Sunday, February 27, 2011

27 de Febrero 2011 - On the pier

27 de Febrero 2011

Today, we had lunch with Mari´s family - mother, father, uncle, brother, sister-in-law, nephew, plus Mari and I. For the meal we had delicious store bought, yet hand made raviolis and red sauce. We each had a giant plate full that left us all feeling stuffed.

After lunch, Mari and I took a stroll down to the waterfront, or as it´s referred to here - La Rambla. Her parents place is situated four blocks away from the waterfront, so after a 10 minute stroll we found ourselves facing the Rio de la Plata flowing by on its way to the sea. The water is actually a mix of fresh water and sea water, as Montevideo is placed near the mouth of the river as it meets the Atlantic Ocean.
A shot towards downtown along the coast.

As it was a beautifully hot and sunny day, there were many people hanging out on the local beaches - sunning, playing in the water, and drinking mate (pronounced maw-tae). Drinking yerba mate is the Uruguayan passtime, and you can see people anywhere, anytime, drinking the tea like herb. Especially so on the beach around 5 pm in the afternoon. Scanning the beach its easy to pick out the people drinking mate, with a large thermos and cup in hand. Its similar to seeing the coffee drinkers walking around Seattle.

Today was definately a nice day to be in Montevideo.

Friday, February 25, 2011

25 de Febrero 2011

Some info on Uruguay.



I am going to try and learn some things about Uruguay while I am here, and will try and outline interesting facts here on the blog. This will enable me to continue learning while holding onto a hobby of informing those of you back home where I am and what I am up to.



Uruguay is composed of 19 departments. This structrue is perhaps similar to the counties we have back home Washington State - King County, Snohomish County, Pierce County and so on.




Here is the same map relating the names of each department.



As you can see in the image above and below, Montevideo (the dept. where Mari and I are residing) is the smallest department of the 19, located all the way at the bottom of the map.



Each of the 19 departments has a capital city that monitors the department. For example - Colonia del Sacramento is the capital of Colonia. In this respect, Montevideo is the capital for the department of Montevideo, while also serving as the countries capital as well.

Stealing from http://www.wikipedia.org/, Uruguay "is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital of Montevideo and its metropolitan area. Comparing Seattle and Montevideo, Wikipedia relates that the 2010 census found that Seattle is home to 630,320 residents within a metropolitan area of some 3.4 million inhabitants. Thus, the greater metropolitan area of Seattle has roughly the same number of inhabitants as all of Uruguay.

Uruguay won its independence between 1811–28 following a struggle between the claims of Argentina and Brazil, being laid by England, Spain and Portugal. There were three major battles fought in 1811 that helped bring about Independence for Uruguay. The 200 year anniversary, the bicentenial, is going to be celebrated here in 3 days on February 28th 2011.

Stealing a bit from http://www.explore-uruguay.com/, "Uruguays National Independence day is known as Independence of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay.

At the end of May 1810, news came to Montevideo about the establishment of the First National Government in Buenos Aires. The people of Uruguay now begin to have feeling about emancipation.

On February 28, 1811, a group consisting of hundreds of patriots and led by Pedro Venancio José Viera y Benavides took the cities of Soriano. Once taken, he proclaimed the end of Hispanic domination."

This was the first battle of many, spread over several years, that helped free Uruguay and set it apart from its much larger neighbors - Argentina to the west and Brazil to the north.

The major military leader here is Artigas - or rather, Jose Gervasio Artigas Arnal. He is the national hero of Uruguay, and is referred to as "the father of Uruguayan independence". There is a major building devoted to his tomb located in downtown Montevideo and is open free to the public everyday and stationed with armed guards. Its quite a site.

Artigas admired the United States of America and was said to always carry a copy of the United States Constitution with him. He wanted the United Provinces of the River Plate government to be based on the same federalist ideas as the USA. These ideals went against what the Buenos Aires government of the time wanted, but he managed to gain the support of some other provinces. Because of this, the Buenos Aires government supported the Portuguese invasion of the Eastern Bank. - Wikipedia

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

22 de Febrero 2011

Updates on Mari.

