Stary Night at the End of the Road

Stary Night at the End of the Road

Monday, Jan. 30, Vicuna and Pisco Elqui, Chile

I arrived in Vicuna yesterday morning around 10:00. I didn´t sleep well in my small room in La Serena; it had a severe dip in the middle, so I found myself trying to stay on the edges to keep straight. Anyway, I was up early, got to the bathroom before anyone else, and was lucky that a bus was ready to leave just as I got to the station.

The trip here took a little over an hour winding through a lush valley surrounded by desert mountains. The valley is watered by two lakes that collect snowmelt. We passed one of the lakes--so blue and beautiful in contrast with the dry, brownish-gray mountains. My guidebook describes the plants in the valley as being an irridescent green. I can see where the writer got that idea. It is definitely lush in a fresh, lime-green way.

The first two places I went based on my guidebooks were full. I then stopped at a horrible looking hostel nearby; they had only a double room which I could have by paying 16,000 pesos ($30!). I didn´t even look at the room which I know would have been depressing and might not even have a private bath. Vicuna is a small place, so I started worrying. I looked for a third place I had marked as a possible splurge place, and it wasn´t there. I began to wander the streets looking for places with signs. There weren´t any! (Some people here could make some extra money by renting out rooms during the tourist season!) But as I crossed an intersection, I saw the splurge place down the street about two blocks from where my guidebook had said it would be. They had a room, and it was only $4 more per night than the crummy hostel. (I´ve always said that hotels are better values than hostels. Tourists THINK that hostels are cheap and don´t know better. Also, they like the comfort of knowing they will be around fellow travelers who will visit with them.) Anyway, I took the room and enjoyed having it. It was filled with antiques and two nice beds that had both bedspreads and then crochetted coverlets over those. There was cable TV and a modern, tiled bathroom. There were two windows overlooking a beautiful courtyard. And this morning I had a breakfast with tea, fresh juice, toasted bun, real butter, jam, a slice of ham, and a slice of cake. It felt good to stay in such a nice place!

I went around the corner to a place filled with local people for lunch. I had a salad, roast beef in its juices served with mashed potatoes, and fruit salad (peaches, bananas, and honeydew melon). The meat just fell apart with my fork. UMMM!

I walked to the edge of town to visit the local pisco distillery. Pisco is a local drink made from muscatel grapes. It is a type of an aguardente, similar to cachaca and to tequila. Following the tour, we had tastings of about 6 different drinks. Most people got their premium pisco, their regular pisco, their pisco sour (pre-mixed), their light pisco sour, and a coffee liqueur made with pisco. For me, they pulled out a bottle of their extremely expensive highest-quality pisco and gave me a taste. The latter was smooth and nice for someone who likes straight alcohol, but the full-strenth pisco sour was the best of the lot. It was delicious and tasted a little like a caipirinha.

On the way to the distillery, I saw one of the observatories on top of a nearby mountain. It has a stainless steel dome that was glistening in the sunshine. What this area is known for is the pisco and the observatories.

I returned to my room to rest and relax. I watched a movie on TV. Then I saw a great ballet from Lyon. The title was Mozart-Tango, and it was choreographed by Maurice Bejart (spelling). It was so nice to see good ballet. It´s too bad none of the cable channels in the U.S. tend to show it regularly.

In the evening, I wasn´t hungry. So I went to a local ice cream shop. I decided to have 1/2 liter of ice cream--banana, coconut, and melon. Wow, it was good! The elderly lady who served me sat with me. I couldn´t understand half of what she was saying, but she was sweet and I could tell she liked me. I understood that she makes the ice cream herself. I couldn´t have had a better dinner.

In the late evening, I had a GREAT experience. I had booked myself to go to the city-owned observatory--the only one in the area where normal people are allowed to actually view through the telescopes. First, it was a perfect night with clear skies and no moon. Second, the tour guide Juan was great. I had assumed he was a student of astronomy from his knowledge, but he had a great response to that. He said he is a "tourism engineer" who has had a love of astronomy since he was 12. He added that he finds pleasure in being a "romantic astronomer" and would have no interest at all in serious astronomy. He had such a great sense of humor in how he expressed himself in terms of what he was showing us. And he used a laser which was perfect to point out specific stars and other objects. And the third and final reason it was so great a tour is that it was so thorough and long.

The tour had three parts. First, Juan had us outdoors. He pointed out various heavenly bodies and clusters using the laser and talked about them. We could see so many stars so clearly with just our nakid eyes. It was just amazing. But he had a telescope out there that he would put on things and give each of us a chance to look. He pointed out a star and then let us see through the telescope that it was 2 stars! And he explained that it is really 3 stars with a more powerful telescope. Besides the Milky Way, we could see two other "clouds" in the sky. He pointed out that these are two other gallaxies. And again, we were seeing them with our nakid eyes. In the second part of the tour, Juan took us to the more powerful telescope in the dome. There he showed us things we had seen from outside. But this time, where we had seen maybe what looked like a cluster of 5 stars or another area that looked like a blank part of the sky, he would let us see that there were thousands of stars in each of the areas. It was totally fascinating--a once-in-a-lifetime experience! The third portion of the evening, he took us to the computer and showed us a program called Stary Nights that will allow one to look at any part of the sky with photos taken by astronomers at various telescopes. The program does much more by letting one see what the sky looks like on any night over a 10,000 year period from any spot on the globe or from any spot in space! We had left town at 10:30 for the 15 minute ride to the telescope. It was 1:20 a.m. when we got back to town!!

There is a Danish-Irish couple in town. I kept seeing their signatures everywhere I went--at the tourist office, at the sign-up for the observatory tour, etc. Well, they were the only passengers with me on the bus to the observatory. (Others had their own transporation.) It was fun visiting with them. They live near Evy and Arvind. He´s a physicist from Ireland and she is a Copenhagen native working on a Ph.D. in food science. It was fun to share my knowlege of their city with them.

Today, I took a bus to Pisco Elqui, a smaller town in the valley which is where the paved road ends. It is a quaint, stucco place with a bit of a new age slant to it. It also has a pisco factory--one of the oldest in the area. I toured it and tasted their finest. I wandered the streets. I sat in the square and watched people. It was a day to relax, since I was up so late last night.

I returned to Vicuna to have a late lunch around 4 p.m. I had a local dish called pastel de choclo. It is like a dressing made from sweet corn and sweet corn meal. Baked inside it are pieces of chicken, olives, and other items. It was sweet and delicious. I would enjoy trying to recreate it at home.

I´ve spent the rest of the day in the square relaxing and reading. I finished The Book of Salt by Monique Truong. It was a good book with moments of brillance in the writing. It told the story of a Vietnamese cook who worked for Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas during 5 of the years they were in Paris in the 1930s. Of course, it also tells about their lives and the writers and artists who were around them all the time. I gave the book 3 stars out of 4.

I have a ticket for an overnight bus to Santiago leaving at 10 p.m. That´s two hours from now. I need to post this to the blog and then go pick up my luggage at the hotel. I don´t think I will have anything else to eat. I´m not hungry.

Gypsies

Gypsies

Saturday, Jan. 28, Ovalle to La Serena, Chile

I keep forgetting to mention it, but there are women gypsies begging everywhere here in Chile. I have not been anywhere that a group hasn´t approached. They tend to be in groups of 3-5, and often one carries a baby. They look and dress like gypsies whether they are or not. Typically, they ask for money. Then if you don´t give to them they walk along touching you once and jabbering with the last word being muerto. My guess is that it is a form of putting a curse on someone who doesn´t pay with the curse being the threat of death. Today when one approached me, I just moved it along faster. After saying no, I raised my arm so that her had touched it, and I said, "Jabber, jabber, jabber, muerto." I looked up at her, and she smiled and walked on.

I got up almost too early this morning. I arrived at the market in Ovalle at 8:55. Apparently it doesn´t open until 9:00, because the first stalls were just being opened. That allowed me to wander around as the stalls continued to open--before there were any people in the way. I got some good photos. It is a HUGE market. How all those fruits and vegetables ever get sold and used is amazing. The people were very nice about my taking photos. One thing I can do with my digital camera that helps is that I can show them the photo after I have taken it. All are pleased to see them.

I arrived at the bus station about 1 hr. 15 min. early, and there was a bus standing there to my destination. I went to the ticket window and quickly changed my ticket to that bus. That got me to La Serena around noon. As I noted yesterday, I was worried about finding a place to stay. I just started stopping at places with signs indicating they were some form of lodging. The first place had only double rooms which I could have if I paid for two persons. The next place had a single room, and I took it. I´m sorry I did. It is a VERY small room with a shared bath. I can tell now that there is so much housing in this town that I probably could have found something better. The good thing is that the room is cheaper than anywhere I´ve been in Chile--just $10 U.S. for the night. It´s also close to the bus station so that I can leave easily for Vicuna tomorrow.

I returned to the bus station to get a ticket for tomorrow, and the lady said there is a bus every 30 minutes. I should just show up and take the next bus. They don´t do advanced reservations. Therefore, I headed into town to explore.

