Week 2
Trip Start
Aug 15, 2008
1
2
4
Trip End
Sep 16, 2008
Montevideo,
Uruguay
Saturday, August 30, 2008
3 pm - I struck off on my own for the pasta shop, 1 block away, armed with a written-down list of the two items I want (ravioli and grated cheese), plus money, with the hope that I could also pick something up at the nearby bakery. Well, the pasta shop was shut up tight! (Kind of late for lunch....) And the bakery was loaded with teens from the local school. I also realized that I was out without an iota of ID, should anything amiss happen. I returned to the apt. ASAP and then dug out my harmonica.
8 pm - Before we knew it, it was time to leave for the travel agency (to pick up the paperwork), the car company (to arrange for transportation to catch the 6:30 am bus Tues. morning), and to pick up the laundry. All went well, but there was a lot of confusion at the car place. We think it ended well. I went into a lovely restaurant to pick up a piece of spinach pie for our supper; the young woman spoke no English, but, when I mentioned ¨in the window¨ she understood ¨window¨ and I pointed out to her what I wanted. I was supposed to get a number, but there was no one in line, so no one got upset. She wrote the charge on a piece of paper, I paid the cashier, the cashier, gave me the paid receipt, and the girl gave me the food. It works this way also with the fruits and groceries fairly close by. Grisel was working at the laundry and greeted us warmly. 200 pesos (about $10) was the charge, plus had to lug it at least a mile back. We saw a very sad sight, a young woman with a little girl and a baby in her lap, sitting on the sidewalk, begging, with tears running down her face. Is there any kind of a social services network here? Stopped at the pasta place for what Pedro and Alba recommended - ravioli and grated cheese - BUT he forgot to tell me that the pasta man would ask me a question, probably about filling, which I guessed at ¨ricotta¨. I am pooped, after 2 trips ¨downtown¨, plus a glass of wine.
Day 8 - Sa., 8/23/08 - 2 pm - Pedro called and chuckled at my dilemma with the pasta man; I should have requested ¨spinach¨ for filling. Oh, well.... Next time. We decided to find the Tres Cruces bus station (where we will depart Tues. morning at 6:30 a.m.) and walked all the way down La Paz to it. The walk was easy, but dodging all the dog poop was disgusting. We dressed in layers, and it gradually warmed up nicely. A shopping center is also located there, but it was pretty dinky, compared to what we are used to, plus it was mobbed already, at 10:30 am. We found the Busquebus (the company that manages the bus and boat traveling) sales office and believe that they depart from Lanes 29 - 31, plus we found the bathrooms, very important, especially for early morning trips. An extremely handsome young man in a uniform caught our attention; he was actually wearing a saber! At 11:30 we were ready to head home, but I announced that I wanted to eat something first. We really enjoyed our 3rd meal out, a chicken salad, beautifully assembled, that we shared. The oil and vinegar were in such an interesting vial, with a long skinny spout out of one side for pouring. The waiter presented me with a cloth napkin, after putting the toilet paper-sized ones on the table. Between the two of us, we couldn´t finish the salad, with mushrooms and cashews. We returned via a different street, hoping to find a bus that would actually take us to our destination. No such luck. The farmers market, which we´d seen the other day near the port, was in this new-to-us and different neighborhood; we recognized the cheese trailer and the fish trailer. What a good idea - to move the farmers market from place to place! To our amazement, we ended up almost right back at the apartment and then had to make a slight detour for beer and butter. I´m trying to find some Kleenex.
4:30 pm - After watching a bit of Flashdance (in Spanish), we took off to the larger store for decent wine and cookies. It was further than I thought it´d be, but the weather was fairly balmy. ALL the women in the bakery and deli recognized me, and NONE ran to hide, fearing that I´d want to try to buy something from her. A young man pointed me in the direction of Kleenix, but I never found any. I may end up carrying a roll of toilet paper around with me.