After so much time spent in wonder and pain, Mari finally went to the doctor yesterday. They poked and prodded at the cyst and deemed it too infected and swollen for surgery. The decision was to allow it to heal a bit more before they can operate, which entails draining the wound. Thus, yesterday they sliced her open to drain the fluids that had built up around the cyst in her chest. After squeezing out what they could in the hospital, they placed a plastic tube inside the wound and bandaged it up, sending her home to allow the wound to continue draining over night. Her once white bandage slowly turned moist and pink throughout the day.

This morning, she returned to the hospital for a checkup and cleaning. Even though the cyst is on the mend, they said they need to leave the draining tube inside and that she needs to return to the hospital every morning for the next five days so they can keep an eye on it. This will allow the infection to heal and all the mucus and buildup inside to subside. Once the cyst has been allowed to heal a bit, they can admit her to surgery and cut the entire thing out.

Mari feels horrible at being served the triple whammy.

  1. The pain and uncomfortability of the infection
  2. the pain and uncomfortability of the draining and healing process
  3. and the inevitable pain and uncomfortability of the surgery process.

She kicks herself for not having had it removed before where she simply would have had the single pain and uncomfortability of just the surgery process, minus the first two that she is enduring now.

As for Montevideo, here is the weather forecast for the next several days.

  • Tue 77°F 66°F
  • Wed 77°F 64°F
  • Thu 77°F 66°F
  • Fri 78°F 69°F

I havent stepped out of the house yet, but the sky is blue and littered with a bit of whispy clouds here and there.

Mari is not feeling 100%, Ruy is at work, Lucy is off running errands, so I have found myself sorta trapped in an abyss of unknown suburbs. I have a lot to learn on where I am in context to the city, and how to use and get around on the buses. Not to mention my extreme lack of true spanish skills.

But.....yesterday, Mari, Ruy and I spent the day analyzing the 4 local gyms. Looking at the facilities and finding the pricing structures. 2 of the gyms are uber expensive, while the other 2 are priced more adequately. I think joining the gym will be the first adventure for me here in Uruguay.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

A bit on Uruguay

20 de Febrero 2011

Mari and I arrived safe and sound in Uruguay. We are now staying in a small suburb of Montevideo, the capital. The neighborhood is known as Malvine. Mari´s parents, Ruy and Lucy, live here - in a nice 2 bedroom condo.



The house is full of old photos - like this one. Look how cute Mari was as a child!


When we arrived home Mari´s nephew, Matias, was staying over. Matias is 3 years old and is not much of a talker. They recently took him to a see the doctor and found that he has liquid in both his ears. I am not exactly sure what this means, but he will be heading into surgery in less than a week to hopefully fix the problem. Poor little guy.

We are eating well thanks to Ruy´s cooking. And can finally sit back and relax for a bit. Since we arrived on Saturday, we need to wait until Monday for Mari to see the doctor. She has an appointment bright and early tomorrow morning. I dont know if this is a consultation, or a surgery appointment, but we are ready for either. Wish her luck.
T


Friday, February 18, 2011

18 de Febrero 2011

We fly out of Panama City today towards Uruguay on the 6:30 pm flight, arriving somewhere around 5:30 am in Montevideo.

Yesterday we spent nearly the entire day, no joke, in the Allbrook Mall shopping. I bought sneakers, underwear, shorts, sweaters, and a hoodie. Plus, speakers for my Ipod. Mari bought gifts for friends and family, as well as clothing as well. We bought a medium sized piece of luggage as well to support our new indulgences.

Traveling with our backpacks through the last 8 countries we were traveling light, but now that we are headed to Uruguay and will be settling in for a while, we needed to round out some of the holes lacking in our wardrobe. Plus, we know its cheaper to buy the things here than it will be to purchase them in Uruguay.

