Of leaving…

Montevideo, Uruguay – 11/01/2009

I don’t wanto to leave. Tomorrow in the afternoon I’m going back to Santiago and then back to Barcelona. But the only thing I know right now is that I don’t want to leave.

Mate

Montevideo, Uruguay – 29/12/2008

I’ve had Mate before, with Brazilians, Argentineans and Chileans, each with their own rituals and preferences, but never with the same seriousness and soul that the Uruguayans put into Mate-taking.

For the Uruguayans, the ritual of taking Mate transcends the social and is inscribed into the fabric of cultural and individual identity. If the other Mate-taking nations have their own rules, the Uruguayans have a whole unwritten codex that defines the whole ritual.

One person and one person only “ceba” (prepares) the Mate that the whole group takes, “No me cebes mi mate, che”. Only about half the “yerba” is submerged. Never, EVER, touch the “bombilla”, except if you’re the one preparing the Mate. Drink your Mate until the very end, until it makes a slurping sound. If you are eating, they won’t even pass you the Mate. And never thank a Mate unless you don’t want any more, the only Mate you thank is the last one.

The list goes on.

Good people

Montevideo, Uruguay – 29/12/2008

Good people.

That would be the concise definition I’d make of the Uruguayans if I was asked to describe them in two words. But I haven’t been, and this is my blog, so I’ll dedicate a few more lines to this trouble-free people, with their arms and their smiles constantly wide open.

I usually claim that the way people talk tells us a lot about their nature. Their language, their accent, their tone, their rhythm, they say plenty about the way they are. In general, the Uruguayans talk with all the tranquillity in the world, softly singing their accent (less modulated than the Argentinean), listening carefully and talking with sense and sensibility.

Except when they’re excited. Then the tone rises, the smile cracks open, the arms dance about and the most insignificant tale or anecdote becomes a performance of contagious enthusiasm. They smile a lot and make you smile a lot as well and are generally generous, even if they have little or nothing to offer.

Even when they “heat up” and turn to harsh and violent words, they do it with every fibre in their body. Sincere to the marrow.

Monte VI de E a O

Montevideo, Uruguay – 29/12/2009

It’s not the first time that this happens to me, but I still can’t explain it.

Be it with cities, movies, women, songs, or whatever else, I can’t explain how certain things, in this case the city of Montevideo, which apparently are not particularly interesting or eye-catching, can fascinate me so much.

The Uruguayan capital is relatively small, at least for the standards of South American capitals, most of its buildings are old and poorly taken care of and the city streets and roads are in a post-apocalyptic state (if you drive, prepare for a “shaky” experience).

Nonetheless, I loved this city from the first moment I saw it. Maybe it’s its never-ending Rambla snaking along side the Mar de la Plata (more brownish, than silver) that appeals to my sea-faring nature, maybe it’s the contrast of beautiful buildings and monuments tarnished and asphyxiated by time and pollution, maybe it’s the incomparable kindness and good humour of the Uruguayans, a smiling, welcoming and generous people has none other.

I don’t know. I can’t explain why and I don’t have to explain why, but Montevideo took my heart with the same bonhomie and tranquillity of its inhabitants, ever since I set foot on it.

Let the wanderings begin…

Barajas Airport, Madrid, Spain – 27/12/2008

Thanks to the never-ending 4 hours I am currently killing at Barajas Airport (Madrid) between my inbound flight to Lisbon and my outbound flight to Santiago de Chile, it so happens I am opening my brand new blog in the local overpriced cybercafé.

In the following 20 days or so I’ll be travelling around Chile (well… just Santiago actually), Uruguay and Argentina (Buenos Aires and Patagonia) and I intend to post here anything I deem relevant about this trip.

Obviously, the concept of “relevant” is vague at best, so you can hope (dunno if hope is the appropriate term here) to find here anything from photos of deserted airports, to my random writings, to stupid little anecdotes only I will find interesting.

Right now I am bored to tears… I’ve been wandering the airport for 2 hours now (I know it’s not much, but I am easily bored) and it’s been a dreary wait… the airport is half empty (have a couple of photos to prove it, but this computer doesn’t like my cam’s memory card), the shops are as interesting as a brick and I’ve read the newspapers I brought from Portugal twice over.

Ergo, this blog was born.

Hope you enjoy it. Will try to come back to it in Santiago, hopefully with a couple of photos to liven things up.