When we entered our apartment, the first thing we noticed was that the heating unit was off. Everything was off! Problemo! We didn´t even know where the fuse box was! Philip ran downstairs to get Eduardo, and I located the fuse box (and it does contain FUSES that look like tiny batteries). Eduardo checked it out with a wire connected to a light bulb and replaced one. YES! Philip gave him 40 pesos, and he left. Then Philip couldn't get the TV box to turn on OR the boom box in the living room, so down the stairs I ran this time to fetch Eduardo. Sure enough, ANOTHER fuse was blown, he replaced it, and I gave him 50 pesos ¨para educacion para los ninas¨. What would we have done if this´d happened in the middle of the night?? Try not to panic, Lorraine.
5:45 pm - Thought I´d be very brave and finish the veggies in a stir-fry AND cook the ravioli, but, since I use only one (electric) burner, I opted to postpone the pasta until tomorrow night! Philip is enjoying a very loud and action-packed movie about a volcano spewing lava someplace.
Day 9 - Su., 8-24 - Guys ,Sunday is the only day in the week you can enjoy a big , huge fly market free on the street call "TRISTAN NARVAJA". In that street and the surround are the tables and tents when the sellers offers their merchandise....from a single old coin to a motorcycle, etc. etc .vegetables too . Hup! I remember just in case if you like to buy vegetables and fruits, to carries it ,ask Eduardo for our hand grocery car who is at the garage on the side of my car (take a look to the FIAT ONE).It's easy to go walking along calle "LA PAZ" turning LEFT side .Have fun and be care full, open eyes.
love. Pedro
8:45 am - After a tasty supper, I found a movie on TV with Al Pacino called ¨Simone¨ which we both enjoyed, even though it was a bit farfetched (about a computer program that was able to create a beautiful woman who starred in movies). We awoke to some musical minstrels, probably drunks, and to the roar of traffic, even early on a Sunday morning. The dumpster is surrounded with trash and garbage. We are watching the grand finale celebration of the Olympics in Beijing.
1:30 pm - After Pedro´s morning call at 9 (so. FL beaches are closed for one week because of pollution from T. S. Fay), we walked to the HUGE flea market, where we saw everything from an accordion and a bidet to a xylophone, yarn, and zippers! We think that, after the 6,000 men on the horse and buggy go through their finds, they set up a blanket on the street and sell stuff that they have retrieved from the dumpsters. We saw tops of covered bowls (without the bowls), rusty parts of cars and bikes, stuff that most of us would throw away - all for sale. If we go again, we´ll be there right at 9 because it was getting very crowded at 11 am. Lunch at home and we´re planning a walk to the other side of the Palacio Leg. Pedro and Alba were shocked that we´d walked so far yesterday to the Tres Cruces!
4 pm - The walk revealed more of the same that we´ve seen so far: graffiti, rubbish blowing all over the place, broken sidewalks, a LARGE hole in the street, dog poop..... I am definitely disillusioned with Montevideo. We are having a couple of glasses of wine; I hope to be able to make the pasta this evening!
The raviolis you'll like the most are filled with "verdura"(spinach).Another idea ,you could ask for "tallarines"(spaguetis) they are going to ask you if you like "finos"(thin) or "gruesos"(thick).We like the "finos" they might ask you about the color because there are white"blancos" or green" verdes". The "verdes" are made with spinach added to flour. The right amount for two persons is like 300 gramos (tres cientos gramos) who is about half pound. OK. To cook them put in a pan half filled with water and salt to taste, make it boil, then add the tallarines, lower the heat and cook for 2 minutes. After this, take them out of the heat and add half glass of cold water .Empty in a strainer to make it loose the water. Return the tallarines to the original pan and add butter or olive oil mixing it. Make two fried eggs with a slice of ham and place on top of the tallarines. Well, Italian people love these! And I guess you'll do it to, Abita add ketchup, and she says there is some into the refrigerator. bon appetite and good night. love Pedro and Alba
Day 10 - Mo., Aug. 25 - 8:30 am - The pasta, 100 tiny raviolis, was good, but just too white flour-y for my taste. Slathered in olive oil and grated cheese, with left-over stir fry on the side, we managed to polish off ALL of them in one meal. This morning I washed my hair, and Philip is shaving. We´re trying to use up all our food before our 3 days away. I may call Busquebus and ask, ¨Este uno baño en el bus?¨ It´s a 2-hour trip, and we are worried about this detail.
