mezcal Team.

For those Trifecta faithfuls out there, and I’m talking the day one cats (yeah, all seven of you not including Warsh, Danny, and Rich’s family), you will remember that I have some dislikes from my introduction. For the Trifecta stumble upons here is a quick recap in no particular order, they are: jean shorts, stupid people, and bees. Today I’d like to add Jäger bombs to that list, as well as each of its components. For those of you who have never spent a long night at a Señor Frogs / Hooters / Carlos / Charlies / (Insert generic cheesy bar chain) and have no idea what I’m talking about, a Jäger bomb is a combination of Jägermeister and energy drink. In the proper form, it is a shot of Jäger that is dropped into half a glass of Red Bull. I am certainly not the first to be drinking the haterade in regards to Jäger bombs, but I have an even better reason than the fact that people who consume them regularly are most likely douche-bags (the infamous My New Haircut video serves as evidence). My hatred for Jäger is rooted in cold hard facts.

Jäger is alcoholic liquorice-candy, and serves no purpose other than to intoxicate. Not a single redeemable drink can be made from Jäger (no, Liquid Crack is not a redeemable drink; now take off those damn jeans shorts!). If you want to get drunk, there are a million better options other than Jäger (a million and one if you count MadDog 20/20’s “Bling Bling Blue Raspberry” flavored fortified wine), so why not try one? Here are some suggestions that may surprise you in that they are tasty, complex, worldly AND can get you staggeringly drunk:

Dogfish Head 120 Minute IPA:

India Pale Ales were first brewed with lots’o hops to help the beer survive the long boat ride from England to India back in the day. This extra-hoppy version clocks in at a surprising 19% ABV, which means drinking a four pack (they don’t sell sixers of this stuff) is equal to about 16 regular beers in alcohol content. Hooray Beer!

Cachaça:

This Brazilian made liquor is a close cousin of rum except it’s made from sugar cane instead of the molasses obtained from sugar cane. It has a mellower flavor and is the key ingredient in a cocktail called a caipirinha, which is like a better, stronger, mojito. To prepare, muddle half a lime and 2 tsp. sugar in an old-fashioned, fill with ice, and add a shot or two of cachaça. Pitú is the name of the only brand of cachaça I have ever seen in the US.

Mezcal con Gusano:

This literally means ‘liquor with worm’ in Spanish. Mezcal is a type of liquor made from agave, and can include a worm (or scorpion) in the bottle to add flavor. Tequila is also made from agave, and is similar to Mezcal, but NEVER includes a worm (tequila production is heavily regulated and region-restricted, just as champagne and cognac are). Mezcal has a ‘wilder’ taste than your pal Jose Cuervo, so prepare to cowboy up.

Now that you all have some new options to explore, I’ll quickly wrap this up so you can go try one of them. But first, I must denigrate the other half of the Jäger bomb: Red Bull. I personally think Red Bull tastes like doo-doo butter, but that’s not even why I despise it so. My hate stems from the fact that, like Jäger, it serves no purpose. Sure it has caffeine, but why not drink coffee or pop a No-Doz? That way you’ll skip on the sugar and taurine found in Red Bull. Not only do we, the energy drink scientific community, not fully understand the effects of significant taurine consumption over time, but that shit, and I kid you not, is a derivative of bile (yeah, THAT bile) and hasn’t been proven to be energy providing. But go ahead and sling back seven more of those bad boys this weekend. Hell, make em Jäger bombs, you might as well. Oh yeah, did I mention that Red Bull is BANNED in several countries, including Denmark, France, and Iceland due to health concerns? Oh well, drinks up, and Salut!

- Densen

Just another Sweet, Soft, Quiet day Down by the River...

The Top 12 Liquors for Real Men

12. Vermouth

Vermouth is a fortified wine flavored with herbs and spices. There are three types, Dry, Sweet and Red.

Pros:

Puts the Dry in Dry Martini.

Cons:

Vermouth is a sidekick. It's like the Robin of liquors, and pretty much everybody thinks Robin is gay. Plus, one of the options is Sweet? Get out of here. In fact, I don't even think vermouth is considered a liquor. Next!