Its 10:15 am right now. I need to pack up my things and get ready for check-out. Then we can linger around the city a bit before heading out.

Ciao.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

16 de Febrero 2011

Today, we switched hostels - Moving from La Jungla to Mamallena. We were paying $29 a night in a dorm at La Jungla and figured for $30 a night we could have a private room at Mamallena. After a cancelation came thru right when we needed it, we moved on over. Now we have a cute little room in a very nice hostel.

We then took a taxi to Casco Viejo, the older part of town across a small harbor from Downtown. Traffic in Panama City is horrible, very stop and go and congested. Tons of cars, tons of taxis, and some buses. We have been taking taxi's arround town as we have heard that the buses are complicated, coupled with the fact that the taxi's are dirt cheap. We can get almost anywhere we want for $2. But, the trouble is getting them to stop. They are very very particular about who they pick up and where they are heading. If they want to drive north and you are heading south, they just point in a general direction and drive off. It takes talking to 10-20 taxis before you can find one heading where you want it to head. And this isnt only for us foreigners, I see the same process happen to the locals as well. Its very confusing. Mari made a comment to one driver that they operate like collectivos, he replied that they are more like selectivos. I liked that response.

Anyway, we arrived to Casco Viejo only to be confronted by the Panamanian sun and heat. The clouds parted and the sun popped out to say hello. And it got hot. Mari (and her cyst) are now very sensitive to heat, so we snapped ate a quick lunch, snapped some quick photos, and retreated back to the hostel to relax.

A small group of kids were walking by as I was taking a picture of the boy in red sitting on the counter, but the boy in black wanted one of his own as well - to the hilarity of his friends.


The view of downtown across the harbor from Casco Viejo. If possible, look at the amount of buildings under construction.


Casco Viejo street corner.


As it was burning up outside under the sun, we indoors into one of the four churches in Casco Viejo. Enormous vaulted ceilings, immense doors, beautifully created stain glass windows of the classic saints. This was a beautiful structure.


Travis staring off into the Gulf of Panama.

Cystem Updates

Here are the updates on Mari's cyst.

I took this one yesterday afternoon. The swelling seems to be reducing around the cyst, which is good. But its increasing swelling right at the area of the cyst. Almost likes its thrusting outward. Its way more pronounced now than it was before.


I took this one today. I am sorry to say that I dont think its getting any better, even with medication. I am glad we altered our flight to arrive a few days sooner to Uruguay because I think Mari needs to have this removed as soon as possible. Its an unfortunate way to arrive home, but better there than here. In Uruguay she will have the love and support of family and friends.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Infections

Okay, here is a pic of Mari´s cyst. This is taken 2 days ago before we left Bocas del Toro. Now it doesnt look too much different, but maybe redder and way more swollen. I will try and take a more recent photo and put it up.

This cyst is right in the center of her sternum, between her breasts. Its been there for years, but is now causing a problem.



We changed our tickets, so we will be flying out of Panama City now on the 18th.

T

15 de Febrero 2011

Mari and I are now in Panama City. We arrived last night and are staying in a hostel named La Jungla in a barrio of the city named El Congrejo - the crab.

Today we visited the hospital for the second time druing our stay in Panama. Mari has a cyst on her chest, and has had it for years without problem, but for some reason while we were in Boquete it started acting up. We left Boquete and headed to Bocas Del Toro in the north to find that Mari couldnt move, breathe, or sleep without intense pain in her chest. The cyst turned bright red and hot, turned swollen and looks horrible. We spent our sceond day in Bocas waiting at the small, local hospital to be seen. The doc looked her over, prescribed antibiotics, ibuprofen to reduce the swelling, and some cream to rub on the area. The entire visit plus medication cost us $10.95.

For the next several days Mari suffered from pain and reduced movement. Now, the pain has reduced immensely, but the cyst still looks horrible. Its red and slightly less swollen, but looks like it has fluid inside. Ultimately, it needs to be sliced open, removed, drained and given time to heal. We are just counting the days til we can leave to Uruguay so she can have the surgery at home instead of during our stay here in Panama.

