International dreaming places to visit

 1. Maldives

 2. Iceland (West Fjords)

 3. Peru

 4. Norway/Finland

 5. Indonesia

Big Sur dreaming places to stay

 1. Post Ranch Inn

 2. Ventana Big Sur

 3. Glen Oaks

 4. Big Sur Lodge

 5. Big Sur River Inn

Curitiba

We got the win but there were heavy prices to be paid in Curitiba with a little frosting on top too.  Night one brought on acute food posining after a heavy meat intake at a Batel Grille, a local churaciria and I was forced to take a knee.  The boys made up for my sickness in spades by partying like out of control rock stars until 7 am match day and sleeping for only 3 hours despite being unintentionally pepper sprayed at a local club.  I was humbled by their efforts and feeling significantly better by noon and commenced my own boozing activities.  I was optimistic feeling after witnessing the worst soccer of the World Cup live at the Iran/Nigeria game--if this was one of the best teams in Africa surely the Yanks had a strong chance of winning.  

The game was not our best by any means but the victory cemented more partying which was surprisingly difficult to find but once we did....

One of our compatriots JKUSA spilled his cookies after one too many caprihinas while two others enjoyed extra curricular activities with the opposite sex in the hostel and inexplicably in a small alley at 6 am.  All for 'Murica, home of the free, brave and oftentimes drunkard any horny. 

Curitiba was amazing now off to Rio. Beat Portugal!

Goodbye Salvador, hello Curitiba

By all accounts Salvador is a pretty sweet city.  Super friendly people, amazing beaches and some bad ass seafood. We did it right and I'm glad we saw the place. We ended up in a total shit hole of an apartment which was a bit of an accident on our part but I think we're ok with that. ND took a special liking to Salvador, spending minimal time with the group while excelling in the boozing, roaming and partying out of his fucking mind departments. Until the early hours of this morning when he returned to us with 5 chicks in tow it was very uncertain as to whether or not he'd be making the flight to Curitiba (which incidentally he had mistakenly cancelled by not showing up to a previous flight). Despite the near disaster we've arrived and have some big shit to get done in this city including seeing our side drum the shit out of Ghana or going home.  I have a lot of faith in Jurgen and am expecting a victory. Hell if Costa Rica and the hated ones can get it done so can we. 

So tomorrow we drink (heavily) rendezvous with Karas, see Nigeria shit on Iran and then the USA game. I'll be geared out and ready to go. I hope Curitiba treats us with dignity and some semblance of respect because I demand no less.  For some reason we have referred to taking a shit as dropping a Curitiba since the trip began so I hope that doesn't come back to bite us in the ass. 

'Murcia 

Salvador pt. 3

Yesterday World Cup started and it was pretty fucking sweet to experience first hand. The Brazilians are awesome and their energy is absolutely contagious. We drank a ton of beers all day and watched the game outdoors at the lighthouse here on a huge screen which was so damn cool. It started raining right before kick off  and the crowd went APE SHIT and stated jumping around and chanting. The game I thought was a good one too and Brazil was fairly dominant. The Neymar and Oscar goal were both class. 

Today we go to Spain/Holland and I'm rather reluctantly pulling for the Dutch despite being a strange people.  Maybe I just think their kits are cool.  Anyhow, tonight seems like a good night to raise hell and go to a local disco called "Toque".  ND and Roozbeh are especially eager to meet some local women and have their way with them--will be highly entertaining at an absolute minimum. 

🇺🇸 'Murica

Salvador pt. 2

Bom dia, last night we got WASTED!!  Today we are with complete crew--we're rolling 7 deep!  Salvador is actually a pretty cool city with a bad ass historic district and pretty oceans. We are all anticipating watching Brazil tomorrow. The city is doing its best to finish final preps before tomorrow but it seems like they'll def be falling short. Oh well, we're ok with that and it seems like most Brazilians could give two fucks. 

Tonight we dance and party on the street again and suffer the consequences later!  We filled out a group World Cup bracket last night and the consensus was Argentina was a strong favorite as well as Germany. We'll see...nobody had the USMNT getting out of group stage but we'd all be so pumped if they did. Except for Ramin who is a hater. 

'Murica!!!

Salvador pt. 1

Today we transited from Florianopolis to San Salvador. Florianopolis was great albeit it very wet the entire time. We did plenty of boozing but also a lot of relaxing mixed in with a few great rain runs.  I don't think any of us thought or talked about the World Cup much at all (which was sort of nice since we'll be living the shit out of it shortly) but once we got to San Salvador we were bit with the bug right away. We flew with a bunch of Dutch guys who we're wearing the worst of the kits available which was surprising because so much of their stuff is very cool looking in my opinion. Man the Dutch are weird and these guys in particular were very awkward. 

Tomorrow we'll attend our first street party in Salvador and I'm looking forward to mixing it up with more fans. I'll wear my first piece of American flair tomorrow, not sure what I'll go with?  This adventure feels very much in its infancy stage and we need to pace ourselves for sure.  We're still missing Amar and Christine and we expect them in very short order.   Ramin and I have lost our voices already. And the Dutch are still so strange. 