My Pick:

Any dry vermouth will do.

11. Sambuca/Ouzo

These are not the same, but pretty close. They are both anise flavored liqueurs, popular in the Mediterranean.

Pros:

Tastes like black licorice, which means most chicks hate it. Also, the Greeks shout "Opa!" when they take a slug of Ouzo. Any drink that gets its own cheer is alright by me.

Cons:

Anise is an unfortunate name for a plant. I was once in line behind an older lady at the grocery store. She was only buying a few items including anise. The young check out clerk saw it and said, "Whoa! What is that, some kind of alien broccoli??" The lady responded quietly, "No, it's anise." He said, "ANUS!? Anus ain't no plant I ever heard of!" The lady turned bright red and said, "An-ISS." He then shouted to another kid bagging at another register, "Yo, Jamal, you ever heard of an ANUS plant?" Jamal responded with a "Naw man." Meanwhile, the lady was pleading, "It's an-ISS! An-ISS. Fennel! It's also called Fennel!" He then looked at me and said, "Man, you ever heard of an ANUS plant??" I said, "Yeah, anise, it's what they flavor black licorice with. And Sambuca." He said, "No kidding. I never knew ANUS tasted like licorice. This job is crazy."

My Pick:

I swear I once had Sambuca in a bottle that said "Zambooka" on it. I can't seem to find any evidence of it on the internet though. I recall a black label with the word in big silly letters down the side. For the longest time I thought that was how it was really spelled. If it exists, that's my pick. If it doesn't, it should.

10. Jägermeister

Jäger is a strong dark liqueur made of secret ingredients.

Pros:

Jägermeister means "Master Hunter." Master Hunter sounds more bad-ass than Master Chief in Halo, and we all know that's pretty damn bad-ass. Also, legend has it that Jäger is made with real deer blood. I doubt that is true, but you know it's a manly drink when there is a stag on the bottle, and it has a bad-ass name, and it's ingredients are not only secret, but might contain animal blood. I bet if you drink enough you'll want to run off into the woods and chase down more deer, kill them with your bare hands, then howl at the moon while you eat your prey.

Cons:

Even with all that testosterone inducing theory, the fact remains that Jäger is a liqueur, not a liquor. It's 70 proof, which is good for a liqueur, but paltry for a liquor. So, while it may beat up on the Kahlua, Chambord, and Schnapps, once it gets into the ring with some real drinks, it's suddenly not such a tough cookie.

My Pick:

Uhhhh... how about Jägermeister?

9. Rum

Rum is made from sugarcane and primarily hails from the Caribbean.

Pros:

Rum gains points for being the favored drink of pirates. It would have gained more points if it were the favored drink of ninjas. However, sake is the favored drink of ninjas and sake is a rice wine, not a liquor.

But, back to the rum. It's nearly impossible to slur the word "rum" when you are drunk, thus allowing you to maintain an appearance of sobriety when needing another drink. "More rum" can be said by the drunkest of us, although there may be a tendency to hum the last bit: "More rummmmm." This effect can be counteracted around Christmas if you slyly add "pum pum pum" to the end. A bartender may think you are sober enough to remember the words to The Little Drummer Boy, so you must be sober enough for more rum.

Another pro is the sheer proof rum can obtain. Rum averages 80 proof, however, many go higher. Bacardi 151 is a popular example, but other "overproof" rums go as high as 160 proof! I've had the overproof rums. You taste much less sugar and feel a lot more of the cane. A burning cane being shoved down your throat. Good times.

Cons:

I think rum is the favored drink of a lot of women. This is most likely because it is made from sugarcane and thus a bit sweet. It also mixes well with many a fruit. Let's face it, daiquiris and piña coladas don't top the list of manly drinks. So, despite it's potential toughness and links to treasure and wenches, rum rates low on the list.

My Pick:

Appleton Estate V/X - Distilled in Jamaica since 1749, they know what the hell they are doing.

8. Grain alcohol

Almost pure ethenol, grain alcohol is not made for it's flavor, but rather for it's bite.

