Years ago I read about a cruising boat that offered the villagers of the San Blas Islands a ride to a nearby village.   The twist to their story was that the villagers brought their dead elder on the boat to be transported and then buried in the village.   As New Yorkers, we are trained to avoid contact with people carrying dead bodies.   Actually, our ignore RADAR tries to avoid most other humans.   One of my goals for the cruise is to exit my comfort zone and have more experiences with the locals.   We have been discouraged from exploring the northern towns by the Marina boss.  The script has been the same “Never walk outside.  Only take cabs.   You most likely will be killed, even if you follow our advice.” We have been lucky as all of our Brazil dealings have been safe and crime free.

As you must know by now, Two Fish is the belle of the ball and we often have people in Brazil asking to take a photo of themselves with the boat.   Less common, actually never, is a request for Jason to join in the photo.

After our first night in Fortaleza, our boat was a backdrop for a swimsuit model shoot.   Gail informed me I would get no credit for exiting my comfort zone if I invited the models aboard.

While dropping off some waypoints at a friend’s boat, we were flagged down by the coast guard to come help a person ashore.   When we arrived by dinghy we were greeted by a paragraph of fast spoken portuguese.  We responded with the international face for “I am flummoxed”.    This got the typical response.   Many more paragraphs of Portuguese with increased speed.   Next time you are helping a tourist whose English is not great, please speak slowly.

After some gesticulation, it became clear to us that they wanted Two Fish to be the back drop for their wedding photos.   Only problem was that getting to Two Fish is not easy or neat.   The docks in Fortaleza are designed by Frankenstien and move violently.   We are med-moored but the stern is not close enough to walk onto the boat.   So one has to ferry across in our wet and slightly muddy dinghy.   Getting in the dinghy requires sitting down on the rusty dock and then rolling, falling and gently landing into the small boat.   Repeat process in reverse order to board Two Fish.   The loving couple made it aboard without falling in and we also had their entourage of two photographers and two wedding arrangers who carried props such as parasols and champagne. After about an hour, we shepherded them back onto the dinghy.   I wonder if, in 30 years, they will have a photo of Two Fish on the wall of their living room.   I can not fault them for good taste.  Maybe we should get an agent for Two Fish’s modeling career.   I would stand for more than a 5% cut to the agent.

Jason

 

(written January 26, 2014)

I am still a bit anxious when the breeze “freshens” as our sailing instructor Michael liked to say. So for those of you who consider 20 knots on the nose just the start of a breeze, you live in a different universe from me.

There is no typical “day in the life”. Today, it is 6:30am and I am sitting in my pj’s on our deck lounger working on the computer (for those of you who don’t know me, that means I am enjoying myself). The rest of the day will be a mix of tourism – exploring a local market – and boat work. I will finally get to re-mark the anchor chain. We are at a marina in Salvador, Brazil and despite having been here 24 hours, I have yet to go off-compound. Why would you when you have 6 restaurants, Nespresso coffee and real showers at your disposal? I guess it is the NY’er in me; why would you leave your 5 block radius when the bagel store, 25 dry cleaners and 3 supermarkets are in your neighborhood?

Contrast that with a little more than 2 days ago. I came on deck for my 2a.m. watch to find Jason trying to steer through a series of squalls while maintaining optimum boat speed and progress to our destination. As we approached a squall, the breeze built:

“22 at 90 degrees starboard”, I yelled.

Jason eased the Genoa.

“26”.

Jason put a reef in the Genoa.

“29”, I said a bit louder. Panic began to set in for me. What if the breeze increases? Two Fish sailed along but I was not happy. Jason was in heaven as he trimmed and eased. Technically it was my watch but Jason stayed on deck. If he had left me alone, I would have put the sail away and motored along, losing a full knot of speed along the way.

Finally, “15”, “12”, 110 degrees. We sailed through the rain.

“Are the portlights closed? #!@#!”. I went inside to close them and dry the shelves.

The wind lightened as we went through the squall and then returned to its 10 to 15 knot range on the other side.

