Cyber Cafes Are Rare
Saturday, Feb. 26
It´s cloudy and has been raining off and on. I made it to the bus station during a break in the rain. Occasionally, a break also shows in the clouds, but the sky doesn´t look promising.
I am heading further northward to Florinopolis. It is a state capital and an island resort. It is small, and this is considered the last weekend of the summer here, so i may have a problem finding a room. In my favor are two factors--the poor weather and the fact that Carnival coming early this year means that school has already started back.
_______
Well, it is the high season whether anyone is here or not. I checked 3 hotels. They all seemed rather empty, but the employees expressed higher rates than justified by the facilities. None would come down if I paid cash (vs. using a credit card). I am here, but since it has continued raining and the hotel rates are high, I will leave tomorrow.
I have actually seen all of the center of town anyway. All that is left that I could see is the island, and I don´t have transportation for that. The city is nice, however. Actually, it is the cleanest city I have visited anywhere in South America. I am impressed. The streets and sidewalks are in great condition, the new buildings are well constructed, and the old buildings are beautifully restored. I would like to come back here during the off season and stay long enough to enjoy the city and the island at reasonable rates.
I had trouble getting dinner. I finally found a calzone place open, and they closed while I was waiting for my food. I got to eat, though.
I forgot to tell about my problem on the bus. A woman had gone to the back of the bus to get a cup of coffee. On her way back to her seat, the bus made a hard curve. She spilled hot coffee down my back. I automatically jumped and yelled. I could feel that my skin was burned. Several passengers showed concern. Fortunately, it wasn´t a severe burn and didn´t need any treatment.
Sunday, Feb. 27
It is sunny and the air is fresh today. I am still happy I am leaving Florinopolis. I am just not a beach resort person. If I am with someone, I don´t mind it. But alone, I find beach resorts rather borning--especially ones like this with hotels spread around the island rather than concentrated near town. The only way to explore it would be with a car.
_______
It was a beautiful trip to Curitiba. it is so easy to forget how especially lush and pretty Brazil is. We traveled along the coast to Joinville with the water on one side of us and mountains on the other. Then we climbed through the mountains inland to Curitiba. There were palm trees, green trees with balls of leaves at the ends of the branches, trees with purple blossoms, and trees with yellow blossoms. It was so nice to just relax and enjoy the view.
I decided to splurge on my room. As a result, I am living in luxury. I am in a flats hotel. It is a modern highrise, and I have a REAL apartment. There is a complete kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a bath, and a laundry room (with a sink with a built-in scrub board for handwashing). It is very contemporary--mingled charcoal marble countertops and tabletops, black leather sofa, modern black light fixtures, contemporary artwork, glass enclosed shower stall, glass-topped gass range, etc. All of this, plus breakfast comes to about $26 per night. Oh, and it includes a free membership to a gym with exercise equipment and a pool. I feel like staying here forever. I probably will stay for 4 days.
I ate Chinese food for lunch. It was a buffet that was far better than what I got in Buenos Aires, but it still was lacking. The best part was dessert. They had banana and pineapple fritters that had a crispy sugar glaze (like on candied apples, but not as thick). As I was leaving, a man asked if I was from the U.S. He was surprised to find an American here. He is an American software developer who probably lost his job a couple of years ago when American companies started outsourcing. His explanation was that he made a trip to Brazil and fell in love with it and moved down here. I am sure part of the the reason was that he could live more cheaply (and longer) on his savings. He apparently does freelance software development here. He has married a Brazilian woman. It was interesting visiting with them, but there was something a little weird about him.
I bought ingredients for caipirinhas and made them in my kitchen. That´s the national drink of Brazil and is made with caçasha (sugar cane liquor), lime juice, and sugar. Mixed a batch and relaxed and watched the Academy Awards which didn´t end here until 1:30 a.m.!
Monday, February 28, 2005
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Rain in Brazil
Spending Update: I spent a total of 10 days (through the morning of Feb. 25) in Uruguay. I spent $245.13 for a daily average of $24.51 and a monthly rate of $735.30.
Friday, Feb. 25
It was a rough ride last night. The bus was constantly turning, and the roads kept us bouncing. I didn´t sleep much. My seatmate was rather still, but the constant movement of the vehicle bothered me.
I checked into my first-choice hotel. It isn´t far from the bus station. I went to bed and slept two more hours. I am still sluggish due to lack of sleep, but I wanted to get out and see Porto Allegre.
I can tell I am not in Argentina or Uruguay. The people here look poorer, and the city looks dirtier and less maintained. It is a bigger city than I expected with about 1 1/2 million people. I have only seen part of it so far, but it seems well worth visiting. Actually, there are parts of the city that are quite nice. This is considered one of the best run cities in Brazil. It also has the highest literacy rate and the highest per capita income level. It´s just that in Brazil there is more of a contrast in cleanliness from one area of the city to another and there is a greater contrast between the levels of income than I saw in Uruguay or Argentina.
I had lunch at an all-you-can-eat place that featured churascaria--Brazilian charcoal briled meats. I had several kinds of vegetables--corn, peas, potato salad, fried potato patty, black beans, etc. I had two kinds of meat--roast beef and some type of rolled beef. I went back for pineapple, watermelon, papaya, honeydew melon, and caramelized sweet potato for dessert.
The local art museum had some interesting works in a nice building. And I saw an exhibit of the history of the city. I explored the market which is obviously one that has continued in operation without any efforts to gentrify it. The restaurants inside have been there forever and serve predominantly local people, and the stalls are a varied mix of interesting shops. There is a style to most of the stall displays that makes it seem special--a style that apparently comes naturally to the owners but is what contemporary stop owners often expend a lot of effort trying to duplicate all over thw world.
I bought a ticket to Florinopolis for tomorrow and went looking for a cyber cafe. I had seen only 3 all day. Two didn´t have posted prices, and the other was a business center charing $4 per hour. The usual going rate in Brazil for those who post prices is 67 cents-$1 per hour. Those who don´t post prices usually are higher and hope to snag customers who won´t ask. A good cyber cafe near by hotel (which was in a block with 5-6 other hotels) would do well. Anyway, I didn´t find a place open and had to postpone updating the blog.
Everything but bars was closing at 7:00 p.m. I didn´t want to eat at a restaurant, but snack places were among those closing. It was already dark, so I just went back to the room and ate crackers and peanuts and drank Diet Guaraná, a Brazilian soft drink (now owned by Coca Cola)
It began to rain in the evening and looks as if it may continue. Will see what happens as I go to Florinopolis tomorrow.
Spending Update: I spent a total of 10 days (through the morning of Feb. 25) in Uruguay. I spent $245.13 for a daily average of $24.51 and a monthly rate of $735.30.
Friday, Feb. 25
It was a rough ride last night. The bus was constantly turning, and the roads kept us bouncing. I didn´t sleep much. My seatmate was rather still, but the constant movement of the vehicle bothered me.
I checked into my first-choice hotel. It isn´t far from the bus station. I went to bed and slept two more hours. I am still sluggish due to lack of sleep, but I wanted to get out and see Porto Allegre.
I can tell I am not in Argentina or Uruguay. The people here look poorer, and the city looks dirtier and less maintained. It is a bigger city than I expected with about 1 1/2 million people. I have only seen part of it so far, but it seems well worth visiting. Actually, there are parts of the city that are quite nice. This is considered one of the best run cities in Brazil. It also has the highest literacy rate and the highest per capita income level. It´s just that in Brazil there is more of a contrast in cleanliness from one area of the city to another and there is a greater contrast between the levels of income than I saw in Uruguay or Argentina.
I had lunch at an all-you-can-eat place that featured churascaria--Brazilian charcoal briled meats. I had several kinds of vegetables--corn, peas, potato salad, fried potato patty, black beans, etc. I had two kinds of meat--roast beef and some type of rolled beef. I went back for pineapple, watermelon, papaya, honeydew melon, and caramelized sweet potato for dessert.
The local art museum had some interesting works in a nice building. And I saw an exhibit of the history of the city. I explored the market which is obviously one that has continued in operation without any efforts to gentrify it. The restaurants inside have been there forever and serve predominantly local people, and the stalls are a varied mix of interesting shops. There is a style to most of the stall displays that makes it seem special--a style that apparently comes naturally to the owners but is what contemporary stop owners often expend a lot of effort trying to duplicate all over thw world.
I bought a ticket to Florinopolis for tomorrow and went looking for a cyber cafe. I had seen only 3 all day. Two didn´t have posted prices, and the other was a business center charing $4 per hour. The usual going rate in Brazil for those who post prices is 67 cents-$1 per hour. Those who don´t post prices usually are higher and hope to snag customers who won´t ask. A good cyber cafe near by hotel (which was in a block with 5-6 other hotels) would do well. Anyway, I didn´t find a place open and had to postpone updating the blog.
Everything but bars was closing at 7:00 p.m. I didn´t want to eat at a restaurant, but snack places were among those closing. It was already dark, so I just went back to the room and ate crackers and peanuts and drank Diet Guaraná, a Brazilian soft drink (now owned by Coca Cola)
It began to rain in the evening and looks as if it may continue. Will see what happens as I go to Florinopolis tomorrow.
Leaving Uruguay
Wednesday, Feb. 23
It´s 1:00 p.m., and I am sitting in a small square in Barrio Reus waiting another half hour before going to eat lunch across the street.
I began the morning by walking to the legislative building. It is slightly away from the center of town on a wide avenue that angles across the normal grid pattern of the other streets. In front of the building were many tour buses somewhat spoiling the overall look of the place. (There is another cruise ship in town. I could tell by tags the tour groups were wearing. It has been my observation that tours off cruise ships tend to favor stops at places that have free admission --although they tend to charge high prices for the tours. Well, the legislative building is free, so there were hoards of cruise ship tour buses!)
It is a somewhat strange building on the outside. It has the shape and style of building like the U.S. Capitol. It doesn´t have a dome, however. It has a rectangular-shaped roofless structure formed by columns that are statues sticking up above the regular roof line.
Inside, the building is in pristine condition and has many nice features. It is known for the many (28, I think) colors of marble that have been used to create beautiful patterns. Also, there is liberal use of stained glass windows. Neither hall where the two houses meet was open, so I missed seeing them.
My guidebook had said that Barrio Reus, with colorful houses, was about 6 blocks further from town, so I came searching for it, passing the medical school on the way. An d colorful is the right word for this place. The buildings are painted with an emphasis on bright when it comes to shading--bright red, bright blue, bright yello, bright florescent green, etc. Some more muted purples, pinks, golds, etc., also exist.
There is a concentration of shops in the neighborhood selling school supplies, party supplies, children´s clothing, and toys. I get the impression that people come here from far away to shop for these items. There are other shops, too, but 50-60% specialize in the items I listed.
_______
The restaurant where I ate made their on ñoquis (gnocchi--Italian dumplings). I ordered them with chicken. I got a roasted leg of chicken with a big plate of dumplings topped with meat sauce and Parmesan cheese. I should have ordered the ñoquis without the chicken. It was too much food.
After resting at the hotel, I went to the waterfront. For about 2 hours I walked along watching the people. Many were sitting, some were fishing, and most were walking like me. I went as far as a big beach and amusement park. There, I watched people playing volleyball. Then I walked back. For many people here, the waterfront is the place for socializing with neighbors. It was a very good place for a walk.
I bought roast chicken and fried potatoes to go and took them to my room for dinner. The lady gave me a huge portion, so I ate well.
Walking: 32,487 steps (29,180 aerobic steps), 1299 calories, 22.08 km (13.2 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 24
I was up early today. I decided it would be better to leave tonight rather than stay another day. I walked to the bus station and got a ticket for the 8:00 p.m. bus to Porto Allegre in Brazil. It is a 10-11 hour trip, so I will arrive there tomorrow morning. That will be my first stop in working my way toward Rio de Janeiro where I should be next Friday, Mar. 4.
I spent the rest of the day seeing museums. I went first to the Museum of the Gaucho. It is housed in another wonderful townhouse mansion. The exhibits were of high quality and there were signs in English. From there, I went to the Governor´s House which was originally the Uruguayan equivalent of the White House but is used today only for ceremonial purposes. It was strange being there, because there didn´t seem to be signs or workers to indicate where I should and should not go. A couple of times I felt I had probably entered areas where visitors weren´t supposed to be. After that came parts of the National Museum (consisting of old homes with exhibits). The nice thing is that every museum I have visited anywhere in Uruguay has been free.
I had pescado gratinado (fish au gratin--fish topped by sliced tomatoes and cheese and baked in the oven) with mashed potatoes. It was filling and good. A pastry came with the meal, so I chose a strawberry tart which was very refreshing.
It was hot and humid today with little breeze evident. I found myself drinking lots of water and feeling uncomfortable if I walked too much in the sunshine. I stopped at parks and relaxed and read. I am now reading Oxygen by Andrew Miller.
_______
Clouds formed and I heard thunder. I decided to leave for the station earlier than planned. I arrived at 4:45 p.m.--2 1/2 hours before I am required to check in for the bus trip--and dry!! Actually, it is an easy place to wait. It, like the station in Salto, is ultramodern. It is airconditioned, has monitors telling the arrivals and departures of buses, and includes a shopping mall. These two are the best bus stations I have encountered anywhere.
_______
As I waited at the bus station, I heard this strange, annoying sound. It was high-pitched humming that sounded a lot like people do when they try to sound like a trumpet--Brrrrrrrrr-rrrrrrrrrrr-rrrrrrrrrrrrr. I looked around, and it was a guy about 40 years old who was listening to a CD with earplug headphones. I am not sure if he was ware that he was making a noise people could hear.
Since the bus trip was to be 11 hours, I was worried about who would be dmy seatmate. I was one of the first on the bus, so I watched to see the possibilities as people came onto the platform. In just a moment, Hummer showed up. I couldn´t believe it. In my mind I was saying, "Don´t sit by me. Don´t sit by me! Don´t sit by me!!!" He paused a few rows in front of me to look at seat numbers. Then he continued again. He paused by me and looked at the numbers again. Then he put his things in the overhead rack just beside me. He sat, not as my seatmate, but directly across the aisle from me. Was there to be humming all night?
A very stylishly groomed and dressed man sat beside me. His haircut and clothing gave the impression he was about 35, but his face indicated he was probably 48-55. He had just taken his seat when Hummer began to hum. I saw my seatmate lean forward and look around me at him. I grinned and looked at the seatmate who made a face implying something like, "Can you believe that," and, "Do you think we are going to have to put up with that?" Fortunately, Hummer closed down his CD player and slept all night!
They served dinner on the bus. A cold platter with sausage roll, a piece of bread, a cheese sandwich, a meat sandwich, and 2-3 small sweet items was accompanied by a warm package with milanese, two fried potato rolls, and one fried rice roll. Cola was served as the drink.
Walking: 28,108 steps (21,725 aerobic steps), 1144 calories, 19.11 km (11.5 miles)
Wednesday, Feb. 23
It´s 1:00 p.m., and I am sitting in a small square in Barrio Reus waiting another half hour before going to eat lunch across the street.
I began the morning by walking to the legislative building. It is slightly away from the center of town on a wide avenue that angles across the normal grid pattern of the other streets. In front of the building were many tour buses somewhat spoiling the overall look of the place. (There is another cruise ship in town. I could tell by tags the tour groups were wearing. It has been my observation that tours off cruise ships tend to favor stops at places that have free admission --although they tend to charge high prices for the tours. Well, the legislative building is free, so there were hoards of cruise ship tour buses!)
It is a somewhat strange building on the outside. It has the shape and style of building like the U.S. Capitol. It doesn´t have a dome, however. It has a rectangular-shaped roofless structure formed by columns that are statues sticking up above the regular roof line.
Inside, the building is in pristine condition and has many nice features. It is known for the many (28, I think) colors of marble that have been used to create beautiful patterns. Also, there is liberal use of stained glass windows. Neither hall where the two houses meet was open, so I missed seeing them.
My guidebook had said that Barrio Reus, with colorful houses, was about 6 blocks further from town, so I came searching for it, passing the medical school on the way. An d colorful is the right word for this place. The buildings are painted with an emphasis on bright when it comes to shading--bright red, bright blue, bright yello, bright florescent green, etc. Some more muted purples, pinks, golds, etc., also exist.
There is a concentration of shops in the neighborhood selling school supplies, party supplies, children´s clothing, and toys. I get the impression that people come here from far away to shop for these items. There are other shops, too, but 50-60% specialize in the items I listed.
_______
The restaurant where I ate made their on ñoquis (gnocchi--Italian dumplings). I ordered them with chicken. I got a roasted leg of chicken with a big plate of dumplings topped with meat sauce and Parmesan cheese. I should have ordered the ñoquis without the chicken. It was too much food.
After resting at the hotel, I went to the waterfront. For about 2 hours I walked along watching the people. Many were sitting, some were fishing, and most were walking like me. I went as far as a big beach and amusement park. There, I watched people playing volleyball. Then I walked back. For many people here, the waterfront is the place for socializing with neighbors. It was a very good place for a walk.
I bought roast chicken and fried potatoes to go and took them to my room for dinner. The lady gave me a huge portion, so I ate well.
Walking: 32,487 steps (29,180 aerobic steps), 1299 calories, 22.08 km (13.2 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 24
I was up early today. I decided it would be better to leave tonight rather than stay another day. I walked to the bus station and got a ticket for the 8:00 p.m. bus to Porto Allegre in Brazil. It is a 10-11 hour trip, so I will arrive there tomorrow morning. That will be my first stop in working my way toward Rio de Janeiro where I should be next Friday, Mar. 4.
I spent the rest of the day seeing museums. I went first to the Museum of the Gaucho. It is housed in another wonderful townhouse mansion. The exhibits were of high quality and there were signs in English. From there, I went to the Governor´s House which was originally the Uruguayan equivalent of the White House but is used today only for ceremonial purposes. It was strange being there, because there didn´t seem to be signs or workers to indicate where I should and should not go. A couple of times I felt I had probably entered areas where visitors weren´t supposed to be. After that came parts of the National Museum (consisting of old homes with exhibits). The nice thing is that every museum I have visited anywhere in Uruguay has been free.
I had pescado gratinado (fish au gratin--fish topped by sliced tomatoes and cheese and baked in the oven) with mashed potatoes. It was filling and good. A pastry came with the meal, so I chose a strawberry tart which was very refreshing.
It was hot and humid today with little breeze evident. I found myself drinking lots of water and feeling uncomfortable if I walked too much in the sunshine. I stopped at parks and relaxed and read. I am now reading Oxygen by Andrew Miller.
_______
Clouds formed and I heard thunder. I decided to leave for the station earlier than planned. I arrived at 4:45 p.m.--2 1/2 hours before I am required to check in for the bus trip--and dry!! Actually, it is an easy place to wait. It, like the station in Salto, is ultramodern. It is airconditioned, has monitors telling the arrivals and departures of buses, and includes a shopping mall. These two are the best bus stations I have encountered anywhere.
_______
As I waited at the bus station, I heard this strange, annoying sound. It was high-pitched humming that sounded a lot like people do when they try to sound like a trumpet--Brrrrrrrrr-rrrrrrrrrrr-rrrrrrrrrrrrr. I looked around, and it was a guy about 40 years old who was listening to a CD with earplug headphones. I am not sure if he was ware that he was making a noise people could hear.