Pros:

Weighing in at a wopping 190 proof, grain alcohols are only for the strongest of the strong. When not being used as a cleaning agent, grain alcohol has been known as the number one ingredient of a nasty fruit punch known as Jungle Juice. Jungle Juice is generally made in a large trash barrell and consumed by binge drinking college kids. You know only a man would offer up his trash bin to make a party drink and only another man would think that it was one heck of an idea.

Cons:

Many a poor sap has chugged grain alcohol to prove their manhood and found themselves waking up dead. That's not manly, it's just stupid.

My Pick:

Everclear is the grain alcohol of choice, wherever it hasn't been banned.

7. Brandy

Brandy is distilled wine, generally between 80 and 120 proof.

Pros:

Somebody out there thought, "This wine is okay, but let's kick this stuff up a notch!" You know that had to be a man. Brandy also is a great compliment to a great cigar. That's pretty damn manly. Also, brandy is the determining factor in a great eggnog. Nog. That word was definitely made up by a man. You know some guy was sitting at home and the only things in the fridge were some milk and eggs. He mixed it together, threw in some brandy and as his tongue stuck to the roof of his mouth he grunted, "Nog." And it was good.

Cons:

Chicks are named Brandy all the time. That can't be a good sign.

My Pick:

There are several types of brandy depending on where it is distilled (Cognac, Armagnac, etc). I don't know too much about brandy, but Busta Rhymes said "Pass the Courvoisier" so if it's good enough for Busta, it's good enough for me.

6. Vodka

Vodka is colorless, and supposedly odorless and tasteless, but I think vodka has a distinct smell and flavor.

Pros:

Averaging from 80 to 100 proof, vodka can do some damage. Many a night's memory has been lost to me due to some 100 proof Shmirnoff.

Vodka can be mixed with about anything including OJ, tonic, cranberry juice, etc. You name it, there is probably a vodka drink for that ingredient.

Vodka is also the favored drink of burly Russian men who have no concept of the word cold because they have never felt warmth, besides the heat of vodka in their bellies. I don't know, maybe it's not always that cold in Russia, but Napoleon and Hitler didn't fail there because of the light winters.

Cons:

The versatility of the vodka is a highlight and a drawback. Because you can really fru-fru up a vodka drink, women definitely do not shy away from it. Including my drunk Russian neighbor. I know what you are thinking, "But you just said Russians add credibility to Vodka!" You're right, but my drunk Russian neighbor is a woman, or at least resembles one on occasion. So, if vodka is the drink of choice for lady drunks, or at least the only one I know, then I think vodka takes a hit.

Also, vodka comes in a lot of different flavors including Vanilla, Orange, Lemon and other made for women flavors. The regular vodkas can thank their fruity counter-parts for holding them back.

My Pick:

I'm going to go with a popular favorite: Grey Goose. I know a lot of people swear by Kettle One, but I've never noticed a discernible difference.

5. Tequila

Made in Mexico from the blue agave plant.

Pros:

Tequila is one of those drinks that you either love or you hurl instantly upon smelling it. Most men's first foray into alcohol induced puking is a result of one too many shots of Jose Cuervo. It's understandable, because shots of tequila are cheap and exciting. You lick the salt off your hand, throw back the shot and bite into the lime and hold on for dear life. If you survive, you can feel the new chest hairs growing and you suddenly realize you have grown a moustache. Men from Mexico shave their moustaches daily, so you can tell who the real drinkers are by the size of their stache by the end of the day.

Cons:

I could really only think of one con: Margaritas and Tequila Sunrises. Both of these drinks tend to be fruity and sweet and enjoyed by the ladies. Not that there is anything wrong with drinking margaritas, but if the drink doesn't make a chick say, "Ew, gross" it's not topping the testosterone charts.

My Pick:

Patrón Añejo. If you've sworn off tequila, taste some of this and understand what it means to drink good tequila.

4. Mezcal

Tequila's oft misunderstood cousin. Basically, it's any spirit made from an agave plant other than the blue agave.

Pros:

It has an MF'n worm in it!