Jason trimmed the Genoa. The seas were lumpy. The wind lightened some more. We furled in the Genoa. The wind built. We unfurled the Genoa. Trim. Ease. Trim. Ease. Repeat 10 times.  Did I mention that Jason used to race J-24’s?. The next day, Jason remarked: “You did great out there.”

“What?”, I said.

“You really were able to pitch in and get us through the storm”, he replied.

That’s not how it felt. I felt like I was too uncertain of what to do. Actually, I consider it a triumph that I can sometimes sit on a night watch for 30 minutes without Jason checking in with me. By the way, would someone please cut the Genoa a bit higher so I can see under it?

 

 

STINKPOTS

Motorboats do not have the greatest reputation in the sailing world.  It is a bit like cats and dogs.    Gail quickly joined the fraternity of sailors on this point.   We have suffered our largest and most disruptive waves from passing boats – much more violent than a 40 knot wind.   The wind was 4 knots but stinkpots the size of homes were passing our exposed cove at 25 knots.   While Gail was cooking dinner, I called the waves.   60 seconds … 30 seconds … 15 seconds.   Gail used this time to brace the galley.   It was a free salad toss but we were having salmon asian style.

Anchored motorboats tend to rock more than Two Fish when hit with wakes generated by their own kind.   Then why don’t they slow down to reduce their wakes?   Not in Sud America and probably not in el munro. Some of them are very polite and slow down immediately when we are abeam. Hmmm, I wonder if they have ever watched their wake come ashore. We are always amazed by how close they pass us by, even at sea. I think we are a bit of a novelty as catamarans are infrequent here. We have tried setting a course away but the other boat’s reaction is often to turn with us so they don’t miss the viewing.

FUNNY AND TRUE

One of the local stinkpots is “Thanks Mellisa”.   Nice sentiment but it fell down when they chose to name their launch.   The owners insisted on an English name that was related to the mother ship.   So they came up with “Little Thanks Mellisa”.   I am so tempted to tell Melissa she was of no use.

ILHA ITANHANGA

Every boat owner posts photos of their yacht in picturesque anchorages.  One reason we post these photos is that we rarely see the boat from this perspective.  Or, do we post them so our readers feel jealous?   We traveled to a new anchorage which offered the full package.   We went on a great hike to the top of the rocky cliffs, ate at a great beachside restaurant and watched Samba, the golden retriever swim out to boats begging for meat scraps from their afternoon bbq.   Her well-developed technique was successful until the owner curtailed the mooching.

 

We anchored using our 33kg Rocna, which has been good to us under easy conditions.   We have seen mud bottoms and light breezes that last few weeks.   That being said, I do spend plenty of time making sure we are stuck to the bottom.   We drop the anchor and chain and let the boat settle in to its position.   Then we attach the bridle.   We have the standard french bridle clip but some day we may swap it out for the huge Mantus clip.   We then wait some more, checking our transits for potential drift.   I then turn the Volvos back on for a power set with the engines in reverse.   I work the power up slowly and stop at 1500 rpm.    We also use the application Boat Monitor to warn us of anchor drag.   I think it is the best on the market but needs a few tweaks.  I very much like being able to see our tracks to visualize wind changes or anchor drags.    (Tech note for Boat Monitor:  I prefer telling it how far away the anchor is and direction rather than using the “drop” mode.)

MORE ON STINKPOTS

I have gone a bit over the top giving motorboats a hard time given that we use our dinghy a bunch.   But many of the Brazilian motor boat crowd seem to come from a different world.   40 to 50 foot boats tend to have two professional crew.   The owners can be seen on the flybridge while the pro crew steers from the inside.   The marinas expect ourt-of-control boats when the owners do choose to drive.   Dock crew come out immediately to tie arriving boats to a mooring ball.  We routinely decline.  I may have once heard some mumbling from Gail after that decision.

The Brazilian power boater loves their music.   It is hard wired at 11.   Lots of fun when playing pop music but seems off the mark  for slow vocal ballads.