Last night in 'Murica

Tomorrow I leave for a strange land, a foreign land, parts unknown. There's a strange excitement brewing within me, very different from the thrill I felt before the 2012 Summer Olympics. I have no clue how we'll do, perform or really what our potential is. We're young and unproven yet but well coached--dammit we're fuckin American!  That has to count for a lot (actually very little).   More than anything, I'm very appreciateve of being able to go on this trip--I'm very fortunate and I know it. I hope to spread some good will and make friends. Trip of a lifetime.  GO. 

great expectations

Hello, Zito Baggins checking in pre-World Cup here.  I am feeling incredibly excited about the FABULOUS games, people, drinks and fun to be had.  Our crew of 7-8 should be a real force and I'm predicting big things.  I will do my best to represent the GENTS well and immerse myself in the culture and learn a little something about Brazilian culture.  More to follow...

So the boys have been pretty silent on the email front. Who can blame them? I've received spurts of texts from Jason and Geoff, and it sounds like they're having a blast. From the random texts I've received, I do know that the fellas have been wine tasting, have partied with South Africans on a train, Geoff's "experienced" the fruits of the local "agriculture industry," and Jason had some "fun" with a local. Their random texts definitely leave room for the imagination to run wild. FrankenKaras did send a few photos yesterday, which give us all a peek into what they've been up to.

Here they are:

England vs. USA, Rustenburg - View from the guys' seats, and from what I can tell, they were on the opposite end of where Dempsey's goal was scored.

FIFA Fan Fest in Rustenbug. These were awesome in Germany, so it's really cool to see they've done them again in South Africa.

An view of the ocean taken by Jason from Cape Town (top). You can see that it was perfectly captured in the USA Mural from the AM I Collective (bottom).

FIFA Fan Fest in Cape Town

FIFA Fan Fest Cape Town - Table Mountain in the background.

Korb in prime form. As you can see, little has changed since 2006 (top). Once again in South Africa, Geoff catches some sleep wherever he can (bottom).

El Americano

I'm sorry it has taken so long to post here and I'm even more sorry that I won't be able to add photos right now (no way to get them from mobile device to internet cafe computer), but I just want to report a little on our adventures so far.

Many of you already know that I was delayed in arriving in Rustenburg. I didn't know it, but I needed a blank page in my passport (which I found out I don't have).

The gate agent in Atlanta turned me away from my flight and sent me to a company in the main terminal, called Denied Boarding. They charge $660 for a one business day turnaround (adding passport pages). The guy told me I wouldn't be able to fly until Friday, which would put me inJohannesburg on Saturday evening and likely cause me to miss the England match. So, I told them no and called Jorge.

He guided me to a national passport hotline and I was able to find a passport office with an open appointment tomorrow morning (in Detroit). So, flew to Detroit (without my luggage) and stayed in the airport Westin. While at the Westin I filled out and printed the passport forms I needed and made a few copies of my driver's license (at about 2am). At 5:30am I woke up to blow dry my clothes, which I had washed in the sink the night before. I got my shit together and headed to Hertz and then to the passport office. I got all of that sorted out by 11:30am and, after a breakfast at American Coney Island, I headed back to the airport. Once there I was able to get on an earlier flight to Amsterdam (4:05pm, instead of 7:25pm), which would give me several hours of layover instead of only 75 minutes. Everything went pretty smoothly from then until I landed in Johannesburg.

I got through immigration and customs in OR Tambo airport with little problem and I even found my driver without much issue, but he was holding up two signs. One said "Geoffrey Korb" and the other one said "Geofloss E Korb". My driver was convinced that there was another guy on my flight with almost the same name and that we should wait for him. He wouldn't listen to me at all and I made phone calls for an hour before he decided to just leave Geoffloss E for dead. I arrived at the camp and the tent to find it empty, so I scanned the environment for some light and noise. Sure enough, I found Karas drinking beers with a few Americans and an Englishman at the camp's bar. I had a few with them, went to bed, and woke up on my first morning in South Africa.

Anyway, that's enough news for now...more to follow.

I just wanted to post something to remind everyone that, while World Cup 2006 is long over, we're not too far away from World Cup 2010. Jorge and I will be at the USA - Sweden match on January 24 and I am really hoping I can make it to the USA - Mexico World Cup Qualifying match on February 11. Anyway, that's all for now, but we shall return...

It is very unfortunate that this World Cup was won by a team that believes diving, faking injuries, and constantly appealing to the referee are acceptable and sportsmanlike behaviors.

It is also unfortunate that three of the four semifinalists won matches or scored goals as a result of very questionable incidents of diving.

America and the other honorable football nations of the world, such as England and Australia (must be the Anglo-American work ethic), will be at a handicap until there is a crackdown on cowardly, dishonest play.

Christiano Ronaldo appeals to the referee in an effort to get Wayne Rooney ejected from the match.

C. Ronaldo winks at his bench in a show of classy sportsmanship after successfully getting Rooney ejected.

Henry fakes a smack to the face.

In the Portugal - France match, Ronaldo doesn't even attempt to leap for a header in the box, choosing to shamelessly dive instead.

In the Italy - Australia match, notice how Fabio Gross looks to the referee before he fully lands on the ground after his dive. In any other circumstance such a "violent" tackle would have resulted in a lot of ankle holding and a likely stretcher.

This is the "Über Eagle" (our word) or Reich Eagle (Adler); Jason and I fell in love with it while we were in Germany.