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Published: October 27th 2005
Hmm, yes unfortunately I seem to have cursed the weather and am now grateful for a moment´s shelter in the internet cafe (where I´m sitting in a fleece and soaked trousers from the torrential rains outside)! I do have an embarrassingly crispy red nose to prove that it has been hot though!
Didn´t think I´d be speaking French in South America but I have spent the last few hours listening to a Swiss right-wing ex-politician´s tirade on Europe. Interesting. Although aren´t you meant to meet like-minded hippies whilst travelling?! Hee hee - takes all sorts, innit?
When I arrived in Punta del Este on Friday, with Maria, it was beautifully hot but it´s been overcast with sunny spells over the weekend. Fortunately rains have only just started this afternoon so, since I´m heading back to Buenos Aires tomorrow, the timing isn´t too bad. I´ve done lots of long walks along the beach in both directions from Maria´s apartment, leading to either the ´Punta´, where the main town is, or an isthmus (I love that word so had to slip it in!) about 5 miles away with a Gaudi-esque art gallery on it. Photos to follow!
Since I´m leaving
Uruguay tomorrow, I suppose I should give my overall impressions of the place and its people. From what I´ve seen, it seems a friendly and fairly egalitarian society, although I may of course not have seen the poorer parts. I think I´d have to say that Uruguayans spend most of their time doing the following:
* Drinking mate, the South American bitter drink made famous by Che (for those of you who´ve seen the photos of him slurping it!). Lots of them carry flasks and special drinking pots with them ALL THE TIME! A Spanish guy I was chatting to was convinced it must be some kind of class A drug for them to be so addicted that they have to have it available at every moment of the day!
*Driving slowly. I´m not joking, I´ve never seen cars being driven in such a relaxed way! Complete opposite of stereotypical South American driving. Not that I´m complaining - they stop for pedestrians when you´d never expect them to (like on main roads where there´s no crossing) and it all adds to the general chilled effect.
*Abandoning dogs! Sorry to say it but I´ve had to change my path quite a
few times in order to avoid the stray dogs. I´m not a fan of dogs in general and Uruguay is doing nothing to help this! It´s probably because I´m paranoid of being nibbled by a rabid hound. It´ll probably be the same in Argentina and Chile too so I´m sorry if I´m being harsh on Uruguay because I´ve come here first. On another note, speaking of being attacked by wild animals, I was DIVEBOMBED TWICE yesterday by two separate pairs of birds as I was walking along the beach. I guess I must have been walking near to their nests. Considering I´m about 200 times bigger than them, they really know how to defend their young!
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Wevie Stonder
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Thought you might like this story.
The curious case of the sexist seagulls is disrupting the mail in a quiet Somerset village. Gulls are divebombing postmen but, to the bemusement of bird experts, appear to be content to let female posties past. After one man was knocked off his bicycle and another left sprawled in the road, a women-only team was drafted in to ensure the mail got through in Highbridge, near Burnham-on-Sea. The aerial onslaught began after the gulls' chicks were born. The gulls seemed to fear the postmen were endangering their young and began swooping from the rooftops. Residents were warned to expect delays to deliveries as the postmen dodged the gulls. A Royal Mail spokesman said: "It might sound funny but if you have a 2kg seagull divebombing you, it is a big problem. It is a real health and safety risk to our employees. We've had two guys who have been knocked off their feet, but when women go up there, we don't have any trouble." The chicks hatch in late May and their parents tend to become increasingly aggressive towards late July and early August when they leave the nest for the first time. But Peter Exley, of the RSPB, admits to being baffled by the sexist nature of the attacks. He said: "We've heard of birds attacking people before but this is a new one on me - there is no reason why they would deem men more of a threat. Their sense of smell isn't good so it is difficult to imagine how they are telling the difference. Seagulls have attacked women in the past, so it must be a particular problem this group has with men."