the hottest day!

you could spend hours at this flea market. i think it´s 10 blocks of everything from computer parts to live chickens, ducks and small birds. no one throws anything away here. everything has some value. i also saw so many dogs in cats in tiny cages. that´s sad. i didn´t buy anything. i found some good records but nothing i wanted badly enough to carry through 3 different time zones. all the records have spanish writing even if they´re in english. the ones that are in english on the sleeve are imports and they´re very expensive.

 

coca cola: it´s the most popular drink here. i read somewhere that coca cola makes the most money in third world countries. they advertise everywhere here. people here call it "coka" and everyone drinks it in those small vintage glass bottles. you can´t find them in cans.

 

eucalyptus:i know i´ve arrived in montevideo when i smell eucalyptus in the air. it´s the first thing that you smell when you leave the airport. the airport is in a really beautiful modern building in a nice part of town called carrasco.

 

the doors: not the band. the real doors in front of buildings are so beautiful. tall, wooden engraved doors remind me of paris.  most of them are from the turn of the century. most of the buildings here are 100 years old but they´re not well maintained. last night we went into a pub that my dad used to go to with his dad when he was a kid. it´s now a dance hall where they dance the tango. and someone let us to see. it hasn´t changed much. there´s a law in some places where they don´t let you modify old historical buildings.

 

water: there´s no water pressure anywhere. not even in newer buildings. it´s like that in the whole country. also if you flush the toilet you can´t use the shower right away. you have to wait awhile for the water to come back. it´s never been much fun taking showers here. all the bathrooms have a bidet though. so you can have fun with that. i haven´t tried it yet.

 

and i found out that we´re taking the ferry to buenos aires. not the plane. it´s going to take a couple of hours but it´s cheaper. i sat next to a woman from nyc on the chicago-buenos aires flight and she told me that the san telmo flea market in BA isn´t worth. it´s just junk. she travels to south america every year and goes on these adventure tours. she loves to come back to buenos aires for the meat. she loves meat and in buenos aires and montevideo you can really well for so cheap. ç

 

most of the stores are closed on saturdays and sundays. the only shopping that you can do is at the mall and today we went to a mall that used to be a prison. it´s called punta carretas. i´ve been there before. there´s nothing special about it but i needed sandals. it´s in a nice area close to the sea wall. the sea wall is 7500 metres long! lots of palm trees everywhere. i haven´t gone inside the water yet. i´m waiting until we get to piriapolis for that. the water is cleaner there. my time´s up here. i have a headache from the heat!

 

wish you were here,

 

love ani xo