Since the bus trip was to be 11 hours, I was worried about who would be dmy seatmate. I was one of the first on the bus, so I watched to see the possibilities as people came onto the platform. In just a moment, Hummer showed up. I couldn´t believe it. In my mind I was saying, "Don´t sit by me. Don´t sit by me! Don´t sit by me!!!" He paused a few rows in front of me to look at seat numbers. Then he continued again. He paused by me and looked at the numbers again. Then he put his things in the overhead rack just beside me. He sat, not as my seatmate, but directly across the aisle from me. Was there to be humming all night?
A very stylishly groomed and dressed man sat beside me. His haircut and clothing gave the impression he was about 35, but his face indicated he was probably 48-55. He had just taken his seat when Hummer began to hum. I saw my seatmate lean forward and look around me at him. I grinned and looked at the seatmate who made a face implying something like, "Can you believe that," and, "Do you think we are going to have to put up with that?" Fortunately, Hummer closed down his CD player and slept all night!
They served dinner on the bus. A cold platter with sausage roll, a piece of bread, a cheese sandwich, a meat sandwich, and 2-3 small sweet items was accompanied by a warm package with milanese, two fried potato rolls, and one fried rice roll. Cola was served as the drink.
Walking: 28,108 steps (21,725 aerobic steps), 1144 calories, 19.11 km (11.5 miles)
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
Montevideo
Monday, Feb. 21
The official name of the country is Republica Oriental del Uruguay. I wonder why "oriental" is in the name?
Today is a travel day, but the bus doesn´t leave until 1:00 p.m. I slowly organized things in my room this morning. then I stopped at a cyber cafe for an hour on my way to the bus station. I arrived here at 11:50 and have just finished eating a hot Italian sandwich (ham, mozzarella, oregano, tomatoes, and olives on ciabatta bread). Now I have to wait about 30 minutes before the bus will be loaded. Then it will be a 6-hour trip to Montevideo where I will stay for about 5 days. Of course, ahead of me today is the stress of getting from the bustation there to the area with hotels and finding ahotel before it gets dark. There is a tourist office at the bus station and I have already marked my top 3 choices for a hotel.
_______
The trip went well, but I was concerned about rain clouds as we approached Montevideo. Fortunately, they were in the area but not in town when I arrived.
The tourist office was very helpful. Both employees spoke English well. One gave me a map and a general orientation. the other provided hotel information and made a reservation for me.
_______
I walked the 3 km (2 miles) into town from the station. A cool breeze was blowing indicating the rain was near, but I made it to the hotel while still dry.
I explored briefly. My hotel is only 1 block from one of the two main squares in the city. I found a store and bought water. Then I got two empanadas to go (cheese and onion in one and chicken in the other). I returned to the room to eat, but I noticed that the streets seem rather dark at night.
Walking: 12,835 steps (9543 aerobic steps), 534 calories, 8.72 km (5 1/4 miles)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
I had American biscuits for breakfast. I couldn´t belive it. My plate had two biscuits, a croissant, and a muffin topped with dulce con leche and whipped cream. Along with it came a pat of butter, jam, orange juice (at least part of it real), and coffee.
Montevideo has been a pleasant surprise. Walking from the bus station yesterday, I was disappointed. I kept wondering if they had torn down most of their old buildings, since most of what I saw had to come from 1940-1970. This morning, however, I have discovered wonderful buildings. The city began on a point. The last 8-10 blocks from that point (and the streets to the sides) represent the old town. There are many old buildings from the 1700s to the late 1800s. It has the feel of a partially revitalized old quarter. Banks, antique shops, galleries, etc., occupy most buildings. But many more have shops, offices, or warehouse services that seem to have been there forever. Some buildings are magnificently restored. Others have aged well, but could use a little more maintenance. And still others are in a decrepid state and in need of massive work. Put them all together, and you get an old, old neighborhood with character. It includes the port (where a huge cruise ship is docked today) and an old Eiffel-style market building which now houses upscale restaurants. There was a big street market for fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, just a few blocks south in a more run-down looking part of this section of town.
The next section inland from the point has many massive and ornate structures from the late 1800s through the 1930s. These are the buildings with stained glass, domes, cupolas topped with metal globes, tall windows outlined with ornate stone carvings, rich woodwork, heavy wrough iron, etc. It is the kind of architecture that excites the heart and makes one want to see what great features are inside. This section represents the next 20 blocks after the old section continuing back from the point.
Of course, there are plain, modern buildings mixed among the others in both of these older sections of town. They have not aged well and tend to look like dirty, ugly buildings. They just make me wonder what was lost when the previous building was demolished for building them.
_______
Aftrer exploring the old town for hours, I went to San Antonio for lunch. It is a small restaurant I found. I had one of their daily specials--asado, fried potatoes, glass of wine, and bread. The asado was 7 medium-sized cuts of beef about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thickand charcobroiled. The glass of wine was 8 oz (250 ml) of a cheap but drinkable wine. All-in-all, it was a decent meal for the cost--60 pesos ($2.50 U.S.)!
_______
There was a Danish film on TV here this evening. It was on a channel called Europa. Unfortunately, it was a horrible film--an attempt to make an action film. I am sure the Danish Film Institute paid for it. Private enterprise would never support making such a poor film with such a weak storyline. I guess it represents the excesses of liberalism.
Walking: 23,703 steps (321,033 aerobic steps), 951 calories, 16.11 km (9 2/3 miles)
Monday, Feb. 21
The official name of the country is Republica Oriental del Uruguay. I wonder why "oriental" is in the name?
Today is a travel day, but the bus doesn´t leave until 1:00 p.m. I slowly organized things in my room this morning. then I stopped at a cyber cafe for an hour on my way to the bus station. I arrived here at 11:50 and have just finished eating a hot Italian sandwich (ham, mozzarella, oregano, tomatoes, and olives on ciabatta bread). Now I have to wait about 30 minutes before the bus will be loaded. Then it will be a 6-hour trip to Montevideo where I will stay for about 5 days. Of course, ahead of me today is the stress of getting from the bustation there to the area with hotels and finding ahotel before it gets dark. There is a tourist office at the bus station and I have already marked my top 3 choices for a hotel.
_______
The trip went well, but I was concerned about rain clouds as we approached Montevideo. Fortunately, they were in the area but not in town when I arrived.
The tourist office was very helpful. Both employees spoke English well. One gave me a map and a general orientation. the other provided hotel information and made a reservation for me.
_______
I walked the 3 km (2 miles) into town from the station. A cool breeze was blowing indicating the rain was near, but I made it to the hotel while still dry.
I explored briefly. My hotel is only 1 block from one of the two main squares in the city. I found a store and bought water. Then I got two empanadas to go (cheese and onion in one and chicken in the other). I returned to the room to eat, but I noticed that the streets seem rather dark at night.
Walking: 12,835 steps (9543 aerobic steps), 534 calories, 8.72 km (5 1/4 miles)
Tuesday, Feb. 22
I had American biscuits for breakfast. I couldn´t belive it. My plate had two biscuits, a croissant, and a muffin topped with dulce con leche and whipped cream. Along with it came a pat of butter, jam, orange juice (at least part of it real), and coffee.
Montevideo has been a pleasant surprise. Walking from the bus station yesterday, I was disappointed. I kept wondering if they had torn down most of their old buildings, since most of what I saw had to come from 1940-1970. This morning, however, I have discovered wonderful buildings. The city began on a point. The last 8-10 blocks from that point (and the streets to the sides) represent the old town. There are many old buildings from the 1700s to the late 1800s. It has the feel of a partially revitalized old quarter. Banks, antique shops, galleries, etc., occupy most buildings. But many more have shops, offices, or warehouse services that seem to have been there forever. Some buildings are magnificently restored. Others have aged well, but could use a little more maintenance. And still others are in a decrepid state and in need of massive work. Put them all together, and you get an old, old neighborhood with character. It includes the port (where a huge cruise ship is docked today) and an old Eiffel-style market building which now houses upscale restaurants. There was a big street market for fruits, vegetables, meats, and fish, just a few blocks south in a more run-down looking part of this section of town.
The next section inland from the point has many massive and ornate structures from the late 1800s through the 1930s. These are the buildings with stained glass, domes, cupolas topped with metal globes, tall windows outlined with ornate stone carvings, rich woodwork, heavy wrough iron, etc. It is the kind of architecture that excites the heart and makes one want to see what great features are inside. This section represents the next 20 blocks after the old section continuing back from the point.
Of course, there are plain, modern buildings mixed among the others in both of these older sections of town. They have not aged well and tend to look like dirty, ugly buildings. They just make me wonder what was lost when the previous building was demolished for building them.
_______
Aftrer exploring the old town for hours, I went to San Antonio for lunch. It is a small restaurant I found. I had one of their daily specials--asado, fried potatoes, glass of wine, and bread. The asado was 7 medium-sized cuts of beef about 1/4 inch (5 mm) thickand charcobroiled. The glass of wine was 8 oz (250 ml) of a cheap but drinkable wine. All-in-all, it was a decent meal for the cost--60 pesos ($2.50 U.S.)!
_______
There was a Danish film on TV here this evening. It was on a channel called Europa. Unfortunately, it was a horrible film--an attempt to make an action film. I am sure the Danish Film Institute paid for it. Private enterprise would never support making such a poor film with such a weak storyline. I guess it represents the excesses of liberalism.
Walking: 23,703 steps (321,033 aerobic steps), 951 calories, 16.11 km (9 2/3 miles)
Monday, February 21, 2005
Leaving Salto for Montevideo
Friday, Feb. 18 (Part II)
I bought a cola and walked back to the Museum a la Tradition which reopened at 4:00 p.m. It is a small musuem with various exhibitis related to local life—a school room with books, gaucho items from estancieas, equipment and products from local industries, relics from pre-Colombian times, guns, etc. There were three exhibit halls. A nice young man accompanied me from hall to hall to turn on the lights.
The museum was across the street from the beach. I walked to there and watched the families swimming and sunbathing. Then I found a shaded bench and read from my book and continued to watch people. That allowed the day to progress to where it was not too hot for walking back to town.
I bought some local cheese and some olives to have as a snack in the room along with some potato chips left over from last night. I watched an independent film on TV (Tadpole with Sigorney Weaver) as I ate.
Walking: 35,822 steps (28,649 aerobic steps), 1455 calories, 24.35 km (14 ½ miles)
Saturday, Feb. 19
It was a pretty ride to Salto. There were orange groves, farms, and two thermal spring parks. There weren`t, however, any vinyards. This is the center of the Uruguayan wine district, so they must be north of the city. I will ask at the tourist office.
It was further into town than my guidebook said. My guess is that it was about 25-30 blocks instead of the 15 I expected. Fortunately, I had a map to follow; there had been a tourist desk at the bus station.
My first-choice hotel was closed. My second-choice place was just around the corner and seemed empty. I had no problem getting a room. It is fine, but not as nice as where I stayed the last few nights.
I ran into a bit of a problem getting lunch. The first place i tried was closing at 2:15. A second place took me, but they were closing at 2:30. I don´t know if there would have been another place available. I ate an omelette, since I had to make up my mind fast and thought I should order something quick and easy to cook. I asked about picante sauce to give it some flavor, and I was brought black pepper. The omelette was rather plain with only lemon wedges to season it.
The lady at the tourist office spoke no English. I managed to get information I wanted, however. She explained that there are no tours of wineries in the area. (My guidebook had not mentioned any, so I wasn´t surprised.) She showed me on my map where the beaches are here. She showed me where I could buy my ticket to Montevideo without going to the bus station. And she gave me the schedule for buses to the thermal baths and told me where I could catch them.
I went to two museums and to the beach in the afternoon. The beach was a bust, but the museums were great. The Museum of Man and Technology was a historical museum with well organized exhibits similar to what I had already seen in Colonia and Paysandú. The Bellas Artes Museum was special. The artwork wasn´t the reason; the building itself was. It is housed in a former private mansion. There were two two-story atriums topped by stained glass canopies—one was the central core which served as a living room with a fireplace. The other was the stairwell. Richly cared dark wood decorated many rooms as part of fireplaces, staircases, door frames, etc. Ceilings were 3 times my height. The bathroom had a marvelous shower contraption made out of stainless steel pipes that had about 8 knobs and had shower heads above and on the sides. There was an elevator that was caged in cared wood and cut glass downstairs and in carved wood and steel caging upstairs. Light fixtures were multipronged affairs with Venetian glass cups of various shapes at each tip. It was as elaborate and ornate as any historical home I have visited. Of course, it wasn´t as big as some of the castle-like estates in Europe and the U.S., but it was unbelievably lavish in terms of what it had.
It was Carnival in the evening here in Salto. The main street was set with chairs for blocks. It was somewhat similar to the one in Victoria. There were two parts. At 8:45 there was the Children´s Carnival. Everyone was pre-teenage. They were grouped either by school or barrio. Each carried a number for a contest for the best costume. They were so cute. Some of them were no more than 3 years old and had to be guided by their parents. And some of the costumes were more elaborate than I would have expected. I wanted photos, but they were in constant movement making it impossible to get a good one. I just put the camera away and enjoyed the show.
The main activities began at 9:45. The two big differences in here and Victoria were:
1. There was far less skin exposed here.
2. The costumes were far more elaborate and expensive here.
The pace was rather slow, so I got bored. When a big gap occurred, I walked down the sidewalk toward the beginning of the parade until I had seen every group. Then I returned to the hotel. It was after midnight.
Walking: 26,347 steps (22,721 aerobic steps), 1077 calories, 17 km (11 miles)
Sunday, Feb. 20
Salto is a pretty town. There are many old buildings, and most are in excellent condition. The plazas seem well maintained. Everything seems clean. It is hot here, though. And like everywhere I have been lately, it is dead on Sunday.
I am going to the thermal baths this afternoon. I have decided it will be best to take the bus at 2:30 getting me there around 3:00. I will stay 2-3 hours, I guess. I just have to get there and see what it is like.
Well, it was nice. Termos del Dayman is a large picnic grounds with lots of swimming pools. Most are fed by hot springs with temperatures of 38-39 C (100-102 F). One pool has cool water. This time of the year, it is the most popular. Most people took folding chairs and picnic baskets and found a place to relax in the shade. They tend to stay for hours, going to the pools for a chance to get wet. Even when wet from the hot pools, it is cool in the breeze while drying off.
I stayed for 3 ½ hours. I tried the warm pools and the cool one. Between them, I read. I heard one American accent (but didn´t hear who he was talking to to know if he was with locals or a group of Americans) and a group of Australians got on the bus to travel into town. There are many hotels around the spa, so most foreign tourists probably stay out there instead of town.
The spa operates with wrist bands. As soon as I left to catch the 6:00p.m. bus back to town, I was accosted by young men wanting my wrist band so they could get in for free. At first, I kept it, but then I figured it was the spa´s responsibility to determine if fraud was occurring. Besides, even at the bus stop, I was being bothered over and over by kids wanting my band.
My lunch today was a surprise and a disappointment. I went to an Italian place called La Trattoria. I had a mixed salad which was good. I also ordered a chicken lasagna and that was what was strange. Instead of flat pasta, it was made with crepes. The chicken seemed to be from a can. Between layers was also some bright yellow mixture with kernals of corn and shredded carrots, but I am not sure what the mixture was. On top was a bechamel sauce. I ate it, but it wasn´t what I had hoped to get when I ordered it.
I stayed insdie the room during the evening. I ate snacks I had bought.
Friday, Feb. 18 (Part II)
I bought a cola and walked back to the Museum a la Tradition which reopened at 4:00 p.m. It is a small musuem with various exhibitis related to local life—a school room with books, gaucho items from estancieas, equipment and products from local industries, relics from pre-Colombian times, guns, etc. There were three exhibit halls. A nice young man accompanied me from hall to hall to turn on the lights.
The museum was across the street from the beach. I walked to there and watched the families swimming and sunbathing. Then I found a shaded bench and read from my book and continued to watch people. That allowed the day to progress to where it was not too hot for walking back to town.
I bought some local cheese and some olives to have as a snack in the room along with some potato chips left over from last night. I watched an independent film on TV (Tadpole with Sigorney Weaver) as I ate.
Walking: 35,822 steps (28,649 aerobic steps), 1455 calories, 24.35 km (14 ½ miles)
Saturday, Feb. 19
It was a pretty ride to Salto. There were orange groves, farms, and two thermal spring parks. There weren`t, however, any vinyards. This is the center of the Uruguayan wine district, so they must be north of the city. I will ask at the tourist office.
It was further into town than my guidebook said. My guess is that it was about 25-30 blocks instead of the 15 I expected. Fortunately, I had a map to follow; there had been a tourist desk at the bus station.
My first-choice hotel was closed. My second-choice place was just around the corner and seemed empty. I had no problem getting a room. It is fine, but not as nice as where I stayed the last few nights.
I ran into a bit of a problem getting lunch. The first place i tried was closing at 2:15. A second place took me, but they were closing at 2:30. I don´t know if there would have been another place available. I ate an omelette, since I had to make up my mind fast and thought I should order something quick and easy to cook. I asked about picante sauce to give it some flavor, and I was brought black pepper. The omelette was rather plain with only lemon wedges to season it.
The lady at the tourist office spoke no English. I managed to get information I wanted, however. She explained that there are no tours of wineries in the area. (My guidebook had not mentioned any, so I wasn´t surprised.) She showed me on my map where the beaches are here. She showed me where I could buy my ticket to Montevideo without going to the bus station. And she gave me the schedule for buses to the thermal baths and told me where I could catch them.
I went to two museums and to the beach in the afternoon. The beach was a bust, but the museums were great. The Museum of Man and Technology was a historical museum with well organized exhibits similar to what I had already seen in Colonia and Paysandú. The Bellas Artes Museum was special. The artwork wasn´t the reason; the building itself was. It is housed in a former private mansion. There were two two-story atriums topped by stained glass canopies—one was the central core which served as a living room with a fireplace. The other was the stairwell. Richly cared dark wood decorated many rooms as part of fireplaces, staircases, door frames, etc. Ceilings were 3 times my height. The bathroom had a marvelous shower contraption made out of stainless steel pipes that had about 8 knobs and had shower heads above and on the sides. There was an elevator that was caged in cared wood and cut glass downstairs and in carved wood and steel caging upstairs. Light fixtures were multipronged affairs with Venetian glass cups of various shapes at each tip. It was as elaborate and ornate as any historical home I have visited. Of course, it wasn´t as big as some of the castle-like estates in Europe and the U.S., but it was unbelievably lavish in terms of what it had.
It was Carnival in the evening here in Salto. The main street was set with chairs for blocks. It was somewhat similar to the one in Victoria. There were two parts. At 8:45 there was the Children´s Carnival. Everyone was pre-teenage. They were grouped either by school or barrio. Each carried a number for a contest for the best costume. They were so cute. Some of them were no more than 3 years old and had to be guided by their parents. And some of the costumes were more elaborate than I would have expected. I wanted photos, but they were in constant movement making it impossible to get a good one. I just put the camera away and enjoyed the show.
The main activities began at 9:45. The two big differences in here and Victoria were:
1. There was far less skin exposed here.
2. The costumes were far more elaborate and expensive here.
The pace was rather slow, so I got bored. When a big gap occurred, I walked down the sidewalk toward the beginning of the parade until I had seen every group. Then I returned to the hotel. It was after midnight.