La Serena is a surprise to me. It´s a beautiful and clean city that is both colonial and modern in a way that works well. The downtown is full of very elaborately designed building with Spanish architectural features. Even the more modern buildings that have been built there are done in a way that they feature heavy lamps on chains and things like that to make them seem massive and secure buildings like the old ones. The streets have been paved in paving stones with no curbs so that they can be blocked off as pedestrian malls or a lane of traffic can be allowed between the line of metal bumps separating the official wide sidewalks from the one lane of traffic. All buildings have been restored so that they appear to be in perfect condition. On the outskirts, everything is modern--nicely designed modern rather than some of the weird attempts at modern that are often found in South America. Clustered together near where I am staying is a new shopping mall, the new bus terminal and the new courthouse. All could be placed in the U.S., and everyone would comment about how nice each is. My general impression is that La Serena could be placed in New Mexico or Arizona and everyone would think it was a great up-market place to visit. Probably, the number of observatories just outside of town on tops of the mountains has fueled a boom that has allowed everything to be reconditioned and built to this standard within the past few years. This is the only city near any of them, so all the construction people and all the scientists have to come through here.

I found a place filled with local people for lunch. It was actually my second choice, since the first place had no vacant tables. I had the luncheon special at this one. I started with humitas, a sweet corn mixture wrapped in a corn husk. Ummm. Then I had slices of baked chicken with a sauce somewhat like Alfredo. It was a little grainy, so I wonder if some of the local goat cheese was used in making it. That was served with rice. For desert, I had a dish of chocolate ice cream. A very elegant older couple who had been sitting behind me approached my table as they left. The woman asked me what happened with my hand. I explained, and she smiled, patted me on the head, and wished me well. (At least that was my interpretation of it, since she was speaking Spanish.)

Mostly, I´ve just wandered the streets exploring. There are pleasant surprises everywhere here. But I also went to the archeological museum where I saw more of the pottery like I saw yesterday and where I saw an original Easter Island statue. (Easter Island is due west of La Serena.)

It´s now about 6 p.m. I plan to head back out toward my room. I´ll walk over to see the shopping mall inside. At some point I will get a snack there. There is a cinema next door, so if anything is good, I might go to the movies tonight. Probably, I will just go back to my room, read, and go to bed early.

Far into the Desert

Far into the Desert

Friday, Jan. 27, Ovalle, Chile

Well, I have gotten far from civilization again. I´m in a small city in the dessert that is about 2 1/2 hours from any other place. (Tomorrow, I´ll go to one of those places even more remote.) Ovalle has about 60,000 people. The main reasons to come here are for the pottery museum and the market. Also, there are national parks within driving distance that people with cars visit. Before telling about Ovalle, however, here´s the report on yesterday:

I took the train from Valparaiso to Vina del Mar and spent the day there. On the way, I got to see a sight. Later, I could tell from the newspaper what it was. Valparaiso is the home of the Chilean Navy. Many ships were lined up moving up the cost as we moved northward ourselves in the train. There were 3 submarines, big and medium destroyers, smaller gunner boats, very small landing boats, etc. (There´s no telling what passed ahead of the part I saw.) Every boat had men standing at attention on them. I knew something special was happening, because people were standing on balconies in all the apartment buildings watching. Later, I read that it was a parade to honor the newly elected president of Chile. They just elected their first lady president about two weeks ago, and the president´s summer house is a castle-like building on a point at Vina del Mar. She was there reviewing the seamen, I guess.

There is a lot of difference in Valparaiso and Vina. Think of the former as Galveston and the latter as Corpus Christi with them placed so that there is no gap between them. Neither is elegant or sophisticated, but Vina is newer and nicer looking. But there are gems of architecture and beauty within the genrally bad appearance of Valparaiso.

Anyway, in Vina, I explored the downtown area and found a place for lunch. I had their daily special--soup, chicken and rice, and melon served with cola. It was okay, but nothing special.

I walked to the Vina del Mar Hotel and Casino, an elegant establishment on the waterfront. From there, I walked along the beaches for quite a distance watching the people and looking at the apartment buildings opposite them. I cut back to a major thoroughfare from there where a shopping mall was located. I looked inside; it had the usual international shops--Zara, Reebock, Ralph Lauren Polo, etc. As I walked back to the city, I came across two small museums. One, an anthropology museum was not mentioned in my guidebooks, but it had a nice sculpture from Easter Island out front. The other was an art museum, and I went inside for the exhibit. All the paintings were by an Asian artist from the U.S. and were of Asian subjects. They were beautiful paintings. The exhibit was entitled "Humanity and Love." When I got back to the center of town, I went to a park that used to be part of a private estate. It is known for the exotic plants and trees that have been planted there from all over the world. I wandered through the gardens and hiked to the top of a hill. Then it was time to return to Valparaiso.

I bought items at the food store and stayed in my room last night. I needed to go to bed early to get up for my bus this morning. I just read and relaxed in the room.

It was 6 hours here to Ovalle from Valparaiso. Much of the way, we hugged the coast. It is much like the Pacific coast in North America--rocky with occassional beaches. The further we came, the more deserty the land got. There were dusty farms with fences consisting of candelabra cactai planted side by side. Ocassionally there would be a green oasis where someone had dug a well, I guess.

There are two main things to do here. I did one this afternoon. That was a visit to the local museum which has exhibits of pottery by the native peoples who lived here. The pottery was fascinating. They had wonderful shapes they created--human heads, animal bodies, etc. Many of the large jugs had pointed bottems and were designed to be hung by rope through holes on the lips of the jugs. All of the pottery was made between about 1000 and 1500 A.D. I guess the Spanish wiped out the local civilization when they came through.

http://www.c5.cl/erural/tht/material_th2/dia_1_word/modulo_II/webs/navegar_en_seco/museo_limari_archivos/museolimari.html

The other event is the market which is held here 4 days a week I will go to it tomorrow morning. It is the biggest, most colorful market in northern Chile.

I´m a little worried about tomorrow. I will go to La Serena. It is a popular tourist town. It may be overrun with people. I´ve already heard from one place I wrote that they do not have a room available for me tomorrow night. I will catch my bus tomorrow morning and get there in the early afternoon. Maybe I can find housing somehow. I´ll just keep my fingers crossed I guess. In the meantime, I will go out to explore Ovalle this evening.

Wandering the Hills of Valparaiso

Wandering the Hills of Valparaiso

Thursday, Jan. 27, Valparaiso and Vina del Mar

I bought my bus ticket to leave tomorrow morning at 9:30 for Ovalle. It is 6 hours north of here in the area where all the powerful observatories are located. Of course, those observatories are off limits as far as anything other than a guided daytime tour, and they require a car to get to them. But in a few days I will be in a town that has one open to the public at night with bus service to it, and I hope to make a reservation to tour it. Ovalle is not much of a tourist town, but it has a market I want to see and a museum. I will stay only one night. I hope I can find housing when I get there!

I went to the market for lunch yesterday. It has several restaurants upstairs. Unfortunately, each has hawkers outside trying to get you to go to theirs. I would much prefer to read their menu and think. I decided on a small place that didn´t have a hawker and that had a luncheon special posted. First, I was served a large boiling (bubbling wildly when it arrived at the table) bowl of soup. It was onions, tomatoes, a very few chunks of a root of some kind, and oysters--lots of oysters. Of course, I burned my tongue with it even though I tried to blow on each spoonful to cool it down. The next course consised of a fried fish with rice and sliced tomatoes. The fish was battered with a crispy batter somewhat like is used on tempura. That sealed the steam inside so that the fish was somewhat mushy. The soup was much better than the fish.

I returned to my hotel for a nap and to read. Then I went back out around 7:30. First, I went to one of the main squares. It just happened that the only seat I could get was on a bench toward one end of the square where the skateboarders were congregating and practicing. I spent quite a while watching them, not for their talent at skateboarding but for their lifestyle. The younger ones who were skating (mid-teens) were dressed in typical skateboard fashion--jeans low and loose on the hips with underwear showing and t-shirt. The older ones (late teens) seemed to be in transition. Maybe they still skate sometimes, but they weren´t last night. And most of them were dressed up in suits and even with ties. They seemed to be "playing" at dressing up. It was obvious they were a close group even though some were in this transition phase. As a new person walked up, he gave a single kiss on the left cheek of each of the older ones and did a handshake with the younger ones that consisted of a slap of palm against palm followed by sliding into a finger tips-to-finger tips clinch.

As I looked for a place for a sandwich for dinner, I came across another square that had a stage and live music being performed by local people in native costumes. It was like finding a stage in Texas with country and western performers drawing a crowd. There was so much of a crowd that I couldn´t get a good photo, but I could hear well.

Just as I was leaving there, fire trucks arrived. Apparently, there was a fire in a nearby building. It was an old wooden building. I watched from a distance as the fire fighters broke in the front door with an ax and used ladders to get to windows to enter the 4th (top) floor. I never saw a fire, but I got the impression that it might be in the roof area--maybe wiring.

I have found a new sandwich I like here. It is called the churrasco. It was served on a nice bun that reminded me of the ones at Crofutt´s in Bayside, Texas. As the name indicates, it had thin slices of beef that had been cooked over charcoal. It had melted cheese, tomatoes, and mashed avocado. The avocado was messy, but it sure made the sandwich a good one.

I find it interesting that as I move from one country to another in South America the people look so different. They are mostly all descendents of Iberians and local native peoples, but the the Chilean people look totally different from the Argentineans across the border. Wonder what makes the difference? I know there are also many Italians who moved to Argentina, but I doubt that they could account for the big difference in appearance. The Argentineans are more attractive, I think.