Cons:

It has an MF'n worm in it!

My Pick:

Pick the one with the biggest worm, drink the whole bottle, then eat that sucker!

3. Absinthe

Hallucinogenic spirit flavored with anise.

Pros:

Unlike Sambuca and Ouzo, Absinthe kicks serious ass. Also, it's actually a liquor, not a liqueur. Let's get this straight, absinthe is so hardcore it was banned in the USA. And 2 Live Crew thought they were the only ones. Absinthe is made with Wormwood which is reportedly a hallucinogen. On top of that, the alcohol percentage ranges from 45 to 95 percent. That makes the weakest 90 proof! The strongest, 190 proof! The proof scale ends at 200, folks.

Not only is it strong, but it has it's own rituals for drinking it. One method requires that you put a sugar cube on a slotted spoon, pour the absinthe over the sugar and then light the sugar cube on fire! It's like you are making an offering to the absinthe gods!

Cons:

That leads us to our cons, because the sacrifice is sugar, and the absinthe god is not a god at all. It's a pixie known as the Green Fairy. Perhaps if you burned a hunk of meat over the absinthe and the god was known as Gozer the Destroyer, it would make this drink the manliest of manly drinks. But, there is nothing manly about fairies.

My Pick:

Whatever kind we had shipped over here in a box marked "Paper" so it could make it through customs. It was the clear Blanche/la Bleue style from Switzerland as opposed to the green Bohemian style absinthe made in a bathtub in the Czech Republic (which is most likely colored with anti-freeze).

2. Whiskey/Bourbon/Scotch

Whiskey includes a broad range of spirits distilled from grains or corn and then aged in wooden casks. Bourbon is whiskey from Kentucky, Scotch is from Scottland, and so on. There are distinct differences between them, but they are all equally manly.

Pros:

Whiskey is a man's drink. Whiskey's are named after men. Jack Daniels. Jim Beam. George Dickel. Johnny Walker. You get the idea. If you are a cowboy and you are in a saloon, you order a whiskey, gulp it down, and then you shoot a guy. That's just how it goes. Nobody says anything about it because they understand that you just had a shot of whiskey and that other guy probably had it coming.

Cons:

There are really no cons. Even the most feminine sounding bourbon drink, the Mint Julep, is rich in Southern heritage and downed by rich men at horse races. Perhaps the only downside of whiskey is the associated redneck factor. And I'm not even sure that that should be considered a downside.

My Pick:

Maker's Mark Bourbon. The perfect balance of smoothness, bite, and flavor.

1. Gin

Gin is a clear liquor made with juniper.

Pros:

Gin is a man's drink. That's all there is to it. The girls of Sex & the City tried to ruin the image of the martini with their Cosmos (which are NOT true martinis). Women are always taking our things and turning them girly. They've done it with our names (Beverly, Shannon, Stacy - all tough guy names at one time) and they tried to do it with our martini glass, but it won't work. Pin up girls belong IN martini glasses, not drinking them.

All one has to do is remember that a gin martini is a glass full of straight up gin and a little bit of vermouth. Got that? Straight up gin. That's not girly. That's hardcore. There's a reason James Bond gets all those women, and one of those reasons is that he drinks gin martinis. Gin doesn't get mixed with fruit. Ever. "What about Gin and Juice?" you might ask. Gin & Juice is consumed by hardcore gangster rappers in the hood. Nothing non-manly about that. Gin tastes like the sweat of a pine tree and grows hair on your chest. Gin and Tonic glows in a black light because it's practically radioactive, it's that dangerous. Gin wins.

Cons:

There are none. Gin rules. End of story. If you disagree, go cry about it to your mamma.

My pick:

Hendrick's Gin. Super smooth and usually difficult to find.

There you have it. You might disagree with my list, but you better have a damn good reason for doing so. If you find this list sexist, you are either a woman, or need to drink more gin or whiskey.

-Justin

Let me tell you one thing: Mexico City is incredibly big and 20 million people in one place are just too much. Well, these were actually 2 things but never mind...