Brazilian boats have different safety rules than US boats.   One difference is that many boats carry a flashing strobe light in addition to the normal navigation lights.    Feels like the police are after you all the time.   Two Fish has been chased by the police in Uruguay, so we prepared for another encounter with the cops until we saw the source.

Enough moaning.   We are having a great time and looking forward to the New Year’s Eve party on the beach with all our new friends whether motor, wind or foot powered.

Not much time for one of my long-winded posts; this might be welcomed by readers who prefer more photos and less history from the 1800’s.   The trip across the river Plate is known for strong headwinds and we were not let down.   We hid in Puerto Sauce for a night(mentioned in previous posts) which was a bit of a let-down since our previous visit provided us with a lifetime supply of paper mill smells.    I did very much enjoy the night approach to Sauce since I knew the harbor well but was still challenged while I try to regain my night vision.   I motored in slowly, except when cross winds required a bit of gusto.   I had to thread the needle between two anchored boats dancing at their moorings.   It felt very close in the dark of the night.   Guess what? In the morning it looked even closer.

We also have enjoyed leaving the silt waters of the Plata and seeing blue/green ocean water.   We can finally test our water maker!   Fingers crossed that it will convert ocean water into drinking water for our floating city.

I am surprised by the paperwork and radio work that sailing in this region requires.   Every port entry and exit requires a call to the control and 1 to 2 hours of paper work in a few different offices.    The staff are always friendly and the folks at Sauce were excited to see us again.  I tried not to let my face show that if I had had a choice, I might have chosen a different port.

 

We are now at our planned stop in Punta del Este, a Yachting hub made more exciting by the finish of a popular sailboat race from Buenos Aires to Punta.   As we arrived at 2 am there were many racers also arriving.   Our radar helped us to avoid meeting them on the water.  The boats showed up easily with Sea Gain set to 40, the other controls left on automatic and range set at 1 mile.  I will soon figure out how to show two radars at once on the left screen.   This way you can be zoomed in to avoid small Brazilian fishing boats while keeping a broader view for storms.   All of the large ships have AIS so they appear on the chart.   Makes the dark night much less scary.

We will leave mid day and are expecting very light air for 20 hours.   Then the breeze will increase to 25-30 but will be from the south, giving us a comfortable and safe ride North to Rio Grande, Brazil.   This leg is about 2 days.    Water rationing?   Nope.   With 4 people aboard we have used 3/8 of our water over 2 days.   Food rationing?  Nope.   Everyone besides me does not eat a bunch during passages.   We have pre-prepared some pasta salads and other simple foods.

Keep following us on our tracker but keep in mind it often takes a holiday.   Do not panic when it stops publishing, we are still fine.

It is all North from here.  Expect to hear from us soon when we get to Brazil.

 

Having read the background info and found a flight, I announced to Jason that our next trip would be to Paraguay. I also told him that there were still strong Guaraní Indian influences. “Great”, he replied. “I haven’t had Chicken Tikka Masala for ages.” The Guaranís are one of the indigenous peoples of  Paraguay and while there aren’t many 100% Guaraní people left, the language is mandated alongside Spanish in school and 90% of the population can understand it.

Despite the lack of Vindaloo, we were happy to find that Paraguayans do like spicy food, something we miss in Argentina; I have read that Argentinians regard very spicy condiments as ruining the taste of good food.

The Spanish landed in Asunción in 1537 and formed an alliance with the Guaraní. Jesuits subsequently brought the Spanish language but were enthralled by the sound of Guaraní so a Jesuit priest created the first Guaraní dictionary, helping to sustain the spoken and written language. Even in the 1600’s and 1700’s, intermarriage was common (as opposed to other colonizations which wiped out cultures), helping to sustain Guaraní.