Well, I have wandered most of Valparaiso that I want to see. Today, I am taking the train to nearby Vina del Mar. It is a more up-scale resort. I´ll wander around there and see what I think of it.

Question for people who read my blog regularly: As you know, until I broke my thumb I was typing from my handwritten journal to the blog. For the past two weeks, I have been just typing directly to the blog. It makes a difference in the posts. I want to know which is more interesting to read--entries typed from my journal or my spontaneous typings like those of the last few days. Please drop me an e-mail to let me know so that I will know whether to go back to journal writing when my thumb heals or not.

Valparaiso, Chile

Valparaiso, Chile

Wednesday, Jan. 25, Valparaiso, Chile

Well, I made the crossing over the Andes yesterday. It was dramatic and interesting. The mountains are totally different from the Rockies. They are deserty and "loose" rather than rocky. All the rushing rivers coming from the snow melt were chocolate brown in color due to mud mixing into the runoff water. There were glaciers on the tops of the mountains at the pass where we crossed over. It was a slow climb on the Argentinean side, but on the Chilean side, it was a fast switchback road taking us downward. The border crossing took 2 hours. We arrived there at 12:15. They fed us lunch (3 ham and cheese sandwich halves--2 on white and 2 on whole wheat--and a chocolate bonbon filled with cruncy peanut flavoring) immediately as we waited in line behind other buses. We had to eat then, because no animal or plant products (the meat and cheese) is allowed to go across the border. They checked us thoroughly--x-raying our luggage and our carry-on bags. Fortunately, it was ONLY 2 hours. I had read in my guidebook that it took 6-8 hours to cross!!

I was pleasantly surprised to find when I checked out of my hotel in Mendoza that I was charged only for 6 nights instead of 7. It was based on their computer. So I guess when I checked in at 1 a.m. that first night, it didn´t count as a night!

We arrived in Valparaiso at 6:15--about 4 hours earlier than scheduled. I guess that is because the border crossing was brief. Anyway, it meant it was still daylight. I got cash from a money machine at the bus station and then I walked to my hostel. It took about 30 minutes to walk on flat land to the funicular going up to the hill. At the top of the hill, I still had to walk uphill. And two of the blocks were not streets; they were steps. That had not shown on my map. Anyway, I was fairly tired and hot by the time I got to the hostel.

The hostel is a bright, cheery place. Inside, it´s painted in bright yellow with huge colorful paintings on the walls. It´s fine, but I prefer a hotel where I have a private bath and i t is quieter. One advantage is that everyone there is a tourist and there are plenty of chances for conversations. Of course, the tourists all go out at night. I put in earplugs when I went to bed at 11:00 so I wouldn´t be disturbed by them when they returned in the early morning hours.

Valparaiso reminds me much of San Francisco. It is built on many hills. And most of the city was rebuilt after a 1907 earthquake so that much of the architecture is also like that of San Francisco. There is a mixture of nice and slummy all together everywhere. There are great views. And there are TIRING walks to return home when you live (as I do right now) on top of one of the hills. The feel of the city is that it is both prosperous and run down. It´s much bigger than I expected--probably as big as San Francisco. Next door if Vina del Mar. We came through there on the bus yesterday, and I will probably go there by train for a visit tomorrow. It is a more modern, upscale city. I could a sophistication in the dress of the people as we passed through that seems to be lacking in most people here in Valparaiso. I was surprised to find it cooler here than in Argentina. Maybe that is due to being near the Pacific Ocean.

My hostel is in a hostorical district on top of one of the hills. This district, another hill district next to it, and the old market area downtown are all part of a district recommended for UNESCO World Heritage Site designation. It probably will get it. Everything looks old. Some of it is old renewed, and some of it is old decrepid! That´s what gives it character.

After checking in last night, I walked back downhill and found a place for dinner. I had a very nice multi-course meal. I started with an avocado half filled with chicken salad and served with vegetables and shredded lettuce around it. Then I had two sliced of a rolled chicken stuffed with boiled egg and spinach which was served with rice with vegetables mixed in it and a glass of wine. Along with this, there was a roll served with homemade mayonnaise and with homemade salsa. The salsa was like pico de gallo and was fantastic to taste! For dessert, I had a slice of honeydew melon.

Prices here are higher than in Argentina. The Chilean couples who sat near me at the restaurant in Mendoza had told me to expect that. Meals and cyber cafes seem to be about 2 times as expensive. Hotels seem to be about 1 1/2 times the price in Argentina.

Breakfast at my hostel is served late. It starts at 8:45. It´s rather good. There are two kinds of breads, but the better one is a sliced whole meal bread. I had it with butter and three kinds of jams. I also had a slice of it with cheese (2 kinds available). There was also cubes of honeydew melon and coffee. Everyone at the table wanted to know about my hand. One of the ladies is a doctor, so she was very interested in my experience with the hospital. They also all wanted to know about the around-the-world tickets and how they work.

I finished reading The Old Devils by Kingsley Amis. The characters were rather interesting, but I was bored with all the drinking. Their whole lives were lived around getting started on drinking and then drinking for the rest of the day. I swear they must have had 20 drinks per day EACH! I gave the book 2 1/2 stars out of 4.

Spending Update for Argentina: I spent 11 days in Argentina and spent a total of $303.13 for a daily average of $27.56.

Stitches Removed/Ready to Leave for Chile

Stitches Removed/Ready to Leave for Chile

Monday, Jan. 23, 2006, Mendoza, Argentina

Late yesterday afternoon I did as I had planned. The rain stopped, so I went to Parque San Martin, the huge park on the west side of Mendoza. It is a WONDERFUL place. I don´t know of a nicer park anywhere in the U.S. It is clean, neat, and large. There is a very long rowing lake with a nice building housing the rowing club. There is a children´s playground with a carousel, special roads for them to bike or skate, playground equipment, etc. There is a tennis stadium, a football stadium, etc. Mostly, it is just large patches of woodland with medium-sized open spaces scattered throughout. People bring their tables and chairs and set them up wherever they want them. They picnic or drink coffee. They play games nearby. The park is so big that everyone who goes can find a place that is semi-private. It reminds me a little of my favorite park in Copenhagen--Frederiksberg Have--but it is about 50-75 times the size of that park.

On my way back into town, I bought picnic supplies for my room. I got a bottle of Santa Julia Malbec; a package of chunks of cheese, ham, and salami; a package of crackers; and a small bag of stuffed olives. I sat on my bed and enjoyed my meal at 8:00 p.m. without having to wait until the restaurants opened. Then I read for a while before going to bed around 11:00.

Today, I went back to San Jorge Tramatological Center. To me, my wounds where they put in the two pins still looked rather pussy and bad. But Sergio took out the stitches and cleaned them well. Then he put the splint back in place and wrapped me up with gause and paper tape. He told me to clean the wounds in one week, so I will have to buy supplies for wrapping and taping it again and some hydrogen peroxide for the cleaning. Then in two weeks, I have to have an x-ray to see if the bone has healed. If it has, I will go to a similar clinic to get the pins removed. If not, I will wait two more weeks and have another x-ray. If all goes well, I could be half-way toward using my thumb again already.

I ate assado (charcoal-grilled meat) for lunch today. A restaurant down the street had it as one of their luncheon specials. I got three slices of beef and one piece of sausage along with fried potatoes, a small loaf of bread, and a 500 ml cola for $2.33 U.S.

Tonight, I will snack in my room again. I have crackers and olives left from last night. That should be enough to take care of my needs after that lunch. Tomorrow morning, I will check out of the hotel and go to the bus station after breakfast. I´ll miss one aspect of my hotel: Every time I have left the room, even after my afternoon naps, someone has come into the room to make up the bed so that each time I enter it is fresh and nice looking!

My bus for Valparaiso, Chile, leaves at 9:30 tomorrow morning. I´ll travel all day getting there at 10:30 at night. Much of the time will probably be spent at the border crossing. I have heard that it can take up to 6-8 hours to get through there. Anyway, I will be in another country I have never visited before, and to get there, I will cross over one of the great mountain ranges of the world (and go through a 1.5 mile-long tunnel through the mountains). I won´t have a chance to update the blog tomorrow, but I will try to get online Wednesday to tell all about the crossing and my reactions to being in Chile.

Cool, Rainy Sunday

Cool, Rainy Sunday

Sunday, Jan. 22, Mendoza, Chile

Clouds moved in early in the evening yesterday, but no rain came. This morning, however, a drizzle started. It is now early afternoon and light rain continues. The forecast calls for it to start clearing by the evening. I hope it will. I had planned to go to the big park here--the biggest and nicest in all of Argentina--today. If the weather improves, maybe people will get out and going there will still be possible.

Besides the rain, it is cool. The temperature is about 68 F (18 C). It reminds me of many summer days in Denmark. It´s a good day to stay inside. I did that all morning, but I needed to leave the room so that the maids could clean it. If the weather doesn´t improve, I will go back there and just read for the rest of the day.

Because I had a very light lunch yesterday, I wanted a nice dinner. To have a nice dinner here, however, means a late dinner. Restaurants don´t even start serving dinner until 9 p.m. And at that time, it is only the tourists who are at them. Local people go out for dinner around 10:30-11:00 p.m. I spent most of the evening yesterday just waiting until I could go to eat. I went to Plaza Independencia and read and watched people. I wandered around neighborhoods. Along with 3-4 other tables of tourists, I showed up at the restaurant at 9:15.