Walking: 26,347 steps (22,721 aerobic steps), 1077 calories, 17 km (11 miles)
Sunday, Feb. 20
Salto is a pretty town. There are many old buildings, and most are in excellent condition. The plazas seem well maintained. Everything seems clean. It is hot here, though. And like everywhere I have been lately, it is dead on Sunday.
I am going to the thermal baths this afternoon. I have decided it will be best to take the bus at 2:30 getting me there around 3:00. I will stay 2-3 hours, I guess. I just have to get there and see what it is like.
Well, it was nice. Termos del Dayman is a large picnic grounds with lots of swimming pools. Most are fed by hot springs with temperatures of 38-39 C (100-102 F). One pool has cool water. This time of the year, it is the most popular. Most people took folding chairs and picnic baskets and found a place to relax in the shade. They tend to stay for hours, going to the pools for a chance to get wet. Even when wet from the hot pools, it is cool in the breeze while drying off.
I stayed for 3 ½ hours. I tried the warm pools and the cool one. Between them, I read. I heard one American accent (but didn´t hear who he was talking to to know if he was with locals or a group of Americans) and a group of Australians got on the bus to travel into town. There are many hotels around the spa, so most foreign tourists probably stay out there instead of town.
The spa operates with wrist bands. As soon as I left to catch the 6:00p.m. bus back to town, I was accosted by young men wanting my wrist band so they could get in for free. At first, I kept it, but then I figured it was the spa´s responsibility to determine if fraud was occurring. Besides, even at the bus stop, I was being bothered over and over by kids wanting my band.
My lunch today was a surprise and a disappointment. I went to an Italian place called La Trattoria. I had a mixed salad which was good. I also ordered a chicken lasagna and that was what was strange. Instead of flat pasta, it was made with crepes. The chicken seemed to be from a can. Between layers was also some bright yellow mixture with kernals of corn and shredded carrots, but I am not sure what the mixture was. On top was a bechamel sauce. I ate it, but it wasn´t what I had hoped to get when I ordered it.
I stayed insdie the room during the evening. I ate snacks I had bought.
Friday, February 18, 2005
Lazy Days in Uruguay
Wednesday, Feb. 16 (Part II)
Real San Carlos is an unusual complex of buildings from the early 1900s. It was built as a huge entertainment complex and included a hotel, a casino, a bull ring, a fronton court, and a horse racing track. All were built expensively and well. The owner brought people on excursions from Buenos Aires where gambling was prohitibited. here, they could bet at the bull ring, on the jai alai teams, on the horses, and at the casino games. The government placed a special tax on the excursions, however, and the enterprise failed when tourist quit coming. The bull ring was used only two years and couldn{t be revitalized later because bull fighting became outlawed in Uruguay. It now stands as a fantastic ironwork structure with a brick facade that is cracking and occasionally crumbling. The race track still hosts races. The fronton stadium is a massive unused brick and concrete building with broken glass panes. It stands forlorn and forsaken. Only the old hotel and casino buildings have been restored. They are now being used to house a polytechnical university.
On the way back, I took a different route to see the Church of San Bento, a small chapel from the 1800s. Then I cut back toward the beaches where there were larger crowds of bathers than when I first walked along there this morning.
I had a chivito for dinner. It is a Uruguayan sandwich much like the lomito in Argentina. On a 5-inch (12.5 cm) round bun, it has a thin layer of tender beef, slices of ham, a slice of cheese, a fried egg, butter, pickled vegetables, pimientos, peas, and mustard. It was not and juicy. I intended to bring it back to the room. Instead, I sat on a bench and ate the entire messy thing as the inner ingredients slid and tried to come out the bottom of the bun. Ummm!
Walking: 39,539 steps (31,556 aerobic steps), 1604 calories, 26.88 km (16 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 17
I am sitting in the plaza in the old part of town. It is 10:30. I have checked out of my hotel, but my bus doesn{t depart for 4 hours. I am going to relax and read. I am now reading The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. I am bout 1/3 of the way through it. I stop reading occasionally to watch the tourists and/or the birds. The trees in this park are full of parakeets which are constantly in motion and making noise this time of the morning.
_______
I ate lunch at a popular type of place here. It is a stainless steel portable kitchen that has been parked in a permanant location. There were four tables which had tablecloths on the sidewalk. I had a chivito again, but this one was better than the one yesterday. It was bigger and had more items inside (fried bacon and a picante mustard, for instance). It was delicious, but they are so messy to eat because of the juices from the meats and pickled vegetables and the melted cheese which tends to ooze out the bottom. They serve them in small plastic bags to catch it all.
The bus was not crowded at all. I didn´t have a seatmate except for the last 2 hours of the six-hour trip. He was a y9oung professional in a pink dress shirt and black slacks. I made notes about interesting things along the way:
1. Some rurual houses here have thatched roofs. In general, it is homes for the poor, but I saw one nice looking, larger brick home with one.
2. Two gauchos caught the bus from a small village and rade into the nearby town. Both had very dark skin from working in the sun. As the bus pulled up, they were rushing to put on shirts which they apparently do not normally wear. One buttoned 3-4 buttons and left the others loose. The other just grabbed the tails of the shirt, pulled them together, and tied them into a knot. Bot wore berets--one of knitted yarn and the other one of felt.
3. We passed some vinyards just north of Colonia, but none after that. The main vinyards are just north of Paysandú where I am now. The vines were very green, but I couldn´t tell from the bus whether they still had grapes or not.
4. There were many fields of sunflowers along the route. They were so beautiful. From a distance, they just looked like yellow fields, but as we approached them, their round faces were all standing facing the sun and glowing. Most of the fields were at that state of production, but we passed some where the plants had browned and were beginning to seed.
5. They don´t plow fields here. Daniel told me about it in Argentina. They just plant the seeds in the flat ground. Daniel said it is a more efficient way of planting and managing the fields. It certainly gives the planted fields a nice, smooth look.
6. We passed a couple of very nice golf resorts just outside of Carmelo. They were quite exclusive looking with facilities also for horseback riding, tennis, basketball, etc.
I arrived in Pasandú at 8:15 p.m. It is not dark until about 9:00. I had picked out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for places to stay. My first choice, a Victorian building transformed into a guest house, had no response at the door. My second choice was fine, so I was settled into a room before dark. I rushed out to buy some snacks and returned to the room for the night.
Friday, Feb. 18 (Part I)
Like in Argentina, no one has spoken English at any of the tourist offices here in Uruguay. It ha to hurt tourism. Sure, they get the people who pay $4000-5000 for a package trip of 2 weeks that includes an English speaking guide, but I bet those kinds of vacationers don´t make up more than about 10% of the travel business. I can see why Asia is so much more popular with independent travelers. Even the children who beg on the streets there can conduct a simple conversation in English. The tone I hear often here in South America in their response to my question of whether they speak English sounds to me as if they are offended that I would even ask and that they expect me to adapt to them if I want to be here. That´s fine, but the tourist dollars are an awful lot of money to just dismiss out of pride and contrariness!
______
It is 2:45 p.m. It has been a slow-paced, but nice, day so far. I started with a visit to the cathedral. It is from 1860, but was bombed in 1869 and parts had to be rebuilt. Today, it is rare for whole cities to be damaged by war. Many places like this which was in a disputed territory between the Spanish and the Portuguese, have known several periods of destruction. The loss of the World Trade Towers was terrible in what Bush laughingly calls a "war," but in a REAL war, most of Manhattan would have been damaged if not destroyed. Today, no one (expect for those who tick off the U.S. and are too weak to retaliate--Iraq, Grenada, Iraq again, etc.--and isolated regions of the world--Israel/Syria/Palestine, parts of Africa, Kosovo/Serbia/Croatia, etc.--really knows how horrible and destructive war really is.
Anyway, the organist was practicing while I was at the cathedral. I just sat, relaxed, and enjoyed myself slistening to the music. How much better a church visit is when there is music!
I bought my ticket for Salto for tomorrow, but it does not include an assigned seat. My guidebook says seats are sometimes unavailable when traveling northward from here. I assume I will be allowed to stand if there is no seat, since I have a ticket.
I visited the Historical Museum here. It was free and involved a guided tour. The lady was a young biology student who works part-time at the museum while doing a part-time, two-year, unpaid internship in a laboratory. Her English was weak, but I understood the history of the area. She spoke the best English of anyone I have met here in Uruguay so far.
I walked to another museum with gaucho exhibits, but it closes for siesta (as does most of the town). I will probably go back there this evening. Since it was closed, I walked back to town.
There are few restaurants in this town. I stopped at the busiest (and one of the more expensive ones). I had a chivito plate--a chivito sandwich (even better than the ones I have had before) with fried potatoes. I am ready for a change in diet, but there just wasn´t much choice available here.
Wednesday, Feb. 16 (Part II)
Real San Carlos is an unusual complex of buildings from the early 1900s. It was built as a huge entertainment complex and included a hotel, a casino, a bull ring, a fronton court, and a horse racing track. All were built expensively and well. The owner brought people on excursions from Buenos Aires where gambling was prohitibited. here, they could bet at the bull ring, on the jai alai teams, on the horses, and at the casino games. The government placed a special tax on the excursions, however, and the enterprise failed when tourist quit coming. The bull ring was used only two years and couldn{t be revitalized later because bull fighting became outlawed in Uruguay. It now stands as a fantastic ironwork structure with a brick facade that is cracking and occasionally crumbling. The race track still hosts races. The fronton stadium is a massive unused brick and concrete building with broken glass panes. It stands forlorn and forsaken. Only the old hotel and casino buildings have been restored. They are now being used to house a polytechnical university.
On the way back, I took a different route to see the Church of San Bento, a small chapel from the 1800s. Then I cut back toward the beaches where there were larger crowds of bathers than when I first walked along there this morning.
I had a chivito for dinner. It is a Uruguayan sandwich much like the lomito in Argentina. On a 5-inch (12.5 cm) round bun, it has a thin layer of tender beef, slices of ham, a slice of cheese, a fried egg, butter, pickled vegetables, pimientos, peas, and mustard. It was not and juicy. I intended to bring it back to the room. Instead, I sat on a bench and ate the entire messy thing as the inner ingredients slid and tried to come out the bottom of the bun. Ummm!
Walking: 39,539 steps (31,556 aerobic steps), 1604 calories, 26.88 km (16 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 17
I am sitting in the plaza in the old part of town. It is 10:30. I have checked out of my hotel, but my bus doesn{t depart for 4 hours. I am going to relax and read. I am now reading The Shipping News by Annie Proulx. I am bout 1/3 of the way through it. I stop reading occasionally to watch the tourists and/or the birds. The trees in this park are full of parakeets which are constantly in motion and making noise this time of the morning.
_______
I ate lunch at a popular type of place here. It is a stainless steel portable kitchen that has been parked in a permanant location. There were four tables which had tablecloths on the sidewalk. I had a chivito again, but this one was better than the one yesterday. It was bigger and had more items inside (fried bacon and a picante mustard, for instance). It was delicious, but they are so messy to eat because of the juices from the meats and pickled vegetables and the melted cheese which tends to ooze out the bottom. They serve them in small plastic bags to catch it all.
The bus was not crowded at all. I didn´t have a seatmate except for the last 2 hours of the six-hour trip. He was a y9oung professional in a pink dress shirt and black slacks. I made notes about interesting things along the way:
1. Some rurual houses here have thatched roofs. In general, it is homes for the poor, but I saw one nice looking, larger brick home with one.
2. Two gauchos caught the bus from a small village and rade into the nearby town. Both had very dark skin from working in the sun. As the bus pulled up, they were rushing to put on shirts which they apparently do not normally wear. One buttoned 3-4 buttons and left the others loose. The other just grabbed the tails of the shirt, pulled them together, and tied them into a knot. Bot wore berets--one of knitted yarn and the other one of felt.
3. We passed some vinyards just north of Colonia, but none after that. The main vinyards are just north of Paysandú where I am now. The vines were very green, but I couldn´t tell from the bus whether they still had grapes or not.
4. There were many fields of sunflowers along the route. They were so beautiful. From a distance, they just looked like yellow fields, but as we approached them, their round faces were all standing facing the sun and glowing. Most of the fields were at that state of production, but we passed some where the plants had browned and were beginning to seed.
5. They don´t plow fields here. Daniel told me about it in Argentina. They just plant the seeds in the flat ground. Daniel said it is a more efficient way of planting and managing the fields. It certainly gives the planted fields a nice, smooth look.
6. We passed a couple of very nice golf resorts just outside of Carmelo. They were quite exclusive looking with facilities also for horseback riding, tennis, basketball, etc.
I arrived in Pasandú at 8:15 p.m. It is not dark until about 9:00. I had picked out 1st, 2nd, and 3rd choices for places to stay. My first choice, a Victorian building transformed into a guest house, had no response at the door. My second choice was fine, so I was settled into a room before dark. I rushed out to buy some snacks and returned to the room for the night.
Friday, Feb. 18 (Part I)
Like in Argentina, no one has spoken English at any of the tourist offices here in Uruguay. It ha to hurt tourism. Sure, they get the people who pay $4000-5000 for a package trip of 2 weeks that includes an English speaking guide, but I bet those kinds of vacationers don´t make up more than about 10% of the travel business. I can see why Asia is so much more popular with independent travelers. Even the children who beg on the streets there can conduct a simple conversation in English. The tone I hear often here in South America in their response to my question of whether they speak English sounds to me as if they are offended that I would even ask and that they expect me to adapt to them if I want to be here. That´s fine, but the tourist dollars are an awful lot of money to just dismiss out of pride and contrariness!
______
It is 2:45 p.m. It has been a slow-paced, but nice, day so far. I started with a visit to the cathedral. It is from 1860, but was bombed in 1869 and parts had to be rebuilt. Today, it is rare for whole cities to be damaged by war. Many places like this which was in a disputed territory between the Spanish and the Portuguese, have known several periods of destruction. The loss of the World Trade Towers was terrible in what Bush laughingly calls a "war," but in a REAL war, most of Manhattan would have been damaged if not destroyed. Today, no one (expect for those who tick off the U.S. and are too weak to retaliate--Iraq, Grenada, Iraq again, etc.--and isolated regions of the world--Israel/Syria/Palestine, parts of Africa, Kosovo/Serbia/Croatia, etc.--really knows how horrible and destructive war really is.
Anyway, the organist was practicing while I was at the cathedral. I just sat, relaxed, and enjoyed myself slistening to the music. How much better a church visit is when there is music!
I bought my ticket for Salto for tomorrow, but it does not include an assigned seat. My guidebook says seats are sometimes unavailable when traveling northward from here. I assume I will be allowed to stand if there is no seat, since I have a ticket.
I visited the Historical Museum here. It was free and involved a guided tour. The lady was a young biology student who works part-time at the museum while doing a part-time, two-year, unpaid internship in a laboratory. Her English was weak, but I understood the history of the area. She spoke the best English of anyone I have met here in Uruguay so far.
I walked to another museum with gaucho exhibits, but it closes for siesta (as does most of the town). I will probably go back there this evening. Since it was closed, I walked back to town.
There are few restaurants in this town. I stopped at the busiest (and one of the more expensive ones). I had a chivito plate--a chivito sandwich (even better than the ones I have had before) with fried potatoes. I am ready for a change in diet, but there just wasn´t much choice available here.
Wednesday, February 16, 2005
Moving Northward toward Wine District
Tuesday, Feb. 15 (Part II)
There is a different atmosphere here than in ArgentinaÑ
1. Everyone rides motorcycles or scotters--even middle-aged women. It´s the main mode of transporation here. Even the Thrifty Rental place only rents motorcycles and golf carts to visitors!
2. Beyond the small historical part of town, it seems suburban here with individual homes with lawns.
3. In Argentina, every town had at least one casino. They all seemed to be rather exclusive looking. The casino here welcomes everyone and is full of people in shorts. I am sure it makes more money because of its inclusive policy.
4. Cars stop for pedestrians crossing streets here. That´s unbelievable for South America!
5. There are fewer bus services here than in Argentina. For Salto or Paysandú there are only two buses per day. They are tourist towns that would have at least 5 buses per day from here if it were Argentina.
6. There is a vegetarian restaurant here. I don´t think I saw a single one in Argentina. A large number of European backpackers are vegetarians, or at least like to eat in vegetarian restaurants regularly. Putting in vegetarian restaurants in tourist centers in South America would probably be a good entreprenurial move.
My guidebook is right. Prices are higher here than in Argentina. One surprise was to find that diet colas cost about 40% more than regular colas here. (I guess I won´t be drinking diet drinks here the way I did in Argentina.) The internet is more expensive and there are far fewer cyber cafes. I want to explore the country, however, to see what is worth seeing. The added costs are not that significant.
I bought snacks at a supermarket--peanuts, olives, wine (Uruguayan H. Stagneri Premier which received a medal for 2004=, and cookies filled with dulce con leche. Returned to the room around 8:00 p.m. for the evening.
Walking: 24,302 steps (18,755 aerobic steps), 980 calories, 16.52 km (9.9 miles)
Spending Update: I was in Argentina for 34 days (through the morning of Feb. 15). I spent a total of $734.47 for a daily average of $21.86 and a monthly average of $655.80.
Wednesday, Feb. 16 (Part I)
I was awakened this morning by kitchen noise at 7:20 and wondered what was going on. Breakfast doesn´t start until 8:00 at the hotel. I managed to get back to sleep. It was nice to relax and not be in a rush. I got up at 8:45 and was at breakfast at 9:15. Later in the morning, I saw a clock in a bank building and it was an hour later than I thought. Ever since I had arrived in Uruguay, I had been thinking it was an hour earlier than it was. I ate lunch at 3:30 p.m. yesterday instead of 2:30. I went to bed at 1:00 a.m. instead of midnight. I almost missed breakfast today, because I really went at 10:15, and they stop serving it at 10:30!
I avoided the most historical section of town yesterday, saving it for this morning. I spent about 2 hours wandering the cobblestone streets and seeing about 7 small museums that have banned together with one ticket providing admission to all.
It is a beautiful, laid-back town. The buildings are well preserved. There are nice trees and flowering plants everywhere. And down every street is a view toward the river. It is possible to get glimpses into private homes, and all the museums are in old homes that give an idea of the architecture of the whole town. Overall, there is such a nice peaceful feeling here.
I imagine that feeling is lost on weekends. There are not enough tourists right now to support all the restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. To make up for the lack of weekday business, the town must boom on weekend. I am glad I came during the week. Although I slowed down some by staying in Buenos Aires for 7 days, I think I needed the more relaxed atmosphere that extists here to truly unwind.
I am writing this as I sit on a bench under shade trees facing one of the beaches on the river. After a lunch of 4 empanadas (3 meat ones that included shredded carrots and boiled eggs and 1 cheese one that included shredded onion) and a cola, I bagan walking to San Carlos, a barrio 5 km away on a curving road lined with a string of beaches. I am probably 2/3 of the way there.
Tuesday, Feb. 15 (Part II)
There is a different atmosphere here than in ArgentinaÑ
1. Everyone rides motorcycles or scotters--even middle-aged women. It´s the main mode of transporation here. Even the Thrifty Rental place only rents motorcycles and golf carts to visitors!