Anyway, the doctors today prescribed more antibiotics and said to wait to see what happens. If it gets worse, we will head back in. We are hoping that the reduction in pain can be correlated to the improvement of the ailment. We are crossing our fingers.

We have tickets back to Uruguay on the 24th. Just 9 more days to go.

I forgot to mention that one of the most curious things about Panama is that they use the US dollar as the currency. So everything is priced, bought, and sold in US dollars. Very strange I think.

Panama City looks to be under major construction. Looking at the skyline, I can see highrise after highrise under construction, building cranes atop the buildings like actual birds. Looking in the paper there are several advertisements for ingenieros (engineers). I dont know how much the jobs pay, but this looks like a really promising city to find a job in. Plus, the airport in Panama City is a major hub with cheaper flights everywhere. Not a bad location. I may have to work on my resume a bit.

Ciao

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

9 de Febrero 2011

Mari and I left Boquete this morning, barely. It was late in the day, but we did. We escaped the pleasant black hole that is Boquete. We took the local bus to David ($1.50 each) where we transfered to a minibus headed to Changuinola. We got off early in a town called Almirante ($7.00 each) where we (barely) caught a boat ($5.00 each) headed out to Isla Colon. We are now in an island town called Bocas Del Toro. We are on the northern coast of Panama, which means we are back on the Carribean side of the world once again, which we havent seen since Belize.

Knowing we would be rolling into town late, we decided to book a place in advance, before we left Boquete. When we arrived, of course no one knew anything and all that existed was my name scribbled next to a room name that no one possessed the power to actually give us. For months, we have traveled without reservations. It has always worked out, but sometimes it just costs a little more in the end, as all the cheap rooms are rented already. Anyway, we left the hostel Spanish by the Sea in spite, and ended up staying in Casa Verde. A very nice place. Its got a bar and restaurant, as well as a nice communal kitchen, a beautiful deck for sunning, and several dorm rooms and private rooms. The unfortunate part is we are paying $30 for a private room, but its better to arrive and pay a bit more than to arrive and have nothing available for rent.

After checking in, we ran to a local bar to watch Uruguay beat Argentina in the Under 20 soccer tournament. Its a hexagonal tournament, which I have never heard of, but six teams compete for the title. The top two go directly to the Olympics in London. Looks like Uruguay is kicking ass in the soccer world lately.

We arrived under cover of night, but the town already has the allure of a Caribbean beach town. I cant wait to explore a little more tomorrow.

We bought tickets to Uruguay. We will be flying from Panama City on the evening of Feb. 24th. So from here on out, we are going to fully enjoy the rest of our trip. There is a scuba diving certification program here that I want to check out. Perhaps I will go through with it. We'll see.

Other than that, we are drinking Balboa and doing well. I see Balboa recieved a C grade, I cant say I am surprised. It seems all the national beers do. But Mari likes this one the best so far, if that has any meaning. On a whim I looked up my personal favorite, Mannys Pale Ale from Seattle, and it has a rating of an A-. Hmmm, I may have to pilfer through the site a bit more to find which beers are A's and A+'s.

T

Monday, February 7, 2011

7 de Febrero 2011

I have to apologize for my slightly negative review of Boquete before, this is actually a very sweet, beautiful small town set in a valley between green tree filled mountains with hot, dry sun during the day and cool crisp winds at night. The air is clean and pleasantly filled with the smell of flowers that grow abundently anywhere and everywhere. I can definately see why this is a bustling center of retirees. Its got all the elements of a great place to retire, if you enjoy the benefits of a small , quiet mountain town.



