Months of virtual travel moves the mind to Uruguay

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Dear Readers

Four months into our trip to Uruguay, which will end up being a blend of virtual and real travel, we are constantly discovering new things. We’ve had a lot of fun learning about travel blogging in Phase 1 (the preparation phase). Not being particularly computer savvy, I knew this was something I had to get my head around well before getting on the plane in Sydney in October. So here we are, having written over 20 blogs. Well, to tell the truth, I’ve done the writing while Guapo has supplied a lot of the inspiration. He’s drawn on memories from growing up in Uruguay, and I’ve added bits and pieces from diverse sources. I never knew you could learn so much about a country on the web, having always felt more comfortable doing my research in libraries and bookshops: watching You Tube videos, looking at images, and reading articles on various Uruguay-related topics. But the web has given me a variety of insights into the history and culture of Uruguay, not to mention delicious Uruguayan recipes. Who would have known that you can read about Charles Darwin’s visit to Uruguay, as told in his Voyage of the Beagle, on the web? My favourite You Tube video was of a Uruguayan beer tasting – the first beer I’ll have in Uruguay will be a Patricia Porter. So I would definitely recommend the web as a research tool for any would be travellers to learn something about the history and culture of the places they’re visiting (not just ticketing, currency and accommodation information).

I’ve also enjoyed reading other travellers’ blogs about Uruguay. My last camera was a second hand Pentax bought from a pawn shop in Colorado many moons ago. Having never owned a digital camera, I’ve spent a bit of time with a friend’s camera, taking photos, learning how to transfer the photos onto the computer, and then up-loading them as attachments. Yes I know this is second nature to all you guys out there, but for me it’s been a bit of a learning curve. The next step is buying our own digital camera. I’m probably the last one to join the digital age I’ve just asked everyone I know about their cameras and their limitations. A bit of reading about various other models on the web has helped.

As for learning Spanish, nothing beats having a Uruguayan born Spanish-speaker around the house. Then there’s the CD, the workbooks, the dictionary. Listening to language lessons while out for long weekend walks works really well. And if you’re out of earshot you can repeat back the words and sentences without feeling weird. My greatest web find has been a site that lists differences in pronunciation between Uruguayan Spanish and other forms of Spanish.

As I’ve said before, our philosophy on travel is that the journey starts with the preparation. So here we are in Phase 1, the preparation stage, with five more months to go. All the researching, learning how to blog and put up photos, will make things so much easier once we’re in Uruguay. We can’t afford to lose valuable time – there’ll be so much to record and photograph for Blind Spot Uruguay. And blogging is a fun way to do it.

Yes I know there are those who take the opposite approach: just go, forget about the camera, it’ll just get stolen, there may be nowhere to recharge the battery, you won’t find any internet cafes off the beaten track, the internet connections are too dodgy, why spend time blogging when you could be talking to the locals, batteries, chargers, adaptors, cables, and all that stuff will just weigh you down, and what if you lose the cards with the photos on them?

I wonder what Charles Darwin on his voyage in the 1830s would have made of the mischievous technical side of 21st century blogging. What’s wrong with a notebook, sketchpad and a few pencils?

Bye for now
Guapita

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