Finally left Estonia

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I finally got into Riga, Latvia... and I'm going to rest up for the local salsa festival.

But I posted one more photo from Russia. If you don't read Russian, then some of these things might be cryptic. Anyone want to translate? BTW... this photo (unlike most) was taken on full resolution (click All Sizes above the photo), so it should make a nice printed poster.

Back in Tallinn

OK... Going to Latvia didn't seem to work. I was going to take a ferry from Saaremmaa to a port town on the coast of Latvia. Unfortunately, since there were lots of storms lately, and there was a chance that the ferry wouldn't make it, they decided not to run the ferry. They also said that there was a 99% chance that it would run tomorrow, but I decided not to chance it. The only bus off the island at that point in time was back to Tallinn, so guess what. I'm now back in Tallinn. I also got lucky since there was one room left in the hostel which I stayed before, "Travelers Chillout". Not exactly where I planned to be tonight, but overall, a good way for thing to go wrong.

I now actually have a few computer minutes, so I'll answer the most frequent question you guys have asked me since I started to travel: "How do you decide what to do?"

Very simple: Whatever I want to do.

My general plan right now (could change any day) is to try to cover Eastern Europe (zig-zagging down). When I meet people that I like... I travel with them... or do local stuff with them. For example:

In St. Petersburg (Russia), I met this English guy Charlie that happened to basically be fluent in Russian (one of his majors in college). I got to go to some not so "simple to get to" places with him, and got more interaction with Russians than any other time while I was in Russia. Luck? Probably... but it seems to happen frequently while traveling.



Since I've mostly been in touristy areas and off season locations, I haven't yet found anyone traveling in my direction in Eastern Europe... if it happens, great, if not, not. The other thing that just happened was teaching. Both in Russia and in Tallinn, I got to teach a salsa class. I also found out about the Riga salsa festival and the one in Berlin, so they are the only official things on my schedule. Riga is this weekend and Berlin is in the middle of September. This tightens my time in Latvia and Lithuania, but I think I'll have enough time. Hopefully, I'll try to make it to (or partially towards) Latvia tomorrow.

Kuressaare, Saaremaa, Estonia

So tonight I leave for Latvia, but here is a little bit about Saaremaa an island off the coast of Estonia.

I mostly stayed in the small town of Kuressaare. I think you would be hard pressed to die of hunger here, since half the trees are fruit trees... some of which I didn't quite recognize. Check out the photos. The weather on the island is like many other islands... volatile. It takes no time for a down-pour to come in, or high winds to start up. Given that... I shouldn't be surprised that my way back on my 60km bike ride, the winds picked up to unbearable speeds, and I felt as if I was moving backwards some of the time. Anyway... I got to see Europe's largest, and most accessible meteorite crater. I'll stick to crater lake.


The town has a cute little castle in the middle of it, and very nice old "Maine" type feel to it; wood burning fireplaces and all.


That's it for now... check out more photos at my flickr account tagged with saaremaa.

Video of me and Desiree dancing.

Allan from Nuevotec Productions posted this fine video... enjoy.


Amir and Desiree Dancing at Yamulee's Social

Leaving Tallinn

I'm finally leaving Tallinn, Estonia. I've had a great time here. I met the salsa gang pretty early on, and one of them, Laura, invited me to join the gang down (actually west) at her summer house on the beach for two days.

It was truly a great experience. Browse my flickr account for more photos. (I'll slowly post more... when I get time).

I also met some of the people who run the local salsa school, and got to teach two classes (On 2).


Now I'm on my way to Saaremaa, an island off the coast.



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After that, I'll probably start making my way to Riga for the salsa festival at the end of the month. It's pretty close... just scroll down (South) a bit on the map above... and you'll see Riga.

Tallinn, Estonia

I have been meaning to write about Russia, and realize the my Internet time is quite limited here, so I will write about it later, just saying that I had a good time. I even got to dance Salsa (a couple of on2 dancers too) and met the local photographer who was taking pictures that night. I will write more when I have some better Internet time.
So now I'm in Tallinn, Estonia. It is a gorgeous place and really easy to travel in, since most people speak fluent English (along with Estonian, Russian, and a couple other languages). I've been biking, hiking, etc... and even got to teach a class (cha-cha of all things) at the local salsa school. More updates soon... along with more pictures... here's one to hold you off.

Leaving Russia

OK... So I thought I would have more time to blog, but obviously not. I have so many stories already, but unfortunately, not enough time.



I decided that I really don't have that much of a draw to go over to Moscow, so I am leaving Russia to head over to the capitol of Estonia, Tallinn.

Tallinn, Estonia


Hopefully it will be an uneventful ride... although I heard it is slow and rocky 7 and a half hour ride. Not that bad. Meanwhile, enjoy my completely random collection of photos. Again, when I have time they will get organized.

Leaving New York

I'm already traveling, but thought it would be nice to share some thoughts about leaving new york before I start telling people about my travels.

It was really sad leaving my apartment of 4 years... so many good memories.

My old apartment.

Not too many people got to see it, probably because it was messy most of the time, but it's where I developed many of my crazy recipes, like chocolate covered roasted garlic, and perfected my pita bread recipes (OK not completely, but got closer). I still think that my neighborhood (West Village) is the best in the city. So convenient, so quiet. I miss it so much. Anyway... I gotta give thanks to the people who helped me move out of it: My brother in law, Jean, and Barada.  Thank you so much guys.

I also want to thank all my friends that took me out, and the others that tried to.  It was mostly my fault that we didn't get to... my schedule and mental state was all over the place.  Here's a photo (taken with my new tiny travel camera) from the dinner after Jimmy's class. Thank you all.



And last, but not least, I want to thank my sister and husband for letting me crash at their place for a week before I headed out. And my parents for being so supportive in everything, and letting me borrow their car for a week so I could see you guys... the last few days I was there. And in general... thanks to everyone for being so supportive my last few weeks at home. Thanks.

St. Petersburg, Russia

So I'm now on the other side of the pond.

St. Petersburg, Russia

More updates later.