Gold Cup begins July 7 in Chicago

The 2015 Gold Cup will kick off July 7 in Dallas with host team US facing off against a yet to be determined opponent.  The USMNT's other Group A games (and the other pairings from the group) will be July 10 in Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA and July 13 in Kansas City.  While all of the teams participating are (basically*) known (*Honduras has to beat French Guyana in a playoff for the last spot), only the group number one seeds and their sites have been determined, with Mexico set to lead Group C and play July 9 in Chicago's Soldier Field, July 12 in Phoenix and July 15 in Charlotte.  Costa Rica is set to lead Group B and play July 8 at the Stub Hub Center in LA, July 11 in Houston and play the first ever Gold Cup game in Toronto, Canada July 14 (I have a feeling that Canada might "sneak" into this group somehow also).  The full groups will be drawn, and subsequent schedule fully set, sometime in January. The other seven teams set to compete (from qualifying in either the Carribean or Centroamercian tournaments) are Guatemala, Panama, El Salvador, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, and Trinidad & Tobago.  Go to concacaf.com for more info and I will update as more is released.

As it stands, we are contemplating a Chicago-Phoenix-Kansas City triangle to catch two Mexico and one USA game...

Terror and Intrigue-Taxis in Brasil

Errrrrrrrcccchhhhhkkk! “Oh my God!!!!” I hear and think at the same time, fingernails digging into my forearm and holding me down to my seat, visions of mom and grandma’s arms smacking me backwards as we brakeswerveslideaccelerate around the other car.  I can almost touch the metallic blue paint through the window and see the other driver’s totally unstartled face as clear as day.  We have all had (hopefully only a few) of the above described near-miss accidents as a driver or passenger, where for some reason everything is suddenly stopped in front of us and we barely swerve in time to narrowly avoid a possibly horrific collision.

However, this is a typical scene and a regular occurrence throughout any given cab ride in Brazil.  I am grateful and simply stunned that we weren’t in more than one fender bender. Public transportation was not great in general and we were usually told that taxis were generally the best, “safest” option over buses and limited metros.  The best quote over the entire World Cup I saw on Twitter was (I wish I could find original tweet) along the lines of: “After this trip, the top ten most harrowing cab rides of my life will have all been in Brazil.”  I am in total agreement, despite some crazy cab rides in London, Madrid, Barcelona, Rome, Berlin, New York, Chicago.  Making any ride worse in Brazil is that motorcycles and scooters (not to mention pedestrian peddlers) can use the in between space and weave in and out of traffic as they please and you are often looking directly at one right next to you as it squeezes between two cars that are almost touching.  While there was a huge police presence everywhere, especially Rio, they were not there to enforce any type of traffic safety-police motorcycles were some of the most dangerous with or without sirens going.

In Salvador, it cost generally 65 or 70 reais to go across town in what all seemed to be “hurried” taxi trips and had us, and many other travelers we talked to, on the edge of our seats, often with eyes closed.  I usually just tried to focus at the city “scenery” as we drove by, not how fast it was flashing and jerking by.  However, there was one dude who got us from the far side of town back to our hotel for only about 50 reais (that’s at a minimum 15% less than any of the other cab rides).  I am not sure if this was better or worse; although it was still indeed terrorizing and harrowing, the 50 reais driver knew exactly where he was going and we somehow felt reasonably assured in his “control”, coming after many other less competent cabbies and even scarier rides before him, including the minor fender bender.

Recife really wasn’t that bad taxi-wise, as far as I can remember, and our trips were generally much shorter, usually only to the mall area.  Fortunately, although the city hadn’t completed the metro or bus lines that were supposed to go all the way out to the new stadium, they had implemented had a fabulous, truly efficient bus system to take game attendees to and from the stadium from a large shopping center and mall. So, we didn’t have to rely on cabs nearly as much in the eight days in this city.  However, I can only suppose that if I didn’t have Salvador and Rio to compare it to, the cab rides here would have been able to make the top ten.

Rio de Janiero is a crazy city, with crazy winding criss-crossing roads, either very wide with an indeterminable number of lanes, or very narrow and somewhat determinable ~two or three usually~ lanes. Not to mention the fact that many cab drivers have no idea where they are going and think that you are so stupid and Portuguese-limited that you can’t understand them calling someone to ask “onde fica” (“where is”)? Or sometimes one will just stop every few blocks and to ask another cabby or a local before blasting off in the pointed direction.  While Brazilians and Caricoas (locals from Rio) are generally relaxed, laid back and not concerned with speed at all, the taxi drivers were always on a mission to arrive as quickly as possible.  It was always a relief to arrive safely at any destination.  When we ate at a cool trendy restaurant in the Santa Teresa neighborhood the host told us it was difficult to call taxis all the way up so they instead provided a slightly more expensive private service, we were psyched for a set price, no rush drive through the city in a really nice luxury sedan.