Asunción is known as “la madre de la ciudad” (the mother of cities) because it was the base from which many other centers were founded. Paraguay eventually declared independence in 1811 but shortly thereafter was under the influence of the supreme dictator for life, Dr. Francia, “El Supremo”. He closed the borders and no one was allowed in or out until 1840. The next dictator, Lopez, reopened the country but his son led the country into The War of the Triple Alliance, the country had a cholera epidemic, and he executed many of his countrymen. Eventually he was shot by one of his Generals. Fast forward to the Chaco War of 1932-35 with Bolivia; Paraguay won the war but lost many people. More dictators, and in 1954 Alfredo Stroessner (son of a German brewer) took over. Over his 35 year reign, the country harbored Nazis, killed its own people and was a center for smuggling. So it wasn’t until 1989 that the people of Paraguay could finally breathe a bit and the country could Asunción begin to free itself from history.

Since we only had one day, we did not get to see the countryside but we did get a flavor for downtown Asunción, which seems like a growing economy that is on the verge of becoming something bigger. The Paraguay river runs along the city and is a popular fishing spot. However, while we were there, the local police and Coast Guard seemed to be fishing for something in the river – smuggled goods? It must have been something since the local TV crew was there but we will never know as my Spanish has not yet progressed to the level of CSI: Asunción.

The popular drink in Paraguay is tereré which is mixed with herbs such as mint. On my first walk around the plaza, I was immediately drawn to the wonderful aroma of herbs being sold on the sidewalk. These guys showed me how they mix Terere. I also enjoyed looking at the colorful buses. The local joke is if you are walking somewhere instead of taking the bus, you say you are taking Linea 11 (11 looks like 2 legs).
We went to the municipal museum and the woman overseeing the exhibit tried to teach me a few Guaraní words. The language sounds very musical but I can’t remember anything she told me. It is a bit like Chinese, intonation really matters and if you don’t say something correctly you may embarrass yourself. Spanish is challenging enough for now.
Both museums that we visited appeared closed at first, but with a bit of persistence and a doorbell, someone was there to unlock the door and supervise the visit.

At the end of the day, we were happy we visited and learned a bit about the people, perhaps we should move there and take up trading?

 

 

 

 

 

Two Fish has no intention of going to battle, but we now have a battle flag.   My Mom went over the top and “volunteered” to sew a Two Fish flag.  It was a Herculean effort that tested her eyesight and took many months to complete.   The secret to flag production is that you sew the next color on top of the existing layers, starting with the 4×6 foot white cloth and ending with the fins. Lots of work!   We are so thankful and will enjoy having my Mom’s work looking over Two Fish.

We raised the flag last week to start our boat party, beginning our new tradition.

 

In a sailing log book, one records a destination as something you are sailing towards, not sailing to.   Sailors try to get somewhere, but they do not have to absolutely, positively be there.  Plans can be scuppered by winds, waves and a lack of rum.   We were sailing towards the end of Uruguay – Punta del Este,  but only managed to sail half the distance.   The adventures of the three person crew (Jason, Gail and our friend Michael who is also a sailing instructor) begin here.

Sailing voyage posts can be as exciting as the shipping news.  “Wind was North North East at 17 knots with gusts up to 24 knots. …”     The wind and the waves affect the comfort and performance of the boat and its crew in every possible way.   Cooking in large waves can resemble a knife tossing act from the second ring of the circus.   Bouncy nights at anchorages can leave the crew cantankerous in the morning.  So please excuse sailors for looking like they are on a casting call for the Weather Chanel.

We left San Fernando, Argentina for Colonia, Uruguay.   The night before, Memo, our boat builder, helped me create a route on the chartplotter.   As it is an active delta estuary, the Rio Plata is not a straightforward place to sail.   The 3,000 miles of rivers empty tons of mud into the Plata each year, creating shallow spots miles from land.   Our boat draws a very thin 1.2 meters yet we had to be diligent to avoid running aground.   A straight shot to Colonia would have put Two Fish on the muc.   We opted instead to head south towards Buenos Aires, followed by a Memo-prescribed 90 degrees turn towards Colonia.   All of this was done under the iron genoa (old sailing nickname for the engine).   If we had not had our heads buried in the excitement of the day and our new electronic toys, we might have sensed this as an omen for our 2 week cruise.

