Colonia Del Pellegrini, Esteros Del Ibera, Argentina, January 26, 2018

What an awesome sleep in the quiet!  At 7 this morning, five of us went in a lancha looking for wildlife-

We saw capybaras-

Caiman-

many birds-

And marsh deer-

After, I went for a walk to find the Plaza that was supposed to have Internet.  Eventually I found wifi at the town hall.  Later, I went back to the campsite and just hung out.  It's a pretty laid back day.  

We have a 5 am start tomorrow, about 120 km on rough gravel, hopefully to see more wildlife and to avoid the rain that's supposed to be coming.  We're crossing into Paraguay.

Linda and Bob Wolleswinkel are retired RNs from Barrie, Ontario.  They are on their fifth and last overland.  They think that at their age, they need a little more comfort!  They have 2 girls and 4 grandchildren who all live in Ontario .  Linda is from the Philippines and came to Canada in 1966 for work.  She worked over 50 years as an RN - 35 years in surgery.  Both Bob and Linda would like to see Iceland and Japan.  For the last 25 years, they've gone to Playa Del Carmen for 7 weeks where they have an interval ownership which is like a time share.  

Punta Del Este to Salto, Uruguay to Esteros Del Estes, Argentina, January 24-25, 2018

Today's drive, 635 km, went very well- I slept most of the way-

Uruguay is a lovely country - very agricultural.  I could be in Saskatchewan except here there are a few more trees.  There are big John Deere combines, huge terminals and large fields.  Crop are in varying stages because they plant 2 or 3 times/year.  As we moved west, prices dropped, thank goodness, and life became more affordable.  Our campsite was nice, very flat and huge so we didn't have to set up our tents one on top of each other, even though some did.  There were a couple of swimming pools that had warm water but they were too hot for me!  We are in a thermal pool area and we could have gone to some bigger pools but I didn't.

We had a 6 am departure and the border went smoothly.  We stopped at a town for lunch where Ken and I shared a pizza.  They brought it to the table tied up in sting-

There was also a mural honouring Gauchito Antonio Gill.  Little did I know what was in store.....

We are still in farming country-

We did a slight detour and went to see Gauchito Antonio Gil's village.  He's like Maximon in Guatemala.  The legend goes that he stole from the rich and gave to the poor.  Eventually he was caught, hanged and beheaded. He told the sheriff that the sheriff's son was gravely ill and if Gauchito did not have a proper burial, the sheriff's son would not get better.  The sheriff didn't believe him but when he got home, his son was very ill so Gil got a proper burial and his son got better.  

Red is the color!  Streamers-

All kinds of rearview mirror paraphanailia-

An offering table-

Statues-

Plaques offering thanks for miracles-

The prayer-

After a short visit, we headed for Colonia Del Pellegrini where we're camping for 2 nights.  We drove 80 km on a gravel road at about 14 km/hour!  It took forever!  Along the way we saw a lot of big birds - herons, egrets and hawks.  We also saw marsh deer-

Many capybaras-

Caimans-

And a cattle herd being moved-

The Gauchos-

Our campsite is beautiful - lush green grass, hot showers and power points!  Tomorrow I'm going on a 7 am boat ride into the Esteros, looking for wildlife.

Punta Del Este, Uruguay, January 23, 2018

The bridge into the town of Barra is a funny design.  It would be fun to drive over it really fast-

Today I had hoped to rent a scooter for a few hours, but no such luck.  It's such a struggle trying to get around using public buses, even though they are supposed to pass by every 15 minutes.  I walked to Kawasaki, but they didn't rent so I took the bus into the city.  Punta Del Este is a very modern, extremely expensive beach town filled with condos, hotels, shops and restaurants.  There I found a Thrifty Rent A Car but they were sold out.  At the third shop, they did have one for $40US for the day but I only had about 4 hours to use it because I was on cook group so I said no.  That just meant more walking.  

Look what I found-

And then another surprise-

which was as big a disappointment as Montevideo.  Nothing!

I walked along the beach-

Most people use an umbrella for at least some protection and just about everyone has a chair.  It was really hot and people were getting big tans.

