Not thinking too much about it, I hopped a boat and ended up in Uruguay. I arrived in Montevideo around 7pm Sunday Dia de Los Reyes. I ended up in a parade, not at a parade, in a parade of traditional drumming and dancing. We did not stop until well into the night. Yesterday, my heart and mind were in San Francisco. 6500 miles can't stop me from being a mom. I managed to wander around the city, see a very nice exhibit of black and white photos from the 80s, eat some veggie paella, and sing traditional Argentinian/ Brazilian songs poolside for the evening. I passed the day today at the beach, where the fish were jumping right next to me. I stood out as a tourist because I didn't have my mate tea and ... read more

Samba in the street, bala preta. Lapa street party. Gay clubs in Copacabana. I danced until my feet fell off. Always surrounded by friendly Brazilians. One said "You are so-o happy, it's contagious." Saw the sites, swam in the Atlantic. Watched helicopter rescue stranded swimmers. More later.... read more

In preparation for my impending adventure I had to obtain two visas, one for Brazil, the other for Bolivia. Luckily there is a Brazilian consulate here in San Francisco. I go on-line and navigate through a few stealthy fake consulate sites until I get to the real page. I fill out the application and get document control number, never in a million years did i think that i would have put document control number and Brazil in the same paragraph but there you have it. I go to schedule the appointment and there it is, all gray. Huh? No spots? Their web page must be down. I call and get automated info. I email them and get an automated response "due to world wide supply problems we are not issuing visas...". I email them again trying ... read more