The Plata has may wrecks which are littered across the chartplotter display.   The Maria Lisa, the Juan Jose and many others were created when the flat waters turned nasty.  One of the exports from Uruguay to Argentina is rocks.  You will not be surprised to find out that the rock business is not high-margin.   If you work at Google, do not take that job at the Uruguayan Rocks Corporation.  To be competitive in the rock business you have to buy a cheap barge and overload it to the point that the gunnels are 3 centimeters above the water.  On a calm crossing of the Plata, the barge full of rocks arrives in Argentina without an issue.  However, an unexpected breeze will allow the rocks to follow their natural instinct and sink below the waves.  Fortunately, this typically does not result in a loss of life, since it often occurs in 2 meters of water and the newly formed rock pile is a great place to wait for rescue.

Colonia

Colonia was traded back and forth between the Portuguese and the Spanish more times than an on the run 5 year treasury.   Here is the history in a few run on sentences.  It was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese, conquered by the Spanish the same year, then returned to the Portugese in 1681.   In 1705, it was snatched again by the Spanish but returned as part of the treaty of Utrecht.    The Spanish failed to take it in 1735.  A blur of changes in 1750 and 1777.  In 1816, it becomes part of Brazil.   Then part of the country Banda Oriental.   A few more changes and now Colonia del Sacremento of Uruguay.

I got the feeling the people in the town were not confused as to whether they were Spanish or Portugese.   Instead they are focused on being great stewards to a world heritage site.   The original downtown is Portuguese colonial style which is an ideal backdrop during an after sail stroll. Be sure to stop by the Tourist center near the Buquebus terminal to pick up a walking tour map and learn some more history.

 Keeping up with the Jones

We have joined a new, very social group – cruising sailors.  Our induction started out in grand fashion when we met the crew of Momo.    Momo is crewed by a German captain who has been living aboard his boat for 18 years.   His first mate, an American named Jenny, split her youth between the two noncontiguous states: Alaska and Hawaii.  That is the real estate equivalent of sweet and sour pork.   She also once worked as a trucker.   They were very kind and invited us over for homemade delicious beef and spaetzle.   People do such nice things for you when cruising.   We are not in New York City anymore.

The highlight of the evening was Gerald’s stories of his sea dog and other sailing adventures.   Years ago while he was in the French Caribbean he would walk his dog on the beach every night past a group of French-speaking 12 years olds.   Gerarld spoke to his dog in his native German.   On the last evening, he overheard the French 12 year old tell his parents “Mom,  that dog is the smartest.  He also speaks German!”.

During the New Zealand America’s cup, Gerald stayed at the Royal New Zealand Yacht Squadron.   As the formal name implies they held the America’s Cup.    Gerald had been at sea for a decade and had not kept up with the current Cup defender.   As he came to the yacht club bar, he asked some old salts “Why do you guys have a copy of the America’s cup.   The Australians have the real one, right?”.    A few jaws hit the floor.

 

Two Fish Sails in a Breeze

Twice during the 14-day cruise, we experienced 30 knot sustained breezes.  No pictures of this since I was busy sailing and wind never shows up in my photos anyway.  The big breeze was a great workout for the rig and a nice test of the crew.   The boat was easy to sail both into the wind and off the wind.   She tracks nicely and responds well to a stable hand at the helm.  Into the wind, we had two reefs in the main and genoa; this left us with a balanced helm of only 5 degrees of weather helm.  In strong winds, the boat can be enjoyable to sail for new sailors veterans alike.   I kept turning off the autopilot to better understand the boat’s tendencies.    Gail discovered that in the big breeze, she has a favorite position to sit when off watch – her  Spiderman cubic bean bag, that has cost her USD 2.  The Argentines wisely call this a “poof”.

Up a river with a boat (Riachuelo)  and Any Puerto in a Storm (Puerto Sauce)

On the fourth night, we chose to anchor up a river that local sailors had recommended.   It seemed like a scene from Heart of Darkness.   There was much tension on board as we were relying on a Spanish language cruising guide to keep us off hidden rocks and shallows as we sailed up the river.  Sailing may not require a sextant anymore, but it does require an iPhone with an English to Spanish dictionary.   Columbus had it so easy compared to us!

