Feb. 27/28 - Uruguay/Argentina

March 8th, 2006 | By April | No Comments »

Day 210/211 - In the morning Alejandro took us to a mechanic that his friend suggested. A mysterious noise was still coming from the back of the car, which we figured out was probably the CV joint; and an oil leak was developing. The time the mechanic needed to fix the van was too long, and they said they probably wouldn’t have the part we needed. So we decided to try Argentina instead. Thank you Alejandro for everything!!!!!

So it was off to Carmelo this morning, to pick up our bike that we had left at Orlando’s mother’s house, and to visit with Orlando’s other brother Velarde. Unfortunately, he wasn’t around and we weren’t sure when he would be back. So we got the oil changed and checked one more time to see if Velarde was around. We left a note for him at the house, then took off north to Salto and the border crossing for Argentina. On the road again.

My cold got worse and put me out of commission for two days, but that was okay because we were basically just driving most of the time, up to the border and then up to the Iguazu Falls at the border of Brazil and Argentina. Our first night we stopped at a hot springs campground, Termas de Guaviyu, which was on the way to the Argentinean border. It was full to the seams with Uruguayans and Argentineans on holiday for Carnival. Everywhere we looked there were tents and smiling faces.

We crossed the border in the morning, same as before, and drove up to the town of Eldorado, where we looked for a mechanic. We saw a VW dealership and they pointed us to a very nice mechanic. He went through, in broken Spanish, all the items we wanted to fix and told us that they didn’t have the parts we needed, and to try this other shop. They were so helpful that they even wrote down all the items we were looking to fix in Spanish. The CV joint has stopped making sounds, but our small oil leak (wouldn´t be a VW van without one) had become bigger. The next mechanic looked at it and told us the same thing, and directed us to one last guy that works on trucks but has a Kombi (camper van) as well. Jason spoke with him and it turned out that he spoke English and said to bring the van in the morning and he’d look at it – and he thought it would be no problem.

We spent the beginning of that night at a municipal campground. Most towns in Argentina have one, and it was free. It seemed nice and safe enough. Later in the night, right before we were going to bed, a small group of young men and kids came by and hung out at a picnic shelter that was near our car. They brought their boom box and played their tunes loudly into the night, sometimes helping the singer along with the lyrics. They weren’t giving us any problems, so we just laid there listening to their Spanish conversations and waited for them to get tired and go home. They finally started to leave, then, as Jason poked his head down to see if they really left, he saw two of the guys quietly sneaking back. They started to check out our bike on the back of the van, and we could see them in the mirrors. Jason made a bit of noise and shook the van a bit, which made them take off running. We didn’t waste our time and closed down the pop top and left the park; not wanting to have to worry about them coming back to try at the lock again. Free camping always comes with a price, I guess.

Feb. 26 - Uruguay

March 8th, 2006 | By April | 1 Comment »

Day 209 - We parted ways with Lyndell, Orlando, Arianna, and Dito; they were heading off to the airport that night. We had such a great time with you guys and loved visiting Uruguay. We can´t thank you enough for sharing your time and family with us during the trip! We miss you guys a lot and can’t wait to see you again, hopefully sooner than later! Thank you to all of Orlando’s family for bringing us into your homes and letting us feel like family; we had a really great time.

This morning, after sad goodbyes, we set off to tour Colonia and visit Orlando´s brother, Alejandro. Alejandro was super nice and walked with us all around town. He showed us the harbor, old town, and his neighborhood. The old buildings and the small streets lined with trees create a tranquil feeling throughout the town. While we were walking around we saw a vehicle that had to belong to a world traveler; they are easy to pick out because normally they are Range Rovers or Land Rovers and are fully decked out with storage and are very secure & strong looking. We left them a card of ours on the windshield with a note on the back. Overall we had a really nice day, that was spent in great company. After dinner and strong insistence from Alejandro, we stayed in his apartment for the night. He made me a steaming pot of herbs to breathe in through my nose to help with a small cold I was getting; yes the second one in two weeks It really helped clear up my throat and nose. Great stuff!

Feb. 24/25 - Uruguay

March 8th, 2006 | By April | 1 Comment »

Day 207/208 - We started off early in the morning to get back to Montevideo before the sun was scorching down on the car, and also to return Orlando’s rental car. The drive went really fast through green fields of grass that rolled along, with a few rock outcroppings appearing here and there. It was what I have been told Ireland might look like, not counting the bushels of trees that would pop up once in awhile. We also drove by a lot off of the side of highway that had about 15-20 ancient cars, which would be considered classics in the States. I love all the old cars down here, and how they keep them running. In Colonia we saw a Model T with wooden wheels, and it looked like it was in working condition!