3 pm - Pedro called late this morning - 9:30. He and Alba assured us that there are bathrooms on the buses. We´ll see. Today is a holiday - Independence Day - and we decided to see something different! We flagged down a taxi and told him ¨Los Pocitos¨ and then squeezed into the tiny back seat with no leg room whatsoever. He whizzed through the city, stopping at most red lights, and we arrived on the ¨rambla¨ at the Los Pocitos beach, a lovely spot that reminded us of Hollywood Beach. After paying $200 pesos (including a tip) based on a sheet (for Sundays and holidays, I think) instead of the meter (GRRR), we strolled with quite a few other people enjoying the tranquil and sunny and mild morning. Dogs were enjoying the beach, as well (in spite of the signs ¨No dogs allowed on beach¨), and we saw people walking multiple dogs. The record was six dogs being walked by a couple.
We thought we read the map correctly and walked towards the Montevideo Shopping Center (where the Info lady had told us we would find pool tables). We walked and walked and asked directions some more; people kept pointing in the direction we were heading, and it seemed that we were walking in circles, but, finally, there it was, in all its glory! Now this was a shopping mall! Still not Aventura, but worth the stroll. There was even a Tienda Inglisias (English/American Supermarket) there, along with a Ta Ta. We chose a place to eat near the Food Court that looked clean and tasteful and ordered what I thought was a sandwich with tomato, lettuce, etc. and meat - ¨para dos.¨ Well, when the waitress brought the meal, it was nothing like a sandwich! A huge piece of thin meat was on the bottom, a slice of ham covered it, and a sunny-side egg was on top of it all! Plus a small fresh salad, some potato salad, and French fries, plus bread. The appetizer was four slices of liverwurst. Well, we cleaned everything up, except for some of the fries. Cost was $465. plus $70 tip. Waitress said, very clearly, ¨The tip is not included in the bill.¨ That is a very good English phrase to know! We found the pool tables next to the video games for kids. Maybe we´ll go back - cost was 35 pesos per game.
I went into the Tienda to look for some Kleenex with absolutely no luck. Philip, holding his backpack and my plastic bag, waited for me and got interested in seeing people return plastic bottles for money (or possibly chits that they turned in). We walked towards the bus area and managed (Philip, mostly) to get the numbers of two buses that would take us to the Palacio Leg. When we walked into the first bus (parked there), the driver spoke in Spanish and indicated that we should get off. OK. Then we saw a bus leaving with the first number, and the agent made it stop for us. The driver was NOT interested in looking at my map, but he did give us each a transfer to use on the 2nd bus. Philip was greatly relieved to see this, because he knows how bus systems work. I followed the route on my trusty map. It was lovely with such little traffic - holiday! He gestured for us to get off, and there we were, without even taking a 2nd bus, at the Pal. Leg., about 3 blocks from the apartment. That was a very good experience. Now we won´t be so shy about taking the buses.
Got back about 3:15, very glad to have such a nice place to retreat to. The weather forecast changed. Instead of 3 sunny days, Wed. is supposed to be cloudy and rainy in Buenos Aires. Curses.
6 pm - Watching a very unrealistic movie with Angelina Jolie (again!) about Drs. Without Borders, plus Philip is making his famous onions, potatoes, and egg combo.
7:45 pm - We packed all our duds for 3 days and 2 nights in P´s red suitcase, including a suit for him and my one dress-up outfit. Alarm is set for 4:30 a.m. It should be an interesting morning.