Not many are in the water compared to how many are on the beach although the water is a great temperature.  There are surf schools and lots of people practicing-

Between the apartments and the beach is the Main Street where the buses run.  There's a bus stop every 2 or 3 blocks.  I went to parada 21-

where I had 2 beer and a ham and cheese pizza for $44 Canadian-

An Argentinian Dad and two kids sat at my table and we had a great visit.  The kids tried to speak a little English and helped me with my Spanish.  Mom wasn't hungry so she was on the beach.  Dad is an electrician in Northern Argentina and they try to go on a couple 10 day holidays every year.  He said the only people in Punta Del Este are Brazilians and Argentineans because few Uruguayans can afford it.  In Argentina, they live in an agricultural area and they get 3 crops/year!  I really enjoyed our visit.

I took the bus home, helped make supper, had a couple of beer and went to bed.  We've got a big drive tomorrow as we make our way to Salto and back to the Argentinian border.

Montevideo to Punta del Este, Uruguay, January 22, 2018

It's been another great day!

There's a huge statue of Artiga in Indepencia Square.  He is their hero of independence.  This is a 17 meter, 30 ton statue-

Underneath is his tomb and it's guarded by 2 live soldiers.  Imagine!

The only original part of the city's wall is this small piece of the Puerta de la Ciudadela.  The colonial citadel was demolished in 1833.  It is also in Indepencia Square-

My first stop was at the Museo de Los Andes which commemorates the plane crash on Friday, October 13, 1972 of a Uruguayan Fairchild 227 airplane that was carrying a rugby team on its way to Santiago, Chile.  32 of 45 passengers survived the initial crash and they waited to be rescued.  10 days after their accident, they heard on their transistor radio that the search had been called off.  17 days from the crash another 8 were killed when an avalanche smothered their plane. They slept in the fuselage, wrapped up in a huge sleeping bag they made from the insulation around the air conditionning unit, sewing it together with copper wire.  Temperatures were always below -30 C.  They didn't have proper clothes because they were going from one warm climate to another.  They didn't have much food because they were on a short flight.  In order to survive, they devised a system to melt snow for drinking, used the fabric from the seat covers as quilts and they made sunglasses to protect their eyes from the intense solar radiation.  Eventually, rather than starve to death, they decided to eat the dead.  Finally, they decided they would have to walk out if they were to survive.  2 men took 10 days and numerous attempts to go for help.  Eventually they came across a cattle herder and he went to the police.  It is impossible to imagine the feelings of the families and of the men themselves when it became clear there were survivors.  One of the fathers read the names of the living over the radio.  He hadn't pre-read the list to know if his son's name was on the list or not.  Fortunately for him, it was!

It wasn't until January 1973, when the site was more accessible, that the dead were finally buried and the wreckage of the plane was burned.  Parts that scattered during the crash kept showing up in glacier runoff for years.

Other difficulties were that the snow was 1.2 meters deep so walking was difficult.  Temperatures were -25 to -35 C.  The wind was very strong and there were numerous blizzards.  Without sunglasses, they were virtually blinded by the bright sun on the snow.  

They tried many times to escape but usually ran into a problem.  One of the men, Strauch, fell into a crevasse and had to be rescued.  On another attempt, they found the tail of the plane and 6 bodies.  On another, they found part of one of the wings and 2 days later, the rear door.  Another time, after 3 hours, they returned because of intense snowfall.  Eventually they found the tail and wanted to take the battery back to their camp with the hope of using the power but it was too heavy so they took the radio to the tail.  Unfortunately the voltage was different and it didn't work.  

On average, the survivors lost 29 kg.  Roy Harley was 1.8 meters tall and before the trip weighed 84 kg.  When found, he weighed 38 kg.  

72 days after the crash, 16 men were rescued.  

A hat and mits that were made from seat fabric-

The event has been made into the movie Alive. It was shot in the Rockies near Calgary.  I am looking forward to watching it when I get home.  

After the museum I checked out of my hotel and made my way to-

What a disappointment!  The only things they had with Montevideo written on them were a coffee mug and a bandana that cost $50 US!  So I came away empty handed.

