I don't remember when it was that I first had it but the taste stayed with me forever - Aquavit.
The very potent, caramel colored liqour is flavored with caraway/fennel as well as other herbs and spices. The booze is shipped from Norway across the equator to Australia and back again in oak sherry casks - for a richer flavor of course.
I've only really had it with our heavy Christmas dinners but when I found a bottle at Hi-Time in Costa Mesa I had to buy it. Some of my friends have tried it and I don't think any of them enjoyed it :)
We push off from Portobelo, Panama on a trimaran with both KLR650s tied down on-deck. We soaked both bikes thoroughly with WD40 to prevent rusting from the salty sea. Setting sail for Cartagena, Colombia on what is supposed to be a 5-day journey - we never knew how wrong we were but as they say, 'ignorance is bliss'.
South America Trip - Panama to Colombia Boat Trip
It's exciting to sail out from port, heading out to sea for a country we've never seen before. You can feel the excitement on board, spirits are high. We booked passage on a sail-boat instead of flying from Panama City, the more adventurous option of course. We share the boat with people from all over the world, Denmark, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, the US, Sweden, Taiwan, Colombia. Backpackers.
South America Trip - Panama to Colombia Boat Trip
We've loaded up on food, beer and rum. Panamanian Balboa beer and Ron Abuelo. Lots of it. The last thing you want when you're out to sea is to run out of rum. You can always fish for food but rum? No, you're screwed if you run out.
It is here, 20 miles off the Panamanian coast on a boat captained by Capt. Ron's long lost cousin that I discover, or re-discover, American rock and roll. I don't remember exactly why I'd loaded about 100 old-school rock songs onto my mp3 player but there they were and the crew (most of it anyway) loved it.
South America Trip - Panama to Colombia Boat Trip
As the boat cut through the bright blue sea we blasted Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, Rolling Stones, The Guess Who, Eric Clapton and more into the Caribbean sky - the perfect soundtrack for our motley crew on this broken vessel.
We had our troubles between Panama and Colombia but Jimi kept our spirits high...
Apparently educators are stunned. Stunned! But if you've followed just a few education stories you know the writing has been on the wall for quite some time. And while Shanghai may seems like a drastic move for your child's education how about Canada, New Zealand, Finland, or Singapore?
The euro has turned into a bankruptcy machine. Once the markets have finished with Ireland, they will simply move on to Portugal and Spain, and after that to Italy and France. There is a domino effect at work, and, with each rescue, the fault lines within the euro grow wider and wider. This process isn’t going to stop until the euro is taken apart.
When given the opportunity to attend Keith Code's California Superbike School at Willow Springs on a BMW S1000 RR I didn't hesitate at all. Thanks to a promotion by BMW USA and Irv Seaver BMW I even got it at a huge discount.
The school is divided into 5 sessions of classroom instruction, on-track exercises and off-track feedback with your instructor.
The classroom instruction goes through the theory of riding a motorcycle and prepares you for exercises to practice while on-track. After the classroom instruction you practice what was taught no-track for about 20-25 minutes. An on-track instructor will watch you and give you instant feedback to correcting any riding-errors.
After the on-track session you have a short 5 minute talk with your instructor for more feedback and pointers for what to focus on when you're back on the track.
I had a blast all day and I absolutely loved the BMW S1000 RR. It had all the options such as traction control and ABS as well as 4 electronic riding modes. While the unrestricted bike has about 190 hp it is cut down to about 150 hp in "rain mode".
I spent most of the day in "rain mode" and the bike was plenty fast although I did notice the computer not providing full power at large lean angles. As soon as the bike was more up-right the engine woke up! I bumped it up to "sport mode" for the last session which felt way faster and I got to work the brakes for real entering the turns. I can only imagine the bike in "performance" and "slick" mode.
The bike always felt light and stable and went exactly where I pointed it (which wasn't always in the right direction)... and the brakes were awesome - instant stopping power!
I had su much fun I plan on taking Level II sometime next year so I'm saving up!
I don't remember when it was that I first had it but the taste stayed with me forever - Aquavit.