Recife, parte 2

    In between the three games we attended, since we were there for nine days, we did some touring of Recife and the surrounding area.  Frankly, the city itself does not have a lot to offer, without much historical significance or geographical points of interest.  The beach was right across the street from our hotel and it did have an almost eight kilometer promenade walkway we utilized numerous mornings. Recife actually began as a port for nearby Olinda, but just grew into a big city without a ton of culture. 

      We had a couple of beach days when it was sunny.  The beaches here are pretty expansive and the sand is pretty soft.  Unfortunately, the surf is rough and this is the place that warns of sharks.  Although there are some protected pools during high tide, we never really ventured in the water.  Instead, when we weren’t just walking up and down, we rented chairs, read, watched local kids play soccer and just relaxed.  I tried a bowl of fresh shrimp with lime from some guy carrying a huge bowl up and down the beach-they were a little hard to peel but worth the effort. 

         Since we didn’t always want to just eat downstairs at Maxime’s (and we did more often than not, especially if there was a game we wanted to watch), we asked for other nearby options.  The young man at the desk, who had just moved back to Brasil from the US, suggested a place just down the street, emphasizing that it didn’t look like much but was considered some of the best seafood around.  Indeed the delicious moqueca (fish and shrimp stew) was amazing.  It was served with a salsa that smelled so hot that my craziest Mexicano friends might not been able to handle it and we had to keep it on the other side of the table.

He also recommended the local churrascarria, or I as like to call them, “meat-arias”.  The general idea is an all-you-can-eat set price plus drinks and dessert are extra.  But the basic charge (~$30 here) includes a huge buffet with all kinds of salads, side dishes, fruits and vegetables, quail eggs and other local delicacies, cured meats and cheeses, even sushi nowadays, and more (you could easily fill up here), and then, while you are at your table, they bring you meats. Giant skewers and platters of all types of beef, lamb, chicken, pork (even boar).  There are numerous waiters just walking around ready to give you more meat.  I usually tried to ask what it was, but would always take it regardless of if I understood or not.  There was a huge table of a Mexican family that was there before us and still there when we left taking it all in.  It is a fantastic idea and I’ve got to try the one in Denver (Rodissio’s?).

       One day we took a taxi to Olinda, a much smaller Colonial style town 12km to the north and the original settlement in the area.  It was a gorgeous sunny day as we started at the top plaza that overlooks the town, beach and Recife in the distance. There are local guides there who are all supposedly former street kids who were taken in by the church, educated multilingually and now make their living showing tourists around.  We were adopted by one and shown the various beautiful old churches, monasteries and other government buildings still in use with a little history of the area.  It was a nice little tour, but at the end the guide really tried to gouge us for the tour, asking for $100.  I should have negotiated up front and ended up sending him away pissed off with $40.  The interaction left the experience with a sour aftertaste, but it was a “must visit” site and got us out of the generally boring city.

        Another day we headed to the old section of Recife where there was a lot going on, even though the Fan Fest was empty and locked (we never really got to check it out, but it didn’t sound like the greatest site).  In the main plaza was a huge drum and dance group playing for a large crowd, many of whom were proudly wearing their Mexicano verde.  We wandered around, bought some local art a big fair, and then took a boat across the bay to the “Sculpture Park”, which was a man-made isthmus, lined with various bizarre sculptures, fishermen and drunk vagrants, and even a restaurant. A local couple stopped to ask us if we spoke English, in order to practice a little and they informed us that the road we were on would eventually lead back to the beach area near our hotel.  Against our better judgment, we decided to walk back, since they said it was only twenty minutes on bike.

An hour and a half later, after walking through the edge of a favela along the far end of the beach, and running into the couple again drinking a beer, we eventually made it back to our hotel.  

       We had enough time for a shower and went downstairs to Maxime’s to get a good table for the USA-Portugal game.  We got there just in time as the place really filled up by the time kickoff rolled around.  And it was rowdy with every table packed with a few groups of Americans, a lot of Mexicans of whose allegiances were mixed, and numerous others.  It was loud throughout but when the US scored it felt as if we were at the stadium.  We did our own chants including some “I believe…” and of course, “USA! USA!! USA!!!”.  The entire place went dead silent as Ronaldo made his one play of the game with his cross to assist the tying goal in the waning seconds of a ridiculously long five minutes of additional time.  Everyone quickly paid their bills and the place emptied out.  