Because people live in apartments, dog walkers are popular-

I went to the gigantic bus terminal where I found my twin-

and then spent 2.15 hours on a very comfortable bus to Porta Del Estes where I found the group at Camping San Rafael.  I'm on cook group tomorrow night and hoping for a good sleep tonight, back in my tent!

Montevideo, Uruguay, January 21, 2018

She warned me.  There would be music and noise from the bars on the street below my window.... But it would stop right?  Well no!  And now at 6 am, it's still booming, people are still yelling, and cars are still growling by.  Luckily I have a fan that camouflages most of it and I did sleep, a lot, which, luckily I can.  I'm going to see if there's a different room available for tonight.

I took this at 6:30 this morning.  The music was still blaring and there was A LOT of yelling going on.  All this in a country that doesn't open most stores on Saturday and none on Sunday.  I guess that's so they can sleep all afternoon to stay up all night-

Soon after, shouting was coming from the other direction - close to the bus stop, 2 men were fighting-

The woman at the front desk is from Venezuela and so helpful and smart.  She thinks their energy comes from the maté they drink because it's very high in caffeine.  She says if she doesn't drink organic, she shakes.  The maté cup is packed solid with herbs.  One cup and bombilla are shared amongst friends and it is rude not to offer a cupful to your neighbor.  Hot water, not boiling as it will burn the maté, is poured into the cup and the drinker must drain the cup.  Because there are so many leaves in the cup, it's nothing more than a few swallows.  I think it would take me a while to get used to  it - it tastes like boiled hay bale-

My first stop today was at the Feria de Tristan Narvaja - a huge flea market.  I was glad I went early because it was still cool and there were few people around.  By noon it is packed and in the heat, that would not be pleasant-

Everything imaginable is for sale-

My favorite-

And of course mountains of used clothing.  One could spend the whole day browsing.

I took the bus back to my hotel to save my legs.  In the bus, there's a driver and a second man sitting about 4 seats back who takes the money and issues the tickets.  I tried talking to him but he spoke so fast I couldn't understand a word he said.  So many don't open their mouths or enunciate their words, even though they know I'm a learner.  It's frustrating but I guess they don't know how to speak to someone like me.  Finally, after telling him a few times I didn't understand, I just turned away.  He repeated himself several times but never once spoke louder or slower-

Once back at the hotel, I changed rooms-

The hotel is in a big old mansion.  From the first floor, which is where reception is, it's 14 steps up from the street.  The second floor, where I'm staying, is another 40 steps up.  Ceilings are at least 20 feet high!  Most buildings in the Centro Historico are owned by the city and only rented by the entrepreneurs.  Because they are all protected buildings, no renovations can be done without written permission and definitely no modern changes can take place.  Hopefully tonight is quieter because now I look out at el Teatro and there's no performance tonight-

After a short rest, I went to el Museo de Carnaval.  Carnaval has a long history in Montevideo.  Unfortunately the excitement doesn't start until this Friday but hopefully what I see in Rio will make up for missing it here.  Long ago, tablados were stages made of planks set on top of barrels.  Groups would perform for money collected by passing a hat.  They wore funny giant papier-mâché costumes made by the best artists in the country.  They also painted their faces and poked fun at the problems of the day.   In the mid twentieth century, there were 160 tablados set up around town but today there are only a few stages spread around the city where 40 ensembles perform.  They are divided into 5 groups and compete against one another.  The performances start this Friday and will go on for 40 days!  City crews were busy building bleachers this morning-

The museum is very small but the costumes on display were fantastic.  Unfortunately my flash doesn't work so....leather spikes on the shoulders-

They use miles and miles of fabric and even macrame cording.  Lots look like they're shellacked, maybe to withstand the gruelling 40 days-

A coat vest made from flattened Coke bottle caps-

A shirt made from empty food packages-

I'm not sure if these are condoms or "o rings"-

There are also some papier-maché heads-

Masks-

A head piece-

A painting depicting former carnivals-

I really enjoyed my visit and got away with pretending to be an Uruguayan.  They pay less!