We spent a fun Christmas in Zihuatanejo. Last time i wrote we were just about to go out for our long awaited supremely-exotic Sushi Christmas dinner. Hehe.... Well, we got dressed up like hell with the best garments our backpacks yielded and looked hot and fancy of course when we hit the streets. And what for? Just to find out that every single one of the 3 sushi places were closed due to Christmas. D'OH!

So we did what all good partypeople would do: We walked into the next cheapest taqueria and ordered three tacos of every kind PLUS quesadillas. We ended up with something like 24 or 27 tacos and eat our way all through them xD probably the strangest and funniest christmas dinner I ever had. I also got my presents there: a comb for my long golden hair, a pair of bi-focal prescription glasses just in case I loose mine again and a huge and very neat mexican cooking-book. Yay! Thanks to Caro and Veronika again *hug*

After that we went back to the hotel just to get a quick shot of mezcal before going out. While Veronika sang and played "Wonderwall" on the guitar (I even joined her with the singing) Caro passed out totally exhausted on her bed, so we decided to postpone the partying and just settle fir a few sips of mezcal.

The next day we also spent on the beach before catching the bus to the infamous Mexico City at night (the 'DF' for short). BAAAAM, that city really blows your mind, if you're not very used to places with 20 million inhabitants or more. Especially during this time of vacation the streets are just bursting with small, frantic mexicans. You see every kind of people here within 20 minutes: from crackheads to normal homeless people and beggars, artists, musicians to high society folks and super-rich buttheads.

We were virtually unable to cope with all the information and do anything useful, so we decided to just chill the whole day. And at night came the long and tearful goobye to Veronika, her plane left midnight. We went to a bar to have a beer and suddenly the two girls wereholding eachother, weeping and sobbing, without any warning for me. It was quite touching, I had to hold back a few tears aswell... I actually expected this to happen because the girls spent every day of the past 2.5 months or so together, so they grew really fond of eachother. For some reason there was very sad and emotional music playing in that bar, which didn't help the situation at all. So I had to ask the bartender to change this for something happier and more consoling :-D

After a last hug and seeing Veronika taking off in a Taxi, Caro and me decided to get totally wasted. And yes, we did a good job on that xD I dont remember everything of that night, but i seem to have bothered the poor, overworked and therefore very humor-free frontdesk clerk a lot. For instance I left a message for my good Columbian friend Oscar Mendez (of course he is inexistant) and told him that he was due to arrive the next day because hed had some 'trouble' and was looking for a place to hide from the cops xD I also asked him to deal with this delicate situation very gently.

The next day we got up with a unprecedented hangover and for some stupid reason we decided to visit the nearby aztec-ruins of Toyota-something (forgot the name...). It turned out to be a great waste of time and money but we had a good time making fun of the other german-speaking tourists wo were also wasting their time there. Later that day I did...noting probably, my memory is a bit blurred. Caro was busy because Adrian from Oaxaca came to DF to spend the last few days with her.

The next day early in the morning i got ripped out of sweet dreams by someone banging on my door. It turned out to be my good ol' mezcal-drinking-buddy Paco, hooooray! He has spent christmas with his girl Julia in Oaxaca and came up to DF to catch his friend Sandro who came flying in yesterday from Switzerland. That day we went to the 'Papalote' which is a museum for children here in DF. It basically a GIANT kinderarden, but it's fun. The motto of that place is "Not touching prohibited".

Well and today was the Big Goodbye then. Paco and Sandro headed for Puerto Escondido again (to spend new year at the amazing Laguna Chacahua, with Julia of course). And Caro left for the airport a few hours ago, she should be high up in the air by now. Of course it sucked to say goodbye to them, because they were the last people i knew from the beginning in Oaxaca. So now is the first moment in 3.5 months i'm all by myself and i'm definitely not going to meet anyone from Oaxaca again... (on this trip i mean, of course i'm going to meet them in europe!). Feels pretty weird, they always were like the the ones I can return to and rely on from everywhere. Well, you could say they were like a family. Okay, now its getting corny, i know. But damn, it's true!