       To be honest, although they hosted some excellent soccer games, the city itself just did not have a lot to offer and was a little disappointing, although we did still have a great time.  If we were to do one thing differently on the trip, it would have been to stay farther down the coast at a smaller beach town like Porto da Galinhos, which we heard a lot about.  It would have been lower key, more vacation-like and the transportation would have been feasible as numerous people did so.

Recife, parte 1

[Note:  It has taken me while but I am finally catching up with my all of my Brasil reports, which, not surprisingly, have become much longer than I originally intended.  This is the first of what has turned out to be four posts about Recife, there will be one (or possibly two) about Rio, as well as a couple more about Brasil and Portuguese in general.]

    We had to get up ridiculously early to catch our 6:20 AM flight from Salvador to Recife and after a short, hardly scary at all cab ride, we were at our hotel by 9:00 AM, with the whole day ahead of us to get the lay of the land. We explored the local neighborhood and found a cool little deli/market/cafe down the street and had some of the best coffee I have ever tasted, once we figured out the “system”.  Many retail places in Brasil have slightly different processes for purchasing, many times needing to pay a different person or at a different place, often first, from where you actually get your merchandise.  However, at “Diplomata” (and I think a local even tried to tell us it was different here, even for Brasil), whichever area (coffee, deli, bakery) you started at would give you a lanyard with a barcoded card that they would digitally scan prices into for you. Then, when you were ready to pay, you just present it at the cash register up front to pay when you are all done.  Each place you go tends to have their own set-up so you usually have to observe and ask.

     Later, we went to the main high end shopping mall to get tickets for the Arena Expreso bus (ahead of time because you couldn’t just buy them on the day of the game because that is the system here) and of course, it was only open certain hours.  So we wandered around the gigantic Rio Mar Shopping mall until they were ready.  This enormous labyrinth was full of every store imaginable, including many customer-less American and European designer labels.  Most of whose employees, no matter what type of store it was (except maybe the high end ones) were dressed in the familiar yellow and green and the storefront windows were often decorated the with that same color motif.  The busiest spot was the tiny FIFA kiosco filled with mostly Fuleco crap. We did find a really cool “retro” soccer jersey store.  Eventually, we were able to buy our transport tickets to and from all three games, which turned out to be a great decision as this bus was the most efficient thing we encountered in Brasil. 

     After relaxing back at the hotel, we took the easiest choice and went to the restaurant right next door, Maxime’s Boteco, another fine decision as it became a favorite place to eat and watch games, when it was open.  The pub/tavern has six big screen TVs, three inside and three outside and an extensive menu, from full entrees to a variety of bar food, much of which is brought around on trays for you to sample.  You never knew what was going to be passed or when the next one would come, but it was usually something delicious, like crab or shrimp cakes, little pasties pastries and pies, or grilled meat or chicken skewers.  You could fill up without ever having to order anything but more cerveja.  You can order “chopp” a small draft beer, or they also had large ~40 ounce bottles that are brought to your table in an plastic insulating container (similar to a tailgate beer can holder) with small glasses to share, usually the “Original” brand (yes, that is the name) but also with Bohemia or Heineken when they ran out of the original.

    The next morning we were treated to an extensive breakfast buffet, with even more choice than the impressive Salvador spread, including fruit, breads, hot entrees, eggs, pastries, cereal, juices, cheese, meats, egg and tapioca (they use tapioca for everything including this crepe-like dish) station, so you could something different every day if you want and we were there 8 days without really getting tired of it.  The breakfast room was packed with Costa Rican red jerseys, although the atmosphere was quiet and reserved as everyone readied for the crucial match with Italy.

    The bus ended up being an excellent, efficient mode of transportation sine they never completed the planned subway or public bus lines and the stadium is way outside of town.  We had to pass the stadium before we parked and it looked really cool out there in the middle of nowhere.  We still had to walk a little ways to get to the actual stadium but for the walk up anticipation has always been a huge part of attending any game.   While they had been pretty mellow at the hotel, the Costa Ricans were starting to get loud.  We hit all the stations in the Fan Zone and headed inside to watch the crowd and warm-ups. 

