On the level
Sep. 1st, 2007 08:23 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pecuniumToday was less exciting.
Got up. Maia and I took showers (the shower is so small that turning around is hard, on the flip side we have three beds, a closet, and a large desk).
Went down to join Pat and Alan for brekkie. It was nice. The waiter wasn't as good as the night guy, but it was enough.
Dropped our key off at the desk (the hotel is terribly reminiscent of the sort one reads of in late Victorian/Edwardian/pre-war novels), and grabbed a bus to the area where the museums we were planning to go were.
That was a trip. The busses have conductors, who lean out the door to see if people want on. We got on, and off we went.
Got off, in a crowded market area, which Maia said reminded her (because of the density) of New York. Off we went. I saw a the twin clock towers of the bascilica. The museums were ditched and we headed off, by dead reckoning, through the maze of narrow streets.
And then spent a couple of hours taking pictures. Because Maia had asked, at the last minute, if I was bringing a tripod; I had. We had to buy a tripod bag (otherwise the airline would refuse to let me put it underneath, and it won't fit carry-on) which made it easy to drag along for the day; which was a last minute decision to add to the load. I had my camera bag, Maia had the tripod, and everyone had cameras and some stuff (though Maia's was in the tripod bag, or her mother's tote).
The tripod was of much use in the darkness of the church, and we were there for about three hours, all told. I did get a great shot of a monsignor's staff taking pictures of the interior.
Then to the vivarium, to look at snakes, frogs, toads, tortises and cayman. The woman at the ticket counter spoke excellent english, and we got to talking about one of the signs, which was; sort of, wrong. It was on a corn snake (Elapha guttatta, gut and the sign was for E. gutt, so we spoke on the differences in range between the binomial and trinomial species, since what was in the case was a dull expression of E. gut. gut..
After that we went to the botanical gardens (we got a discount because we'd been to the vivarium). Shot some hummingbird pictures, and some orchids. The three of them left ahead of me, because Pat had asked me to take some specific orchid shots.
I left, and managed to get to the entrance just as the guy was heading to somewhere, and he unlocked the gate so I could leave. I pressed on, at a good pace, to catch up. Maia had the tripod bag, so I was a trifle encumbered.
I also turned on my walkie-talkie and started to page them.
I was to the far side of the place when I got a response. They were still inside; having gotten a bit lost on the way out. I turned about, and made it back to the gate, which was locked, and no one in sight. So I figured out, while they were making there way to it, how to scale it. The broke out, and we caught a cab to the restaurant which had been closed the night before.
It was touristy, but pretty good. I ordered the only thing on the menu which had no translation. Oops. It was tripe soup. I don't care for the tecture of tripe, but the soup was good. My entree was lamb. It was less exciting than the soup, being about, the same in flavor as lamb at home. I had been hoping it would be more like the chicken broth of the night before.
Alan ordered guinea pig (which saved any of the rest of us from doing it, as it we were all curious). For a comparison, it tasted a trifle gamier than rabbit, though it had more fat, and was more work; the bones being denser.
There was the most amazing guitar player. Wonderful tecnique, and superb blending of one melody to the next. He moved from El Condor Pasa to something else, to some dirty blues (using a water glass to get slide-guitar effects) as well as some percussive effects with a pick hammering the neck as he pounded chords on the strings. Most of it was arpeggioed, but all of it was incredible.
For desert we headed back to the hotel, had some more chocolate, and headed to our rooms, that we might prepare for tomorrow's flight to the islands. Right now all I have to do in the morning is pack the computer, and head to breakfast. If I dress with dispatch I might be able to post a couple of photos before breakfast.
Got up. Maia and I took showers (the shower is so small that turning around is hard, on the flip side we have three beds, a closet, and a large desk).
Went down to join Pat and Alan for brekkie. It was nice. The waiter wasn't as good as the night guy, but it was enough.
Dropped our key off at the desk (the hotel is terribly reminiscent of the sort one reads of in late Victorian/Edwardian/pre-war novels), and grabbed a bus to the area where the museums we were planning to go were.
That was a trip. The busses have conductors, who lean out the door to see if people want on. We got on, and off we went.
Got off, in a crowded market area, which Maia said reminded her (because of the density) of New York. Off we went. I saw a the twin clock towers of the bascilica. The museums were ditched and we headed off, by dead reckoning, through the maze of narrow streets.
And then spent a couple of hours taking pictures. Because Maia had asked, at the last minute, if I was bringing a tripod; I had. We had to buy a tripod bag (otherwise the airline would refuse to let me put it underneath, and it won't fit carry-on) which made it easy to drag along for the day; which was a last minute decision to add to the load. I had my camera bag, Maia had the tripod, and everyone had cameras and some stuff (though Maia's was in the tripod bag, or her mother's tote).
The tripod was of much use in the darkness of the church, and we were there for about three hours, all told. I did get a great shot of a monsignor's staff taking pictures of the interior.
Then to the vivarium, to look at snakes, frogs, toads, tortises and cayman. The woman at the ticket counter spoke excellent english, and we got to talking about one of the signs, which was; sort of, wrong. It was on a corn snake (Elapha guttatta, gut and the sign was for E. gutt, so we spoke on the differences in range between the binomial and trinomial species, since what was in the case was a dull expression of E. gut. gut..
After that we went to the botanical gardens (we got a discount because we'd been to the vivarium). Shot some hummingbird pictures, and some orchids. The three of them left ahead of me, because Pat had asked me to take some specific orchid shots.
I left, and managed to get to the entrance just as the guy was heading to somewhere, and he unlocked the gate so I could leave. I pressed on, at a good pace, to catch up. Maia had the tripod bag, so I was a trifle encumbered.
I also turned on my walkie-talkie and started to page them.
I was to the far side of the place when I got a response. They were still inside; having gotten a bit lost on the way out. I turned about, and made it back to the gate, which was locked, and no one in sight. So I figured out, while they were making there way to it, how to scale it. The broke out, and we caught a cab to the restaurant which had been closed the night before.
It was touristy, but pretty good. I ordered the only thing on the menu which had no translation. Oops. It was tripe soup. I don't care for the tecture of tripe, but the soup was good. My entree was lamb. It was less exciting than the soup, being about, the same in flavor as lamb at home. I had been hoping it would be more like the chicken broth of the night before.
Alan ordered guinea pig (which saved any of the rest of us from doing it, as it we were all curious). For a comparison, it tasted a trifle gamier than rabbit, though it had more fat, and was more work; the bones being denser.
There was the most amazing guitar player. Wonderful tecnique, and superb blending of one melody to the next. He moved from El Condor Pasa to something else, to some dirty blues (using a water glass to get slide-guitar effects) as well as some percussive effects with a pick hammering the neck as he pounded chords on the strings. Most of it was arpeggioed, but all of it was incredible.
For desert we headed back to the hotel, had some more chocolate, and headed to our rooms, that we might prepare for tomorrow's flight to the islands. Right now all I have to do in the morning is pack the computer, and head to breakfast. If I dress with dispatch I might be able to post a couple of photos before breakfast.