So tomorrow I am heading to Queretaro and the day after to Zacatecas to celebrate new year there. I don't quite know right now if i'm any good for travelling alone, but i'm curious to find out. It's like a challenge to hit the road alone after 3.5 months of security with the oaxaca connection... And after all it's just two weeks, because on the 14th of January i have to start the language school in San Fran.

I'd like to quote a line I wrote to Maggie from Germany today, who sadly enough already had to go home like 2 weeks ago and misses us and mexico badly:

"Time rushes by like a colibri on crack."

That's it for now, more news as soon as available.

Cheers and hugs to all of you!

-Manu

Let's get it over with the obvious stuff first: Merry Christmas to all my dear friends (at home and on the road) and my lovely family back home! Hope you enjoy your time and can take a moment to relax and be happy! Well, to be honest I don't really feel much like Christmas, but i guess thats because im in Zihuataneja, Mexico, at the moment and it's scorching hot... We (I'm traveling with Veronika from Austria and Caro from Germany right now, met them both in Oaxaca) decided to celebrate Christmas on the beach, which turned out to be a very wise and enjoyable idea, we're having a real good time here.

But of course i should start right after my last mail. I took the boat from Belize City to Caye Caulker (the divers-paradise-island off shore) and met a strange very very very drunk girl from florida there. She called me Spiderman and brabbled something about diving before she passed put on my bag. Well, never mind, i never saw her again... Poor girl.

I liked the island the moment i set foot on it: It was very different from Belize City. Everything totally carribbean, very lay-back, etc. You just get totally into that relaxing mood when you hear raggae in the streets and smell fresh lobster and garlic bread on the grill. Since the island is quite small, i already ran into my dutch friends Arusha and Arjen after a few minutes! They had been travelling with two guys for a few days: Ritchie from the UK and Rick from Australia, both very decent and fun guys. Together had rented a cute small blue house with a big inviting porch, 10 meters behind the beach! It instantly became my favourite spot on the island, allthough I stayed at "Tina's Backpackers" on the oder side of the island (which was also okay... the cheapest option on the whole quite pricy island). Well, the following 6 days were totally holiday-ish: Our daily routine was getting up at 8, having a delicious breakfast with sea-view, then going to the dive-shop, getting suited up and take the boat out to the shore. Arjen and Arusha got their PADI Open Water certificate there, I decided to go for the Advanced Open Water (since I had got the OW in Playa del Carmen...). So we didnt dive together for the first 2 days or so, but then we also had some dives together, which was very cool... You can also check out our pics on facebook by clicking the button you see above! We saw a lot of cool stuff, including shraks, rays (they even saw 4-meter Manta Ray, which even the diving instructors maybe see once a year!), lobsters, tiny colourful fish, big colourful fish, scary fish, funny fish, fast fish, ugly fish, etc... But by far the coolest experience we had on a dive trip was swimming with the DOLPHINS! :-D On our 5th day or so when we were already heading back to the island, we were sunbathing on the deck of the boat to regain our regular body-temperature after a chilly dive while it ran over the turquoise water surface, as someboddy yelled something and the captain slowed down the powerfull engine. And there we saw elegantly moving shadows at distance: A group of dolphins, maybe 8 or 10 of them. So we just watched them in the beginning, but after a while we got the permission to grab our masks and jump in! YAY! It was really cool to see and especially hear them up-close, very fascinating animals :-D Arusha got some very good pics of them, there you really see that we could get quite close.

The rest of the time on the island we basically spent with hanging out at the "Split" or getting drunk and go bathing at night and then play uno or of course eating the most delicious lobster manking has ever tasted at "The Fat Man's" (he really was huuuuge). Shizzle, I start drooling over the keyboard only when I think of that grilled lobster with coconut-rice and garlic bread! Mmmmmhhh.... And once (it was on Arjen's birthday) we also bought fresh Red Snapper from a fisherman and prepared it ourselves, which also was pure tastyness! Cheers to the cooks!

