It looks like you lucked out! Perfect weather for a flying city tour! Ready? Don't forget your helmet!...
(Basically, we've taken a lot of pictures so far, and like that one drawer in your kitchen, we've collected a lot of random stuff. So, we've put them all in a pile and tried to organize them, and instead of some fancy explanation or description, we'll just include some anecdotal commentary. So, here's our first random collection of random places, random people and random things. It's just more fun if you pretend you're flying a powered parachute.)PLACES
We were walking downtown one recent foggy Sunday morning and came to this plaza and park in Ciudad Vieja where people can pull up a bench and take a break and share mate. Kids were trying to climb the empty fountain's statue with the parents scolding them. We just liked the way things looked.
A few weeks earlier, we walked the Rambla and came across this maritime museum. I snickered at these models of the Pinta, Santa Maria and Niña for being so small, but now that I think about it, those boats changed the world...and so did gunpowder.
Another day we took a bus trip out to Cerro, the only real hill in town, across the bay of Montevideo. At the summit is another military and history museum. Standing on the deck of the old fort, looking across to the port area and the city skyline, you could imagine being stationed here during the colonial era, and what it would be like to see an approaching ship with a foreign flag...
Closer to home and today, we captured the entrance to Punta Carretas Shopping Mall, and behind that, the grand Sheraton Hotel. Would you believe that the mall is a former prison? As recently as the 1980's prisoners were being tortured and plotting their escape--once, over a 100 managed to tunnel out! Nowadays, these are two of the most popular places in town for visitors and shoppers...
It's amazing what you can see out the window. One evening, everything just lit up like fire--this picture can't even do it justice, but this was the view from our apartment for a few glorious minutes...
Around midnight in early June, we were waving down a taxi after visiting Jong Ah and her family for dinner. The government's primary congressional building, Palacio Legislativo, looked pretty awesome in the hazy midnight lights...
Now, let's swoop in down for a closer look at some people and their pastimes...
PEOPLEBack in January, at Punta del Este, we were strolling the sand when we passed this posse of expert domino players. You could tell that they spend entire summer days playing...
Back in Atlantida, this person had too much fun during the Carnaval festival and parade. But, he couldn't have chosen a better place to pass out on the street, surrounded by quiet vacation homes with residents that didn't mind. He slept here until about noon...
Last month, walking the Rambla, we discovered a skate park filled with youngsters trying out new tricks...
It's hard to tell, but this guy is actually heading to the right--he just landed backwards after launching up the ramp on the left...
A little further down the road, near the yacht club, people of all ages try their luck fishing in Rio de Plata's murky waters. They use poles that are about 5 meters, often bamboo if not some modern fiber, and no reels...
This young man is showing his support for both futbol teams--Wanderers in red and white, and Peñarol in black and yellow. It's uncommon for people to have multiple allegiances to teams, which may explain why he's sitting alone...
Most Uruguayans are not very tall. But, don't be fooled. These three young women enjoy the over-sized artsy chairs that sit near the entrance to the mall...
One night, we went to a soccer game in Centenario and were surprised when Eduardo and Natalie joined us and Javier and Juan Pablo in the stands. After the game, we were even more surprised to be taken for a joy ride in Eduardo's new car--an antique Chevrolet BelAir! This is perhaps the coolest car in town...
It still needs a little work, but Eduardo is the perfect guy for the job. You should hear the horn! It's the funniest thing in the world...we drove around scaring pedestrians in this monstrous mobile with an even more awkward honk!
But life can't all be relaxing fun. Let's spy on some people doing their everyday jobs...
Students in public school wear the classic white pinafores with big blue collar bows--the bigger the bow, the better the student. Javier's mom told us that his bow was to his knees! We found these cute street crossing signs outside a school, waiting to help after the bell...
A few days later, we were on the bus when school got out. Although some schools have private minivan school buses, most kids use the public transportation system. They filled this bus with giggly glee. Even though I looked like a weirdo asking these girls for a picture, the expressions that were captured are priceless...
People love to use their horns, and they couldn't have been more used and useless than in a long line of traffic at a main intersection during rush hour while two flatbed tow trucks were simultaneously wenching their catch aboard...
Asado is so popular here, that when you pass a construction site, they have a healthy fire grilling the crew's lunch. Often people barbecue right on the sidewalk. This man pulled his half barrel parilla outside on a late spring day to sell chorizos and asado to hungry passersby...
About once a week, usually the weekend, we hear a unique sound outside--a pan flute being blown, just a few simple notes followed by a trill made by quickly dragging the tubes across one's mouth. It's the knife man's song--and he's letting you know that he's nearby with his bike-turned-sharpener machine, whose pedals and chain now spin his grinding wheel.
Climbing the hill in Cerro, we were passed by a father and son pair of basuros--the people that scavenge the city's dumpsters for useful items and recyclable goods. Seeing them all the time in the city, we always wondered where they lived. Apparently, some of the open areas of Cerro make a good place for squatter communities and horse grazing. Lots of people had to learn to survive the hard way when Uruguay had a major economic crisis in 2002...
On my birthday, we went out to eat. We had seen this boy before, two or three times, entering restaurants in affluent neighborhoods and trying to sell flowers to patrons. After politely refusing his offer, only to be met with determined salesmanship, I decided to try and turn the tables by offering to take his picture--if he gave me a tip. He didn't appreciate it very much, but on the second attempt, he turned his frown upside-down and made this marvelous expression. Leandra made sure he got some coins for his cute smile...
Ok, let's see what kind of strange things we can find in this crazy city...
THINGSOne morning we woke to a disturbing site: the dumpster across the street appeared to have a body in it! Upon further inspection we realized it was just a neatly placed mannequin leg...
When you are in a foreign country, you always find some funny situations when you see things through the eye of your own language. For example, apparently, only a dummy would buy this...
And, if you take a close look--no, not at Barbie, at the other store--you might wonder what exactly is being sold there. I can tell you this, it is a women's store...
Well, the tour is just about over. Here we are over Pocitos beach again--the old guys are still playing that bocci ball game with the flat discs, and folks are enjoying a late spring sun. Now, which building did we take off from again?...
1 comment:
Adam -- I get the sense that you are enjoying yourself too much to come back to the more frentic life in the States!?!?
Niles
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