Tu., 8-26 - 3 pm in Buenos Aires, Argentina - So far, pretty good. We slept fair (because of early arise time), and, as usual, we were ready too early. Tried to set the heating unit temp low, but it wouldn´t go below 17 degrees C. Remesis driver was on time, to our relief; fee was $218, plus tip = $300, for the short drive to Tres Cruces bus station. He slowed down at EVERY intersection, just in case... We were shocked by the very long line of people waiting for a taxi at the bus station; we guessed that people take the bus into the city (very early) and catch a taxi to go to work. What a project! We asked inside for the gate number. ¨29¨. As we waited at gate 29 (with the bus in place), the bus started backing out. HELP! Now we had to go to gate number 30. OK! The driver stowed our one checked bag, and a woman assigned us our seat numbers. We stood outside and upright as long as possible, knowing we´d be sitting a long time (2 hrs. 15 minutes). Since the bus was filled with äll aboard¨ (I guess), the bus left 15 minutes early. The city looked so gloomy in the darkness. We napped and watched the countryside go by; the bus was just too hot, though. Guess people think heat is more healthy than too cold. Saw cattle, sheep, goats, and few horses, some barrios (very poor-looking), couple of schools, and an occasional ranch. Arrived at Colonia about 8:30 with a departure of our boat scheduled for 9:45. I got into a terrible mess because I left the document that proved that I entered Uruguay legally at the apartment; the fact that my passport was properly stamped wasn´t enough. We received our boat boarding passes and two papers printed out with our names. As we passed through immigration, they asked me for the document, which I did not know I needed to carry with me. Philip had his tucked into his passport because, years, ago, he actually got arrested in Greece for a similar problem, delaying his entire bus tour group! Well, they offered to make me a replacement document for a ¨tax¨ of $500 Urguayan ($25 American); actually, I just held out all my bills, and she took the largest one! There was definitely no quibbling about the issue, between the lack of language communication, and I certainly didn´t want to land in jail! They all passed papers around, stamping them and my passport ferociously, finally letting me through. By that time, I was properly frazzled, later on discovering that I was now missing the pre-printed form with my name on it. Did they keep it, and will I need to pay another tax to get back into the country?
We boarded the huge catamaran/ferry and learned why everyone had been in such a rush - to get the best seats! Tourist class is set up like a large movie theater, with a limited number of seats near windows. The early birds got the best seats. I decided to treat us to a coffee and waited in line for a long time, clutching $35 Ur. from Philip and a $100 Ur. bill of mine. The total (coffee and a sweetie) came to $9 Arg. or $63 Ur. or $3 Amer. Coffee was horrible, but the pastry hit the spot. I found better seats on the second floor and persuaded Philip to join me, only to learn that they were for ¨first class only.¨ Ride was only 1 hr. long, and we ended up reading a couple of magazines that Philip had packed.
Arriving in port was easy, except when Philip saw a couple taking HIS red suitcase. He sent me over to negotiate, I waved his ID tag at them, and they were most apologetic, explaining, in Spanish, that theirs looked just like it. No problem-o.
Getting the Busquebus transport (another bus) was a snap, but the - surprisingly - long ride to Days Inn was a nightmare. One taxi driver became incensed at our bus driver and actually beat on the bus door! Motor bikes, scooter, bicycles, taxis, buses, private vehicles - all fighting to get there (somewhere!) first! Finally, he dropped us off, and we settled in a room that was almost as terrible as the room in NYC 3 years ago - tiny and overlooking a busy street. We asked Rosanna, the hotel desk clerk, to suggest a good place to eat, and she told us ¨La Estancia¨ (pron. La aye TAN zi a), about 6 blocks away. We wanted something closer, so went right across the street to share a fish dinner - excellent! It was served with a thick, green veggie (similar to collard greens), corn, peas, potatoes, and rolls, but we had to ask for butter, plus I used the oil. We really enjoyed it. Steve, our waiter, spoke English and was charming. He described Philip's Guinness beer as ¨lovely.¨
We took off on foot to locate the La Estancia and to buy some water, beer, and wine. We couldn´t find the restaurant with Rosanna´s directions, so asked a policeman, who pointed us further away, after we stopped at the lovely PanAmericano Hotel for a baños stop. I suggested we take a detour for a pleasant change from playing dodgeball with the other walkers (and the traffic), and, a few buildings up this pedestrian walkway, we stumbled upon ¨La Estancia¨! A few blocks further we discovered a mercado for the wine and water and then returned to the hotel for a little rest. Philip´s feet hurt (he wore his boots - ¨not good for walking¨), and my hips were aching from the hard sidewalks.