2. Beyond the small historical part of town, it seems suburban here with individual homes with lawns.
3. In Argentina, every town had at least one casino. They all seemed to be rather exclusive looking. The casino here welcomes everyone and is full of people in shorts. I am sure it makes more money because of its inclusive policy.
4. Cars stop for pedestrians crossing streets here. That´s unbelievable for South America!
5. There are fewer bus services here than in Argentina. For Salto or Paysandú there are only two buses per day. They are tourist towns that would have at least 5 buses per day from here if it were Argentina.
6. There is a vegetarian restaurant here. I don´t think I saw a single one in Argentina. A large number of European backpackers are vegetarians, or at least like to eat in vegetarian restaurants regularly. Putting in vegetarian restaurants in tourist centers in South America would probably be a good entreprenurial move.
My guidebook is right. Prices are higher here than in Argentina. One surprise was to find that diet colas cost about 40% more than regular colas here. (I guess I won´t be drinking diet drinks here the way I did in Argentina.) The internet is more expensive and there are far fewer cyber cafes. I want to explore the country, however, to see what is worth seeing. The added costs are not that significant.
I bought snacks at a supermarket--peanuts, olives, wine (Uruguayan H. Stagneri Premier which received a medal for 2004=, and cookies filled with dulce con leche. Returned to the room around 8:00 p.m. for the evening.
Walking: 24,302 steps (18,755 aerobic steps), 980 calories, 16.52 km (9.9 miles)
Spending Update: I was in Argentina for 34 days (through the morning of Feb. 15). I spent a total of $734.47 for a daily average of $21.86 and a monthly average of $655.80.
Wednesday, Feb. 16 (Part I)
I was awakened this morning by kitchen noise at 7:20 and wondered what was going on. Breakfast doesn´t start until 8:00 at the hotel. I managed to get back to sleep. It was nice to relax and not be in a rush. I got up at 8:45 and was at breakfast at 9:15. Later in the morning, I saw a clock in a bank building and it was an hour later than I thought. Ever since I had arrived in Uruguay, I had been thinking it was an hour earlier than it was. I ate lunch at 3:30 p.m. yesterday instead of 2:30. I went to bed at 1:00 a.m. instead of midnight. I almost missed breakfast today, because I really went at 10:15, and they stop serving it at 10:30!
I avoided the most historical section of town yesterday, saving it for this morning. I spent about 2 hours wandering the cobblestone streets and seeing about 7 small museums that have banned together with one ticket providing admission to all.
It is a beautiful, laid-back town. The buildings are well preserved. There are nice trees and flowering plants everywhere. And down every street is a view toward the river. It is possible to get glimpses into private homes, and all the museums are in old homes that give an idea of the architecture of the whole town. Overall, there is such a nice peaceful feeling here.
I imagine that feeling is lost on weekends. There are not enough tourists right now to support all the restaurants, hotels, and other businesses. To make up for the lack of weekday business, the town must boom on weekend. I am glad I came during the week. Although I slowed down some by staying in Buenos Aires for 7 days, I think I needed the more relaxed atmosphere that extists here to truly unwind.
I am writing this as I sit on a bench under shade trees facing one of the beaches on the river. After a lunch of 4 empanadas (3 meat ones that included shredded carrots and boiled eggs and 1 cheese one that included shredded onion) and a cola, I bagan walking to San Carlos, a barrio 5 km away on a curving road lined with a string of beaches. I am probably 2/3 of the way there.
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Leaving Argentina for Uruguay
Monday, Feb. 14
It was a day for chores. I went to a pharmacy and bought some of my blood pressure medicine. A two-month supply cost 16 pesos ($5.35 U.S.). Even with my insurance, my co-payment in the U.S. is more than that. I knew my supply would run out in about 2 weeks, so I decided to see whether I could get it here without seeing a doctor and what the price would be. Maybe I should have bought a year's supply!
Next, I bought my boat ticket for tomorrow. They require a passport which I wasn´t carrying. As I was walking back through town, I remembered that I had a copy of mine in my body belt I wear under my clothes all the time. I returned and got the ticket. That saved me an extra trip back there this evening.
Finally, I stopped at Varig to check on my flight for next month. All is fine. The SAS e-mails I got were related to a change of about 5 minutes in the scheduled departure.
I returned to my regular neighborhood restaurant for a late lunch. I had another variation on roast beef. This time, it was a chunk that had been roasted with a layer of skin that gave a nice flavor. It was served with chunks of potato that had been pan fried. I had a 500 ml bottle of their cheap white wine with it.
After napping, I went to the cyber cafe and to get water and a cola. I saw Luis Alberto´s salon, but I didn´t stop. It is now time to pack and set the alarm (unfortunately) for going to Uruguay. My guidebook says it will be more expensive and that there will be fewer cyber cafes there. Now I will find out for myself.
Walking: 25,861 stpes (18,654 aerobic steps), 1048 calories, 17.58 km (10 1/2 miles)
Tuesday, Feb. 15 (Part I)
I am waiting to board the boat for Uruguay. It already seems like a long morning after a late night. There was a family next door to me who must not have gone to bed until 2:00 or 2:30. There was a girl and a very young child. Over and over, the girl would disturb the child who would then begin screaming. Of course, it was a "modern" family who doesn´t know how to discipline children and just let it happen repeatedly. It was so frustrating, especially knowing that I would be getting up early to get to the boat. My alarm was set for 6:00. I turned on the TV at a good volume without worrying about the neighbors. But I was ready to leave by 6:36, so it wasn´t as bad as it should have been for them.
I had planned to take the subway, since the strike is now over. It was a cool morning, however, and I had plenty of time, so I walked instead. It took only 50-55 minutes to get here. It was still too early to check int even after walking, so taking the subway would not have provided any advantage.
The system here is very organized. It operates much like an airport. There are check-in counters, and luggage is checked. There is carry-on luggage screening. One of the nice things is that there is immigration check out (from Argentina) and check in (for Uruguay) together as the next step in progressing toward the boat. That means I won't be slowed down upon arrival there. After immigration, there is boarding using a boarding pass.
I am taking the slow boat, since I had no good reason for selecting the fast boat. I have boarded and am in a comfortable leather seat. The boat is much like those in Scandinavia, except it is smaller. My seating area is in a cafeteria. There are also shops with clothing, liquor, candy, etc. There is a game room for kids. I didn{t explore the other levels of the boat, but there may be a casino and/or a movie theater. It will be a 3-hour trip across the river, so there would be plenty of time for anything. I will probably sleep and read.
_______
I am in Uruguay. It wasn´t as smooth on this side as it was on the other. Getting the checked luggage was a mess. They slowly unloaded it into an area. The crowd, behind a barrier, tried to get the attention of attendants and then point and tell them which pieces were theirs. Of course, the attendant would point to one, and then to another until he got the right response. It took forever with people pushing to be able to get the process completed.
It feels so good to be back in a small town. It has an open feel to it and a slow pace. The air feels refreshing. Maybe the latter is due to the fact that we are on a point with the river on both sides of us.
The town is Colonia de Sacramento. It is an old walled colonial city that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have checked into a hotel, have gotten money from a bank, and am now at a restaurant for lunch at 2:00 p.m.
I took a room at the place I had marked as my first choice. It is a small hotel with an old 1800s home as the lobby and new, modern rooms built in back. The bath is very clean and modern, the bed feels unworn, and it is cozy. With cable TV and breakfast, it is $12 U.S.
My guidebook warned that there is a 10% charge added to all VISA and MC transactions in Uruguay. I wonder if that applies to ATM cash withdrawals, too? Anyway, I went to the bank and used my VISA, because the money changers´ rates for converting cash seemed to be low based on the exchange rate I used to create the chart I carry with me to each country. (Of course, the U.S. dollar could have dropped that much in value in the intervening 2 months!) I will just see what has happened when my transaction shows on my bank statement. Since I will probably only be here 10 days at the most, the cost can´t be too great.
I am having a splurge lunch. I am at a nicer place than normal. It´s in an old house with rough stucco walls, old wooden floors, double tablecloths (solid yellow over dark pink with yellow flowers with green stems and leaves), etc. Anyway, a splurge here is like eating cheaply in the U.S. The main reason I came here was because the ATM gave me 500-peso bills. At a cheaper place where the total meal might be less than 100 pesos, they might not be able to make change. Here, my bill with tip, should be 122 pesos. Besides, I asked before I ordered if a 500-peso bill would be a problem.
Monday, Feb. 14
It was a day for chores. I went to a pharmacy and bought some of my blood pressure medicine. A two-month supply cost 16 pesos ($5.35 U.S.). Even with my insurance, my co-payment in the U.S. is more than that. I knew my supply would run out in about 2 weeks, so I decided to see whether I could get it here without seeing a doctor and what the price would be. Maybe I should have bought a year's supply!
Next, I bought my boat ticket for tomorrow. They require a passport which I wasn´t carrying. As I was walking back through town, I remembered that I had a copy of mine in my body belt I wear under my clothes all the time. I returned and got the ticket. That saved me an extra trip back there this evening.
Finally, I stopped at Varig to check on my flight for next month. All is fine. The SAS e-mails I got were related to a change of about 5 minutes in the scheduled departure.
I returned to my regular neighborhood restaurant for a late lunch. I had another variation on roast beef. This time, it was a chunk that had been roasted with a layer of skin that gave a nice flavor. It was served with chunks of potato that had been pan fried. I had a 500 ml bottle of their cheap white wine with it.
After napping, I went to the cyber cafe and to get water and a cola. I saw Luis Alberto´s salon, but I didn´t stop. It is now time to pack and set the alarm (unfortunately) for going to Uruguay. My guidebook says it will be more expensive and that there will be fewer cyber cafes there. Now I will find out for myself.
Walking: 25,861 stpes (18,654 aerobic steps), 1048 calories, 17.58 km (10 1/2 miles)
Tuesday, Feb. 15 (Part I)
I am waiting to board the boat for Uruguay. It already seems like a long morning after a late night. There was a family next door to me who must not have gone to bed until 2:00 or 2:30. There was a girl and a very young child. Over and over, the girl would disturb the child who would then begin screaming. Of course, it was a "modern" family who doesn´t know how to discipline children and just let it happen repeatedly. It was so frustrating, especially knowing that I would be getting up early to get to the boat. My alarm was set for 6:00. I turned on the TV at a good volume without worrying about the neighbors. But I was ready to leave by 6:36, so it wasn´t as bad as it should have been for them.
I had planned to take the subway, since the strike is now over. It was a cool morning, however, and I had plenty of time, so I walked instead. It took only 50-55 minutes to get here. It was still too early to check int even after walking, so taking the subway would not have provided any advantage.
The system here is very organized. It operates much like an airport. There are check-in counters, and luggage is checked. There is carry-on luggage screening. One of the nice things is that there is immigration check out (from Argentina) and check in (for Uruguay) together as the next step in progressing toward the boat. That means I won't be slowed down upon arrival there. After immigration, there is boarding using a boarding pass.
I am taking the slow boat, since I had no good reason for selecting the fast boat. I have boarded and am in a comfortable leather seat. The boat is much like those in Scandinavia, except it is smaller. My seating area is in a cafeteria. There are also shops with clothing, liquor, candy, etc. There is a game room for kids. I didn{t explore the other levels of the boat, but there may be a casino and/or a movie theater. It will be a 3-hour trip across the river, so there would be plenty of time for anything. I will probably sleep and read.
_______
I am in Uruguay. It wasn´t as smooth on this side as it was on the other. Getting the checked luggage was a mess. They slowly unloaded it into an area. The crowd, behind a barrier, tried to get the attention of attendants and then point and tell them which pieces were theirs. Of course, the attendant would point to one, and then to another until he got the right response. It took forever with people pushing to be able to get the process completed.
It feels so good to be back in a small town. It has an open feel to it and a slow pace. The air feels refreshing. Maybe the latter is due to the fact that we are on a point with the river on both sides of us.
The town is Colonia de Sacramento. It is an old walled colonial city that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. I have checked into a hotel, have gotten money from a bank, and am now at a restaurant for lunch at 2:00 p.m.
I took a room at the place I had marked as my first choice. It is a small hotel with an old 1800s home as the lobby and new, modern rooms built in back. The bath is very clean and modern, the bed feels unworn, and it is cozy. With cable TV and breakfast, it is $12 U.S.
My guidebook warned that there is a 10% charge added to all VISA and MC transactions in Uruguay. I wonder if that applies to ATM cash withdrawals, too? Anyway, I went to the bank and used my VISA, because the money changers´ rates for converting cash seemed to be low based on the exchange rate I used to create the chart I carry with me to each country. (Of course, the U.S. dollar could have dropped that much in value in the intervening 2 months!) I will just see what has happened when my transaction shows on my bank statement. Since I will probably only be here 10 days at the most, the cost can´t be too great.
I am having a splurge lunch. I am at a nicer place than normal. It´s in an old house with rough stucco walls, old wooden floors, double tablecloths (solid yellow over dark pink with yellow flowers with green stems and leaves), etc. Anyway, a splurge here is like eating cheaply in the U.S. The main reason I came here was because the ATM gave me 500-peso bills. At a cheaper place where the total meal might be less than 100 pesos, they might not be able to make change. Here, my bill with tip, should be 122 pesos. Besides, I asked before I ordered if a 500-peso bill would be a problem.
Monday, February 14, 2005
San Telmo Street Market
Sunday, Feb. 13
It was a lazy day for me. I was tired from being up late Saturday. The only thing I did was attend the San Telmo Street Market. I never got very hungry, so I didn´t eat out. Instead, I ate breakfast at the hotel, had a pastry I already had in my room around 4:30, and snacked on some peanuts around 8:30.
The San Telmo Market must have been the center of activity for all tourists in the city. I heard more American accents than I have heard since leaving the U.S.! It is a street market taking up a small square and the streets leading from it. There is one strip of stalls with artwork, but most of the stalls feature the sale of antique items--silverware, crystal, estate jewelry, etc. The merchandise is of a higher quality than most flea markets. This is far more than a flea market, however. There is a wide variety of entertainment. A couple danced the tango. Several musicians were scattered throughout the area. There were several live statues that moved only when given money. One interesting variation on that theme was a couple in 1930s dress with a suitcase. One of the wierdest sights was an old woman in a very short off-the-shoulder black dress, black fishnet stockings, bright red garter with bow, black high heels, and black mens-style hat. I am not sure how she was making money unless it was by people paying to have their photo taken with her. The entire market reminded me of the antics of Venice Beach in Los Angeles combined with a high-quality flea market
Note: I am off for Uruguay Tuesday morning. The next posting will be from there.
Sunday, Feb. 13
It was a lazy day for me. I was tired from being up late Saturday. The only thing I did was attend the San Telmo Street Market. I never got very hungry, so I didn´t eat out. Instead, I ate breakfast at the hotel, had a pastry I already had in my room around 4:30, and snacked on some peanuts around 8:30.
The San Telmo Market must have been the center of activity for all tourists in the city. I heard more American accents than I have heard since leaving the U.S.! It is a street market taking up a small square and the streets leading from it. There is one strip of stalls with artwork, but most of the stalls feature the sale of antique items--silverware, crystal, estate jewelry, etc. The merchandise is of a higher quality than most flea markets. This is far more than a flea market, however. There is a wide variety of entertainment. A couple danced the tango. Several musicians were scattered throughout the area. There were several live statues that moved only when given money. One interesting variation on that theme was a couple in 1930s dress with a suitcase. One of the wierdest sights was an old woman in a very short off-the-shoulder black dress, black fishnet stockings, bright red garter with bow, black high heels, and black mens-style hat. I am not sure how she was making money unless it was by people paying to have their photo taken with her. The entire market reminded me of the antics of Venice Beach in Los Angeles combined with a high-quality flea market
Note: I am off for Uruguay Tuesday morning. The next posting will be from there.
Sunday, February 13, 2005
New Friends in Buenos Aires
Friday, Feb. 11 (Part II)
Andrés, the priest of the local Danish church, called in the early evening and made plans for us to meet tomorrow night. I then went out for a while this evening. At night, the city looks different. It is easier to see inside the entrance halls of buildings. Restaurants have a different crowd and a different look, too. I had thought I would eat, since I had only a sandwich at lunch. Instead, I bought 1/4 kg (1/2 lb.) of ice cream (coconut, banana, and dulce con leche con nuez). It was a little too sweet for my taste, but it was cool and refreshing.
Walking: 36,688 steps (33,781 aerobic steps) 1476 calories, 24.96 km (15 miles)
Saturday, Feb. 12
I am back at my neighborhood restaurant. This is my second time here, and the waiter (who probably liked my tip before) is treating me as a regular (or even better). He waved away a younger waiter who approached me, and he brought me a cloth napkin (as he did on my first visit, but which is not given to anyone else). I asked, "¿Que is muey bueno?" (What is very good?) He went to the window into the kitchen and talked with the cook. When he returned, he named something in Spanish that I didn´t comprehend. All I recognized was, "...con papas fritas." (...with fried potatoes.) Anyway, I said, "OK." What I got was a thick slab of roast beef with a thin sauce that had onions, tomatoes, and red pepper. It was delicious.
I get wonderful fried potatoes throughout my travels. I wonder why it is so hard to get good ones in the U.S.? Most places in the world, they are crispy and remain crispy as the meal progresses. In the U.S., they often arrive soft and get even mushier as time passes.
I walked to Recoleta this morning. It is the fancy, elegant, and expensive part of town. It took about 40 minutes to reach it. Other than shopping at designer shops, most of the things to do there are concentrated in the park. There is a wonderful basilica from 1732. It is white stucco, and each alcove is filled with an elaborate alter covered in gold leaf. There is a famous cemetery where Eva Peron, among others, is buried, but I didn´t try to find her tomb. (I don´t think she is worthy of the fame and worship she receives.) There is a design center with the best of home furnishings for sale. There is a handicrafts outdoor market. Etc. The main thing I did was tour the National Museum of Art. It is a great museum with the bottom floor filled with works by all the famous European painters and the top floor full of wonderful works mostly by Argentineans. It was too much to see at once. All the paintings and sculptures were great, however.
There is so much more to see and do in that area and further out. But I will return to Buenos Aires again next year. I think I will save them. Right now, my plans are to buy a ticket to leave for Uruguay on either Monday or Tuesday. I really need to think about my travel plans, however. I have set Friday, Mar. 4, as the date I plan to arrive in Rio. That is 3 1/2 weeks from now. I need to decide where I will be between now and then. My tentative planning indicates I will have about four extra days beyond the time I had planned to spend in specific locations.
_______
After lunch, I walked to a nearby bakery which has quality products. I bought two pieces, but I have only eaten one. It is two mounded sugar cookies with dulce con leche between them.
After napping, I have dressed and am waiting on Andrés and his partner to pick me up. He is the priest of the Danish church here in Buenos Aires. Lisa, the wife of the Danish consul in Calgary, established contact between us. Andrés´father and Lisa´s brother were best friends. He called me last night and made arrangements to pick me up tonight sometime between 8:30 and 9:00. I am not sure what the plans will be. I have put on my best clothes (khaki slacks and long-sleeve cotton plaid shirt), since I know Argentineans cane be particular about appearances. I am curious about what they will be wearing when they arrive! I probably will find I would have been fine in shorts and a polo shirt.