I chose a pasta place that had been recommended by my guidebook. I sat at a table on the sidewalk out front so that I could watch people strolling up and down the street. My fellow diners included a lone man about 45 years old from Germany, two couples from Chile, and another lone man about 40 years old who had light features and was probably from someplace like Holland. Others who came were too far from me to see or hear them.

I was so hungry that I over-ordered. The waitress said I had to decide on a pasta from a long list and then decide on a sauce from another long list. First, I decided to have the Canneloni Verdura, four canneloni stuffed with a mixture of ricotta cheese, pumpkin, spinach, and other ingredients I cannot remember. That just sounded good to me. The waitress suggested a sauce that had garlic, basil and cheese. Then she asked if I wanted one of the appetizers--meatballs, salad, or chicken in sauce. The appetizer was only another $1.15, so I ordered the meatballs. To go with it all, I ordered a small bottle (half-size) of malbec by Trapiche. They brought a basket with cheesy breadsticks and round rolls. The meatballs were big. There were 3 of them in a tasty tomato sauce. I could have made my meal on them and the bread. The four canneloni were delicious, too, and were so rich in taste. I barely finished them, mainly because I was not only full but the flavor was just too rich to eat more. Instead of being creamy inside as I expected, they were rather dry--just the grated vegetables mixed into the ricotta cheese and rolled up inside the pasta. The bill for all that, including a good tip, totaled just less than $8 U.S. I waddled back to the hotel around 10:45.

Even a half bottle of wine was too much for me. I spent much of the evening feeling dehydrated and somewhat tipsy. I guess I need to start asking whether they have a wine they sell by the glass when I go to restaurants. And I need to start eating my big meal at lunch and having only a snack for dinner.

It being Sunday, I am not sure what I will do about eating today. Many restaurants stay closed. When I leave the cyber cafe, I will see if there is a place for lunch. I may just go to the supermarket and buy things I can eat in my room. They sell packets in the meat department of the ends of salamis and hams and cheeses that have been cut into chunks. They also sell small plastic packets of olives. So I might picnic on that. I can also check out the deli department if I don´t find a restaurant.

Saturday at the Bodegas (Wineries)

Saturday at the Bodegas (Wineries)

Saturday, Jan. 21, Maipu, Argentina

I took the bus to Maipu this morning. It is the center of the wine district around Mendoza. Actually, my bus only took me to the first winery out in the country--Bodega La Rural. According to the guidebooks, it is the one winery to visit if you can only go to one. It is an old one, and they have a great museum stocked with equipment they have used through the years. I got there at 9:30 and was guided by Pablo, a cute college student in dumpy looking dress. There were three Spanish speakers and me in the tour. He would explain each thing in Spanish and send the others to look around while he then explained it all to me in English. I thought it interesting that he had such a serious look when he explained in Spanish. Then as soon as he started in English, his face broke into a warm smile. It was a good tour--one hour long--showing the old cowhide baskets and grape crushing equipment originally used, followed by the woven baskets and wooden buckets with poles that are turned to crush the grapes, followed by the more modern process using plastic baskets to collect the grapes and concrete vats with stainless steel rods with curved blades to move the grapes into the crushers. We went into their old cask room with the huge wooden casks manufactured in France and shipped in pieces here where a local man put them together, into their modern cask room with the smaller wooden casks bought already formed today from France and the USA, into their modern fermentation vat area, etc. It was comprehensive and good. At the end, we stopped at the tasting room where they only give tastes of special vintages they sell at the winery (so that retailers cannot be upset with them being competetitors). They make serveral brands of wine--San Felipe, Familia Rutini, and TrumpeTer--and their wines are exported to the US.

I walked from there into the town of Maipu. It´s a small city with a beautiful central square. The square has a wonderful fountain and lots of colorful flowers lining its walkways. I had a snack at one of the local places (an Argentinean hot dog called a super pancho). Then I went to two other wineries. One, Antiqua Bodega Giol, has seen better days. The other, Bodegas Lopez, is a very modern winery. Both had their own atmosphere. I was too late for the tour at Bodegas Lopez, however, since their last tour on Saturdays is at 12:30.

I got on the Internet after getting back to Mendoza and was disappointed that I still hadn´t heard from the hotel where I had hoped to stay in Valparaiso. I did have a second e-mail from another place, so I wrote to ask them to reserve the room for me. Two minutes after I finished writing them, an e-mail came in from my preferred place. I wrote them back telling them that they were too late. It´s too bad. Where I will stay is cheaper, but I have to have a shared bath on the hall. My prefered place is much nicer and has a private bath. I´ll live. And the guy at the other place has been too nice for me to write back and cancel right after confirming I wanted the room. Now I need to go to the bus station and buy my ticket for Tuesday before all the seats are sold.

Tomorrow should be a quiet day. Not much happens in Argentina, even in big cities, on Sundays. I will probably go to the huge park on the west side of town and take my book. Will write about it in a day or two.

Postponed Trip to Wineries

Postponed Trip to Wineries

Friday, Jan. 20, 2006

My stomach was uneasy through the night, so I postponed the trip I had planned for visiting wineries today. I knew that tasting wine just didn´t sound nice to me. As the day has progressed, I´ve felt much better. I had lunch at 1:30 and have experienced no side effects from it. I ate roasted chicken with a garlic over it and potatoes with a Sprite. I had intended to wait until Monday or Tuesday to try to go to the wineries, but now I am thinking I might try to go tomorrow. Saturdays are probably extra busy, but maybe I´ll get personal attention with my hand in a cast!!

I tried to go to a museum about the history of the city, but it is closed all month. It seems that almost everyone takes vacation here in January, so many businesses and establishments just close for the month to let their employees off. I did go to a museum yesterday which is where the center of Mendoza was before the big 1863 earthquake that destroyed the city. The museum displays the foundations of the original buildings and has photos and diaramas of what the city was like before the earthquake. It´s because of that earthquake that it is such a nice city today--planned and developed with wide streets and many parks.

I´m working on trying to get reservations for Valparaiso, Chile for next week. The day bus that goes over the mountains doesn´t arrive there until 10:30 p.m. I definitely do not want to arrive that late without having a place to stay! Anyway, one place has openings for some of the nights I will be there. I´m waiting to hear from another.

My Argentinean Doctor(s)

My Argentinean Doctor(s)

Thursday, Jan. 19, Mendoza, Argentina

I went to the doctor today. I guess "Sergio" is my lucky name these days. That was the name of the policeman who helped me find a hotel two nights ago, and that is also the name of my doctor! He seems great. The reason that I put the "s" on "doctor" above, is that there was another lady doctor who was with me as my translator. Sergio speaks a little English, but she speaks more. So while Sergio removed my temporary splint and worked on me, the lady doctor stood there talking to me. All the time, the waiting room was full of patients, so I know I was being favored. Unfortunately, Sergio didn´t do what had been planned for today--taking out the stitches and putting a hard cast on the hand. The two holes with the stitches looked a little pussy. He put an antiseptic on them, and I think he wants them to clear up more before taking out the stitches. He put the splint back in place a little looser than the other one which had been very tight. He suggested that I see another doctor next Tuesday to have the stitches removed. I realized the difficulty of finding another doctor, so I suggested that I might just stay here and come back to him. When I did that, he said we could do it on Monday so I wouldn´t be delayed too much in continuing my travels. I am looking forward to the ease of seeing him again and getting it done. I wish I could come back again in four weeks to have him remove the cast, but I probably won´t be anywhere near here. Anyway, my office visit cost $10, and the one on Monday will be the same. Since he´s a specialist, it would have cost me a co-pay of 4.5 times that much to see him in the U.S. with my insurance company!!

Merryl told me that I needed to get more calcium into me so that my break will heal fast and well. One of the ways I have decided to do that is through ice cream! The two best ice cream shops in Mendoza are across the street from each other only one block from my hotel! I went to one yesterday and again today. I got about a pint each time of three flavors. The only flavor that was a dud was vanilla. Yesterday, I got dulce de leche con nuez, chocolate Nevada, and coconut. But coconut has always been bad for my stomach, and my stomach is feeling uneasy. So today I got dulce de leche (without nuts), chocolate (without nuts), and vanilla to make it easier on my stomach. The ice cream is really delicious, and the coconut was the best of all of them. Tomorrow, I will try lemon, I think, as a flavor. I don´t know what else I will get.

Mendoza has wonderful plazas where people gather day and night (but especially at night). The biggest one is Plaza Independencia. It´s about 4 blocks square and right in the center of town. At night, it is filled with lovers, stollers, entertainers, skaters, bikers, etc. I spent part of the evening there last night watching people. There are many smaller one-block square plazas scattered around town, too. One of the nicest of these is the Plaza España. It has wonderful tile sidewalks through it and seating areas covered in beautiful tiles. I stopped there yesterday afternoon to read my guidebook and watch people. All of these plazas are full of social life; it is such a nice thing to see and enjoy.

I´m doing lots of sleeping here. I guess I was behind after my two nights of bus sleeping followed by a late night caused by hotel hunting. Yesterday, I napped for 2 hours in the afternoon. Then I slept from 9:30 last night until 8:00 this morning. Then I took another 1 1/2 hour nap this afternoon!