We are forever not seeing a dip or a bump or a hole or a step and stumbling. Saw a blind man tapping his way through the crowds. Now that is brave! No face cloths are available in the hotel, and breakfast isn´t served until 8 am. I can use one of 2 computers and feel like a little nap right now. Philip bought 5 postcards and is writing them out after paying $1.33 Amer. for each stamp. The one window refused to open for us (room is very small and claustrophobic); we asked a chambermaid for help. She very easily pushed it open. (We had been pulling it.)
8 pm - We ate nearby and shared one-quarter of a pollo with the ubiquitous instant mashed potatoes, topped with a really good brownie, and then walked around a few blocks, surprised and pleased at all the menswear stores. The waiter, spotting Philip´s scorpion carballaro, asked, ¨Are you from Texas?¨ I had my doubts about the chicken being cooked thoroughly; it looked a bit pinkish. We checked email at the computer in the hotel: a young mother had to ask her cooperative little daughter to give up one of the two computers to us because the younger brother had a hissy fit about giving up his (even though he wasn´t even sitting in front of it at the time). On our afternoon stroll, we found ourselves between a huge van used to transport prisoners (next to the Judicial Building) and a young mother nursing her baby while visiting a friend.
We are seeing women going through the rubbish bins, but not with horse and buggy and not making a mess. The sidewalks are much cleaner; people actually use the litter bins, and some even kick the trash off the curb.
We., 8-27 - 12:45 pm - Watched an excellent English movie last night, trying to stay up later than usual because breakfast isn´t served until 8 am. I took a sleeping pill and did fine, except for the sheets which I think are double-bed sized stretched over a queen-sized bed. We dressed up - Philip in his black suit and black shirt with red and black tie and handkerchief - and me in my dependable black slacks, Casual Corner white top, and red jacket. Food was laid out for breakfast, but the coffee was COLD! I marched to the desk, only to hear, ¨The miss, she ill. The other miss, here in 20 minutes.¨ Back at the breakfast room, Philip made us toast, which we loaded up with honey and - finally! - dulce de leche (sweet from milk?), like a caramel topping. YUM! We got some orange juice, milk, and cut-up fruit, while a chambermaid attempted to make a pot of coffee (using yesterday´s grounds, as well), which was lukewarm by the time we had to leave. I poured a glass of what I thought was milk, but, UGH, it tasted like buttermilk - sour. The two women at the table next to us spoke English (one really yelled at the poor chambermaid), so I asked her, ¨What it this, por favor?¨ It was a liquid yogurt! Different....