A big storm blew in during the afternoon and dumped walls of rain on Montevideo. The wind gusted through the streets with such force it caused a few trees, and old trees at that, to be torn from the roots and crash down on the street! I hope no one got hurt, it seemed like no one was around when it happened. Our day was mostly spent working on the computer and watching cartoons (Tom & Jerry was a favorite) and playing soccer, of course. It was a good chance for me to catch up on writing, and for us to relax our sun soaked bodies. That night we watched a movie that Marcela´s boyfriend, Diego, helped produce, called Whiskey, which is the equivelent of saying ‘cheese’ in the States. It won the Prix du Regard Original and Fipresci International Critics award at the 2004 Festival de Cannes. I really enjoyed the film and thought it was a really well shot. It is about the life of an average Uruguayan who owns a sock factory; his brother comes to town to visit a year after their mother had passed away. Since he was still a bachelor and a bit embarrassed about not being married, like his brother was, he hires one of his workers to pose as his wife. For all I could tell there seemed to be some good dry humor and a great story line, though we only caught what we could because it was in Spanish… I am going to re-watch it in a year or two when I can understand Spanish better.

We spent the next day exploring Montevideo. We walked around downtown and the old part of town. We went to lunch at a superb restaurant with the family, Marcela, and Diego. It was an amazing meal, with a champagne type drink that is called ‘medio y medio’ (half and half), half sparkling wine and dry white wine. It was a delicious and refreshing drink on a hot day. Lyndell and Orlando treated us to the lunch – Thank you guys so so much; it was really good!!!! After wandering the streets some more, and looking at Museo Torres Garcia, (a great artist and if I was rich I would have bought a bunch of stuff from the gift shop), we headed back to the apartment and did some more computer work and watched more cartoons and movies.

Feb. 22/23 - Uruguay

March 7th, 2006 | By April | 2 Comments »

Day 205/206 - Being only two blocks from the beach, it didn’t take us long to go test the ocean waters in the morning, once we all got moving. Jason, Arianna, Lyndell, and I pretty much lazed around on the beach, in the water, or in the house (to cool down) while Orlando, Dito, and Felipe went to visit a friend of Orlando’s from high school. In the evening Lyndell, Arianna, Dito, Jason, Felipe, and I went to the sand dunes to get our daily exercise, and to watch people sand boarding. Dito had asked to borrow a board from a family that wasn’t using theirs, and the kids all gave it a try, cruising down the slope. We had a lot of fun playing in the enormous pile of sand and got thoroughly saturated with all it’s particles. At one point I was able to get my legs sunk in the sand all the way to my knees. This was a small taste of what the desert will be like when we explore it, which made me very excited for the future.

We did pretty much the same thing the next day, trying our best to become dolphins in the surf and enjoying the hot weather. Arianna, Felipe, and I also built a sand castle, with some contribution from Orlando. Arianna and Felipe even created some mountains and farmlands around the front entrance and even built a great defense system. It was a full on city in the sand. We spent the afternoon playing cards, a Uruguayan version of rummy, and eating. They have a different set of symbols on their playing cards in Uruguay, which was really cool to see. They use clubs (the weapon kind), swords, cups, and coins as the symbols, but have the same numbers and kings, queens, and jacks.

We also had ice cream at this amazing shop. It was homemade ice cream with all natural ingredients and we could taste every flavor and piece that went into making it. It was the by far the best ice cream (gelato) I have ever eaten! Mark you have to come to Uruguay and give it a try!

Feb. 21 - Uruguay

March 7th, 2006 | By April | No Comments »

Day 204 - It was a long night, but we were all up early, because today we went to the beaches of eastern Uruguay. We stopped first in Punta del Este, a major beach town, and had lunch. The most impressive thing to me was the hand sculpture at the beach, just off the center of town. I was told it was sculpted in memory of people who have drowned. With that knowledge it was very moving to me. The sculpture really seemed to catch that last particular action perfectly, a hand raised out of the water, and hold on to it for the viewer to take in. Depressing to say the least, but beautiful. A well done piece of art.

As we headed further east, down the coast Henry, our van, started make a louder sound than was necessary. It was coming from the back-end of the vehicle, by the wheels. So we spent some time driving around two different towns trying to find a mechanic/gas station that does lubrications for cars. We wanted to have them check the level of our transmission fluid. Turns out the fluid was full and nothing looked wrong. So after jiggling a few things around, Jason and the mechanic went for a ride to see if they could hear the sound. Henry decided to be quiet; he is shy I guess! We were fine for the rest of the drive, for now….

We made our way slowly to Barra Valisas, stopping at a roadside cafe to enjoy some coffee and to let the kids stretch their legs. It was the perfect travelling pace to enjoy the road. Barra Valisas is a beach town, and I think the best way to describe it is as a gypsy town. It is a very bohemian village with a transient personality. A network of roads made of out of sand and straw help the driveways be less of a trap for cars. Stores selling handmade jewelry, restaurants, homemade ice cream, and recently caught seafood lined the main street. The people who lived there were laid back, transient, hippie types; along with vacationers wanting a quieter, less crowded beach. We stayed at Orlando’s friend’s vacation house in the company of his mother, Blanquita. Blanquita is a marvelous lady, with unquenchable energy. She is a very generous host, full of smiles. The house was a nice clean stucco home with a loft upstairs for sleeping. It stayed very cool during the hot heat of mid day, and is the perfect size for a vacation home. The water level in the well was very low, due to low rain in the area for the past few months. But when the water did come, it came out as a nice, chilling shower that cooled us off; though not everyone enjoyed the temperature as much as I did

Feb. 20 - Uruguay

March 7th, 2006 | By April | No Comments »

Day 203 - We left early this morning with a stop in Colonia to have breakfast with one of Orlando’s brothers, Alejandro. Unfortunately he was unable to make it at last minute. Colonia has a world heritage site in the historic district which we drove through, but we didn’t spend too much time there because our main destination was Montevideo, for Felipe’s (Dito and Arianna’s cousin) birthday party. We decided we could stop there later on our way back to Argentina.

