So we hit the road in the pouring rain to travel 300km south. You'll be glad to know that we did not get breakfast before we left, so we stopped at the road stand next to the gas station for a quick bite. This time we played a new game called Carne or Queso. We would point and say "Carne?" And he would say "No, Queso". After a few minutes we has a pile of meatless baked goods but no coffee. For a country famous for their coffee it seems especially hard to find.
Today there was no serious traffic, plus we knew where we were going, which always helps. So aside from the usual driving hazards (driving blog post is almost done) it was a smooth trip.
From the moment we pulled into the parking lot, it was clear this day would belong to Mexico. Everyone was wearing bright green Mexico jerseys. At the stadium it was even crazier. Thousands of adults and kids, many of them dressed up in crazy costumes like mariachi bands and Mexican wrestlers. Inside the stadium was a sea of chanting singing green. We felt a little bad for Croatia, but I'm pulling for Team North America.
The match was fun. There were no goals in the first half and we were beginning to think we were cursed, since we had only seen 1 goal through 2 1/2 games. In the second half the game opened up and Mexico got several goals.
It was funny that the Brazilian fans in the stadium were all watching tv on their cell phones to keep track of the Brazil game going on a the same time. Every time Brazil scored (4 times) the Brazilians would abruptly stand and cheer for a totally different game.
For a brief moment in the game, Mexico scored enough goals to catch up to Brazil for first place and the Brazilian fans got very quiet but shortly afterward Brazil scored another and all was ok again.
Meanwhile, the Mexican fans were having a great time tormenting the Croatian players with their new favorite chant which is completely inappropriate, but amusing.
Several Mexican fans commented on our USA jerseys. Many were compassionate about last nights disappointment. To the ones that weren't, we reminded them that they wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for USA beating Panama last year in a game that didn't even matter for us. We said a lot of "de nada" too.
After the game, Jon accomplished a major goal. He was able to trade his Landon jersey with a young Brazilian fan who had an Oscar #11 jersey. Those are surprisingly rare here. The whole country is wearing Neymar #10. That kid's head is going to get so big it pops!
We left the stadium and had a surprisingly smooth trip back to Pipa. Much better than Fridays marathon. We got home around 11:30 and found a great pizza place a half block from our apartment. Probably should have taken a picture of the arugula pizza. Brazilians take their pizza very seriously. No Papa Johns around here. Anyway, after another very long day it was delicious and filling. Off to bed now. Our last match is in Natal tomorrow at 1pm!!
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