We were ready - on time - for the city tour at 9 am and got picked up at 9:15 am. By the time we changed to a larger bus and picked up more people (from Bosnia, Peru, and New Zealand) it was 10 am before we actually got started. Nestor was the official guide, saying the same things in Spanish, Portuguese, and English, and Diego the faithful driver, who handled the terrible traffic without batting an eye. As soon as the tour began, another young man went from seat to seat, snapping a picture of each couple; he then left the bus, promising to return with the finished products. Buenos Aires has 48 barrios, covers 200 square meters, and has three million of Argentina´s entire 36 million population in 23 provinces. We drove by the obelisk, built to commemorate the founding of Argentina in 1580. The ¨pink palace¨ was the next highlight, the home of the president, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. Every Thursday afternoon, ¨mothers of the missing¨ meet near here to remember those who disappeared during the military government rule. Another important monument stands to remember Independence, which started on May 25, 1810 and was successful on July 9, 1816. Argentina and other So. American countries peacefully broke away from Spain. St. Mary´s church has twelve columns in front in honor of the twelve apostles, plus a Latin inscription ¨Salvum Fac Populum Tuum.¨ Florida Street is a major pedestrian street. (Philip and I really enjoy pedestrian streets because they are so quiet and safe!) We saw one soccer stadium that holds 55,000 people and heard about another one that holds 70,000. One barrio (neighborhood) is La Boca was settled by Italians/Genoese sailors and was the site of the first B. A. port. We made a half-hour stop at Camanito Street, one of many very narrow alley-streets lined with corrugated metal (painted very colorfully) siding on the homes, dating from years and years ago. The main and only attraction here is public dancing and singing (think - tango!); otherwise, it is a very poor and dangerous barrio. Many streets are still cobblestone. A nearby barrio is famous for its tango bars and a huge weekly flea market. Note about B. A. streets: 99% are one-way, making them pretty safe to drive and also helping pedestrians cross fairly safely. However, in intersections with no red lights, we never saw any stop or yield signs, giving the message ¨whoever dares go first gets through first.¨ The traffic was mind-numbing - taxis, buses, private vehicles, motor bikes, motor scooters, and bicycles, all fighting to get there first.
When we stopped to tour the tourist section of La Boca, we were greeted by absolutely beautiful women in slinky dresses and wearing 4 - 5¨heels and handsome, very trim men, who were all tango dancers, offering to pose with tourists for a fee. Volunteer firemen were also on hand, looking for donations ¨because the county doesn't support us¨. We gave them a very small amount and got a souvenir hat in return - all for a good cause. Of particular interest to us were the little groups of school children on field trips. The older ones (8 - 9 years old), in uniform, were so glad to be out in the fresh air. The younger ones were kept together by ropes! Four-year-olds were completely encircled by a light weight rope that they held in each hand, with a teacher at the front. The 5 or 6-year-olds were trusted to hold on to just one rope in one hand. Philip spoke to them, first in English - no reply - and then in Spanish; their teacher encouraged them to respond politely - very cute. Note about Uruguayan school uniforms that we´ve seen: both girls and boys wear what looks like an over-sized white blouse with a huge blue bow around their necks - similar to choir robes.
The Rio de la Plate (Plate River) is 14 km wide at its narrowest and 230 km wide at its mouth. We next traveled to the wealthiest barrio where, in the last four to five years, warehouses have been converted to apartments. The highest building (55 floors) is here, as well. Cost is $5,000 American per square meter (1 meter = approximately 39 inches). The country's oldest training ship is now a museum. The English Monument Tower was a gift from the English to celebrate Argentina´s 100th year of independence in 1916. The war against England in 1982 (the Faulkland Islands) was mentioned briefly. Nestor pointed out an official dog walker; there are 600 or so in the city, and many walk between 8 and 10 dogs at one time. Libertador (?) Ave. is 30 km long and has 7 to 10 lanes, all going the same way.
La Palermo barrio is famous for its gardens and parks. We stopped next to the Catholic University to admire a giant (50 feet high, at least) stainless-steel flower that opens and closes daily and takes 20 minutes to do so. B. A. has six lines of subways, with a cost of 90 cents. (Our Days Inn clerk, Rosanna, told us she spends 50 minutes a day commuting, each way, via subway and bus.) Nestor gave us information about the various ambassadors´ homes, all former palaces. (Observed: high-test gasoline is about $11.00 per gallon.) Eva Peron (¨Evita¨) was the beloved wife of one of the presidents. She died in 1952 at the age of 33, and a statue was erected in her memory and honor.