The Mercado Del Puerto is next door and filled with super expensive parillas.  Luckily I wasn't hungry anyway-

Meat on the grill-

Walking back to my hotel, I went through a small market where an artist has made characters out of shiny cutlery-

After another rest, this heat is killing me, I went on a tour at el Teatro.  It was built in 1856 by private investors and was meant initially for the rich and famous.  Later, it was sold to the city and they have created a very public and open place.  It was closed from 1998 to 2004 for extensive renovations and today is beautiful.  One of the original chandeliers that weighs 250 kg-

Originally, the front boxes were for the very rich, even though they couldn't see the stage from their seats.  For them, it was more important to be seen.  They're no longer used today because Montevideo does not promote an elite society-

The theatre seats 1200 people and acoustics are so good, microphones are not required-

Box seats-

They also have a more intimate Black Box Theatre that seats 140 people.  Both are used a lot by the people of the city and towns throughout the country are invited to come for free performances.

After the Teatro tour, I headed for the barrio of Palermo to watch the candombe.  One of the receptionists at the hotel lives there and said it could start at any time after 5:30.  I didn't want to miss anything so I went early.  Luckily, she also suggested a restaurant where I could go for a beer so after checking out the street where the performance was supposed to be, I headed there.  I must have looked like I just fell off the onion truck because the owner tried to scare the shit out of me.  He told me I couldn't go see the candombe wearing my hat and sunglasses - they scream 'gringo'.  I had to leave my camera, watch, ring and necklace with him.  They might even try to steal my runners because they could get $100 for them on the black market.  I had noticed walking into Palermo that it was a poorer neighbourhood; there was more garbage lying around and there were homeless people sleeping on the sidewalks.  So, I had a beer and thought about how what he said made me feel.  Fear breeds fear.  I've been to 80 countries and never been robbed, touch wood (I'm tapping my head right now).  Yes I've been lucky, but I'm also aware and careful and I try to make sure I'm in safe enough areas.  But everything he said made me feel nervous.  Fear is crippling and what's so interesting about it is that it doesn't exist.  Fear isn't a thing.  It's an emotional response to an idea and we create our emotions by our thoughts.  Time passed.  The waitress said we would easily hear the drums when they started.  Finally it was 7 but still no noise.  I had another beer and put all my gringo identifying stuff in my hat.  I wasn't going to be robbed.  I wasn't going to go to the show so sure I'd be safe and come back missing my camera.  I had to heed his advice.  Finally about 7:20 I decided I'd go and check out what was happening because I'd seen many people walk by, obviously going.  I did sneak my camera along!  As I approached the street where it was supposed to be, the pounding got louder and louder and the crowds grew.  They had started and so  I followed them for about 3 blocks before I decided it was time to walk home if I was going to make it before dark.  That was another thing.  I'd  asked him where I'd catch the bus back to the Centro afterwards and he looked at me in horror - Bus?  No! No!  You'll take a cab.  I'll call you one!  Well, I got back to his restaurant in one piece, but as I was putting my stuff back on, two gringos, a man and a woman, came running around the corner chasing a thief on a bicycle!  I guess it was safe and it wasn't.  There were so many people there you couldn't get beat up but some tourists were snapping all kinds of pictures and taking selfies.  Cell phones on selfie sticks are easy to grab.  You could be pick pocketed if you weren't careful but I kept my hands in my pockets.  I walked home.

The candombe is a huge part of the Uruguayan culture.  It is a combination of the Afro-Uruguayan community that began in the XVII century with the arrival of the African slaves.  In the grouping there are many drummers and the sound almost makes you vibrate.  They play very well together-

Marching in front of the drums is Escobedo, a man dancing and making a broom spin on top of his arms and body-

Gramillero, in coral,  represents the tribe's witch doctor.  The Vedette is in black-

Leading the group was a flag bearer and 2 groups of women, dancing to the drums-

They're getting ready for the coming 40 days of festivities when they'll be wearing extravagant costumes and performing in other neighbourhoods.  

I am glad I saw them practicing and now am looking forward to Rio!

Walking home, the city was alive again.  Sundays are sleepy but in the evenings, everyone comes out.  There was old time dance music playing in a square and a lot of people in their 80s dancing.  Restaurants were full and people were out enjoying the cooler weather.

Locks around a fountain-

I had a really busy day and it was awesome.  Tomorrow I'm going to the Andes Museo and the Harley store before I catch a bus to meet the group in Puentes Del Este.