Marsh Travels

Uruguayans love books, art, ecology and technology. Citizens can pay using just the palm of their hand (connected to a credit card.) Every child is given a laptop by the government and everyone has a good fiber-optic internet connection.

Today we traveled to Colonia de Sacramento, a darling small town on the coast, which is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Along the way our tour director shared the national drink: maté. You put bitter herbs in a gourd and pour hot water over it and drink with a straw. If you drink it alone people will think “Oh, too bad, that person has no friends.” We used hand sanitizer on our hands, but shared the same straw. So, we’ve gathered people from all over the US during a big COVID wave, put them in an enclosed space and had them share a drink. 😝 What could go wrong?

We arrived at lunchtime and ordered “un chivito“. It’s a play on the word “chivo” (goat) just like burro (donkey) and burrito. It’s a giant plate of everything: fries, potato salad, tomatoes, beef, ham, lettuce and eggs. I have no idea what people do if there’s no one to split it with because it’s SO MUCH FOOD.

Then we wandered old cobblestone streets and explored the darling shops.

Uruguay had no gold or silver, so the Europeans made little investment in the country. The churches are plain, but beautiful.

The best part of this trip is definitely the people we are with. They are creative fun teachers and you can tell their students adore them. Most are a lot younger than us, but want to know about our marriage, (Really?! 44 years?!) or about trips we’ve been on and they are thinking of doing, or about our children. I believe people share more deeply and ask frank questions because we feel a connection and we aren’t part of their “real” world. The thirty-somethings especially connect with Jim over work angst issues, how to figure out what they want in life, and ADHD. He looks (and IS!) wise and approachable.

We had a guided tour of the city this morning. I particularly liked the colorful indoor market.

Then we visited two different wineries. We had lots of wine, lots of hors d’oeuvres, and a nice lunch. Did I say a lot of wine? I wanted to taste it, but I cannot drink six glasses even over several hours. 🥴

An hour after we got back to the hotel we left for dinner. I might not ever be hungry again.

Im here in Uruguay with 17 other teachers (and their guests), who all travel with students like I do. 90% of them are high school Spanish teachers, so they also love languages. My people! The fun part is being with people who like what I like (travel, teens, adventure), who are from Tennessee and Colorado and Pennsylvania and all over the USA. We are in an unprecedented time in America, as Biden just dropped out of the presidential race three months before the election. I’m in heaven talking to people of all different viewpoints. I love hearing why people think the way they do. Being with people who think differently than I do is a great joy.

Jim and I arrived a day earlier than the group so we had a free morning. We took a long walk along La Rambla—a 22 km boardwalk. Machines clean the sand every day, so the beach is especially pristine

We took the public bus to the old town and poked around.

I have a new favorite artist: Juan Torres Garcia. With just a few strokes he communicates deep thoughts. His message in the following picture encourages people of South America to turn their values upside down because our time is short (the sun and moon), and turn to values of travel (ship), faith (the cross, where Uruguay is), love of family (the Xs), and food (the fish.)

We had dinner with seven new teacher friends with lots of laughing, good stories and amazing food. The steak here is so flavorful and inexpensive. There are four cows for every person in Uruguay. This time we knew to order one small steak to share, and it was plenty. Uruguayans apparently have a lot of health problems because of the amount of beef they eat, and also because they eat it with big servings of fries.

A year and a half ago I was in a private Spanish lesson in Mexico City and I told my teacher we had to stop, so I could try to log on and spend the points I earned traveling with my students. EF offered reward points for each trip made with students, to keep teachers loyal, sort of like frequent flier miles. But, like airline miles, these points were always difficult to spend. Once a year, in January, you could log on at exactly 9 am and try to spend your points for a loyalty trip. For 19 years I tried, but the trips were always full that first instant, and I was unsuccessful. This time, however, while my impatient Spanish teacher waited, I actually got a trip! To Uruguay and Argentina! I knew little about Argentina, and less about Uruguay, but I’m always up for seeing something new.

Fast forward to today, here I am in a beautiful skyscraper hotel overlooking the bay in Montevideo.

In other news, we are now officially old. At LAX before boarding, the airline staff approached Jim and changed our boarding passes from Group 5 to Group 1, writing on them “special assistance.” I’m choosing to look at it as though they were showing us great respect rather than thinking “these clueless elderly people are going to clog the aisles and need help.”

It’s winter in this part of the world. It’s gray and cloudy and it was dark at 5 pm. I’m still happy to be here. I’m always surprised that countries could be so different from on another. Like at some point wouldn’t they run out of ideas for variation? I guess I was expecting something like Mexico or El Salvador, but Uruguay really has its own flavor. La Rambla, its beautiful boardwalk, stretches over 13 miles along pretty beaches and the harbor. It has beautiful modern tall buildings and a contemporary shopping center, but has also kept its traditional charm with narrow streets and tiled sidewalks.

Beef is king here, and the steaks we had for dinner were bigger than anything we’d seen outside of Florence. We could have easily split my Petit Entrecot.