After all the hard work, we were rewarded with a wonderful night anchored in the river.   By morning the breeze had increased, testing our simple anchor plus stern tie to the shore system.   We had to leave before more branches from the shore side tree came aboard.  Anchoring in this river really summed up cruising for me.   You find a perfect place that brings you great peace and comfort.  But 12 hours later our paradise was becoming windswept and we were forced to move on.    We left quickly, as we did not have a stern anchor and were defenseless in the  building wind.

Going to weather in 30 knots becomes annoying for everyone, it is just a matter of how quickly.  Gail has adopted the old sailing slogan “Gentlemen do not go to weather (sailing in the direction of the wind)!”   After a bit of bouncy sailing, Gail hinted that she had her share of going to weather.  We scoured the cruising guide for any port in a storm and found that the nearest was Puerto Sauce.  We we so happy to be in a more protected location, that we did notice immediately that the 24 hour-a-day cellulose plant showered the boat in fumes and noise.

We had a small adventure trying to buy a garden hose for filling our water tanks.   The hurdles to buying a hose were twofold: I did not know the name for garden hose in Spanish and the modest inventory of  retail establishments in Puerto Sauce.  I now know the name for garden hose is manguera.  After 2 days of visits to severals stores in Puerto Sauce, the closest we got was a storekeeper that said it might be possible  that a hose might show up in a few days time.   The hose adventure continued into another town and culminated in a fevered over buying of hose when we finally found a seller. Fortunately, an Italian boat lent us their hose in the interim.

 

The Po Po (Police or Prefectura) chase down Two Fish

After a week or so in Uruguay we had become regulars of the check in / check out procedures.   We would get on the VHF radio to announce our departure.  “Control, Control esta barque two fish salida para cinco horas”.   This proclamation that we were leaving for 5 hours was greeted with silence.   During one of our departures, Gail and Michael (without asking me) decided that they would forgo the radio check out.  They were emboldened by comments from more seasoned cruisers.   The breeze was blowing over 15 knots and we were marching nicely to windward.   Not as nicely as the mono hull that was out pointing, but nice enough from my purposes.  Gail put up the alert first.  “Jason, that Zodiac is on a collision course with Two Fish!”   I momentarily dismissed the warning until I noticed that the Zodiac was flashing a blue light and chasing us down.   Tensions rose as they were shepherding us to shore on a path that was too close to hazards for my taste.   I was about to turn away when I realized what their concern was.  They thought we had done the yachting equivalent of the dine and ditch.   I yelled over the breeze in my poor Spanish that we were only out for a day sail.   Gail resumed check out procedures the next day, and from then on Control responded with “OK Two Fish”.

 

Final Cruise Thoughts

We had a lot on our minds while testing and learning the boat, so I am not sure a review of Uruguayan cruising grounds is fair.   What I did like was the people, the facilities and the food onshore.   The paperwork and somewhat up and down breeze were not perfect.   But any of the shortfalls were made up by the enjoyable crew aboard.

 

Tips for Uruguay Paper work  (skip if you are not sailing to Uruguay)

1)  You need to fill out 3 copies of the official crew list.

2)  Your first port of call will take one copy forever and return 2 copies when you check out of the port.

3)  On arrival in your first town you need to visit a) Prefectura, b) Immigration (bring 67 pesos in exact change, about 3 USD),  c) Marina billing office, d) Prefecture again.  In Colonia, Immigration is  a 15 minute walk from the pleasure yachts.

4)  On departure, visit only the prefectura to get your 2 crew lists back

5)  For each new town, repeat 3 and 4 but skip Immigration.

6)  On departure from your final Uruguayan town repeat 3 but now surrender your second crew list leaving you with one for your next country.

Budget a few hours for this process.  All friendly and helpful, but a bit slow.