Well, we really spent a super-sweeet time on Caye Caulker and it was hard to say goodbe to the worryfree and just-have-fun ever day routine... But It was okay since we knew that we were going to see more cool stuff. So we went back to the mainland and took a bus to San Ignacio. And now that town was just totally weird: I can't really tell what it was but there was a cloud of pure confusion and "woozyness" hanging heavily over San Ignacio, so we started to call it Woozytown. Well, maybe ot was also because they had a giant Christmas-Part with Cocal-Cola trucks, a big tree with supposedly 7000 (!) lights on it, cheerleaders, bands, stoners, bums, etc going on. On the 7th of december!

But we also had a reason to be there: The next day we went Cave Tubing. What, you ignorant don't know what Cave Tubing is??? Get outta here! xD Well, it's basically only sitting on a big tire and floating down a river passing various caves. Sounds boring, but it's a hell lot of fun! We had a nice guide called Max, he took us on a hike through the jungle first and showed us a lot of the local flora and what the local people use it for. I had no ide for instance that a leave of the "Cockspur" tree can save your life after a snake bite. Other things tha can be useful include "Big Cohunas" as well as the fruit of the "Horseball-Tree" and "Jackass Bitter". But don't ask me what for, you wouldn't want to know it... We also got to eat palm hearts (nothing special) and termites (taste intensively like carrots! wicked). The tour also included extensive cave-exploring wich was quite weird but cool.

Later that day we visited Max at his house, he had invited us. He told us a lot about his life and daaamn, he's had a hard time lately: Lost his father in an accident, his brother to drugs and he got stabed by some crackhead for n o reason. Aftert that he got shitty treatment at the local hospitals and it took him long time to get back to working. He's just started in the guiding business again. And besides of that he tries to finally complete building the house for his famliy (with his own hands!!) so he could make his dream come true after that: travelling through Europe for a while. We decided to support him financially and made a small donation to him. He deserved it.

Okay, this post is really getting lengthy now... Whatevs, there's just a lot to tell. Let's continue in Guatemala, where we headed next:

We continued to the famous ruins of Tikal in Guatemala and got to visit them twice: Once at dusk and after a mosquito-ridden night of comfortless sleep in a hammock also at dawn, whick was faaar more impressive! On top of Pyramid 4 you have an incredible view over the other temples and miles and miles of jungle. There still was a slight morning-fog hanging over the treetops when we finally got up there and sat down for a while just to enjoy the view. Amazing.

Then we headed to the city of Flores, still in Guatemala. It's cute little town situated at a nice lake and has a slight italian feeling to it. The Lonely Planet said it "Suck ass... big time", but there we definitely found out that the Lonely Planet LIES! The bad thing was that Arjen got a food poisoning (probably from the eggs he had for breakfast) and was gradually feeling worse (including puking etc.) so we chilled that day mostly, me and Arusha also were quite tired from travelling and sleeping only like 4h the night before. Luckily we had the "penthouse" with lakeview so we could hang out and have good conversations up there.

And now comes the surprising part: The next morning i got up at 4 am... Why? To go back to my hometown OAXACA for a very last time! :-D I had already planned that out in Belize City but really no single person knew about it (excpet Arusha and Arjen of course). It sucked a lot to say goodbye to my dutch friends since we had spent a very cool time together, but i will definitely go to visit them in summer! So i got into a van, then changed to a boat, another van, then a bus and aother bus and after 29 hours I stepped near-dead out of the bus terminal in Oaxaca. BAAAM! :-D That's a wasted but happy man you see here:

I went straight to my former host-family and they very very surprised and glad to see me. They said I could stay for a month if I wanted to! :-) lovely people! Of course it was a Wednesday when I got back. Do you know what that means? Aight, Cafe Social that night! That used to be the highlight of every week back in the good old days, followed by a tremendous hangover on the next morning! :-D So I surprised ones i knew in our favourite bar "Tamarindo" that night and they went totally nuts when they saw me just sitting there and sipping a Indio! Bwaahahaha, my plan worked perfectly. Especially Caro and Veronika couldnt believe their eyes because they were thinking the would meet me on the 19th in Guadalajara! Sweet.