Yesterday, Mari and I visited a garden located about a 20 min walk away from the center of town. It was exquisitely filled with all types of plants, planted with thought and care. There were several Koy ponds speckling the area, and a winding path that made its way throughout - sometimes crossing bridges over the ponds. We saw daisies, hydrangia, orchids, and a hundred more that I cant name by sight. Later, we went to the local gringo bar to watch the superbowl and drink beer. Which actually entailed Mari using the WI-FI while I watched the first half of the superbowl with the other expats in the bar. We ended up leaving halfway thru because the we were sitting in the open air bar freezing due to the nightly temperature drop and heavy winds, only to watch the Steelers get destroyed. Thus we retreated to our warm, comfortable room. I learned today the Green Bay did win, but the score was a bit closer than I had anticipated after watching the first half.

Today, Mari and I headed out of town on the local collectivo headed towards the town of Caldera to visit some hotsprings. Even though the local volcanoe is inactive, there are still remnants of volcanic activity - ie hot springs. The collectivo dropped us off at the entrance to the dirt road headed towards the hot springs - about a 40 minute walk away. It was a perfect day for a hike as you can see from the photo.

Arriving at the hot springs, we found that we were on private property and paid the owners $2 each for our entrance fee. The land is still natural, and its simply a local family on farm land that has a few hot springs in their backyard. As we walked towards the springs we sighted a cute little monkey prancing about in the trees. Pulling a small honey candy from our pockets I enticed the monkey down for a treat.



He absolutely loved that candy. He sat licking and sucking on it for quite a while. Displaying all his cute and desirable qualities in the process. He was so cute. Look at the way he uses his tail.


Having put in our monkey time, we headed to the springs. The springs are in the same natural state they probably were 200 years ago. Its nice sometimes to compare the state of things here to the states. Here, it lies used, yet unaltered for all to use for a minimal fee. I know in the states, these natural springs would have been bought and altered by some company bent on creating a natural spa. They would have been excavated to produce clean, concrete pools and lined with benches for sitting. Possibly all of it would be housed in a rustic looking log cabin type building to insulate the heat within. All, most likely done in order to charge exhorbinant fees. Or.... perhaps I am just a bit jaded?

Yet here, its simply a pebble and dirt bottomed pond in the back of the house. They done sell soda, beer, water, or anything. You simply pay to use the ponds and leave. I read there were 3 ponds, but we only saw 2. Both were shallower than I had imagine, perhaps knee deep in the center. But they were wide enough to lay back in and enjoy. And the best part, both were very very warm. Surpisingly so.

We alternated between the hot springs and the cold water river flowing alongside, just for the pure juxtiposition of it all.
On our way out, we ran into this cute little two some. The little boy was barefoot and buck naked, running around the yard while his older sister looked after him. They were incredibly gorgeous. And Mari and I fell in love with the local children yet again, as we have in ever single country we have visited. We pondered why they werent in school, and what their futures were in this little village. But nonetheless, they live in a safe, beautiful stretch of Panama that looks and feels like a natural paradise. I think they have a lot to look forward to.


Tomorrow, we will leave Boquete headed to the coast. Possibly the Carribean, possibly the Pacific. Either way, this town will be missed as it has been one of the highlites of our entire trip. If you get the chance to visit, I would highly encourage you to do so.

Friday, February 4, 2011

4 de Febrero 2011

We made it to Panama. We are now in a town called Boquete, about 2.5 hours from the Costa Rican border at Paso Canoas.

We traveled yesterday from San Jose 3 hours south to a town called San Isidro de El General, but we didnt really like the look, so we bought another ticket and kept heading south to a town called Nielly, near the Costa Rica - Panama border. We rolled in after 7 pm so it was a bit dark, but we located a room to stay in without a problem. Mari quickly collapsed into bed with a burning migrain, and I made my way to the store to purchase bananas, water, a liter of beer and ice cream. I made it back to the room, opened the ice cream to share with Mari. Opened the bottle of water, took a swig, and while trying to screw the cap back on dropped it on the floor. While bending over to pick it up, I knocked over my liter of beer, shattering on the floor and filling the room with shattered hopes and dreams along with a strong odor of beer. Thus, I spent the next 20 minutes cleaning up the beer and glass fragments. Poor me!