 

I realize many of our readers have little empathy for the tough life we live.   Our posts probably offer a moment for readers to pause and remember how lucky they are to have conference calls, delayed flights, and the other joys of the working world.  We also realize our lives are rough and decided we needed a bit of a break.  The break came in the form of a week in Buenos Aires.

Where we stayed

Our temporary neighborhood was nicknamed by me “the island where nothing bad ever happens“.   Despite the catchy ring to the name I gave the neighborhood the locals continue to refer to it as Puerto Madero. For New Yorkers it is Battery Park City or for Londoners it is Canary Wharf.   And for residents of Duluth, it is waterfront reclaimed land with many clean new buildings.   The port area also has the advantage of being policed by the Coast Gauard who have a stronger reputation for crime fighting than the traditional BA police.

Close to Puerto Madero is the Retiro area. We went to BASA(located at Basavilvaso 1328) for a great dinner with some friends who are locals. Knowing we are American, they made the reservation for 9:30pm; most locals were showing up when we finished our meal. We recommend it for some hip and tasty food.

 

 

We went to a Hash

This is actually a road running event.   No joke.   The casual running club is a global format with the moto of “a drinking club with a running problem”.   The BA club was started by a few Brits 10 years ago and members are both ex-patriots and porteños.  The format of the run differs from a 10k fun run.   The markings for turns are made with flour sprinkled on the sidewalk.  The markings are often cryptic, and as the lead runners see the markings they yell out in spanish AUN AUN.   No clue what this means.  I asked and was told that it was English!   On On!   Spanish lesson failure #1.

Not to be outdone by my first spanish lesson failure I raised the bar.   While riding the train from Buenos Aires to San Fernando, Gail asked what station we had reached.   I helpfully replied “Billeteria”.   Problem is the next 20 stations were labeled as Billeteria, as it means ticket office.   They are sizing the dunce cap for me now.  Gail’s Spanish is much stronger; this will help us later in the month with the Uruguayan Prefectura.

Back to the Hash.   The flour course markings are sometimes drawn incorrectly on purpose.   This causes the “front running bastards” to have to run extra kilometers and allows the group to stay closer together.   As this is a running event they keep the athletes hydrated.  One guy rides a bike full of beer and twice during the 12.5km jog we were offered libations.   Next time bring your own cup.  After the run is over, more beer, empanadas and drinking songs.   Fantastic group, look one up in your town.

 

 Teatro Colon and  the number 44

44 is the boat’s magic number for many reasons.  The boat is 44 feet long, it is the 44th hull the boat builders have produced and it has something to do with my age.  You can see the dedication to the number 44 on Two Fish’s Facebook page: her birthday is April, 4 1944.    When we were told on our tour that 44 had significance to the Teatro Colon, I had an eerie feeling.  Three architects were needed to complete the famous opera house.   The first two died when they turned 44 years old.  One died by the gun of a lover’s husband and the other of an illness.   A practical solution was found:  hire an older architect.   And so the theatre was completed.  I dismissed this as being a bad omen as things are upside down in the southern hemisphere.    The theatre just received a thorough renovation and is looking very nice.

 

Traveler Tips – what not to do

We let our inner Californians take over and rented a car.   Never again.  1 hour to fill out the paperwork seemed excessive at first.  But now, having driven here, I realize that the paperwork process should take 2 hours.   Since the chance of an accident is close to 100%, one should be forced to sign every waiver.   And the driver should buy any insurance.  On our way San Fernando we needed to cross the train tracks used by a regular commuter train.  I would estimate the train travels at 35 miles per hour and weighs a humongous amount. The crossing bars for the train crossing on the road were stuck in the down position. So a long line of cars went one by one over the tracks, each hoping that no trains were near. We made it!

We survived unscathed, and upon return the agent almost seemed disappointed to see the car in one piece.  He wondered why we were returning the car early.

Antares Owners Tips

We bought a dive tank in BA as they are tough to ship down.   ( La Casa del Buceador   www.lacasadelbuceador.com)  We bought 1 tank for about $250 just in case we need to clear the props.  They sell other Scuba Pro stuff at  high prices.   Also bought some old-style bar weights. If you have tanks and weights, you may want to try to bring it down.