So we had a fun night and got wasted like hell of course, but somehow it just wasn't the same thing, because many of the people we knew and liked were already gone home. It was like a giant weird deja-vu to see all these places again and the people at school again... But I enjoyed it! I spent another 2 days in Oaxaca and then I started travelling with Veronika and Caro. First we headed to Veracruz: A nice, but very quiet town, not much to do there besides of visiting a Photography-museum, drinking good coffee and watching the sunset over the huge harbour. Next we went to Mexico City, only changed bus there and contiued to Guanajuato: Now this was a very cute and LSD-ish colourful town up in the mountains somewhere. We found us a good and cheap hostel and went to see a lot of the local stuff: the university, markets, all those squares and fountians and stuff. nice!

And there I witnessed the 2nd food poisoning on my trip: Caro got it, probably from eating cheap Pizza at Dunkin' Donuts. It was worse than Arjen's, she got up like 8 times that night, running to the toilet and puking. Poor girl... She even had to throw up after drinking a sip of water. But well, I think Veronika and me took good care of her, allthough there wasn't much we could do. We decided to risk the 4h busride to Guadalajara the next morning despite of it, becuase we were sure that the hospitals in big cities were better than the ones in small town somewhere up in the mountains.

But fortunately she already felt better the next day, so we didnt have to take her to a hospital! She still didn't feel like eating something, but after a few more days she recovered totally. Yay! In Guadalajara we met up with Paco from Switzerland (i initially also was to show up there, before my change of plans...). We had planned to continue with him, but thing turned out differently: He introduced us to his new Argentinian girlfriend Julia and explained, that he rather spend the few remaining days with her in Guadalajara. Sucker ;-D No just kidding, it's good for him! It's a pitty though that we only met him twice for a beer, i would have liked to travel with him again. Well, at least I'm gonna meet him again in Mexico City on the 28th.

After chillin in Guadalajara for another day (and enjoying the big-city-feeling, since Guad is the 2nd biggest city in Mexico) we went on to Morelia, another widely unknown but very nice place. It's a smaller town with a kinda european flair, but the usual quick and woozy mexican life in the streets. There we spent 2 days. I got totally drunk on the first night, ending up dancing on a bar-stool in the very early morning and then jumping into a taxi and yelling at the scared driver "Take me to the next Taco-place, QUICK!" because i felt the imperative desire for some tacos. And i got some damn good tacos for sure dude! :-D But the next day I had to go shopping for the girls' christmas presents with an mean, booming, whooping headache, which was less enjoyable. But after like 6 hours I had everything I was looking for:

• 2 santa clause hats (one red one green)
• 1 Cartman-doll (the fat kid from South Park)
• Chocolates/sweets (Ferrero Rocher and Rafaello)
• 1 Mexican Rock CD
• 1 Silver bracelet

Aight, and yesterday we took the bus to Zihuatanejo on the Pacific shore, where we are staying until tomorrow night. After that we go back to Mexico City, where Veronika has to continue to Oaxaca immediately to catch her flight back home. Caro has a few days more in the big DF before flying back. And me? No idea.

I will probably continue with Paco and his friend who's going to fly in on the 28th. Or do something else. The only thing i know is that i have to be in San Fran on th 14th of January, everything else is open. Just the way i like it :-D

Btw, i shortened my stay in the language school in SF to 2 weeks, a fter that i will stay there for another month and hopefully find some job/volunteer work to do. So this means i will already be back in Switzerland in early march.

Aight, and now im going to grab a quick shower and then we're going for our long-awaited christmas dinner: Sushi :-D Lots of it, money doesn't matter today. Today we realy do whatever we feel like, the girls already went horseback riding in the afternoon. I actually also rode with them for a short distance, sweet :-D It doesnt suck as much as I always thought it would.

Okay and afterwards we will be chilling on the beach with a bottle of Mezcal and a guitar. That's what I call Christmas.

I will upload more pics from the past week as soon as possible... Meanwhile you can check out the ones from Belize and Gutaemala by following the link to facebook above. Thank you very much for reading, if anyone got so far!

I wish a very merry and happy Christmas to all of you, and hope you enjoy th hell ou of it!

Cheers and take care!

-Manu