     The Ticos had a huge section behind one of the goals and they rarely stopped singing and chanting from an hour before kickoff to well beyond the last whistle. And they (we) had a lot to cheer about as the team proved their victory over Uruguay had not been a fluke, flustering and all but shutting down Andrea Pirlo in the middle.  Since he had trouble getting the ball, and was harassed by two or three bodies when he did, he could not get it to Mario Balotelli, who was quiet the whole game.  Each Costa Rican goal was greeted with a roar and made me realize how cool it was to be part of it.  The walk out of the stadium and back to the bus was quick and merry, serenaded by the victorious Ticos.

    Afterwards, as we were waiting for a taxi to get back to the hotel, I wondered out loud about what was going on in the next game.  Just then, a taxi pulled up and as we got in, we noticed that the driver had a small TV mounted into his dash and had the game on!  When we got back to the hotel, we ran across to the gas station to grab some water and they had a TV set up outside so workers and customers alike could check the game; it turned out that this TV was almost always on with whatever game was currently playing. That night the celebration continued back at Maxime’s with numerous Costa Riquenos and a generally fun multinational crowd, including a bunch of crazy Mexicanos who were already started to show up for the approaching Mexico-Croatia match.

What to do now?

     I can't believe that it is really over!  Although we were given an extra half hour of football, at least we did not have to succumb to watching the World Cup be won on penalties as Germany managed to find a goal late in the extra period.  My heart was pulling for Argentina and the Americas, but having seen Germany twice live, I always assumed they would find a way to win.  Argentina has Messi and a talented supporting cast, but the Germans have depth and discipline like no other team; no matter who lined up they were always in control of the ball, rarely out of position with their shape and seemingly constant perfect spacing, never making hurried, frantic clears.  Outside of the Ghana game they never looked vulnerable and were definitely the best team of the tournament. There were a record (-tying) 171 goals scored in this World Cup along with some of the best goalkeeping we have seen in a long time.  Germany's Neuer won the Golden Glove (very creepy trophy) but had strong competition from CONCACAF with Costa Rica's Kaylor Navas, Mexico's Memo Ochoa, USA's Tim Howard and others.  Lionel Messi took the Golden Boot for best overall player and James Rodriguez, with only five games won the Golden Ball with his six goals (and probably the goal of the tournament with his chest volley strike against Uruguay).  It was definitely a Cup to remember!

   However, Monday was a difficult, melancholy, slow-moving day and it should have probably been dreary and raining throughout.  I guess I was in mourning as I wore a black CU T-shirt, the first non-World Cup/soccer shirt I had worn in weeks.  I was in a funk all day, unsure of what to do with myself.  I could have watched replays but I couldn't muster the effort.  I will eventually finish recapping my trip, but was just not motivated to write.  No Sportscenter, iphone app, internet site or book could hold my attention for very long.  Hopefully, it will get a little easier each day.  Maybe watching more replays as long as they are available On Demand will become more enjoyable as time goes on (although I still need to watch Mexico-Netherlands to complete my "Mexico Marathon" started last Friday).

    As for this blog, I will finish my trip recaps, with a couple upcoming posts on Recife, Rio and Brasil in general (see previous posts in this blog about Salvador and also a short piece on my other blog: http://bcraptorwatch.blogspot.com/2014/07/a-little-brasil-birding.html ), and will hopefully adding some photos soon.
    After that, I will continue to follow soccer, as there are many other "Copas" to look forward to watching and hopefully attending. I will be checking in on both the Mexican and US national teams as they prepare for those future Cups: The Gold Cup next year here in the USA, followed in 2016 by the Copa America, also in the USA, making its first appearance ever outside South America, then hopefully one of the teams will qualify for the Confederations Cup in Russia in 2017, and eventually World Cup 2018 Russia.  Both of "my" teams look to have their coach for the foreseeable future with Jurgen inked through 2018 and Herrera likely soon to be signed on as well.  In the meantime, both squads will have some interesting friendlies coming up, including a Mexico rematch with the Dutch in Holland.  I also think I am going to start watching some LigaMX.