I haven´t had a good meal yesterday or today because, as I said above, my stomach has been uneasy. Besides the ice cream, I bought bland things to eat for last night--crackers, a liter of milk (for the calcium), and a banana. Each morning I have breakfast at the hotel--slice of cheese, slice of ham, 3 types of bread, butter, jam, and coffee or tea. That´s the most exciting meal of the day so far. I had the ice cream today at lunch time. Then I ate some more crackers and a banana around 5 p.m. I will probably buy more milk to drink tonight and have it with crackers. Maybe I will feel like eating tomorrow!

Since I am staying here through Monday, I will try to get a bus ticket to take me into Chile for Tuesday. I plan to go to Valparaiso first. Anyway, that means I will miss seeing San Juan, a city north of Mendoza. The guidebooks don´t really promote it much. It´s just another place where there are some vinyards that can be toured. Otherwise, people going there need a car to see the sights in the mountains nearby. I had also planned to go to San Rafael while in this area. It´s considered to be a mini-Mendoza. But now I have decided to try to stop there on my way back from the lake district of Argentina. I can pass through San Rafael as I make my way toward Iguazu for my flight home. So, if all goes well, I will cross through a pass over the Andes and be in Chile next Tuesday or Wednesday.

Travel Troubles

Travel Troubles

Wednesday, Jan. 18, Mendoza, Argentina

Well, after leaving the internet cafe yesterday, life became quite a hassle. I got to the bus station at 1:30 for my 2:30 bus. It didn´t come. We got word it had broken down and would be there at 4:00. At 4:45, they were saying it would be there at 5:25. Most people were continuing to wait rather than pay 2 pesos more (67 cents) for another company. I decided to cash in and move over to the other company. Their bus arrived just 10 minutes late, but I didn´t get to Mendoza until 9:10 p.m. due to the delays and taking the later bus.

The next hassle was with the taxi driver. The tourist office at the bus station said it wasn´t safe for me to walk to where I was going at night and that I should take a taxi. Well, I got in line and took one. The bus driver didn´t recognize the name of the hotel I wanted. Then when I told him the intersection near it, he didn´t seem to understand where that was. I made him stop and let me out. I walked back to the bus station to get another taxi. Of course he was there, too, and yelled that I was loco as he drove past. The next taxi driver knew exactly where I wanted to go and took me directly there.

The biggest problem, however, came next. Mendoza is full of tourists. Although my guidebook says that there are plenty of hotel rooms other than during their wine festival in March, every hotel was booked solid. I slowly worked my way out from the center of town going from hotel to hotel to hospetaje, to residential, etc. Some of them were real dumps, and all were full. What is strange is that I found 2-3 places with a double room free, but they wouldn´t let me have them although I was willing to pay the double rate. Could there be a city rule to assure that room capacity is used more completely to justify their actions? Anyway, at midnight, I walked into the police station on Mitre Street. Sergio, the man on duty did not speak English, but I spoke enough Spanish to get him to understand where I had been and what had been happening. He sent me to two more hotels near there that I hadn´t tried. Of course, they were full, too, and I returned. Apparently his shift was ending; I heard him say something to someone in side. Then he put me into his car and started driving. Many places we passed, I had already been and told him so. At 1:00 a.m., he was talking about sleeping in the dormitorio. I never understood whether he meant that he needed to stop helping me and go to the police dormitory where he sleeps or whether he was also indicating that I could go there, too. Anyway, we tried one more street with 3 hotels, and the third hotel had a room. I couldn´t believe it. I thanked Sergio profusely, and then he left for the police dormitory.

I was groggy this morning from not sleeping long enough or well enough during the night. The hotel is plain, but it is fine. The walls are clean and bright, the sheets are crispy white, the bathroom has plenty of warm water, etc. There is a ceiling fan, and breakfast is included at a cost of $13.33 per night for the room. I´ve decided to stay at least 4 nights rather than try to find something with more amenities.

This morning, I went to the tourist office and received great help from Mariana there. She spoke English well. She called to find a clinic where I can go tomorrow. I have to have my stitches removed and a new hard cast put on my hand. She found two places, and I have decided to go to the one where the doctor specializes in hand surgery only. He should know exactly what to do just by looking. But just in case, I have a translation of what has happened and what needs to be done that I will print and carry with me to his office tomorrow.

I´m glad I had already decided not to come to South America in January and February again. It is just too difficult to try to travel here then, since everyone is taking vacations. The economy here has bounced back to where people feel comfortable spending, I guess. There are FAR more tourists this year than I encountered at this time last year. I´m worried about the rest of my travel plans. I may have to change them to try to go where local tourists don´t want to go. I´ll try the next stage or two to see if the problems with buses and accommodations continue, then I´ll make a decision about what to do.

Mendoza is a beautiful city. It reminds me somewhat of Toronto. It´s very European in feel, yet modern in looks. The air is fresh. Everything is very clean. If someone were dropped off here, he would never guess he was in South America except for the language. There are sidewalk cafes everywhere, and there are nice parks scattered all over the city. Mountain water is rushing down cobblestone gutters throughout the city.

I will go visit some wineries on Friday, I think. The tourist office showed me where to go by bus to get to a road that has a winery every 1-2 km along it. I can walk and visit each. In the meantime, I must spend some time doing some advance travel planning to assure I can get a bus out of here and have a place to stay at my next stop!

Leaving for Mendoza

Leaving for Mendoza

Tuesday, Jan. 18, San Luis to Mendoza, Argentina

I was unable to get a ticket to San Rafael for today. The only bus was already sold out. It´s too bad, there is a road straight from here to there that looks interesting on the map and would allow me to make a triangle going to San Rafael and then Mendoza. Now I will have to backtrack on the same road between San Rafael and Mendoza. There is one advantage, however. I will stay in Mendoza for 2 days before heading to San Rafael so that I can see a doctor there to take out my stitches either Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning and put a permanent cast on my had. Mendoza has 1 million people while San Rafael has only about 150,000, so it may be easier finding a doctor in Mendoza to help me.

Yesterday was a nice day here in San Luis. I walked a lot exploring the city. It´s a pleasant place. I made a bad choice for lunch, however. I saw a place having a promotion. Quite a few people were entering, so I decided to try it. It was an all-you-can-eat buffet for about $2.75. There was Chinese food, Italian food, Argentinean mixed grill, etc. All of it was okay, but nothing was great. A woman saw me cutting my food with the side of my fork and came to my table insisting on cutting my food into bite-size pieces to make it easier for me to eat. That´s the first time anyone has done anything like that for me since I broke my thumb.

I stopped at the local tourist office again yesterday hoping someone would speak English. One man said he did, but then he managed to totally misunderstand what I needed and to not communicate anything meaningful to me. First, I asked him about buses from here to San Rafael and whether it was necessary to go through Mendoza. He heard that I wanted to visit San Martin de Mendoza and showed me where it is just off the map for San Luis Province. Even showing him my map and San Rafael on it did not clear that up. Then I asked him where a street is that has a restaurant that my guidebook highly recommends. He made a face about the restaurant and never showed me on the map where the street is. He proceeded to tell me about two places. For one, he had a brochure showing it to be the usual overpriced tourist place with Argentinean mixed grill. I wasn´t interested in that. Then he told me about another place nearby that sounded like it might be okay. I asked him to show me its location on the map. He gave me very poor oral directions and never pointed to the map. I went to where I thought he said it would be and could not find it. If he had pointed to a location on the map, there would have been no problem for me! Anyway, seeing him did not help me in any way. He thought he had been very helpful, however. I had given up searching for the restaurant he recommended when I found the crummy place where I ate. How sad he couldn´t have just pointed to the map to show me the street I wanted and to show me the location of the place he recommended.

I went to the local mall late yesterday. I had hoped there might be a film to see. But nothing they were showing was anything I wanted to see. Both Pride and Prejudice and Munich are coming, and I would have liked to have seen either of those. Instead, I bought some cola and returned to my hotel. There is a small place next to my hotel that sells pizza and empanadas to go. I bought two meat empanadas and took them to my room for dinner. Even though lunch hadn´t been good, I was still mostly full from it.

I have finished reading Cloud of Sparrows by Takashi Matsouka. It´s a book about the end of the Shogun era in Japan as outsiders began to come to the islands. I had never heard of the book. It was given to me by Robert when I was in Copenhagen. It´s a good story, however, and rather well written. I give it 3 stars out of 4. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0440240859/qid=1137507723/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-7164460-4706467?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

My bus is scheduled to leave San Luis at 2:30 p.m. today for the 3-hour trip to Mendoza. Since the bus comes from elsewhere, it may be late. But the sun doesn´t go down here until 9:30 or so at night. That should give me plenty of time for finding a hotel once I arrive in Mendoza. I have already picked out 4 possibilities from my guidebooks and have marked them on my guidebook map.

Spending Update: Not including my medical expenses of approximately $3200, I spent $100.33 in Brazil over 6 days for an average of $16.72 per day. Since leaving Texas, I have traveled 146 days spending $1632.13 for a daily average of $11.18 and a monthly average of $338.40.