_______
When Andrés arrived, it was with 3 others. I really didn´t know what to expect even of him. Lisa had not said more than what I had written above. It became a nice evening of dining and visiting. The people:
Andrés: 40, slender, salt and pepper hair cut short, jeans and t-shirt, spoke English well, priest of local Danish church, grandparents immigrated from Denmark, spoke Danish as his first language at home, does not speak English with the typical Danish accent
Luis Alberto: 33, muscular from workouts, light brown short hair with highlights, calf-length pants with muscle shirt, spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish, owns his own hairdressing salon, originally from Bolivia
Silvio: 42, rounded (but not fat) body, short gray hair, Ralph Lauren shirt with dark slacks, spoke English okay (had to think to put sentences together), mechanical engineer working with machines like Catepillar makes, has worked and studied in Italy and the Caribbean
Miguel: 28-32?, short and very slender, short dark hair with baseball cap, tight white silk shirt with dark pants, spoke English well, produces drag shows at bars, originally from Bolivia, his partner died last May
Miguel is the one who was the most outgoing. His personality is just bursting from the seams. It would be impossible for him to sit quietly for more than a few minutes. He makes comments, he tells stories, he teases people, etc. All the rest of us joined in with questions and our own stores and comments, but Miguel kept the action going all night. Silvio, although quiet at times, has a sparkle of playfulness in his eyes and told occasional jokes. Luis Alberto liked to clarify and question things occasionally and would express his opinion in contrast to that of others. Andrés, quiet much of the time and speaking mainly to explain, translate, or answer a question, seemed to be the strong one of the group through whom everthing was accepted as truth or laughed at.
None of these guys are old friends. Luis Alberto and Miguel knew each other in Bolivia, but they didn´t become close friends until they were both here in Buenos Aires six years ago. Andrés met Luis Alberto (and Miguel, too, because of their friendship) 9 months ago. Miguel (and the rest of the group, therefore) met Silvio 3 months ago. They were a surprisingly well-knit group of friends considering the newness of their relationships.
We drove to one of the restaurants in the old warehouses at the port. There, we had parrilla, an all-you-can-eat feast of grilled meats along with salads, dessert, and wine. It was a huge place. We went early (around 9:00 p.m.), because they were worried that I would be starving, knowing that Americans do not eaat as late as Argentines. We got a table immediately, but there were waiting lines the rest of the night (even at 2:00 a.m. when we left the area).
There was one price at the restaurant that even included the wine and bottled water, so it was an incredible value at 27 pesos per person ($9 U.S.). I ate ribs, sausage, pork roast, and roast beef. They also had blood sausage and other cuts of meat. The salads were the typical potato salad, rice salad, mixed salad ingredients, etc. For dessert, I chose apple slices caramelized in suar and served with a dip of vanilla ice cream.
When we left the restaurant at midnight, we walked along the waterfront. We stopped at a sidewalk cafe at the Hilton Hotel and had coffee and continued visiting. Around 2:00 a.m., we returned to the car near the restaurant and they drove me to the hotel. There had been some talk of going out again tonight, but nothing firm was established. We all said goodnight and Miguel said he would call me today.
It was a change for me to be out so late. As we drove to the hotel, the whole neighborhood was still alive. The popular square here in San Telmo was full of people. Andrés said it would continue that way until at least 5:00 a.m. No wonder I have not seen many people out on Sundays in Argentina. They probably sleep most of the day if they stay up all night on Saturdays!
Walking: 22,757 steps (16,443 aerobic steps) 951 calories, 15.47 km (9 1/4 miles)
Friday, Feb. 11 (Part II)
Andrés, the priest of the local Danish church, called in the early evening and made plans for us to meet tomorrow night. I then went out for a while this evening. At night, the city looks different. It is easier to see inside the entrance halls of buildings. Restaurants have a different crowd and a different look, too. I had thought I would eat, since I had only a sandwich at lunch. Instead, I bought 1/4 kg (1/2 lb.) of ice cream (coconut, banana, and dulce con leche con nuez). It was a little too sweet for my taste, but it was cool and refreshing.
Walking: 36,688 steps (33,781 aerobic steps) 1476 calories, 24.96 km (15 miles)
Saturday, Feb. 12
I am back at my neighborhood restaurant. This is my second time here, and the waiter (who probably liked my tip before) is treating me as a regular (or even better). He waved away a younger waiter who approached me, and he brought me a cloth napkin (as he did on my first visit, but which is not given to anyone else). I asked, "¿Que is muey bueno?" (What is very good?) He went to the window into the kitchen and talked with the cook. When he returned, he named something in Spanish that I didn´t comprehend. All I recognized was, "...con papas fritas." (...with fried potatoes.) Anyway, I said, "OK." What I got was a thick slab of roast beef with a thin sauce that had onions, tomatoes, and red pepper. It was delicious.
I get wonderful fried potatoes throughout my travels. I wonder why it is so hard to get good ones in the U.S.? Most places in the world, they are crispy and remain crispy as the meal progresses. In the U.S., they often arrive soft and get even mushier as time passes.
I walked to Recoleta this morning. It is the fancy, elegant, and expensive part of town. It took about 40 minutes to reach it. Other than shopping at designer shops, most of the things to do there are concentrated in the park. There is a wonderful basilica from 1732. It is white stucco, and each alcove is filled with an elaborate alter covered in gold leaf. There is a famous cemetery where Eva Peron, among others, is buried, but I didn´t try to find her tomb. (I don´t think she is worthy of the fame and worship she receives.) There is a design center with the best of home furnishings for sale. There is a handicrafts outdoor market. Etc. The main thing I did was tour the National Museum of Art. It is a great museum with the bottom floor filled with works by all the famous European painters and the top floor full of wonderful works mostly by Argentineans. It was too much to see at once. All the paintings and sculptures were great, however.
There is so much more to see and do in that area and further out. But I will return to Buenos Aires again next year. I think I will save them. Right now, my plans are to buy a ticket to leave for Uruguay on either Monday or Tuesday. I really need to think about my travel plans, however. I have set Friday, Mar. 4, as the date I plan to arrive in Rio. That is 3 1/2 weeks from now. I need to decide where I will be between now and then. My tentative planning indicates I will have about four extra days beyond the time I had planned to spend in specific locations.
_______
After lunch, I walked to a nearby bakery which has quality products. I bought two pieces, but I have only eaten one. It is two mounded sugar cookies with dulce con leche between them.
After napping, I have dressed and am waiting on Andrés and his partner to pick me up. He is the priest of the Danish church here in Buenos Aires. Lisa, the wife of the Danish consul in Calgary, established contact between us. Andrés´father and Lisa´s brother were best friends. He called me last night and made arrangements to pick me up tonight sometime between 8:30 and 9:00. I am not sure what the plans will be. I have put on my best clothes (khaki slacks and long-sleeve cotton plaid shirt), since I know Argentineans cane be particular about appearances. I am curious about what they will be wearing when they arrive! I probably will find I would have been fine in shorts and a polo shirt.
_______
When Andrés arrived, it was with 3 others. I really didn´t know what to expect even of him. Lisa had not said more than what I had written above. It became a nice evening of dining and visiting. The people:
Andrés: 40, slender, salt and pepper hair cut short, jeans and t-shirt, spoke English well, priest of local Danish church, grandparents immigrated from Denmark, spoke Danish as his first language at home, does not speak English with the typical Danish accent
Luis Alberto: 33, muscular from workouts, light brown short hair with highlights, calf-length pants with muscle shirt, spoke about as much English as I speak Spanish, owns his own hairdressing salon, originally from Bolivia
Silvio: 42, rounded (but not fat) body, short gray hair, Ralph Lauren shirt with dark slacks, spoke English okay (had to think to put sentences together), mechanical engineer working with machines like Catepillar makes, has worked and studied in Italy and the Caribbean
Miguel: 28-32?, short and very slender, short dark hair with baseball cap, tight white silk shirt with dark pants, spoke English well, produces drag shows at bars, originally from Bolivia, his partner died last May
Miguel is the one who was the most outgoing. His personality is just bursting from the seams. It would be impossible for him to sit quietly for more than a few minutes. He makes comments, he tells stories, he teases people, etc. All the rest of us joined in with questions and our own stores and comments, but Miguel kept the action going all night. Silvio, although quiet at times, has a sparkle of playfulness in his eyes and told occasional jokes. Luis Alberto liked to clarify and question things occasionally and would express his opinion in contrast to that of others. Andrés, quiet much of the time and speaking mainly to explain, translate, or answer a question, seemed to be the strong one of the group through whom everthing was accepted as truth or laughed at.
None of these guys are old friends. Luis Alberto and Miguel knew each other in Bolivia, but they didn´t become close friends until they were both here in Buenos Aires six years ago. Andrés met Luis Alberto (and Miguel, too, because of their friendship) 9 months ago. Miguel (and the rest of the group, therefore) met Silvio 3 months ago. They were a surprisingly well-knit group of friends considering the newness of their relationships.
We drove to one of the restaurants in the old warehouses at the port. There, we had parrilla, an all-you-can-eat feast of grilled meats along with salads, dessert, and wine. It was a huge place. We went early (around 9:00 p.m.), because they were worried that I would be starving, knowing that Americans do not eaat as late as Argentines. We got a table immediately, but there were waiting lines the rest of the night (even at 2:00 a.m. when we left the area).
There was one price at the restaurant that even included the wine and bottled water, so it was an incredible value at 27 pesos per person ($9 U.S.). I ate ribs, sausage, pork roast, and roast beef. They also had blood sausage and other cuts of meat. The salads were the typical potato salad, rice salad, mixed salad ingredients, etc. For dessert, I chose apple slices caramelized in suar and served with a dip of vanilla ice cream.
When we left the restaurant at midnight, we walked along the waterfront. We stopped at a sidewalk cafe at the Hilton Hotel and had coffee and continued visiting. Around 2:00 a.m., we returned to the car near the restaurant and they drove me to the hotel. There had been some talk of going out again tonight, but nothing firm was established. We all said goodnight and Miguel said he would call me today.
It was a change for me to be out so late. As we drove to the hotel, the whole neighborhood was still alive. The popular square here in San Telmo was full of people. Andrés said it would continue that way until at least 5:00 a.m. No wonder I have not seen many people out on Sundays in Argentina. They probably sleep most of the day if they stay up all night on Saturdays!
Walking: 22,757 steps (16,443 aerobic steps) 951 calories, 15.47 km (9 1/4 miles)
Friday, February 11, 2005
Exploring Buenos Aires
Wednesday, Feb. 9 (Part II)
After stopping at an Internet cafe, I returned to the room. I must have been more tired than I thought. I slept for over 2 hours. When I awoke, just after 6:00, it was dark. Within a few minutes it was raining heavily. That spoiled my plans for going back out.
Walking: 17,228 steps (13,735 aerobic steps), 703 calories, 11.71 km (7 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 10
There seem to be few homeless people here in Argentina. I have seen a few in various cities, but not many. What I have seen often, however, are trash scavengers. No one´s trash goes to the dump without someone opening and going through it, I don´t think. Sometimes it is people with horse-drawn carts who actually pick up the garbage. Before they are out of sight of the home, however, they are going through it for treasures. Yesterday, I saw two men who had ripped open a garbage bag outside a restaurant. They had opened the remains of 8-10 sandwiches and were removing the pieces of meat that had been only partially eaten. Last night, I heard a noise outside my window and looked out. It was someone emptying a bag of garbage to see what was in it. And as I looked from there to the intersection, I saw a woman pushing a grocery cart that was full of garbage bags. I wonder how many people are living like this here?
I annot believe that I slept another 8 hours last night after my long nap in the afternoon. I guess my body is tired form the physical and emotional stress of changing locations so often in the past few days. I hope to put in a full day of sightseeing today, however. The subway strike, which still continues, makes it more difficult to do as much. I am not sure of what buses will go where I would like to go, and walking 20 blocks to get downtown or 40 blocks to get to Ricoleto north of town eats up a lot of time. Of course, it has the advantage of letting me see everything along the way.
_______
It is now the middle of the afternoon. I have spent the morning exploring parts of the center of Buenos Aires. Some of the observations:
1. Buenos Aires is a big city with the feel of a place like Manhattan or London. It is possible to go blocks and blocks within the crowded city center without feeling that you are leaving it.
2. It is amazing how many massive, heavy buildings exist in the city. It is almost an embarrassment of riches. They are all in the European-style with thick stone walls, embellished with sculptures and carvings, and topped with domes, spires, and other special features.
3. There are no department stores here anymore. There was a Harrod´s, once a branch of the London store and then operated independently. (There was a court case I read a few years ago that gave them the right to keep using the name.) But it is now a vacant building. There is another place, Gallerias Pacifica, that probably used to be a department store, too. Today, however, this massive building with glass canopies, has been remodeled into a shopping mall with the best known international brands.
4. The port area has been moved away from downtown, and the old port area has been redeveloped. The old warehouses have been remodeled into sidewalk restaurants, shops, and offices. Across the channel from them, new offices and hotels have been built. Where the old reailroad tracks were, prarking lots for the restaurants and offices have been placed. On the rest of the land which existed between the tracks and downtown, a string of high-rise office buildings have been built. It seems to be a highly-effective redevelopment plan.
5. I think there is more live theater here than in any city I know other than New York and London. Corrientes Street is lined with teheaters that are booked with both local and international shows. One example of a local production is a musical about the encounters between the Spanish and the natives.
6. Stores here sell knockoffs of classic modern designs in home furnishings. The quality looks pretty good. All the well-known chairs are for sale, and many of the lighting designs, too. I saw a pedestrian street stall selling knockoffs of the expensive Danish light fixtures of interlocking plastic pieces for form a globe.
7. Mosquitoes are horrible today. I tried to rest in a park and couldn´t. At least 10 mosquitoes were buzzing around my legs at any given time. I had to start walking again to keep safe from them.
For lunch today, I switched gears. I had Chinese food. It wasn´t very good, but I just couldn´t resist a change of pace.
_______
After writing the above, I went to the Plaza de Mayo, the main square in Buenos Aires. The Casa Rose (Pink House, equivalent to the White House in the U.S.) is located there. I went, however, because at 3:30 p.m. on Thursdays the mothers of missing children march. They are the mothers of the children who the government eliminated for political purposes years ago. These mothers, marching in the main square, caused the government to face up to what had happened. Of course, it wsn´t total victory for them. Governments never admit to specifics, so the mothers never got answers about individual children who disappeared. That´s why there are still children unaccounted for and why there are mothers who are still marching.
From there, I visited the Cathedral and the historical museum in the old military headquarters. Both are on the same square. Then I walked back to the hotel arriving at 6:00 p.m.
I bought liquids on the way back--water, diet cola, and a bottle of wine (Gato Negro Malbec 2003 for 6 pesos--$2 U.S.). I stayed in the room, as usual, in the evening.
Walking: 35,185 steps (24,983 aerobic steps), 1433 calories, 23.92 km (14 1/3 miles)
Friday, Feb. 11 (Part I)
I am in La Boca. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods and one of the poorest ones in Buenos Aires. My guidebook warned about coming here alone, but I figured they were talking about night time. Anyway, when I walk somewhere, I review the map and have the route in my head so that I can walk directly and purposely. With my tan, dark hair, and dark eyes, I am always being taken as a local person. Since I am alone, no one hears me talk to know otherwise. I feel safe, therefore, going almost anywhere. Besides, it is only 10:00 a.m. Trouble makers aren´t out at this hour.
As I walked here, it was obvious how poor this section of town is. The sidewalks are uneven with broken tiles, there is grafitti on the buildings, many storefronts have been vacant for years, people don´t look as prosperous (and sometimes as clean) as those in other parts of town.
The main reason people come here is for a little neighborhood that consists of brightly painted houses built of slats of wood and sheets of corregated metal. It was the original waterfront district here. Most of these quaint buildings have now been taken over by artists and cafe owners. They have tarted them up with sculptural figures on balconies and other features. The cafes hire couples to dance the tango out front. Artists who don´t have galleries in buildings set up street stalls to display their work. Guitar players, mimes, etc., provide street entertainment. In other words, it is no longer much of a quaint neighborhood. Instead, it is a full-time tourist attraction. I did, however, manage to find similar buildings on the fringes of the district that were still occupied by normal families and were more like what the neighborhood probably used to be before the invasion of the artists and the tourists.
_______
Walking back from La Boca, I took Nicochea Street which the guidebook said had Italian seafood restaurants. And, yes, in the 10 blocks or so I saw maybe three restaurants. In general, the street was worse than the one I had taken to enter the district. The buildings were of poor construction and decaying. There were so many trashy, empty storefronts that the street could be used to represent a war zone in a film. Lots of people were standing around doing nothing. Walking through there reminded me of some of the bad parts of Harlem where I have walked before.
As I came out of La Boca, I was in the waterfront area again. I had read about an ecological reserve, so I decided to explore it. I took the first bridge across the port area and walked beyond the new apartment and office buildings. I was surprised to first come to a nice, old waterfront park. It had a prominade and ldots of small, portable sandwich bars. A movie crew was filming at one location on the prominade.
Another bridge brought me to the ecological reserve. It is an area that used to be river flood plains. The city decided to fill it in and raise it all the way to the river´s edge so that they could develop the waterfront. They planned a compound of new government buildings on part of the filled area. After years of work, priorities changed. By then, lots of area had been filled, but lots was still low land. Plants began to grow. Lakes formed in the low areas. Birds and other wildlife moved in. Finally, the city declared it a nature reserve. It exits within a 15-minute walk from the main part of town!
I took Trail 2. It gave views of two lakes, swamplands, the river, areas with trees, etc. There were lots of waterfowl including many black-necked swans. In the trees, I saw parakeets and other yellow, green, and purplish-blue birds. I saw a large rodent cross the trail in front of me. And there were beautiful orange butterflies fluttering everywhere. Most prominant among flowers were a purpose trumpet blossom. And prevalent EVERYWHERE were mosquitoes! With the daily rains we have been having, they have burst out everywhere. But they are worse where there is lots of water such as in this nature reserve. It was a good hiking area, though. I just had to do a lot of swatting as I went along.
As I exited the reserve, I went to one of the sandwich stands. I had one with bife de chorizo. It was a crusty roll with two thick slabs of tender roast beef that had been cooked over charcoal. Ummmm!
Wednesday, Feb. 9 (Part II)
After stopping at an Internet cafe, I returned to the room. I must have been more tired than I thought. I slept for over 2 hours. When I awoke, just after 6:00, it was dark. Within a few minutes it was raining heavily. That spoiled my plans for going back out.
Walking: 17,228 steps (13,735 aerobic steps), 703 calories, 11.71 km (7 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 10
There seem to be few homeless people here in Argentina. I have seen a few in various cities, but not many. What I have seen often, however, are trash scavengers. No one´s trash goes to the dump without someone opening and going through it, I don´t think. Sometimes it is people with horse-drawn carts who actually pick up the garbage. Before they are out of sight of the home, however, they are going through it for treasures. Yesterday, I saw two men who had ripped open a garbage bag outside a restaurant. They had opened the remains of 8-10 sandwiches and were removing the pieces of meat that had been only partially eaten. Last night, I heard a noise outside my window and looked out. It was someone emptying a bag of garbage to see what was in it. And as I looked from there to the intersection, I saw a woman pushing a grocery cart that was full of garbage bags. I wonder how many people are living like this here?