Last travel tip is to try the commuter train from BA to San Fernando.   It is almost free and full of commerce.  You can buy all-in-one tools, pirated music, food and clothing.  That is a good thing since the trip takes an hour and sometimes offers additional delays.

(My blog posting is delayed –  I am 3 weeks behind so stay tuned for more updates)

 

“Is the relationship between Sydney and Auckland like that between Buenos Aires and Santiago?” I asked Gail as we began to explore the empty streets of Santiago during Chile’s major holiday week.  I pled my case about rival cities of the Southern hemisphere; conservative vs liberal residents and treatment of the indigenous population.  It was a heap of uninformed baloney as I had not realized there are 6 million residents of Chile.    That is 1.5 times the entire population of New Zealand.   My juxtaposition was way off base and I needed to open my eyes and prepare to enjoy a Santiago that I had not expected.

Our plan was to mimic the format of the NY Times 36 hours articles.  However, we have less energy than the NY Times writers and budgeted 4 days to accomplish this.

Army Day

Our first order of duty was to visit the annual Army Day parade.  Army Day is a big deal for the Chileans and the whole country is on vacation, except the guys in the Army who have to march about.  The locals were enjoying  asados (BBQ), flying kites and watching the parade. Picnic foods were hot dogs with avocado, fruit juices, steak sandwich and lots of empanadas.   This is such a big deal that the parade is on TV for hours and they fly many jets over the audience.   Views are pretty limited so it is key to bring a distraction, which most people did by flying kites.  There had to be 100 kites airborn at once!  After the Army parade it was clear Santiagoans are family oriented people, however, I am not sure what they think of the Army.

Subway

 

Mass transit is a great way to learn about a city and do some good people watching.   When riding the Russian subway I was amazed by the  beautiful communist art in many of the stations.  And while living in Singapore, I marvelled at their subway technology.    The entire network is air-conditioned and has cell signals.   Chilean trains seemed safe and understated.   Nothing too flashy but efficient.  In one of the stations I did find a model ship of a key early explorer of the Chilean coast.   Pretty cool.

 

 

Below: Chilean Nightlife

Pablo Neruda – Chilean Poet

“From each crime are born bullets that will one day seek out in you where the heart lies.”

“Take bread away from me, if you wish,take air away, but do not take from me your laughter.” 

“I watch my words from a long way off.They are more yours than mine.They climb on my old suffering like ivy.”

Neruda was the second Chilean to win the Nobel prize for literature, an accomplishment for such a small nation.   The above English translations give you a sample of his work but his full story is a soap opera.  Three wives and a mistress, he was a famous person and very much of a king maker.   He was asked to run for office but preferred putting his weight behind Allende.   When Pinochet took power all of the Allende associates were detained or worse.   Neruda was about to die from cancer and was spared being placed in prison, or so the story goes.   Recently a former Neruda Chauffeur testified that Neruda was poisoned by Pinochet’s men.  The claim was taken seriously and the body was exhumed.  The results of this test have not been released.   The mistress might have been part of this plot.   This sounds like a top-rated soap opera.    Neruda is a legend in Chile for his written work and for supporting the socialist expirement that ended too soon and in the wrong way (Pinochet’s violent hand).

San Cristobal Hill

A gentle 7 kilometer walk uphill is the altenative to riding the funicular to summit San Cristobal.   You will be joined by many joggers, bikers and stray dogs.   We started early by Chilean standards, 8am, and thus avoided the crush of people in the afternoon.  The outdoor chapel on the mountain top was a great place to reflect, view the city from above and catch your breath.

Bike Tour of Santiago

We went on the Bicicleta Verde (green bicycle) tour of Santiago.   Good but not great because we had done much of the tour already on foot.   We did go to two museums and these are some of the images we liked.

Here is a quick highlight reel of our visit:

2 Weeks in Chile from Two Fish on Vimeo.

 

It is hard not to be impressed by Santiago.  The guide books sell it short by writing about smog and bland architecture.   We found neither.