Montevideo is the largest city, and capital, of Uruguay. We stayed at Marcela’s home (Orlando’s sister and Felipe’s mom) in the designer area of town. I really should say we stayed outside of her home and used her facilities. We have been sleeping in the van every night since we got it back, it’s nice to sleep in our own bed. The building she is renting has extremely tall, narrow, wooden carved doors and ancient keys to lock them. The front part of the building is her business; a casting and video production company. The back end is her home, with a brightly lit courtyard that is the center of the house. The courtyard has a glass roof on wheels to cover it when it rains, but to let in the breeze when it is sunny. Lastly there is the back patio, which is where Felipe’s birthday celebration was held. Lots of family members and friends gathered to partake in asado and cake.

Feb. 19 - Uruguay

March 7th, 2006 | By April | 2 Comments »

Day 202 - It was a week of sickness. Orlando’s immediate family (Lyndell, Dito, & Arianna) unluckily got colds from the plane flight. Arianna was out of commission for two days with a fever, right after they arrived in the city. Dito and Lyndell got the cold a few days later. On top of that Jason and I had a sinus cold that we got right before we left Chile – the first time we’ve been sick since leaving the States. So, overall, we took it pretty easy. Though I think the Brookhouse-Gil family must have been mermaids in their past lives, because we spent almost everyday in the water, and enjoyed every bit!

To get a respite from the hot summer air we went to a quarry which is filled by a natural spring. It was outside of Carmelo, located on a 77 hectors (roughly 140 acres) property, with a farm house that was for sale. We all day-dreamed of buying the land and talked about everything that we could create on it. The surrounding area was all grass fields and vineyards; along the rockcliff edge were some young trees that ruffled in the breeze amid long, wild grass. The water was refreshing and clean, a nice break from the salty ocean agua. The daring people among us climbed up on a tree and jumped into the water. That night Lyndell cooked us up some excellent pasta and homemade sauce. There is a lot of Italian food here, since 30% of the heritage is Italian; but the average meal in Uruguay is based around meat and bbq’s (asado in Spanish) and is the traditional favorite. For an asado they burn firewood on one side of the bbq platform, and when the coals are hot and ready they push them over to the other side, right under the grill. As the coals get colder they feed more fresh coals from the constantly burning fire under the grill. The meats are mainly hamburger, hot dogs, sausages, ribs, intestines…. everything. Spanish food is also popular since that is another 30% of the heritage, and Spanish tortillas are very common.

Feb. 18 - Uruguay

March 3rd, 2006 | By April | 3 Comments »

Day 201 - Border crossing number two in South America - and it was first time we actually had our van searched. The officials for both countries are in the same building, on the Argentinean side, and it was very simple. We got our stamps and then filled out our permit paper for the van and they stamped it. After that we drove the van up to the inspections area, where they briefly searched our cupboards for any fresh food. Next was fumigation, the full-on drive through kind – the car drives slowly through a gate and the spray comes out on all four sides, dousing the vehicle. As we drove out of the crossing area we had to stop for one more fumigation - we had to get out and wipe our shoes on a floor mat that had been soaked in fumigation stuff, and then roll Henry through a good sized puddle to get the wheels thoroughly clean, again. They are very concerned about Mad Cow disease and Foot & Mouth, because they have never had either of them in the country, and beef is 1/3 of their economy. So we politely wiped our shoes as we entered Uruguay.

the bridge to Uruguay!!

Now, we has seen a lot of countryside and have been on many scenic drives, but this one takes the cake. We both fell in love with the Uruguayan farm land. The vast, rolling hills are covered with never ending green fields that are gently dotted with trees. The sky was a true ‘sky blue’ - so pure and brilliant, stretching beyond reach. Although we were both tired from our fast paced driving, the last four and a half hours was extremely tranquil and relaxing – we couldn’t complain. All we could do was talk about how stunning it was and how we could go about buying a piece of this land to set up a small farm house and maybe invite artists to come and use our studios……always thinking and dreaming.

The magnificent countryside of Uruguay

In the late afternoon we drove into Carmelo, a quaint town with small streets and little buildings. The historic architecture here is pristine, with iron lattice work and detailed craftsmanship. Only needing to turn once, we drove into town and found Orlando’s mother’s house with ease. We spent the afternoon relaxing under avocado trees and a jasmine vine trellis, chatting and slowly meeting Orlando’s family members. In the evening we went down to the beach on the Uruguay River to cool off. On our way back into town we heard some drums playing and headed off to watch the music performance.

a tired but relaxed afternoon with Lyndell, Dito, and Orlando.

Uruguay is filled with old old cars that are amazing to look at, and what is more amazing - they run