Two Nights and the Following Day on the Bus

Two Nights and the Following Day on the Bus

Monday, Jan. 16, San Luis, Argentina

the shift keys on this computer stick, so i will be typing e. e. cummings style--all lower-case letters....

well, i am finally where i needed to be to start my new travels through argentina and chile. it took me two nights and the following day on buses to get here, however. i was so dirty and so tired by the time i got into a room (for the first time in 3 days)!

i wrote earlier about the first bus. in fact, i talked about how nice it was. well, the second night put it into perspective. that first bus must now be compared to tourist class on a plane. and my second bus was like business class on a plane. the seats were wide with a wide armrest between them. there were two seats on one side of the aisle and only one on the other to give an idea of how wide they were. the meal was much better, too. it started with an appetizer plate that had 3 swords with cheese and two kinds of salamis on them, a slice of ham and a slice of cheese, a slice of spinach quiche, and two bread rolls. the hot plate that followed had a chicken breast with yellow rice. the drinks looked like the usual soft drinks, so i chose a tall glass that i thought had water in it. instead, it was an alcoholic drink somewhat like a caipirinha. what a surprise to taste that when i expected water! a second drink was offered, and i took a pink-colored softdrink that time.

i compared the two buses above to traveling by plane. what was interesting was the feeling that i was on a plane. i guess it came from the comfort level and from being served food and drinks. anyway, it was so strange to feel the "plane" speeding up and making sharp turns even while dealing with turbulance! i only had these sensations while the food was in front of me.

we arrived in cordobá on time, so i was able to get a ticket for the day bus to san luis. it left at 9:30. this was definitely bus class and not comparable to any form of flying! in fact, it was much like a bus in the u.s. we hadn´t gotten out of cordobá before we had problems. apparently a belt broke. we sat for an hour while the repairmen came and replaced it. then the a/c wasn´t used the rest of the day--apparently to be sure that the engine didn´t overheat again. it was a warm trip. 10 hours after departure, we arrived in san luis. i had traveled 30 1/2 hours on buses over the previous two nights and that day!

i was so tired and dirty when i arrived here yesterday. and it took me 1 1/2 hours to find a hotel. the first place was too fancy and expensive; the guidebook had rated it incorrectly. luckily, i found the tourist office and it was open. they gave me a map and marked the places in the price range i wanted to pay. i went to the nearest one and which was also nicer than most they marked, and it was closed while the owners are on vacation. i went a few blocks away to the next one and didn´t like it; it had no window and no fan and just felt too enclosed. Fortuna tely, the third place worked. it has a window, a ceiling fan, a tv (only with local channels and espn), hot water shower, and costs less than $7 per night.

after checking into the hotel, i went directly to dinner. it was 8 p.m., yet most places were only beginning to open. people eat late here. i found a lomito place and had a BIG lomito sandwich (9 inches in diameter with a slice of steak, a slice of ham, a fried egg, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. I also drank a dark Quilmes beer (1 liter) with it. The meal was less than $4. i returned to the hotel and slept well and for a total of 10 hours. the air was cool and fresh, so i was quite comfortable.

san luis is a clean, nice town of only about 150,000 people. i am exploring the city today. most of the things to do here are outside of town and require private transportation. i could get to an old mine and a couple of towns by bus, but it isn´t really interesting enough to me for me to make the effort. i want to relax and enjoy the city today. i will also see if i can get a bus to the next place i want to go (san rafael) without having to go through mendoza. i´m right on the edge of the wine district here, and will be in it in both of those towns. i will leave for one of them tomorrow.

well, that should bring you up to date. you can see that i am typing more. the pain i had the first couple of times i tried to type has mos tly gone away. my thumb continues to hit the space bar, but i have tried to go back and delete all those extra spaces. today is one week from when i had the surgery. that means i have 3-5 weeks to go before all of this will be in the past and there will be no more cast on my hand. that doesn´t sound like much time at all!

Night Buses

Night Buses

Saturday, Jan. 14, Resistencia, Argentina

I made it he re on time t his morning and then had another problem--finding a bus from here. Everyone kept telling me the re was nothing until tomorrow or Monday night. It´s because it is a weekend and because it is vacation season here. Anyway, one place wanted to rout e me an out of the way routing tha t w ouldn´t begin until tomor row night and would involve 3 buses and cost a lot of money. Finally, I found one company that has ONE remaining seat on a bus for Cordoba for tonight. I took it. I will leave a t 8:15 and will get there at 7 a.m. tomorrow. It is still 7 hours from San Luis where I want to be. I am hoping there will be a seat on a day bus from Cordoba to there tomorrow. Otherwise, I think I will have to spend a night in Cordoba. I can´t travel 3 nights in a row on a bus without bathing or shaving.

So fa r, I have been only in places where I have already been before. I knew this town immediately when I saw t he bus station. I remembered how to get to town, where the hotel was where I stayed last year, where I at e, etc. Cordoba will be the same. When I leave there, however, I should be in new territory.

I had to go to an ATM again today. Yesterday, I made a mistake in Puerto Iguazu. I was in a hurry, since Merryl was waiting to go to the falls. I knew I wanted $250 (which would be about 750 pesos). I put 250 into the machine rather than 750, so I got less than $100 worth of currency. Well, after paying for our admissions to the park yesterday, paying for my ticket to here, paying for my ticket to Cordoba, etc., I was already running out of money this morning. Today, I withdrew another 700 pesos and should be fine now for a few days.

I spent most of today at a park in the center of town. I relaxed a nd watched people. I read from the book I am currently reading. I sat on benches. I sat on the grass at one time. I even napped briefly once on a bench. It was nice to have a whole day doing nothing. It reminded me of the wonderful summer days I often had in Copenhagen when I was there andArne was working, and I would go to the park for the day. Time slows down when one does something like that. It´s a feeling I associate with childhood when days just seem so nice, yet seem to last forever!

Occasionally, I went walking. I stopped at an ice cream parlor around noon and had a tr ipple dipper--dark chocolate, banana with dulce con leche, and lime. All were refreshing and delicious. But I discovered it isn´t easy to deal with a triple dipper when one hand is in a cast. I managed, however. Later in the afternoon, I st opped at a local place and had a fantastic lunch--carne con arroz. It was a very flavorful rice that had spices, chunks of pumpkin, pieces of tomato, etc., in it along with chunks of beef. Also, it had all been sprinkled with a delicious grated cheese such as Parmesan and was served with Italian-style rolls. I got a liter of Coca Cola to drink with it. The meal with the drink cost only about $2.25!! And the crowd and music provided nice entertainment while I at e. The people were all local characters--some eating and some socializing over liters of beer. The music was very Argentinian.

I am back at the bus sta tion with about 2 hours to go before my bus departs. I have to finish this, get my luggage out of storage, and find the bay where the bus will depart. I doubt it will be as nice as the bus l ast night. The seats were far apart, reclined greatly, and had leg rests t hat lowered between the seatback in front. Also, they served a warm meal (battered file t of chicken with mashed potatoes), crackers, and peach halves in syrup along with a cup of soft drink. Then they served coffee and cookies this morning. They also showed an English film I had not seen, but I was too tired to watch it. I went to sleep almost immediately and appreciated that I had no seatmate for the first 4 hours of the 10-hour ride.

On My Own Again

On My Own Again

Friday, Jan. 13, 2006, Puerto Iguazu, Argentina

I am in Iguazu waiting for my 9:30 p.m. bus to Resistencia, Argentina. Merryl and I were here today to see t he falls. She has gone back to Brazil now. Our t ime toget her has ended.

Plea se excuse t he typing. My a thumb is in a hard cast. It bumps the space ba r oft en, leaving spaces be tween letters within words. I am sure everyone who reads this blog is sma rt enough to figure out what t he wo rds are, how ever!

Merryl got well ra ther quickly from her stomach problems. We hdad a nice flight to Iguazu together, and we checked in at the nice hotel where I stayed last year. This year, however, it cost twice as much, since another company is running it! Ye s te r day, we tour ed t he falls on the Brazilian side. Last night, we ate at the nic est churrasca ria (all you can e at barbecued meat of many kinds along wit h a salad bar . Today, we saw the Argentinian side of the falls. Both experiences aare grea t. Yest erday, we were lucky that the temperatures were rather mild. Today, we had lots of steamy heat. But then it rained as w e left t he park and cooled t hings off.

I could not get a bus to San LUiz where I wanted to go. I couldn´t even go to Cordoba, another big city nearby without waiting for 4 days. That is why I am going to Resistencia. It is 10 hours in that direction. Maybe I will have good luck getting a bus from there tow a rd where I want to be. Will see.

The power went off at t he caber café after I had written 3 paragraphs. I have now reconstructed it. What a hassle with my b roken thumb. Typing causes some pain where the pins are located under my cast.

WEll, that brings everyone up to date on what is happening here. Merryl Hill fly back to San Antonio tomorrow ( including tomorrow night). I will work my way toward San Luis, a nice city near the wine district. I am a little worried about the number of t ourists this year. It seems to be more than last year, so I may have problems getting bus tickets and rooms as I go along. That´s one reason why I want to change my traveling months. I do not want to be in South America in Jan. and Feb. When everyone is traveling.

I´m doing fine. There is no problem moving around with my hand in a cast. I can st ill carry my backpack and suitcase easily. When I broke my wrist 25 years ago, I got lots of attent ion and pity from str angers. Maybe now that I am on my own again, maybe it will be the same again!