I annot believe that I slept another 8 hours last night after my long nap in the afternoon. I guess my body is tired form the physical and emotional stress of changing locations so often in the past few days. I hope to put in a full day of sightseeing today, however. The subway strike, which still continues, makes it more difficult to do as much. I am not sure of what buses will go where I would like to go, and walking 20 blocks to get downtown or 40 blocks to get to Ricoleto north of town eats up a lot of time. Of course, it has the advantage of letting me see everything along the way.
_______
It is now the middle of the afternoon. I have spent the morning exploring parts of the center of Buenos Aires. Some of the observations:
1. Buenos Aires is a big city with the feel of a place like Manhattan or London. It is possible to go blocks and blocks within the crowded city center without feeling that you are leaving it.
2. It is amazing how many massive, heavy buildings exist in the city. It is almost an embarrassment of riches. They are all in the European-style with thick stone walls, embellished with sculptures and carvings, and topped with domes, spires, and other special features.
3. There are no department stores here anymore. There was a Harrod´s, once a branch of the London store and then operated independently. (There was a court case I read a few years ago that gave them the right to keep using the name.) But it is now a vacant building. There is another place, Gallerias Pacifica, that probably used to be a department store, too. Today, however, this massive building with glass canopies, has been remodeled into a shopping mall with the best known international brands.
4. The port area has been moved away from downtown, and the old port area has been redeveloped. The old warehouses have been remodeled into sidewalk restaurants, shops, and offices. Across the channel from them, new offices and hotels have been built. Where the old reailroad tracks were, prarking lots for the restaurants and offices have been placed. On the rest of the land which existed between the tracks and downtown, a string of high-rise office buildings have been built. It seems to be a highly-effective redevelopment plan.
5. I think there is more live theater here than in any city I know other than New York and London. Corrientes Street is lined with teheaters that are booked with both local and international shows. One example of a local production is a musical about the encounters between the Spanish and the natives.
6. Stores here sell knockoffs of classic modern designs in home furnishings. The quality looks pretty good. All the well-known chairs are for sale, and many of the lighting designs, too. I saw a pedestrian street stall selling knockoffs of the expensive Danish light fixtures of interlocking plastic pieces for form a globe.
7. Mosquitoes are horrible today. I tried to rest in a park and couldn´t. At least 10 mosquitoes were buzzing around my legs at any given time. I had to start walking again to keep safe from them.
For lunch today, I switched gears. I had Chinese food. It wasn´t very good, but I just couldn´t resist a change of pace.
_______
After writing the above, I went to the Plaza de Mayo, the main square in Buenos Aires. The Casa Rose (Pink House, equivalent to the White House in the U.S.) is located there. I went, however, because at 3:30 p.m. on Thursdays the mothers of missing children march. They are the mothers of the children who the government eliminated for political purposes years ago. These mothers, marching in the main square, caused the government to face up to what had happened. Of course, it wsn´t total victory for them. Governments never admit to specifics, so the mothers never got answers about individual children who disappeared. That´s why there are still children unaccounted for and why there are mothers who are still marching.
From there, I visited the Cathedral and the historical museum in the old military headquarters. Both are on the same square. Then I walked back to the hotel arriving at 6:00 p.m.
I bought liquids on the way back--water, diet cola, and a bottle of wine (Gato Negro Malbec 2003 for 6 pesos--$2 U.S.). I stayed in the room, as usual, in the evening.
Walking: 35,185 steps (24,983 aerobic steps), 1433 calories, 23.92 km (14 1/3 miles)
Friday, Feb. 11 (Part I)
I am in La Boca. It is one of the oldest neighborhoods and one of the poorest ones in Buenos Aires. My guidebook warned about coming here alone, but I figured they were talking about night time. Anyway, when I walk somewhere, I review the map and have the route in my head so that I can walk directly and purposely. With my tan, dark hair, and dark eyes, I am always being taken as a local person. Since I am alone, no one hears me talk to know otherwise. I feel safe, therefore, going almost anywhere. Besides, it is only 10:00 a.m. Trouble makers aren´t out at this hour.
As I walked here, it was obvious how poor this section of town is. The sidewalks are uneven with broken tiles, there is grafitti on the buildings, many storefronts have been vacant for years, people don´t look as prosperous (and sometimes as clean) as those in other parts of town.
The main reason people come here is for a little neighborhood that consists of brightly painted houses built of slats of wood and sheets of corregated metal. It was the original waterfront district here. Most of these quaint buildings have now been taken over by artists and cafe owners. They have tarted them up with sculptural figures on balconies and other features. The cafes hire couples to dance the tango out front. Artists who don´t have galleries in buildings set up street stalls to display their work. Guitar players, mimes, etc., provide street entertainment. In other words, it is no longer much of a quaint neighborhood. Instead, it is a full-time tourist attraction. I did, however, manage to find similar buildings on the fringes of the district that were still occupied by normal families and were more like what the neighborhood probably used to be before the invasion of the artists and the tourists.
_______
Walking back from La Boca, I took Nicochea Street which the guidebook said had Italian seafood restaurants. And, yes, in the 10 blocks or so I saw maybe three restaurants. In general, the street was worse than the one I had taken to enter the district. The buildings were of poor construction and decaying. There were so many trashy, empty storefronts that the street could be used to represent a war zone in a film. Lots of people were standing around doing nothing. Walking through there reminded me of some of the bad parts of Harlem where I have walked before.
As I came out of La Boca, I was in the waterfront area again. I had read about an ecological reserve, so I decided to explore it. I took the first bridge across the port area and walked beyond the new apartment and office buildings. I was surprised to first come to a nice, old waterfront park. It had a prominade and ldots of small, portable sandwich bars. A movie crew was filming at one location on the prominade.
Another bridge brought me to the ecological reserve. It is an area that used to be river flood plains. The city decided to fill it in and raise it all the way to the river´s edge so that they could develop the waterfront. They planned a compound of new government buildings on part of the filled area. After years of work, priorities changed. By then, lots of area had been filled, but lots was still low land. Plants began to grow. Lakes formed in the low areas. Birds and other wildlife moved in. Finally, the city declared it a nature reserve. It exits within a 15-minute walk from the main part of town!
I took Trail 2. It gave views of two lakes, swamplands, the river, areas with trees, etc. There were lots of waterfowl including many black-necked swans. In the trees, I saw parakeets and other yellow, green, and purplish-blue birds. I saw a large rodent cross the trail in front of me. And there were beautiful orange butterflies fluttering everywhere. Most prominant among flowers were a purpose trumpet blossom. And prevalent EVERYWHERE were mosquitoes! With the daily rains we have been having, they have burst out everywhere. But they are worse where there is lots of water such as in this nature reserve. It was a good hiking area, though. I just had to do a lot of swatting as I went along.
As I exited the reserve, I went to one of the sandwich stands. I had one with bife de chorizo. It was a crusty roll with two thick slabs of tender roast beef that had been cooked over charcoal. Ummmm!
Wednesday, February 09, 2005
Barrio San Telmo in Buenos Aires
Tuesday, Feb. 8 (Part II)
I didn´t do much else on Tuesday due to the rain and to being tired. In my room, I finished reading Life of Pi. It was a very interesting book. I highly suggest it to people who like to read novels. It is unique and will not make you think of any other book you have read before.
Walking: 13,219 steps (8477 aerobic steps), 547 calories, 8.98 km (5.4 miles)
Spending Update: I have been in Argentina for a total of 28 days through the evening of Feb. 8. My expenses, including the hotel for the night of Feb. 8 are a total of $623.31 U.S. That represents an average of $22.26 per day and of $667.80 per month. With my air ticket prorated over 12 months at $240 per month, that means I am spending approximately $907.80 per month to be here in Argentina.
Wednesday, Feb. 9 (Part I)
My new hotel is so nice. After breakfast at the guesthouse, I came here. It is obvious that it is recently remodeled. All the tile work is nice and fresh looking. The light fixtures, furniture, and beadspread all look new. The TV remote control is not yet worn out as they are in many places. It is a bright, fresh place to be--The Odeon Hotel on Humberto 1 in San Telmo. What is amazing is that it is $3 U.S. cheaper per day than the guesthouse was and is cheaper than many of the places I have stayed elsewhere in Argentina. I would never have guessed that I could get a hotel this nice in Buenos Aires for $10.08 U.S. per night!
_______
I spent the morning exploring my neighborhood, Barrio San Telmo. It is a delightful area with low-rise building about 100 years old. There are many small bars and restaurants, including quite a few tango bars. Many of the streets are cobblestone with the old streetcar tracks in them, although the sad fact is that there are no street cars anymore.
I went first to the Danish church to try to meet Andres, the priest. There was no response to the bell, and everything looked closed up. He may still be on vacation in Bolivia. He told me he would be back the first week of February, but maybe he meant the END of the first week. I guess I will try calling him from my room.
There is an old market in Sal Telmo. It is one of the Eiffel-type designs that seem to be popular all over South America with ironwork supports and high roofs. Unfortunately, it is not too popular with only about half the space occupied. It is a perfect building, however, and in 10-20 years I predict it will be gentrified and be one of the IN places to shop and eat in Buenos Aires.
Defensa is one of the main streets in San Telmo. It is lined with many antique stores and restaurants. The antique stores are of high quality--not junk stores with some old furniture, but places filled with elegant and expensive pieces. They remind me of the places on Royal Street in New Orleans. The restaurants are small and have creative menus. What is amazing are their prices. For 15-25 pesos ($5-9.50 U.S.), it is possible to have a 3- or 4-course lunch. Of course, wine will add another 5-15 pesos ($2.75-5 U.S.) to that, although some of the menus of the day include a glass of wine in the price.
I have just had my lunch near my hotel. I had fideos con estafada. Here, fideos mans wide noodles with tomato sauce. Apparently, estafada means roasted, since the meat was a chunk of roast beef. I had a bottle (half liter) of the house white wine with it. The wine came in a half-liter cola-type bottle. Everyone in the restaurant was having this same house wine with their meal. The price for the meal with the wine came to 7 pesos. With a tip, it was 8 pesos for a total of $2.68 U.S.! Now I will go back to my hotel and relax for a while before going back out in the late afternoon.
Tuesday, Feb. 8 (Part II)
I didn´t do much else on Tuesday due to the rain and to being tired. In my room, I finished reading Life of Pi. It was a very interesting book. I highly suggest it to people who like to read novels. It is unique and will not make you think of any other book you have read before.
Walking: 13,219 steps (8477 aerobic steps), 547 calories, 8.98 km (5.4 miles)
Spending Update: I have been in Argentina for a total of 28 days through the evening of Feb. 8. My expenses, including the hotel for the night of Feb. 8 are a total of $623.31 U.S. That represents an average of $22.26 per day and of $667.80 per month. With my air ticket prorated over 12 months at $240 per month, that means I am spending approximately $907.80 per month to be here in Argentina.
Wednesday, Feb. 9 (Part I)
My new hotel is so nice. After breakfast at the guesthouse, I came here. It is obvious that it is recently remodeled. All the tile work is nice and fresh looking. The light fixtures, furniture, and beadspread all look new. The TV remote control is not yet worn out as they are in many places. It is a bright, fresh place to be--The Odeon Hotel on Humberto 1 in San Telmo. What is amazing is that it is $3 U.S. cheaper per day than the guesthouse was and is cheaper than many of the places I have stayed elsewhere in Argentina. I would never have guessed that I could get a hotel this nice in Buenos Aires for $10.08 U.S. per night!
_______
I spent the morning exploring my neighborhood, Barrio San Telmo. It is a delightful area with low-rise building about 100 years old. There are many small bars and restaurants, including quite a few tango bars. Many of the streets are cobblestone with the old streetcar tracks in them, although the sad fact is that there are no street cars anymore.
I went first to the Danish church to try to meet Andres, the priest. There was no response to the bell, and everything looked closed up. He may still be on vacation in Bolivia. He told me he would be back the first week of February, but maybe he meant the END of the first week. I guess I will try calling him from my room.
There is an old market in Sal Telmo. It is one of the Eiffel-type designs that seem to be popular all over South America with ironwork supports and high roofs. Unfortunately, it is not too popular with only about half the space occupied. It is a perfect building, however, and in 10-20 years I predict it will be gentrified and be one of the IN places to shop and eat in Buenos Aires.
Defensa is one of the main streets in San Telmo. It is lined with many antique stores and restaurants. The antique stores are of high quality--not junk stores with some old furniture, but places filled with elegant and expensive pieces. They remind me of the places on Royal Street in New Orleans. The restaurants are small and have creative menus. What is amazing are their prices. For 15-25 pesos ($5-9.50 U.S.), it is possible to have a 3- or 4-course lunch. Of course, wine will add another 5-15 pesos ($2.75-5 U.S.) to that, although some of the menus of the day include a glass of wine in the price.
I have just had my lunch near my hotel. I had fideos con estafada. Here, fideos mans wide noodles with tomato sauce. Apparently, estafada means roasted, since the meat was a chunk of roast beef. I had a bottle (half liter) of the house white wine with it. The wine came in a half-liter cola-type bottle. Everyone in the restaurant was having this same house wine with their meal. The price for the meal with the wine came to 7 pesos. With a tip, it was 8 pesos for a total of $2.68 U.S.! Now I will go back to my hotel and relax for a while before going back out in the late afternoon.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Rosario and the Trip to Buenos Aires
Monday, Feb. 7
The thunderstorms hit not long after I went to bed last night. I had to get up and close the shutters on the window to keep it from blowing into the room. It didn´t last long as a storm. Instead, it switched to a steady rain that continued through the night.
I am impressed with Rosario. It is cosmopolitan and sophisticated. There are many old buildings. They have been maintained well, and there is a high quality look to both them and new construction in the center of town. Best of all, it still has a downtown department store in an elegant old building with a stained-glass canopy over a central atrium. It has sweeping staircases out of marble and heavy wrough iron, and it has caged elevators. Although the building is old and elegant, the store feels modern and fresh with bright lights and nice displays. It is a perfect place to shop here.
I can see where another elegant department store once existed. The atrium (more plain than the other) with a stained glass canopy (much simpler and smaller than the other) is still there. A McDonalds is now in the corner that was the main entrance, a small mall occupies the rest of the ground floor, and offices are now in the upper floors.
The day was spent walking the streets to further explore the city. I stopped for lunch and had pizza with mozzarella, provalone, dried ham, tomatoes, and oregano. Later, I bought my ticket to take me to Buenos Aires tomorrow. The hotel was so far from town that I just stayed in the room during the evending.
Now that my tour of Argentina is over expect for Buenos Aires which would be in a category of its own, here are my evaluations:
Most sophisticated, cosmopolitan city: Rosario
Best quaint, laid-back, comfortable city: Salta
Best small city: Victoria
Best mountain getaway: Tafe del Valle and La Cambrecita (Tie)
Tuesday, Feb. 8 (Part I)
It hasn´t been the best travel day. There are showers off and on, and it is the second day of a strike by subway workers in Buenos Aires. I already knew about the latter problem and had looked at my map. It is only about 35 blocks from the bus station to my guest house, so I knew I could walk it IF the rain would cooperate.
It was a luxury bus from Rosario to Buenos Aires. There were leather seats that were wide (2 on one side of the aisle and 1 on the other) with lots of leg room and good fold-down leg rests. It took four hours for the trip.
It took 1 hour 10 minutes to walk to the buest house, but I hit almost every light red causing a lot of time to be eaten up waiting at intersections. It didn´t rain, however. Almost all the way was on a wide street with a wide sidewalk. That meant I never felt slowed down by crowds.
The guest house wasn´t what I expected. I thought I was to have a room with a private bath. Instead, it is a private room with the bath on the hall and shared with others. It faces a noisy street, and it is beside the service desk. The people are nice, however. The manager sat with me to complete the paperwork, and he gave me a tour of the facility. I have decided to stay there only tonight. I have found a hotel nearby--private room with bath and TV away from the street--for only 30 pesos--$10.04 U.S.--per night. I will move there tomorrow morning and will wait to take my shower and shave until I am there.
I am waiting for a late lunch (4:00 p.m.) now. I ordered arroz ala cubana (whatever that is), but they didn´t have it. Instead, I am getting escalopes ala marsala with fried potatoes. I can hear the chef either chopping the potatoes or tenderizing the beef in the kitchen right now. I am starving.
_____
Well, escalopes ala marsala is another name for chicken fried steak. I got three small (4 inch/10 cm diameter) steaks that were battered (with fresh herbs in the batter) and fried. Along with them came a small platter of freshly made fried potatoes. It was a big and tasty meal. I´m satisfied now for the rest of the day!
Monday, Feb. 7
The thunderstorms hit not long after I went to bed last night. I had to get up and close the shutters on the window to keep it from blowing into the room. It didn´t last long as a storm. Instead, it switched to a steady rain that continued through the night.
I am impressed with Rosario. It is cosmopolitan and sophisticated. There are many old buildings. They have been maintained well, and there is a high quality look to both them and new construction in the center of town. Best of all, it still has a downtown department store in an elegant old building with a stained-glass canopy over a central atrium. It has sweeping staircases out of marble and heavy wrough iron, and it has caged elevators. Although the building is old and elegant, the store feels modern and fresh with bright lights and nice displays. It is a perfect place to shop here.
I can see where another elegant department store once existed. The atrium (more plain than the other) with a stained glass canopy (much simpler and smaller than the other) is still there. A McDonalds is now in the corner that was the main entrance, a small mall occupies the rest of the ground floor, and offices are now in the upper floors.
The day was spent walking the streets to further explore the city. I stopped for lunch and had pizza with mozzarella, provalone, dried ham, tomatoes, and oregano. Later, I bought my ticket to take me to Buenos Aires tomorrow. The hotel was so far from town that I just stayed in the room during the evending.
Now that my tour of Argentina is over expect for Buenos Aires which would be in a category of its own, here are my evaluations:
Most sophisticated, cosmopolitan city: Rosario
Best quaint, laid-back, comfortable city: Salta
Best small city: Victoria
Best mountain getaway: Tafe del Valle and La Cambrecita (Tie)
Tuesday, Feb. 8 (Part I)
It hasn´t been the best travel day. There are showers off and on, and it is the second day of a strike by subway workers in Buenos Aires. I already knew about the latter problem and had looked at my map. It is only about 35 blocks from the bus station to my guest house, so I knew I could walk it IF the rain would cooperate.
It was a luxury bus from Rosario to Buenos Aires. There were leather seats that were wide (2 on one side of the aisle and 1 on the other) with lots of leg room and good fold-down leg rests. It took four hours for the trip.
It took 1 hour 10 minutes to walk to the buest house, but I hit almost every light red causing a lot of time to be eaten up waiting at intersections. It didn´t rain, however. Almost all the way was on a wide street with a wide sidewalk. That meant I never felt slowed down by crowds.
The guest house wasn´t what I expected. I thought I was to have a room with a private bath. Instead, it is a private room with the bath on the hall and shared with others. It faces a noisy street, and it is beside the service desk. The people are nice, however. The manager sat with me to complete the paperwork, and he gave me a tour of the facility. I have decided to stay there only tonight. I have found a hotel nearby--private room with bath and TV away from the street--for only 30 pesos--$10.04 U.S.--per night. I will move there tomorrow morning and will wait to take my shower and shave until I am there.
I am waiting for a late lunch (4:00 p.m.) now. I ordered arroz ala cubana (whatever that is), but they didn´t have it. Instead, I am getting escalopes ala marsala with fried potatoes. I can hear the chef either chopping the potatoes or tenderizing the beef in the kitchen right now. I am starving.