Salvador, Brasil

       As I finally post the first installment about the trip, it is the last day of the World Cup and Germany will take on Argentina for the title they will hold for the next four years.  I can't believe it is over and I am not sure what I will do with myself next week (probably catch up on these and hopefully Infinity On Demand will still offer all the Univision telecasts).  It seems like a perfect time to recap and I will post something every couple days this week.
       Looking back, Salvador was probably my favorite city of the three we visited.  Rio was over the top, Recife a little boring, and the hotels in those two locales were just not nearly as nice and accommodating as the wonderful Mar Brasil Hotel in the Itapua neighborhood and beach area on the northwest of the large city in the state of Bahia.  Although we were situated on the far side of the city from most of the action, a good 30-minute white-knuckle cab ride away (more on that in a future post), it was just our style, a small, locally run hotel along a quiet beach with good food, beautiful decor and ambiance, including a TV in the lobby that played every game, and absolutely exceptional service.  The staff was always available to help, direct us to many great nearby restaurants, help plan travel and make reservations, and when we were not provided an "ocean view" room as promised, they refunded two nights stay!  (Needless to say, this did not set us up well for the general service we would receive the rest of the trip, but it was certainly nice while it lasted.)
      The first night we tried out some local food at a small family restaurant.  The hotel porter actually walked us to and showed us four restaurants in the area, including the "expensive" one, to make sure we were safe and that they were still open.  By the end of the trip we had tried all four and they all had great food, with shall we say "interesting" service according to our "American" standards.  When we awoke the next morning we were treated to a fine buffet of fresh fruits and baked goods, numerous hot dishes, an egg station, cereals, cheeses and meats, yogurt and two types of fresh juice. We were certainly able to start each day with a good breakfast.
           We quickly jumped into World Cup spirit and as we left the hotel to get into our cab for the Germany-Portugal game, we heard a "Ha-lo! Good Morning! Are you going to the stadium?" in a strong German accent from across the street, as an older man with a Germany flag draped across his shoulders as a cape was jogging toward us.  Although it may not be advised to allow a random stranger to join you we both readily welcomed this jovial fellow, who actually spoke great English and fair Portuguese and he gave us a history lesson and tour of the city, asking the cabbie anything he didn't know and passing it along.  It seemed most local Brazilians were favoring the Portuguese as they were quite eager to rib him in stopped traffic as he waved his homeland's pride. We actually still had to walk up over a kilometer to get to the stadium which is situated on a hill in the middle of a bunch of favelas.  There was a strong police presence along the way and the crowd was jovial, taking a lot of pictures of the stadium and area.  When we got inside it beautiful, the Fan Zone has tons of fun activities and free junk, and our seats  ended up being quite good.  This stadium was constructed on the site of the old one, using over 90% of the materials from the old structure.  The game itself was a blast with a huge group of Portuguese behind us to the left and numerous groups of Germans to the right, keeping the chanting and singing going throughout the game.  The Germans really dominated from start to finish, neutralizing the disappointing Christiano Ronaldo and helped by Pepe's stupidity to thrash the Portuguese 4-0.  The game left me very impressed with how well the Germans space themselves and control the ball, and it wasn't the last time during the month that I had that thought. That evening we actually ended up just watching the US-Ghana game back in the hotel lobby, as a nice crowd was gathering when we got back. It was a really great full first day and perfect way to start this trip.
       The next morning we actually were involved in a minor fender-bender while taking a cab to the old town Pelourinho area.  It actually wasn't even the cabby's fault, although he was your typical crazy Brazilian taxi driver: goes ways too fast, brakes at the last second, comes way too close to nearby cars, uses indeterminable number of lanes. Although we had some very interesting cab rides to say the least, this was our only accident of the three weeks.(again, more to come on this topic). We were in stop and go traffic and the guy behind us, who likely was on his phone, lightly bumped into us. Luckily, everyone was fine with minor damage to the cars and we were able to continue on our way.  The entire neighborhood around the Pelourinho, the main plaza in the Alta (high section) of the Old Town that used to serve as one of the world's largest slave auctions, was decked out beautifully with the trademark yellow and green national colors. It was here that I first noticed how many people were wearing the familiar Brasil jersey, more often than not number 10, and how many places were adorned with streamers, flags or other decorations.  As the city was also setting up for their Sao Joa festivities, there was a lot of general activity, including Capoeira (dance/martial arts) and Oludum drumming performances in the public areas.  There is a very old tramway that takes you between the Alta and Baixa (lower) parts of the old city.  I got my Mexico Havaiana flip-flops down below before we went to the Fan Fest for the much anticipated Brasil-Mexico match-up.
        When we got to the Salvador Fan Fest area out at the coastal point and Farol da Barra, we immediately spotted and were drawn toward four guys in Mexican jerseys sitting below the Lighthouse there and went over to join them.  It was refreshing to hear and speak Spanish, even more so than the English I had spoken.  Our crowd grew and grew with a lot of verde jerseys, Lucha Libre masks, Mexican flags decorating a diverse crowd of fans including your typical rowdy diehard male fans, numerous young couples, two different teenage boys taking their birthday trips with their padres, and one young man who had saved four years to take his grandparents to Brasil (he even had sandwiches in his backpack for them and his grandma was one of the rowdiest fans).  After watching the first of Belgium's late game heriocs on the big screen and before the Mexico-Brasil clash started, we went in search of some food and stumbled upon what would become a "staple" of the trip-"bowl of meat" as we liked to call it, or a simple churrasco/grill stand that simply cooks kebabs of meat and then serves them in a small bowl with not much more than maybe some "farofa" or manioc root powder that really only adds a little texture.  It is simple perfection and filled us up for the intense match-up that was to come.
       The seemingly large Fan Fest area filled up quickly and watching this Mexico-Brasil game in that electric environment was almost like being at the game (it is described in further detail in a previous post "Salvador Fan Fest").  I like to think that from above the crowd looked like a Brazilian flag with our group of Mexican fans a green circle in the middle surrounded by vast yellow all around.  After the intense and exciting 0-0 draw (Americanos just don't get this!) the attitude in the Mexican group was that of celebrating a win. Getting out of the Fan Fest was another story as the entrance/exit was very narrow (another example of brilliant efficiency here) and anxious and slow-going as waves of people inched the crowd slowly forward.  Luckily, the Brasileiros were generally calm, certainly patient and good-natured, joking with us as we all were pushed and pulled along, often body to body and face to face, excruciatingly slowly toward the exit.  We finally got out of the sweaty hoard and hailed a taxi back to the hotel.  All in all, this ended up being one of our favorite days of the trip.
       Although it was a little cold and windy, with huge waves, we spent quite a bit of time walking up and down, as well as sitting on the beach, and also relaxed by the pool.  It was just a very pleasant and comfortable place to be.  One afternoon we were interviewed by a local TV sports reporter who was fishing for someone to sing "The Girl from Ipanema" but he couldn't get anyone to bite. The last night in Salvador, we went to Mistura, the "expensive" restaurant the porter had pointed the first night, as I realized it was one that I had written down after having seen it mentioned numerous times in my reading as "the best seafood in Salvador".  It was quite nice and had impressive large screen TVs that appear to be large paintings but then can convert and show a soccer game when needed, which is often in Brasil.  It was a nice way to end with a great meal but definitely sad to be leaving Salvador early the next morning.