Problems in Rio

Problems in Rio

I am not going to be able to make my usual posts for a while. I broke my thumb on Sunday evening by tripping over a low-rise concrete post meant to keep cars off the sidewalk. I was in back of aoup and could not see it coming up. As the others parted, I walked right into it hitting my knee against it and flying into a flip. I boke my lft metatarsal near the joint, so I had surgery Monday morning to put it together with two pins. In 10 days, I must see a doctor to get my stitches removed and a hard cast placed on it. In 4 weeks, I must see another doctor to have it x-rayed to see if it is healed. If, so, the pins and the cast will be removed. If not, they will be removed two weeks after that. I will continue traveling as planned, since it would be a bigger hassle trying to get back home.

The other bad news is that Merryl is sick today with the touristas. She took care of me in the hospital, so I have tried to help her today by getting her some medicine, food, Sprite, toilet paper, etc. She seemed to be better tonight. We fly to Iguazu tomorrow afternoon. We are hoping ou experiences will improve!

I will continue to post. I just cannot put lots of details into them for 2-4 weeks. I will post the highlights every 2-4 days, however. You will know where I am and how things are going in general.

I´m Back in Rio

I´m Back in Rio

Wednesday, Jan. 4, Copenhagen (Part II)

Well, the day passed with things seeming to be better. I stayed inside until 3:30 when I left to meet Grethe at Donus Vista where Arne and I lçived. We were invited to Annette´s (our neighbor´s) apartment for a short visit. It was my first time there since July, 2004, shortly after Arne´s death. Everything in the building seems so familiar yet so distant to me now.

Annette´s apartment was still decorated for Christmas. She always has one of the most atmos-pheric places to visit during this season with Georg Jensen ornaments hanging along the glass wall and from her dining room chandelier, Georg Jensen candle holders hanging on racks beside the dining table, nisser (small Christmas people) placed everywhere, her balcony decorated with greenery and lights, etc. She also had made some changes in the apartment. She had remodeled the bath, had a new flat panel TV, and had a new antique desk. And she modeled the new full-length mink coat with hood that her son gave her after he won the lottery recently.

We sat at the dining table and had coffee with her homemade Danish Christmas butter cookies and her homemade marzipan-chocolate roll. She also served a glass of cream and sherry. We talked about our lives--what´s happened, what´s coming up, etc. But it was Arne who brought us together both then and now, so he was on our minds even when we weren´t talking about him. I happened to mention the book that Arne´s brother wrote about their family life that I found in the library 3-4 years ago. Neither of them knew about it, and both said they wanted to read it.

Annette went downstairs with us to show us the new laundry room which is such an improvement on the old one in both quality of equipment and price. Going there, we noticed the libarary was still open, so we stopped there for her to request a copy of the book by Arne´s brother. They´ll have it for her on Friday.

Grethe and I returned home. Grethe did laundry while I did some final things on the computer and called friends to say good-bye. We had a nice dinner of tuna salad in pita pockets and some leftover pork and potatoes fried together. I packed and we took my suitcases to the basement. At 10:00, we were in bed.

Thursday, Jan. 5, Copenhagen-London-Lisbon

I awoke at 4 a.m. It´s hard to relax and sleep when my mind is thinking about traveling. Everything should go smoothly, but there are potential problems if they don´t. Today, I end my present ticket by flying from here to London. I must pick up my new ticket there and continue to Lisbon via Oporto. The two potential problems: 1) The first flight of an around-the-world ticket must be flown on the day scheduled or the ticket becomes invalid; therefore, if my flight to London is delayed or canceled so that I don´t get there in time to make the first flight of the new ticket, I´d have a BIG problem. 2) I must change terminals, go through customs, pick up my new ticket, check in for the next flight and go through security. I have about 3 1/2 hours to do this IF I arrive in London on time. If we are delayed, I could find myself rushing and worrying. I think all will go well. One reason I plan to drop part of my new ticket and make Bangkok the beginning and ending point for future trips is that I would no longer have the worry of a one-day ticket switch. I will arrive in Bangkok to end a ticket and have days or weeks before I begin the next one.

My stomach seems better. It´s still rumbling, and there are still occasional cramps. But I slept most of the night without going to the toilet. It´s now 6-7 hours between trips. And I´ve started an antibiotic in case it is a bacteria causing my problem. I should be better each day now.

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It´s 11:15 and I am waiting in Terminal 2 at Heathrow. Everything, except for one matter, has gone well this morning. Arvind and Evy were there early, but Grethe and I were ready. I was glad to get headed for the airport. Traffic was light. And check-in went easily and quickly, although I did have to get a sticker at one counter before getting in line for the check-in counters just like last year. The flight was slightly delayed due to overbooking and having to remove luggage, but we got to London only 15 minutes late. The problem came wityh the procedure for changing terminals and picking up my ticket. I took the bus to the flight connection center for Terminal 2, I went through security and started to walk to Terminal 2 when an entrance sign said, "Do not pass this point without a boarding pass." I turned around and found two men with jackets indicating their job to be flight connection advisors. One of them told me that the other, Neil Hill, was the best man I could have found to help me. Neil took me back upstairs to a ticket counter where an Alitalia agent called TAP Portugal. They explained I wasn´t allowed to go where TAP wanted without returning to Terminal 3 and going through passport control. The Alitalia agent entered my baggage info in the computer and the TAP representataive said they would check me in and deliver my ticket and boarding passes to the gate. Neil then told me to ignore the sign and walk down the corridor for Terminal 2 Departures. That´s where I am now--waiting for my gate number to be shown on the monitor about 1 1/2 hours from now.
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AROUND THE WORLD VI BEGINS!

Jan. 5, London-Oporto-Lisbon (Continued)

My flights went well. The lady6 at the gate had my ticket and both of my boarding passes. TAP surprised me by serving free meals with free drinks (ncluding alcoholic drinks) on their European flights. SAS no longer even serves water without selling it!

The airport in Porto is beautiful, modern, and new. I was very impressed with it. I had limited time for switching planes; and although mine parked next to the one I needed, I had to go through passport control, go downstairs to baggage pickup, walk through customs, return back upstairs through security, and return to the gate before I could board the plane. What happened to borderless Europe?

Everything was familiar at the Lisbon airport, since Arne and I were here just 5-6 years agto. I got my luggage, stopped by the tourist desk for literature, and exited to the bus stop. A #22 bus arrived within 5 minutes and brought me close to my hotel. People on the bus and on the street were very helpful as I asked about my stop and the location of my hotel. At the airport and along the bus route, I could see beautiful Christmas decorations which are still up because Three Kings Day isn´t until tomorrow.

I like my room. It´s much nicer than I expected. I was given a front center room with both a window and a small balcony. It has a molded ceiling and a molded frieze around the top of the walls. The window and door are covered both by a shade and heavy, lined curtains. The bath is very clean and modern and full of lots of towels, soaps,shampoos, etc. The a/c is individually controlled so I can set the exact temperature I want. I got this for a Motel 6 price--$45 per night including breakfast.

I´m tired. It´s been a long day with lots of stress. Unfortunately, the forecast is bad for tomorrow--rain with a high in the low 50s F (12C). I had considered going to Sintra. Instead I may just stay close by and/or see a museum or two in the area.

Friday, Jan. 6, Lisbon

I slept 10 hours last night. Since I was tired and went to bed at 10:15, I expected to be up at 6:30 or 7, but it was 8:30 when I got up.

Breakfast at the hotel was good. It was a buffet with 3 kinds of rolls, sliced bread for toasting, sliced ham, sliced cheese, butter, three kinds of jam, honey, four kinds of cereal, milk, coffee, tea, orange juice, and Portuguese Christmas cake (similar to German stollen without the powdered sugar coating). The dining room was full of people who appeared to be cost-conscious young professionals. The lady in charge changed the white, starched tablecloths after each group left a table.

I spent the morning and early afternoon walking in town. I can tell I need to get back into shape. Five hours of walking tired me out. I went down the main route through town starting from Corte de Ingles, the big department store here. I angled off towards the old district of town where I wandered up and down dnarrow streets in that hilly area. Just as I wanted to rest at a park there on a hilltop with a view over the city and the water, it began to rain. For the next 30-45 minutes it rained lightly. I paused under awnings a couple of times, but mostly I cantinued walking with my raincoat zipped up and the hood pulled over my head. I almost entered a modern art museum at one point, but the rain seemed to be ending. I decided I preferred seeing the houses, streets, shops, etc. Lisbon is a very old city with lo9ts of atmosphere. Many buildings are covered with beautiful tiles on the exterior. And many shops have elegant, old interiors.

I returned to the hotel and used the toilet at 1:30. Then I went to a local place for lunch. I was surprised that the waiter spoke English. She said the aroz pato (rice-meat mixture) was the best item on the menu, so I had that with a glass of the house red wine. It was a casserole with shredded chicken and slices of fried bacon mixed into the rice which had been cooked in the juices from the chicken.

I hope I haven´t made a mistake. When I returned to my room at 2:45, I took a nap. I ended up sleeping 1 1/2 hours in a deep sleep.I need to sleep well tonight, since I must leave for the airport early tomorrow morning for a 10-hour flight. If I have trouble getting to sleep tonight, I´ll be even more miserable on that long trip.

The diarrhea is still with me somewhat. But it seems to be on its way out. My stools are soft and becoming more regular, and the uneasy feeling in my stomach seems to be gone. I don´t know if this is happening natureally or if it is due to the antibiotics.
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I went back out after dark to see the Christmas lights of Lisbon. I walked almost the same route as this morning. The decorations here are the modern king--almost totally lights (meaning no greenery). There are lighted artificial palm trees with lighted balls hanging from them, space-like fields of lights with planets among them, flashing stars, etc. I took photos of several kinds.