The young man returned to the bus with his completed photo projects. He cut and pasted our heads and put them on top of a pair of tango dancers! Plus he included a copy of a CD tango tape. At $15, it was irresistible.
The weather turned nasty - rainy and cold. The tour was over at 12:45 p.m., and we freshened up before walking to La Estancia (recommended by a waiter and the hotel clerk) for an Argentina beef steak meal. A review from another blog:
When I was flying into BA an Argentinean rancher sitting next to me recommended "La Estancia" on Florida street. I do not know if it is the best, but I have never had better. When the waiter noticed that my friend did not speak Spanish he went and brought out a tray of raw meat. I translated for my friend that he wanted "some of the tenderloin". I ordered some of the Estancia especial. Then we made the mistake of ordering salads. Maybe if we had not eaten the salads or any bread we could have finished our plates of delicious meat. We ate too much trying. The meat, of course. The rancher warned me against eating chicken or pork explaining that they were manufactured and that only the Argentinean beef was grown without chemicals on natural grass and therefore would not cause hardening of the arteries. When it tastes so good, who cares if this is true or not?
I used my umbrella and rain hat, eliciting a few looks. Philip wore the plastic cover over his cap, which always reminds me of what women wear during a permanent or what black people wear when they are treating their hair with something. On the way, thousands of umbrellas appeared, all ¨for sale¨, on the sidewalks. After we admired the wood fire and the pieces of meat cooking around it (stretched on pieces of wood), the chef gestured for me to get closer to the fire to warm my cold hands. I asked, ¨lamb?¨and heard ¨goat.¨ OK. After the maitre d´ greeted us, the waiter led us to our table, carried my wet umbrella, covered it and my jacket and Philip´s damp coat with dry tablecloths, put my purse in a very safe place on a chair between our table and the adjoining one, and presented us with menus. After Philip announced, ¨We want a good beef steak¨ and the waiter realized that we didn´t speak Spanish, he brought out five pieces of raw meat to chose from. Philip ordered the 2nd piece ¨para dos¨, and I felt the air chill, as he added, ¨cervase and caliente the. We eventually got 2 beef empanadas, rolls (no butter, of course), the drinks, and, finally, the beef! No pepper, no Wor. Sauce, no A-1 sauce, no salad, no veggies, just plain beef, and delicious it was! We ate slowly, savoring each bite, trying not to listen to the conversation of two men at the nearby table discussing their international business affairs. The bill came to $75 Arg. = $25 Am. Waiter: The tip is not included in the bill.¨ We left 20% and walked, slowly, back to the hotel, Philip stopping to mail some postcards. Rosanna and Mr. Tex were chatting, and we told them about our excellent meal. The weather deteriorated; I checked email; the pigeons started roosting because it got so dark!
8 pm -We decided we had to eat a little something, so walked across the street to Tiempo Libre (where we ate lunch yesterday) for a ¨simple¨ Caesar salad. Waiter made a point of being a better waiter than Steve was, putting peanuts on the table. We ordered ONE salad for two, and both were huge. Philip had his usual one beer (one liter) and me my hot tea. We packing what we can tonight.
Th., 8-28 - 8:45 am - Slept great, each with one sleeping pill. Up at 7 to go for a last walk, in much less traffic, both vehicular and pedestrian. I got mixed up on the first simple 3 block walk; on the 2nd walk, I had to ask directions for Parana (pron. piranha) St. Breakfast was excellent because the ¨miss¨ was in charge: hot coffee, cereal, fruit, toast, and OJ - YUM! Now I must worry about a sandwich for the bus trip.
10 am - Well, like day and night! When we arrived at this port, it was like a zoo - lots of people, cars, taxis, buses. This morning it took us only 7 minutes to get here from the hotel. Pick-up was scheduled for 9:15 am, I said ¨give him 15 minutes¨, Philip asked Rosanna to call the bus company at 9:26, and the bus arrived at 9:28. We were the only passengers! The immigration business went smoothly (all women!), and now we have one hour to kill. Groan! I bought a ham and cheese sandwich to share, plus a chocolate sweetie.