_____
Well, escalopes ala marsala is another name for chicken fried steak. I got three small (4 inch/10 cm diameter) steaks that were battered (with fresh herbs in the batter) and fried. Along with them came a small platter of freshly made fried potatoes. It was a big and tasty meal. I´m satisfied now for the rest of the day!
Monday, February 07, 2005
New Friends and a Trip to an Estancia
Friday, Feb. 4 (Part II)
Carnival was a bust in Paraná. I walked to the riverfront in the afternoon. A lady at the tourist office told me about carnival tonight beginning at 9:30. I had already noticed they had seating set up like a sambadrome (stadium for carnival) on part of the waterfront.
I walked back to there in the evening. I bought some pastries and ate them, then I paid and entered the sambadrome. I waited and watied and waited. Most of the crowd didn´t enter until after 10:00. The activities didn´t begin until 11:00—1 ½ hours after the scheduled start. Then the pace was so slow it was boring. The first gropup wasn´t even a samba group. It was twirlers wearing high school uniforms and twirling to recorded samba music. At 11:30 they had made it only half the distance down the sambadrome, and it was obvious the second group wouldn´t begin until that group was finished. At the rate it was going, it would take 45 minutes to an hour for each group with lots of waiting between. It just wasn´t worth the time and effort. I left. I had a much better Carnival experience in Puerto Iguazu a few weeks ago just listening to the neighborhood group parcticing there!
Walking: 38,063 steps (27,598 aerobic steps, 1550 calories, 25.87 km (15 ½ miles)
Saturday, Feb. 5
One of the frustrating things about around-the-world travel is that I cannot really shop for anything. I am not much of a shopper anyway, but occasionally I see something I would like. Here in Argentina I have seen 3 things:
1. They have official rugby club shirts of high quality for only $12-15 U.S. per shirt.
2. They have nice quality men´s leather shoes for about $35 a pair.
3. Weather vanes are popular here—fancy ones. I have seen one of a fisherman pulling a fish from the water. There are a couple of friends at home who might appreciate one of those.
I am limited to 1 checked bag on most flights, and I have to have my clothes and supplies in it. Besides, I walk a lot with my luggage. The heavier it gets, the harder it would be to get around. Most of the guidebooks and most of the travel magazines warn against internationl shipping. It is just not reliable from most countries and it is impossible to follow up when a shipment doesn´t arrive.
I made it to Victoria—2 hours through more lush farmland. There are only two hotels in town that I could find, but I was able to get into the cheaper one which is across the street from the bus station. It isn´t a great room, but it is a clean one.
It was lunchtime when I got here, so I walked to the riverfront. I have found a wonderful local place. It was full of people, and I had to wait for a table. I am sitting outdoors on a patio under some type of weeping trees and a net awning. There is a slight breeze. There was no written menu. I have ordered “pescado parrilla para uno persona” (grilled fish for one person). I expect to get some local fish that will be whole and will have been cooked over a wood fire. While I am waiting, I am having a cold beer because it is HOT here.
_______
It´s 7:20p.m. and I am sitting on the square in Victoria. Many people are out. There is a pleasant breeze, so it is a good place to relax. Most people are visiting with friends, some are watching people, and one is reading. It is a nice old town. It is small—maybe 50,000 people. It is filled with ornate old buildings. According to my guidebook, it is known for the elegant and elaborate grillwork on many of the old buildings.
This has been a rare, special travel day. To explain, I must return to the restaurant. Apparently people were aware I was a trouist. After ordering, two men walked by my table as they left, and they said, “Bon Appetit,” to me. That´s not what a Spanish speaker would say to another Spanish speaker. The real excitement began, however, after I finished eating.
My meal was delicious. The fish I got was a sabalo. It was bout 14 inches long (35 cm). It was soft and tasty both from the charcoal and from garlic. I ate the whole thing with nothing else. Then I was amazed at how cheap it was—8 pesos for both the fish and the liter of beer. (Less than $3 U.S.)
As I was preparing to leave, a man asked in English, “Was it good?” I then joined him and his wife thinking we would have a brief conversation. Instead, I was with them for the next four hours.
He (Daniel) works for an international agricultural firm and has 3 farms in the area which are his responsibility if I understand it correctly. The company has offices in Chicago, Houston, Mallaga, Buenos Aires, etc. She (Fatima) has been a hospitl administrator but is now a housewife and mother. She also owns an estancia (farm) outside of Victoria. They live in Buenos Aires and have a second home here. Daniel said that most owners of estncias today have homes in town instead of one the fams.. They are here for a week with their children and friends of their children.
They offered to show me around town. We drove through the original part of Victoria. After a flood in the 1800s, they rebuilt the town further from the river and on a hilltop. That is why there are so many old buildings from the same period of the late 1800s and early 1900s in town. They stopped at a craft stand where a man showed me products made from fishskin, from cow´s stomach, and from wild water hogs. They showed me the cattleboats and chutes that are used to bring the cattle from the islands in the river onto the mainland. They showed me the old mines where lime was removed. They took me to a Benedictine Monastery where we toured the old church and then the new one that was build directly on top of it. They suggested that I return by taxi tomorrow morning at 6:30 to hear the monks doing their Gregorian chants. Apparently, they take vows of silence and only two of the leaders are allowed to speak. Then they took me to a golf club owned by one of their friends where we had coffee and cake (roffel?). It was thin layers of crust with rich heavy dulce con leche between.
Tonight is Carnival here in Victoria, and I was asked to join Daniel and Fatima and their family for it. Apparently anyone can rent a costume or make one and join in the celebration. I think it would be too much for me to stay up that late. Instead, I have accepted their invitation to go to the estancia for a cousin for the day tomorrow. They will pick me up at 10Ñ30 and we will drive 60 km (36 miles) to there. All I know is that there are plans to have fish and that I can ride a horse if I want.
As soon as they let me off at the hotel, I rushed to the supermarket to buy two nice bottles of wine (Lattitude 33 Chandon). I will take them for us to have with the lunch tomorrow.
_______
Well, I stayed up and went to Carnival. I went on my own. I didn´t see the family I met today; almost the whole town was there! It was what I wanted Carnival to be. It was all local groups. Many were samba groups, but between them were clowns, kids on bicycles decorated to look like mice, people wearing huge papier maché costumes, etc. There were women wearing hardly anything—mainly thong tights and bouncy beaded belts. There were men dressed similarly, but most of the men wore bikini briefs rather than thongs. There were loud samba drum groups. There were feather headdresses. It was what would be expected from a small town effort. There were no professional groups—just practiced local groups. It was almost 1 ½ hours of constantly passing groups. When the last group passed, it was followed by the first group which had already finished the circuit. I don´t know how long the loop will continue, but I saw it all, and there were still many people just arriving when I left at midnight. Besides the “parde,” many local people came in costume. It was a lot like Hlloween in the U.S., except teenagers and adults were as likely as kids to be in costume. I was surprised at the number of teenage boys there who were in drag. And it amazes me that so many 15-16-year-old girls in such a small town would run around in thongs in front of everyone they know!
It´s been one of the best days of my trip. I am so tired, though. I must get to bed to be prepared for the excitement of tomorrow.
Sunday, Feb. 6
It´s 7:15 p.m., and I am sitting at the station waiting for my 8:00 p.m. bus to Rosario. I have had the most wonderful day. Daniel was at the hotel at 10:40 to pick me up. We went to their Victoria home to get the others who were still getting out of bed after a late night at Carnival.
Soon everhting was organized and packed and we were off to the estancia of Fatima´s cousin. It was about a 50-minute drive to there. I felt guilty because they insisted that I take a front seat alone while 5 of them packed into the back seat nd the children sat in the hatchback area.
There were three ladies at the estancia along with the son of one of the ladies. The two others are close friendss with Ema, the cousin. The house serves as a vacation home, but it is quite large. There were at least 5 bedrooms and 3 baths, a large living room-dining room combination, a kitchen, an office, and a laundry room. Out back is a large swimming pool and quarters for the employees. To the side is a small vegetable garden. Far out front is a pig pin. And all around are fields and fields of crops.
The house is fascinating due to all the antiques inside. It is filled with objects that have been used over the years and are now decorative items—trunks, horsewhips, telephones, sideobards, ranching items, etc. It is almost like a museum of estancia life, but is obviously a warm, cozy home.
Ema and her friends travel as much as or more than I do. They have been to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, the U.S., etc. We talked a lot about thravels we´ve made and ways of traveling. Everyone spoke English quite well, so I didn´t feel as if it was a great effort for them to deal with my lack of Spanish.
Lunch was just like what I have seen in movies about Latin America. There is a long porch along the front of the house. They had set up a long table for the 12 of us. It had plates, bread plates, water glasses, wine glasses, etc. A salad buffet had been set up against a side wall. There were sliced tomatoes, leaves of lettuce, shredded carrots, boiled potatoes with chopped boiled eggs, spinach and boiled egg quiche, sliced cucumbers, rice, soy beans, and probably other things I am forgetting. There were various oils and vinegars to season it all. We each took our plates to serve ourselves. On the table, we had fish empanadas (pies with seasoned, ground fish filling) and fish milanesa (thin filets of fish which were battered and deep fried). It was all so delicious!!
After stuffing ourselves on all that, we ate melon and a sweet pastry—little flaky pastry pockets filled with a sweet fruit mixture and dipped in a sugar water after they were baked. We had coffee in demitasse cups with the name of the ranch and the form of the ranch brand on them.
After lunch, I went swimming with some of the children including the daughter who is studying to be a dentist and her boyfriend who is studying to be a lawyer. Some others took naps. Still others continued to visit.
We all gathered in the living room again (with air conditioning going because of the heat and humidity) around 4:30. We took some group photos and exchanged contact information. Then we had tea at the dining table before rushing to leave around 6:00.
It was a wonderful day. Daniel and Fatima and their children are so nice and friendly and are so esy to be around. Ema and her friends are such relaxed ladies and are so interesting because of their traveling adventures. I imagine this weekend will be the highlight of my South American travels this year.
One interesting side story: After talking for an hour or so with Fatima and Daniel on Saturday, my voice became hoarse. For a month I had not spoken more than 2-3 sentences at a time and more than 3-4 times per day. My vocal chords were not in shape for talking an hour or more.
As I caught my 8:00 p.m. bus for Rosario, I was worried. I would be arriving at 9:30 at night with no hotel reservation and no map. The guidebook said that the bus station would be 30 blocks from the center of town. Andlightning was beginning to flash with such great intensity that rain was guaranteed. How bad it would be to arrive in a city I don´t know, late at night, without a map, and with it raining!
The entire 1 ½ hour trip was across theflood plains of the Paraná River. It was raining hard on us most of the way. But as we entered Rosario, there were signs there had been no rain yet in parts of town and only sprinkles in others. I watched constantly for hotels, not knowing how close or how far away we were from the terminal but wanting to remember what I had seen if the terminal proved to be in the next block. I became more relived as we traveled further into town, realizing it would be easier to walk and find a hotel in an older part of town than in a spread-out suburban area.
The terminal was huge—a former train station changed into a bus station—and I could see a neon hotel sign beyond it. No rain was falling either. Luck was with me so far. I got my luggage and went hotel hunting. It was beginning to sprinkle as I walked out of the terminal. Also, it was then quite obvious that the side street to the terminal and the streets off it were lined with hotels and other businesses. The first hotel I saw was big, had 3 stars on the door, and looked like it hadn´t been remodeled for 20 years. I guessed it would be expensive and dumpy. I went down a small side street figuring it would be quieter and cheaper awy from the terminal. The first place I entered had a room for 25 pesos ($8.37 U.S.). I took it and was pleasantly surprised by the room. It has a large window opening to the top of a rubber tree. It is clean, quiet, and comfortable. So I have decided to stay in it for my second night here, too, rather than moving elsewhere as I had originally thought I would do.
Friday, Feb. 4 (Part II)
Carnival was a bust in Paraná. I walked to the riverfront in the afternoon. A lady at the tourist office told me about carnival tonight beginning at 9:30. I had already noticed they had seating set up like a sambadrome (stadium for carnival) on part of the waterfront.
I walked back to there in the evening. I bought some pastries and ate them, then I paid and entered the sambadrome. I waited and watied and waited. Most of the crowd didn´t enter until after 10:00. The activities didn´t begin until 11:00—1 ½ hours after the scheduled start. Then the pace was so slow it was boring. The first gropup wasn´t even a samba group. It was twirlers wearing high school uniforms and twirling to recorded samba music. At 11:30 they had made it only half the distance down the sambadrome, and it was obvious the second group wouldn´t begin until that group was finished. At the rate it was going, it would take 45 minutes to an hour for each group with lots of waiting between. It just wasn´t worth the time and effort. I left. I had a much better Carnival experience in Puerto Iguazu a few weeks ago just listening to the neighborhood group parcticing there!
Walking: 38,063 steps (27,598 aerobic steps, 1550 calories, 25.87 km (15 ½ miles)
Saturday, Feb. 5
One of the frustrating things about around-the-world travel is that I cannot really shop for anything. I am not much of a shopper anyway, but occasionally I see something I would like. Here in Argentina I have seen 3 things:
1. They have official rugby club shirts of high quality for only $12-15 U.S. per shirt.
2. They have nice quality men´s leather shoes for about $35 a pair.
3. Weather vanes are popular here—fancy ones. I have seen one of a fisherman pulling a fish from the water. There are a couple of friends at home who might appreciate one of those.
I am limited to 1 checked bag on most flights, and I have to have my clothes and supplies in it. Besides, I walk a lot with my luggage. The heavier it gets, the harder it would be to get around. Most of the guidebooks and most of the travel magazines warn against internationl shipping. It is just not reliable from most countries and it is impossible to follow up when a shipment doesn´t arrive.
I made it to Victoria—2 hours through more lush farmland. There are only two hotels in town that I could find, but I was able to get into the cheaper one which is across the street from the bus station. It isn´t a great room, but it is a clean one.
It was lunchtime when I got here, so I walked to the riverfront. I have found a wonderful local place. It was full of people, and I had to wait for a table. I am sitting outdoors on a patio under some type of weeping trees and a net awning. There is a slight breeze. There was no written menu. I have ordered “pescado parrilla para uno persona” (grilled fish for one person). I expect to get some local fish that will be whole and will have been cooked over a wood fire. While I am waiting, I am having a cold beer because it is HOT here.
_______
It´s 7:20p.m. and I am sitting on the square in Victoria. Many people are out. There is a pleasant breeze, so it is a good place to relax. Most people are visiting with friends, some are watching people, and one is reading. It is a nice old town. It is small—maybe 50,000 people. It is filled with ornate old buildings. According to my guidebook, it is known for the elegant and elaborate grillwork on many of the old buildings.
This has been a rare, special travel day. To explain, I must return to the restaurant. Apparently people were aware I was a trouist. After ordering, two men walked by my table as they left, and they said, “Bon Appetit,” to me. That´s not what a Spanish speaker would say to another Spanish speaker. The real excitement began, however, after I finished eating.
My meal was delicious. The fish I got was a sabalo. It was bout 14 inches long (35 cm). It was soft and tasty both from the charcoal and from garlic. I ate the whole thing with nothing else. Then I was amazed at how cheap it was—8 pesos for both the fish and the liter of beer. (Less than $3 U.S.)
As I was preparing to leave, a man asked in English, “Was it good?” I then joined him and his wife thinking we would have a brief conversation. Instead, I was with them for the next four hours.
He (Daniel) works for an international agricultural firm and has 3 farms in the area which are his responsibility if I understand it correctly. The company has offices in Chicago, Houston, Mallaga, Buenos Aires, etc. She (Fatima) has been a hospitl administrator but is now a housewife and mother. She also owns an estancia (farm) outside of Victoria. They live in Buenos Aires and have a second home here. Daniel said that most owners of estncias today have homes in town instead of one the fams.. They are here for a week with their children and friends of their children.
They offered to show me around town. We drove through the original part of Victoria. After a flood in the 1800s, they rebuilt the town further from the river and on a hilltop. That is why there are so many old buildings from the same period of the late 1800s and early 1900s in town. They stopped at a craft stand where a man showed me products made from fishskin, from cow´s stomach, and from wild water hogs. They showed me the cattleboats and chutes that are used to bring the cattle from the islands in the river onto the mainland. They showed me the old mines where lime was removed. They took me to a Benedictine Monastery where we toured the old church and then the new one that was build directly on top of it. They suggested that I return by taxi tomorrow morning at 6:30 to hear the monks doing their Gregorian chants. Apparently, they take vows of silence and only two of the leaders are allowed to speak. Then they took me to a golf club owned by one of their friends where we had coffee and cake (roffel?). It was thin layers of crust with rich heavy dulce con leche between.
Tonight is Carnival here in Victoria, and I was asked to join Daniel and Fatima and their family for it. Apparently anyone can rent a costume or make one and join in the celebration. I think it would be too much for me to stay up that late. Instead, I have accepted their invitation to go to the estancia for a cousin for the day tomorrow. They will pick me up at 10Ñ30 and we will drive 60 km (36 miles) to there. All I know is that there are plans to have fish and that I can ride a horse if I want.
As soon as they let me off at the hotel, I rushed to the supermarket to buy two nice bottles of wine (Lattitude 33 Chandon). I will take them for us to have with the lunch tomorrow.
_______
Well, I stayed up and went to Carnival. I went on my own. I didn´t see the family I met today; almost the whole town was there! It was what I wanted Carnival to be. It was all local groups. Many were samba groups, but between them were clowns, kids on bicycles decorated to look like mice, people wearing huge papier maché costumes, etc. There were women wearing hardly anything—mainly thong tights and bouncy beaded belts. There were men dressed similarly, but most of the men wore bikini briefs rather than thongs. There were loud samba drum groups. There were feather headdresses. It was what would be expected from a small town effort. There were no professional groups—just practiced local groups. It was almost 1 ½ hours of constantly passing groups. When the last group passed, it was followed by the first group which had already finished the circuit. I don´t know how long the loop will continue, but I saw it all, and there were still many people just arriving when I left at midnight. Besides the “parde,” many local people came in costume. It was a lot like Hlloween in the U.S., except teenagers and adults were as likely as kids to be in costume. I was surprised at the number of teenage boys there who were in drag. And it amazes me that so many 15-16-year-old girls in such a small town would run around in thongs in front of everyone they know!
It´s been one of the best days of my trip. I am so tired, though. I must get to bed to be prepared for the excitement of tomorrow.
Sunday, Feb. 6
It´s 7:15 p.m., and I am sitting at the station waiting for my 8:00 p.m. bus to Rosario. I have had the most wonderful day. Daniel was at the hotel at 10:40 to pick me up. We went to their Victoria home to get the others who were still getting out of bed after a late night at Carnival.
Soon everhting was organized and packed and we were off to the estancia of Fatima´s cousin. It was about a 50-minute drive to there. I felt guilty because they insisted that I take a front seat alone while 5 of them packed into the back seat nd the children sat in the hatchback area.
There were three ladies at the estancia along with the son of one of the ladies. The two others are close friendss with Ema, the cousin. The house serves as a vacation home, but it is quite large. There were at least 5 bedrooms and 3 baths, a large living room-dining room combination, a kitchen, an office, and a laundry room. Out back is a large swimming pool and quarters for the employees. To the side is a small vegetable garden. Far out front is a pig pin. And all around are fields and fields of crops.