On the way back, I heard music. In tyhe lobby of a building a band and choir dressed in native peasant costumes was entertaining the employees of the company and their families. It was a country style of music. I saw a small ukulele style instrument, a guitar, a drum, an accordian, a wooden panel with sawtoothed curved edge against which a stick was drawn to create a rhythem. Costumes ranged from dressy ones with frilly white shirts, colorful sashes, and felt hats to more simple ones with white fabric and straw hats. Many, like me, were stopping to watch and listen through the door. Unfortunately, they started getting out their cell phones to share the music with others and their talking interfered with the pleasure of hearing the music.
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I´m in Rio now, but am out of time for posting. I will write about the trip here and Rio tomorrow.

Last Days in Copenhagen

Last Days in Copenhagen

Spending Update for India: I spent a total of 89 days in India. As a volunteer, I spent no money for food our housing at the school, so that limited the money spent. Total spending was $449.75 for a daily average of $5.05. Since leaving Texas, I have spent 1365.80 over 127 days for a daily average of $10.75 and a monthly average of $322.63.

Tuesday, Jan. 3, Copenhagen (Part II)

I stayed inside reading and relaxing all afternoon. I had no more bouts of diarrhea, probably because of there being nothing inside me.

Grethe had bought tickets for us to go to the opera in the evening, and I had promised to take her for Indian food for dinner. We went as planned. I took her to the local place Arne and I liked which is really a pizza place owned by Indians. But they have an extensive Indian menu, too. When you order Indian food there, the lady goes to their home kitchen in the back and prepares it fresh. We shared the two dishes that Arne and I always got--checken with spinach sauce and rice and lamb with coconut curry and rice. They were both delicious, especially since I had not eaten all day.

The new opera house is beautiful inside. It's been criticized for the exterior not being more special, since a Danish architect was the designer of the Sydney Opera House and people here wanted it to be as special as that. But the interior, though very modern, is rich and elegant. The theater consists of two parts--an outer shell of concrete and glass and an inner wooden shell shaped like an apple which is the performance hall. The wooden part is attached to the rest of the building only by ramps leading to entrances. I guess that is for accoustical reasons. The lobby is expansive and open with a glass curtain providing views across the water to Amalienborg Palace (where the Queen lives) and to the Marble Church. There are 3 spherical chandeliers hanging there made of colored glass triangles wired together. The glass is tinted golden inside where many small lightbulbs are attached, but outside they are a combination of gold, blue, and a third color I don't recall. Restaurants, bars, restrooms, coat check areas, etc., are all in this outer shell.

The wooden theater itself is quite intimate and is almost totally wooden inside, too. There are 3 balconies with stadium seating so that no one's head blocks the view. We could even smell the fresh wood when we entered to take our seats (before all the cologned bodies entered).

The orchestra pit is completely visible. When they play, every instrument can be heard individually. The sound was unbelievable! The stage was huge with a very moden tapestry in rich blue, vivid red, and other colors covering the curtain and being raised just before the performance.

We saw Die Fledermaus, a German operetta performed in Danish. The budget for sets must be enormous, because they were wonderful--unbelievably complex designs of a bedroom with bath and toilet; a huge professional kitchen with views to the dishwanshing area behind it; a large men's restroom with urinals, stalls, and basins, etc. The performance was good.

Unfortunately, we had to leave after the second act. We were both tired, and Grethe faced getting up early for work. But we both also felt bad. My stomach was bothering me again, and Grethe was beginning to get a cold. By leaving then, we were home at 11:00 instead of 12:15 or so. It was great to see the theater, however. Arne and I had watched its construction with great enthusiasm and had gone to see the building from the outside one of our last days in Copenhagen together.

http://images.google.com/images?sourceid=navclient&hl=da&ie=UTF-8&rls=GGLG,GGLG:2006-01,GGLG:da&q=opera%20copenhagen&sa=N&tab=wi

http://www.operahus.dk/default_uk.htm

http://www.copcap.com/composite-8663.htm



Wednesday, Jan. 4, Copenhagen (Part I)

This is my last day in Copenhagen. I'm still sick with diarrhea, but there is no time to see a doctor. Tomorrow is a travel day, and a doctor would need to do stool samples which would take more time than I have here. However, Grethe talked to her head doctor, and he agreed that they could give me an antibiotic commonly used for traveler's diarrhea. I'll start taking it tonight and continue for several days. In the meantime, my trips to the toilet are not frequent, so traveling should be okay.

I've stayed inside all day so far. It's sad I've had to miss doing so many things I wanted to do here, especially since I won't be back for at least 1 1/2 to 2 years. But I'm happy for the friends I got to see and the thins I got to do.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!

Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, Copenhagen

I slept until 9:40. And Grethe arrived home around 10:30. Then we sat inside all day. Grethe made a nice lunch of open-faced sandwiches. I gave her some lessons on the computer. We read. In the evening we had wienersnitzel with horseradish, boiled potatoes, green beens, and bernaise sauce. I read in the evening while Grethe watched TV. It was a quiet, easy-going day.

Monday, Jan. 2, Copenhagen

Grethe returned to work today. I had plans to do 2-3 things, but I scaled them back because my stomach felt uneasy. I took imodium and made only one outing--to buy supplies for dinner.

Grethe's nursing friend Lotte came for dinner. At first, I thought I would be okay. I joined them for chips and guacamole. Then I cooked burgers. I ate a first one, but then I could tell my stomach was upset. I cleaned the kitchen while they continued with a second burger and coffee, cookies, and chocolate. By 9 p.m., I excused myself and went to bed. AT 10:45, I had to go to the toilet with diarrhea. Then every 1 1/2 to 2 hours I was up all night returning to the toilet. I had severe diarrhea combined with lots of gas (released both through burping and while on the toilet).

Tuesday, Jan. 3, Copenhagen (Part I)

I called Old Grethe this morning to cancel my appointment with her at 10:00. At 7:30, I took Pepto Bismol after a bowel movement. Later, I ate two pieces of plain toast. It's now 10:00, and so far, so good. I would like to hope the worst is over and that I will quicly get well. But I am worried, since I really have not felt well and have had recurring stomach problems for about 6 days.

New Year's Eve in Copenhagen

New Year's Eve in Copenhagen

Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, Copenhagen

I've stayed inside during the daytime. I wrote some e-mails, researched flights I might take to get from India back to the U.S. next fall, etc. Grethe went out briefly, but she was here most of the time, too.

I have felt a little cold, tired, and achy. I hope I don't have the flu. It helped to take a warm shower. And I just finished watching the Queen's speech TV. It will soon be time to leave for the party at Kurt's and Finn's. Grethe left two hours ago for her party.

I took a nap this afternoon in hopes it would help me stay awake until after midnight. Last night, I also felt bad when we arrived at Jens' and Robert's, but the aches and feeling of fever left me while we were eating dinner. It may just be my joints reacting to the cold air.
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I got a bus fairly quickly and was at Kurt's and Finn's too early. I walked around their neighborhood for 10 minutes until time for me to arrive at their apartment.

It was nice to see Kurt and Finn. They had invited me earlier than the others so we could visit before anyone else was there. They told me a little about the other guests who were all new to me--a lady who worked at SAS with Kurt and once was married to an American and living in Elke, Nevada; a woman who is a nurse and an amazement to everyone for having made a quick decision to buy an expensive fur coat recently; an architect who also does landscape architecture and is a close friend of Finn's; and a former lanscape architect who does ceramics. They were all nice people, and I enjoyed spending the evening with them. The last man, the ceramist, made an auto trip all the way from Denmark to India (via Turkey, Iraq, Lebanan, etc.) for 8 months when he was a young man. It was fun hearing about that. And the other guy had many stories to tell about a 5-week trip he made to the U.S. camping out as he toured the country.

Kurt served a before-dinner drink with raspberries from his garden in Austria. There were chips and macadamia nuts, too. For dinner, we started with white wine and liver dumpling soup. Next was a salad plate with ham, two kinds of goat cheese, lettuce, and pickled bell peppers of various colors. The main course was a tuna steak with green peas, mashed potatoes-carrots-celery root, and bernaise sauce served with red wine. For dessert, we had a scoop of strawberry ice cream in a plate of cream drizzled with various berries in their own sauce and served with a white dessert wine. At midnight, we had champagne with dransekage (baked pastry made from ground almonds, sugar, and egg whites). It was a very delicious meal. And a filling one!

Just before midnight, we watched a popular program which is re-broadcase each year here: "Same Procedure As Every Year. " At midnight, we moved to the glass-enclosed balcony to watch the fireworks in the neighborhood as the national anthems were played in the background on the TV.

The party broke up just after 1:00. The buses were no longer running, so I walked home. It only took 30 minutes. I watched part of a variety program from England on TV, then went to bed.

This has been my 21st year in a row to spend Christmas and New Year's Eve in Copenhagen. Andit's been my last. I won't return next year. It's a bit sad to know this is the last time, but with Arne gone there is no reason to keep returning. I'll miss the traditions, the atmosphere, the food, etc. They have been wonderful holidays over the years. I'm sure I will always incorporate some of the foods and traditions into my celebrations in the future, but it's time to move on with my life and let being in Denmark be a part of the past.