11:45 am - On the bus! Lucianno, a young Busquebus employee, chatted with us. He´s 28, studying conservation and environment. His brother runs an import/export business in Miami (car parts from China) and plays rugby.
1 pm - Curses! Crossing was rough. Because of a minor accident a few days ago, we were all asked to remain seated while the boat docked. (Of course, some obeyed, and some didn´t.) We were 15 minutes late arriving in Colombia and had problems finding out boarding passes, making us almost last on the bus. We had to sit separately, right next to the smelly lavatory. My seatmate first yakked on the phone and then fell sound asleep. I read - very slowly - my P. D. James mystery, and Philip tried (bouncing bus) to read his National Geographic.
http://realtravel.com/montevideo-journals-j6459558.html
Fr., 8-29 - 12:25 pm - back in Montevideo - Food expedition is half done. I do not know how people with families do this shopping, if they do it this way! I was totally zonked after a couple of glasses of wine and an omelet (with tomato, the only veggie in the place) with toast (first ones got totally burnt up in the toaster as P, the chef, got embroiled in a BBC TV article; we had to shut the kitchen door and open up the porch door to let the smoke out; thank goodness there was no smoke detector, or else it would have been shrieking) and took a shower and went to bed. Philip got up before I did and, very quietly, got dressed, had coffee, and watched the TV on very quiet, if not mute. We took it easy all morning, plus it was 49 degrees out. Philip showed me a tour he´s interested in, one of four offered by a Montevideo tour agency. I looked up the website (in Sp. and in Engl.) and called a couple of numbers, finally ending up chatting with Monica, the owner of the agency, who speaks English. We determined that we can take a bus to her office, on Espania Blvd., and hope to do so Monday, calling first. It´s $75 each for visits to 2 vineyards, with tastings. It´ll get us to a different area, 35 m. north of the city, near Carbonles(?). Pedro called, glad we were happy to be back in ¨la casa¨. Since we had no food at all, we went shopping for: 1) lunch meat, cheese, bread, water, and sweeties, all of which we brought back to the apt. and which we bought right next door at Numia´s; 2) piece of spinach pie for lunch and some sort of croquette, plus a huge something, possibly for breakfast; 3) other food at the SuperMercado, where I FOUND Kleenex (different brand) and found out where we could get a rotisserie chicken (2 blocks away); and 4) the chicken place, where P, who counts his change (unlike me) had to ask for his $100 Urug. money back. Sun is bright, and we are taking a lunch break before we tackle the shopping for fruits and veggies, plus a trek to see the Amtel building skyscraper, which we can see out the back windows, and possibly to stumble across the actual main train station. We´ve already discovered the ancient train station which is being let go to rack and ruin.
5:45 pm - The croquette was filled with potato - ugh - but we ate it anyways, and the spinach pie was extremely bland. I got up to get the grated cheese to put on it, only to find that Philip had used it for the omelet last night, which was so tasty. We rested a bit this afternoon, watching a rally in Dayton, where John McCain announced his VP running mate, the woman governor of Alaska. Then we took off, via the bad neighborhood (but OK in daytime, I do believe; Philip made believe he was going to take one of the kitchen knives to help keep us safe) to find the new bus station, which we did and the Amtel skyscraper. We couldn´t understand what the receptionist was trying to tell us. ¨Only three minutes in the building?¨ A woman, Betty, from Switzerland, who´s here for 5 weeks to learn Spanish (a family and school, plus she´s staying with a cousin) came to our rescue. ¨The TOUR starts in 3 minutes.¨ It was all in Spanish, but we did get wonderful panoramic views of the city. Cooking carrots for supper, plus the rotisserie chicken we bought.
