Uruguay

Terri and I traveled to Uruguay this weekend and visited two separate places: Colonia and Montevideo.

Colonia: This is an old fort town that is very quiet. The first night we were there, Terri and I were afraid to walk down the street because we are so accustomed to living in big cities that we thought quiet = "we are going to get hacked into tiny pieces by maniacs."

Of course, we were wrong. This town has an near zero crime rate and turns out to be a fantastic place to live. While there we saw ruins of an old fort that occupies one of the central sections of the town. Also, we visited a farm were we saw the Guinness World Record collection of pencils, pins, key chains, and other knick knackery. Pretty exciting stuff!! If you ever wanted find a guy who really knows his purpose in life, then look no further than the knick knack man living on a farm in Colonia, Uruguay.

Montevideo: Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, is a very pretty city with great beaches along the mouth of the Rio De La Plata.

We spent one day hanging out on the beach and another day touring the sites and monuments around the city. We both really enjoyed the "Ciudad Vieja" or Old Town area. There was an incredible mausoleum built for a General Jose Artigas (basically the George Washington of Uruguay) located at the entrance to the Ciudad Vieja. This was a "must-see" site, however, the changing of the guard was a bit anticlimactic. You can see Terri way in the background of that picture walking around the mausoleum.

Teatro Solis - Gorgeous Theater in the heart of Ciudad Vieja










Terri didn't want me browsing the merchandise at this local Montevideo shop

Carnaval in Gualeguaychu

Throughout the months of January and February, Carnaval takes place all throughout South America. Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina and, of course, Brazil are home to many celebrations, and a lot of half-clothed (más or menos) people.

When we arrived down in Argentina, Chuck and I both signed up to several Expat groups to get involved in different activities in the city. Through a Meetup group, we found out about Carnaval in Gualeguaychu.

Gualeguaychu is in the province of Entre Rios, about 230 km north of Buenos Aires. One of the main sources of income for the city is tourism. Unfortunately, Argentina has received above normal amounts of rain this year, so the river on which the city is situated, was flooded so much that the river had totally engulfed the beach. That must have been why everyone was so excited for Carnaval this year!

So believe it or not there is a point, and even a competition, involved in Carnaval. There are three teams who compete. I’m not sure exactly what they compete for other than the name of winner of Carnaval 2010, but it adds a certain element of competition to the event. The three themes and team names are listed below. I’ve included snapshots of each to see if they convey the theme they were trying to create.

Team O’Bahia
Comparsa del Club de Pescadores (Fisherman Club)

Team Ara Yevi
Espiritu de Naturaleza (Spirit of Nature)

Team Papelitos
Pan Y Circo(Literal translation: Bread and Circus. However, it is an expression used to describe the current practice of a government to keep people quiet or hide facts in issue.)




See below a few videos from the event. It’s hard to fully describe the enthusiasm during each “show” but the music is contagious and everyone is singing it…even though we didn’t know what words we were saying. Needless to say, we had a wonderful time and met a lot of fun people. We arrived back in Buenos Aires at 7:30am on Sunday.

Chile Earthquake

I just wanted to post a message to our blog to let everyone know that we are safe and sound here in Buenos Aires. Believe it or not, we felt none of the effects of the massive earthquake that hit southwest Chili in the cities of Talca, Valparaiso, Concepcion, and spread all the way to Santiago.

I have not yet heard if other parts of Argentina were affected but will be listening to the news (to the best of my ability) this evening for more updates. I know this is a short post, but just wanted to thank everyone for their well wishes and concerns. We pray for those in Chile that lost love ones and are faced with rebuilding their lives.

More to come soon – now that we have moved apartments and solidified our travel plans.