Reacclimating to UnitedStatesian life

Wow-I have been back almost a week now and have been trying to imagine what Brasil looks and sounds like today after the devastating loss suffered by A seleceao yesterday.  The one striking image that sticks with me is bright yellow and green, everywhere you looked.  Many streets were completely decorated, with yellow and green streamers across the streets, along with Brasileira flags in most storefronts, hanging from every building and even adorning the front side mirrors on many cars.  Seemingly everyone, literally 40% or more at any given time, 75%+ on game days, dressed in the traditional yellow Brasil jerseys-the kids, the adults, seniors, waiters, shop and boutique workers.  Most places had a TV going anytime any game was one-IN many of the taxis and some even built into the dash, at the local pharmacy, grocery store or salon, at the gas station, and of course anywhere, even the smallest cart or kiosk, that serves any type of food or drink.  When Brasil was actually playing the normally busy streets were eerily quiet except for the outbursts at overflowing restaurants and bars. (The government and many business actually shut down early, by law, on Brasil game days.) No matter what languages, combinations or lack thereof, we were constantly talking futebol/futbol/football/soccer with someone.  I had stated numerous times that Germany was very good and would be difficult for Brasil under any circumstances, but especially so without Thiago Silva (Neymar as well, but the captain centerback is much more crucial to how the team flows) I  hope that Brasileiro spirit and passion is still prevalent today.

Overall. our trip was amazing, wonderful, trying at times, but a fabulous experience. Unfortunately, with a busy schedule and one-computer lobby "business centers" at all of our hotels it was very difficult to post during the trip outside of Twitter, and then only when I had Wifi and/or some sort of internet connection. The previous post in this blog gave my impressions of Salvador and the Mexico-Brasil game we viewed at the Fan Fest.  Therefore, over the next week or so, I will post a few recaps and summaries of the places we visited, the games we witnessed, interesting multinational people we met and other interesting tidbits of Brazilian culture and language (i.e. "Does Spanish really help?" and...the taxis).  I'll start with something about Salvador tomorrow.

For an extra Brasil tidbit, check out my other blog about Birds of Prey, usually local raptors for me, but the latest post touched on some birding in Salvador: http://bcraptorwatch.blogspot.com/