The house is fascinating due to all the antiques inside. It is filled with objects that have been used over the years and are now decorative items—trunks, horsewhips, telephones, sideobards, ranching items, etc. It is almost like a museum of estancia life, but is obviously a warm, cozy home.
Ema and her friends travel as much as or more than I do. They have been to Asia, the Middle East, Europe, Africa, the U.S., etc. We talked a lot about thravels we´ve made and ways of traveling. Everyone spoke English quite well, so I didn´t feel as if it was a great effort for them to deal with my lack of Spanish.
Lunch was just like what I have seen in movies about Latin America. There is a long porch along the front of the house. They had set up a long table for the 12 of us. It had plates, bread plates, water glasses, wine glasses, etc. A salad buffet had been set up against a side wall. There were sliced tomatoes, leaves of lettuce, shredded carrots, boiled potatoes with chopped boiled eggs, spinach and boiled egg quiche, sliced cucumbers, rice, soy beans, and probably other things I am forgetting. There were various oils and vinegars to season it all. We each took our plates to serve ourselves. On the table, we had fish empanadas (pies with seasoned, ground fish filling) and fish milanesa (thin filets of fish which were battered and deep fried). It was all so delicious!!
After stuffing ourselves on all that, we ate melon and a sweet pastry—little flaky pastry pockets filled with a sweet fruit mixture and dipped in a sugar water after they were baked. We had coffee in demitasse cups with the name of the ranch and the form of the ranch brand on them.
After lunch, I went swimming with some of the children including the daughter who is studying to be a dentist and her boyfriend who is studying to be a lawyer. Some others took naps. Still others continued to visit.
We all gathered in the living room again (with air conditioning going because of the heat and humidity) around 4:30. We took some group photos and exchanged contact information. Then we had tea at the dining table before rushing to leave around 6:00.
It was a wonderful day. Daniel and Fatima and their children are so nice and friendly and are so esy to be around. Ema and her friends are such relaxed ladies and are so interesting because of their traveling adventures. I imagine this weekend will be the highlight of my South American travels this year.
One interesting side story: After talking for an hour or so with Fatima and Daniel on Saturday, my voice became hoarse. For a month I had not spoken more than 2-3 sentences at a time and more than 3-4 times per day. My vocal chords were not in shape for talking an hour or more.
As I caught my 8:00 p.m. bus for Rosario, I was worried. I would be arriving at 9:30 at night with no hotel reservation and no map. The guidebook said that the bus station would be 30 blocks from the center of town. Andlightning was beginning to flash with such great intensity that rain was guaranteed. How bad it would be to arrive in a city I don´t know, late at night, without a map, and with it raining!
The entire 1 ½ hour trip was across theflood plains of the Paraná River. It was raining hard on us most of the way. But as we entered Rosario, there were signs there had been no rain yet in parts of town and only sprinkles in others. I watched constantly for hotels, not knowing how close or how far away we were from the terminal but wanting to remember what I had seen if the terminal proved to be in the next block. I became more relived as we traveled further into town, realizing it would be easier to walk and find a hotel in an older part of town than in a spread-out suburban area.
The terminal was huge—a former train station changed into a bus station—and I could see a neon hotel sign beyond it. No rain was falling either. Luck was with me so far. I got my luggage and went hotel hunting. It was beginning to sprinkle as I walked out of the terminal. Also, it was then quite obvious that the side street to the terminal and the streets off it were lined with hotels and other businesses. The first hotel I saw was big, had 3 stars on the door, and looked like it hadn´t been remodeled for 20 years. I guessed it would be expensive and dumpy. I went down a small side street figuring it would be quieter and cheaper awy from the terminal. The first place I entered had a room for 25 pesos ($8.37 U.S.). I took it and was pleasantly surprised by the room. It has a large window opening to the top of a rubber tree. It is clean, quiet, and comfortable. So I have decided to stay in it for my second night here, too, rather than moving elsewhere as I had originally thought I would do.
Friday, February 04, 2005
Making My Way through Small Cities
Wednesday, Feb. 2
The owner of the residential where I have been staying said that this cold weather is very unusual for this time of the year. He said it was 5 C (41 F)= here yesterday and will still be down to 8 C (46 F) tomorrow. He said it is normally swimming weather now.
______
It´s been a busy, tiring day. I left V.G.B. at 9Ñ30 and arrived in Córdoba at 11:00 with a long list of things to do:
1. Check into hotel. I returned to the Hotel Victoria where I had made a reservation before leaving.
2. Find a laundry. My clothes were almost all dirty. I had seen laundries before, but I didn´t remember exactly where. I walked up and down the nearby streets until I found one I liked. Later, I took my clothes there and then picked them up in the evnening. Total Cost: $ 1.67 U.S.
3. See the Marqués de Sobremonte Museum. This is the only remaining colonial home in Córdoba. I missed it before, because it is closed on weekends. It was interesting to see how people lived in luxury 200-300 years ago.
4. Have lunch. I stopped at a nearby place and had arroz con pollo (chicken and rice). It was a tasty mixture of rice, peas, onions, lentils, cheese, and chicken.
5. Get a bus ticket for tomorrow. I had hoped to leave for Santa Fe (a five-hour trip) around 9:30 or 10:00. The only choices, however, were 7:30 or 1:30. I took the morning departure and dread having to set my alarm tonight.
6. Go the the ATM. One problem here is that banks have their ATMs in locked rooms that require a LOCAL bank card to open the door. It is frustrating and embarrassing to have to wait for someone to enter and then go in behind them before the door closes. That´s what I have been doing. Here in Córdoba, fortunately, there is an alternative. A large mall has an ATM in the lobby, so I went there today.
7. Go to a cyber cafe. It had been 3 days since I had updated my blog. It was a frustrating experience, since I lost an entry when posting to the blog failed. It happens occasionally and is always disappointing. I also checked websites for places in Buenos Aires and sent an e-mail trying to make a reservation at one of them. I should have a response by tomorrow.
It took until 7:30 p.m. to finish all of that. I returned to the hotel and prepared for an early bedtime.
Walking: 22,804 steps (15,737 aerobic steps), 948 calories, 15.5 km (9.3 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 3
As expected, I diodn´t sleep well last night. I never do when I have to rely on an alarm clock. I turned on the lamp and checked the time 4-5 times during the night.
I am now in Santa Fe. It is not a very pretty town in general. There is too much of a hodgepodge of various types of buildings. Among them all, however, are some wonderful older ones. They tend to be ornate with fancy stone carvings or pasterwork. They also tend to have detailed grills over the windows. Often, the outter doors are open giving a view of expensive tile walls and intricately carved inner doors with beveled and etched glass panels.
Santa Fe is also a university town. The biggest and oldest university has 29,000 students and is near my hotel. Because of all the students, the nearby older neighborhood of about 15-20 square blocks is an entertainment district with cafes, restaruants, bars, gyms, etc. It is the summer holidays now, so I don´t know how lively it will be tonight. I may go out walking to see.
My hotel is nice. It´s about 15 blocks from the bus station. I decided on it as the highest rated at the best price within my price range, and it was a good choice. After checking in, I started walking toward townb looking for a restaurant. I saw one with several occupied tables and decided it was worth trying. After entering, I looked around, and the family that had sat in front of me on the bus was dining there. How did we ever end up at the same spot so far from the bus station and not even between it and anything else of significance in town?!!
I ordered one of the menus of the day—palominos rellenos. I had no idea what to expect. Of course, the thought that it could be horsemeat went through my mind because of the name. It seemed to be skirt steak (like is used for making fajitas). It had been rolled around a stuffing of boiled eggs, greens (spinach?), and onions and then grilled. There were three slices. I chose a mixed salad as my side dish (versus fried potatoes).
On the way back from exploring downtown, I got two big dips of ice cream—cinnamon coconut and banana with dulce con leche. Both were delicious, but the latter was the tastiest.
I forgot to mention the bus trip. It was five hours from Córdoba to here. The whole way was through flat, lush farmland. I am not sure what the crops, other than corn, were that were growing in the fields. There was a stewardess who was working hard the whole way. She served us cookies and coffee. Then she served candies. Later, there was another kind of cookie with juice or coffee. Then candy again. Next came sandwiches and popcorn with juice. Then came hot broth as we were crossing the bridge into Santa Fe. (Sandwiches, by the way, are rather horrible here unless a special one like lomito is ordered. A “normal” sandwich consists of thinly sliced mushy white bread with the crust cut off, a very thin slice of meat, a very thin slice of cheese, and another piece of white bread. Yuck!)
I explored the local enighborhood again at night. There are sidewalk cafes everywhere. There is also a nice mini-mall where I bought some olives and a mini-quiche to have for dinner in the room.
Walking: 26,785 steps (21,785 aerobic steps), 1071 calories, 17.78 km (10 ½ miles)
Friday, Feb. 4 (Part I)
This is an area where several rivers come together. The land between Santa Fe and Paraná (32 km/18 miles) is all river flood zones. The Paraná river is so wide that they built a tunnel rather than a bridge to get past it.
It took me less than 2 hours to check out in Santa Fe, walk the 15 blocks to the bus station, catch a bus, come to Paraná, check with the tourist office at the bus station, walk 14 blocks and check into my new hotel. There still are no English speakers anywhere. I walk into a tourist office and ask, “¿Mappe?” They pull out a map. Then I ask, “¿Donde para cuarto para uno persona?” Then I write a price range in pesos on the map according to my judgement of the appropriate price range for the city. The person just jabbers up a storm in Spanish which I can´t follow, but he/she makes marks on the map, looks in the book which lists prices, and writes the price beside the dmark. That´s really all the help I need.
As my guidebook says, the star system is meaningless here in Argentina. Both last night and tonight I am staying in hotels that were listed as 3-star. The one last night was nice—good bed, TV, refrigerator, air conditioning, etc. The one tonight is simple with no TV even and a rather lumpy bed and probably shouldn´t even judtify ONE star. It is only for tonight, however.
I am nursing two sore spots. I walked down the stairs at the hotel last night. At the bottom, there is one more step down into a door well that is lower than the lobby floor. The doorwell flor is dark brown and the lobby floor is white. It didn´t really look like another step down, so I missed it and tumbled across the lobby bumping my hip on the floor. Then on the way to the hotel this morning, my suitcase caught on two broken tiles on the sidewalk and the handle pulled out of my hand. As it feel to the sidewalk, the handle scraped against my ankle taking off a bit of a thin layer of skin.
I think the man who sold me my bus ticket this morning may be cheating the company. He told me “3 pesos” which is what my guidebook said it would cost. But my ticket looked as if it were a student´s ticket and showed itself to be worth 2.40 pesos. He may be earning himself an extra 60 centavos for each ticket he sells that way. Of course, I couldn´t ask for a bus company official to let him know about it, since no one speaks English!
I have walked for 1 ½ hours looking for a place to eat. People must eat at home here. I found quite a few take-out places. The only eating places were either pizza places (selling pizzas that are too big) and a couple of dirty looking places. I finally headed back toward the bus station and found a place near there. It is the kind of place with food prepared and on display on a hot table. I always worry about the food being there too long without enough heat. But I was hungry and tired. I had milanesa. Like milanesa anywhere, it was a battered and fried slice of steak. Here, it had a thick tomato sauce on top of it, then thin slices of ham, then cheese, then slices of tomatoe and finally an olive. So it was a bit like having pizza with a milanesa crust! It was served with fried potato chips and very nice rolls fresh out of the oven—crusty on the outside with heavy, yeasty dough inside. By the way, confirming my eat-at-home theory was a steady stream of customers coming into the restaurant to buy food to go.
Wednesday, Feb. 2
The owner of the residential where I have been staying said that this cold weather is very unusual for this time of the year. He said it was 5 C (41 F)= here yesterday and will still be down to 8 C (46 F) tomorrow. He said it is normally swimming weather now.
______
It´s been a busy, tiring day. I left V.G.B. at 9Ñ30 and arrived in Córdoba at 11:00 with a long list of things to do:
1. Check into hotel. I returned to the Hotel Victoria where I had made a reservation before leaving.
2. Find a laundry. My clothes were almost all dirty. I had seen laundries before, but I didn´t remember exactly where. I walked up and down the nearby streets until I found one I liked. Later, I took my clothes there and then picked them up in the evnening. Total Cost: $ 1.67 U.S.
3. See the Marqués de Sobremonte Museum. This is the only remaining colonial home in Córdoba. I missed it before, because it is closed on weekends. It was interesting to see how people lived in luxury 200-300 years ago.
4. Have lunch. I stopped at a nearby place and had arroz con pollo (chicken and rice). It was a tasty mixture of rice, peas, onions, lentils, cheese, and chicken.
5. Get a bus ticket for tomorrow. I had hoped to leave for Santa Fe (a five-hour trip) around 9:30 or 10:00. The only choices, however, were 7:30 or 1:30. I took the morning departure and dread having to set my alarm tonight.
6. Go the the ATM. One problem here is that banks have their ATMs in locked rooms that require a LOCAL bank card to open the door. It is frustrating and embarrassing to have to wait for someone to enter and then go in behind them before the door closes. That´s what I have been doing. Here in Córdoba, fortunately, there is an alternative. A large mall has an ATM in the lobby, so I went there today.
7. Go to a cyber cafe. It had been 3 days since I had updated my blog. It was a frustrating experience, since I lost an entry when posting to the blog failed. It happens occasionally and is always disappointing. I also checked websites for places in Buenos Aires and sent an e-mail trying to make a reservation at one of them. I should have a response by tomorrow.
It took until 7:30 p.m. to finish all of that. I returned to the hotel and prepared for an early bedtime.
Walking: 22,804 steps (15,737 aerobic steps), 948 calories, 15.5 km (9.3 miles)
Thursday, Feb. 3
As expected, I diodn´t sleep well last night. I never do when I have to rely on an alarm clock. I turned on the lamp and checked the time 4-5 times during the night.
I am now in Santa Fe. It is not a very pretty town in general. There is too much of a hodgepodge of various types of buildings. Among them all, however, are some wonderful older ones. They tend to be ornate with fancy stone carvings or pasterwork. They also tend to have detailed grills over the windows. Often, the outter doors are open giving a view of expensive tile walls and intricately carved inner doors with beveled and etched glass panels.
Santa Fe is also a university town. The biggest and oldest university has 29,000 students and is near my hotel. Because of all the students, the nearby older neighborhood of about 15-20 square blocks is an entertainment district with cafes, restaruants, bars, gyms, etc. It is the summer holidays now, so I don´t know how lively it will be tonight. I may go out walking to see.
My hotel is nice. It´s about 15 blocks from the bus station. I decided on it as the highest rated at the best price within my price range, and it was a good choice. After checking in, I started walking toward townb looking for a restaurant. I saw one with several occupied tables and decided it was worth trying. After entering, I looked around, and the family that had sat in front of me on the bus was dining there. How did we ever end up at the same spot so far from the bus station and not even between it and anything else of significance in town?!!
I ordered one of the menus of the day—palominos rellenos. I had no idea what to expect. Of course, the thought that it could be horsemeat went through my mind because of the name. It seemed to be skirt steak (like is used for making fajitas). It had been rolled around a stuffing of boiled eggs, greens (spinach?), and onions and then grilled. There were three slices. I chose a mixed salad as my side dish (versus fried potatoes).
On the way back from exploring downtown, I got two big dips of ice cream—cinnamon coconut and banana with dulce con leche. Both were delicious, but the latter was the tastiest.
I forgot to mention the bus trip. It was five hours from Córdoba to here. The whole way was through flat, lush farmland. I am not sure what the crops, other than corn, were that were growing in the fields. There was a stewardess who was working hard the whole way. She served us cookies and coffee. Then she served candies. Later, there was another kind of cookie with juice or coffee. Then candy again. Next came sandwiches and popcorn with juice. Then came hot broth as we were crossing the bridge into Santa Fe. (Sandwiches, by the way, are rather horrible here unless a special one like lomito is ordered. A “normal” sandwich consists of thinly sliced mushy white bread with the crust cut off, a very thin slice of meat, a very thin slice of cheese, and another piece of white bread. Yuck!)
I explored the local enighborhood again at night. There are sidewalk cafes everywhere. There is also a nice mini-mall where I bought some olives and a mini-quiche to have for dinner in the room.
Walking: 26,785 steps (21,785 aerobic steps), 1071 calories, 17.78 km (10 ½ miles)
Friday, Feb. 4 (Part I)
This is an area where several rivers come together. The land between Santa Fe and Paraná (32 km/18 miles) is all river flood zones. The Paraná river is so wide that they built a tunnel rather than a bridge to get past it.
It took me less than 2 hours to check out in Santa Fe, walk the 15 blocks to the bus station, catch a bus, come to Paraná, check with the tourist office at the bus station, walk 14 blocks and check into my new hotel. There still are no English speakers anywhere. I walk into a tourist office and ask, “¿Mappe?” They pull out a map. Then I ask, “¿Donde para cuarto para uno persona?” Then I write a price range in pesos on the map according to my judgement of the appropriate price range for the city. The person just jabbers up a storm in Spanish which I can´t follow, but he/she makes marks on the map, looks in the book which lists prices, and writes the price beside the dmark. That´s really all the help I need.
As my guidebook says, the star system is meaningless here in Argentina. Both last night and tonight I am staying in hotels that were listed as 3-star. The one last night was nice—good bed, TV, refrigerator, air conditioning, etc. The one tonight is simple with no TV even and a rather lumpy bed and probably shouldn´t even judtify ONE star. It is only for tonight, however.
I am nursing two sore spots. I walked down the stairs at the hotel last night. At the bottom, there is one more step down into a door well that is lower than the lobby floor. The doorwell flor is dark brown and the lobby floor is white. It didn´t really look like another step down, so I missed it and tumbled across the lobby bumping my hip on the floor. Then on the way to the hotel this morning, my suitcase caught on two broken tiles on the sidewalk and the handle pulled out of my hand. As it feel to the sidewalk, the handle scraped against my ankle taking off a bit of a thin layer of skin.
I think the man who sold me my bus ticket this morning may be cheating the company. He told me “3 pesos” which is what my guidebook said it would cost. But my ticket looked as if it were a student´s ticket and showed itself to be worth 2.40 pesos. He may be earning himself an extra 60 centavos for each ticket he sells that way. Of course, I couldn´t ask for a bus company official to let him know about it, since no one speaks English!
I have walked for 1 ½ hours looking for a place to eat. People must eat at home here. I found quite a few take-out places. The only eating places were either pizza places (selling pizzas that are too big) and a couple of dirty looking places. I finally headed back toward the bus station and found a place near there. It is the kind of place with food prepared and on display on a hot table. I always worry about the food being there too long without enough heat. But I was hungry and tired. I had milanesa. Like milanesa anywhere, it was a battered and fried slice of steak. Here, it had a thick tomato sauce on top of it, then thin slices of ham, then cheese, then slices of tomatoe and finally an olive. So it was a bit like having pizza with a milanesa crust! It was served with fried potato chips and very nice rolls fresh out of the oven—crusty on the outside with heavy, yeasty dough inside. By the way, confirming my eat-at-home theory was a steady stream of customers coming into the restaurant to buy food to go.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