We awoke this morning, ate at a local eatery, then hopped on a bus headed to the border. arriving at the border, we got our passports stamped outta Costa Rica and made our way to the entry point of Panama. We stood patiently in line awaiting our turn at the little window, only to be told that we needed proof of exit before we would be allowed entry into the country. Now...I am not knocking Panama, but really? Is this the country that people flood into and never leave, especially Americans? Hmmm, I never knew. Perhaps the economy is booming and Mari and I just dont know any better. Anyways, we spent the next hour or so in a nearby cybercafe creating a mock flight itinerary ¨proving¨ we would be leaving the country. Well done Panama! You turned us into actual lying, coniving people, even though we really are leaving at some point.

With our fake document in hand, we passed right through and hopped on a bus headed to David, Panama´s second largest city, where we caught another bus north to where we are now - Boquete. I heard this place was a nice mountain town, located near the local volcano and highest point in Panama. What we found is an American commune/retirement community. Not quite what I thought it would be, and I blame Lonely Planet for failing to say such a thing. I really wish I could talk to the authors of this book sometimes. But, on the same thread, it gave me a great idea how to improve upon the text and make world wide traveling information more accessable to the masses. I need to discuss this plan with a few tech savy friends.

Now that we are in Panama, we do actually need to drum up a plan to head south. As you probably know, Panama is attached to South America, connecting to the northern part of Columbia. As you probably didnt know, this path south through Panama is inaccessible. The southern region of Panama is called Darien. This southern strip of land, connecting to Columbia is known as the Darrien gap - and its off limits. There are no real roads or thoroughfares through. It is heavily used by the drug runners funneling drugs into Central America from Columbia. It is not impossible to cross, people have done it, but it is not recommended and said to be quite dangerous. Thus, anyone heading south from Panama must either fly to Columbia, or take a boat to sail to Columbia.

We need to make a decision. We have three choices. Fly to Columbia, and continue our travels. Sail to Columbia, and continue our travels. Or, break from the plan and fly to Uruguay for a respite, then continue our travels northward. Our fake itinerary is a flight to Uruguay. What will our real itinerary be? Not sure, but we have to decide soon.

T

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

2 de Febrero 2011

Congratulations to us!

Today is our 3 month anniversary. We left way back on Nov. 2nd of 2010, and already we have hit Feb. 2nd of 2011. Today marks:
  • 3 months on the road
  • 7 countries visited
  • 1 count of food poisoning (each)
  • 1 bus breakdown (unrepaired)
  • 1 bus with flat tire (repaired)
  • and 8 border crossings

Not too bad so far.

Mari and I are now in San Jose, the capital of Costa Rica. We are staying in a place called Hostel Pangea, and even though its costing us an arm and a leg, I have to say this place is well built for backpackers and tourists. Its got a bar and restaurant, lots of computers with internet, a swimming pool, a pool table, and tons and tons of rooms. It was definately built by someone who knew what they were doing and geared towards attracting a certain type of traveler. Our room is $32 for the night. I think it ranks as the 3rd most expensive room of our trip so far. But, its actually not too bad, as our norm in CR has been around $30 bucks or so a night. Its just hard cause the bus system here is expensive, the food is expensive, and the rooms are expensive. We do nothing all day but the essentials and we have already surpassed our budget. Its tough.

Plus, everywhere we go there are waterfalls, volcanoes, canopy tours, wildlife tours, city tours, river tours, hikes, rafting, hot springs etc etc etc, that range anywhere from $35 to $125 dollars per person. Its a beautiful place, and I am glad I came, but I just cant afford to stay here for too long. Its on par with being back in the states, financially, as well as with all the tourists we meet.

We left La Fortuna this morning after arriving yesterday to find Volcan Arenal dormant (we were told is has been for the last 3 months) and super shrouded in heavy cloud cover. Figuring there wasnt much to see, we bailed out after one day and headed here to the capital. We will be heading south, making our way towards Panama day by day.

Ciao