Because of a software update glitch affecting Windows, many of our fellow travelers were delayed and spent the night at various random airports, so I’m thankful it didn’t affect us.

One thing I especially liked on this trip was seeing Brenna’s blossoming art talent. It was so fun to see her sketching and water coloring along the way. Here are some of her sketches.

We travelled to the playground of the rich and famous today. Movie stars, politicians, royalty, and business owners have huge villas on beautiful Lake Como. We took a cruise, as our guide pointed out the different homes and who owned them. We spent a few minutes in Bellagio. (Not long enough!) Much of this trip is spent waiting in gelato and bathroom lines. I want people to travel, but could they please go somewhere that I’m not?

On the way we stopped at a mall. The food court had an amazing lunch. The food court!

It’s been a great trip. I’ve loved having Brenna’s family with us, and the students have been super. We fly home tomorrow.

Cinque Terre is a region in the north west of Italy where five (Cinque) towns have united to gain UNESCO heritage status and attract lots of tourists. The villages are charming and colorful, but also crowded. You hear a lot of English and German and Dutch there, but very little Italian. The Italians know you can go a little way down the road to Comogli or Sestri Levante or San Frutuosso and find exactly the same kind of darling fishing village with corful homes clinging to the hills.

We started with coffee. Then Matt and I took the kids while Brenna and Jim hiked from Corniglia to Vernazza. (A strenuous journey by foot.)

I’m sick so I didn’t take many pictures, but still enjoyed my time here. It’s so pretty.

The kids ate ice cream and played in the rocky water.

I’m really sick. I feel so exhausted and my throat is super sore.

At the middle of the trip the little annoyances build up. Last night we were sound asleep and had to deal with a student who was locked out of his room…took awhile to deal with that. (No, his room mates were not at fault.) QThis morning I never got to sit down and eat breakfast. I had one problem after another: a lost phone, a need for Tylenol (but it has to be pure Tylenol. I can’t take ibuprofen or aspirin or any other pain killer), keys that didn’t work, people who just needed to sit down on the bus so we could go. At the end of the day, same thing: I’m not happy with my room. I have to be with my friend. My daughter is unhappy. My friends ditched me. A circuit breaker blew and a couple of rooms had no electricity. I need an extra key. I love them all and want them to be happy, but sometimes it’s not possible. mEveryone, including me is exhausted. I might be getting too old for teen travel because I sometimes just want them to show up, sit down, and be happy. Other times they are amazing and wonderful. Gee whiz, I sound like their parents!

That said, we had a wonderful day. We stopped at one of my favorite cities: Lucca. It’s one of those historic walled cities that still feels authentic. it’s filled mostly with people who live there and not just tourists.

We went to the Carrera marble quarries. The marble for Michelangelo’s David came from here. I always love doing things I’ve never done before, and this was a special and unique experience. We climbed all over the huge rocks. The boys scared us by being way too close to the sheer drop offs. It was spectacular. Again, the pictures don’t give any idea of how magnificent it was. Some of the graffiti was cool.

We started our day at the beautiful scenic overlook, Piazzale Michelangelo. I so enjoy getting good photos of the people I love.

Then we had a walking tour of this gorgeous city. Because the Medici family started one of the first money exchanges, they grew quite wealthy. To expunge their sins of usury, they sponsored a lot of art for churches. This led to an explosion of incredible masterpieces here starting in the 14th century.

The cathedral is magnificent.

Traveling with the grandkids meant that we did different activities than we would have if we were alone. Brenna has been here twice and even though it’s the art center of the Renaissance world, and she’s a great artist herself, and loves galleries, Brenna hasn’t been able to see the famous art either time. The first time she came she was pregnant and Lydia was two.

Today was really fun for me. It was 20,000 steps, and exhausting, but it was worth it to get this precious time with the kids and grandkids. Brenna’s plan was:

Definitely do/kid friendly activities:

• Gelato at https://maps.app.goo.gl/NrUBZbUZxDvyLknx5?g_st=ic
• Pizza for kids
• Lampredetto sandwiches at Trippaio del Porcellino – Nencioni, Piazza del Mercato Nuovo, 50123 Firenze FI, Italy
• Kid clothing store (Monnalisa Firenze)
• Paper store/art supply store (eredi paperone, manzani belle arte)
• Candy shop (Captain Candy)
• Grom Gelato

Potential options/grown up desires/Would like to do: 

• Drawing at duomo
• Opera del duomo museum
• Bargello sculpture museum
• Horne Museum

We did all the things the kids wanted to do (mostly involving sugar and shopping), and one thing the adults wanted (a museum.) 🧐

Also went to a playground. The kids wanted to ride the carousel in the park, but their parents, who had catered to their every need all day, just wanted to relax a minute. Brenna gave them 20 euros and said “If you can go all the way over there, and figure out how to do it yourself, great!” So they had to deal with a language barrier, and figure out the foreign money, but did well. And if they ever come back, they have a punch card with five rides left. 😉

Today we stopped in Ravenna on our way to Florence. I knew the city was famous for its beautiful mosaics, but I was completely astonished by the Basilica of San Vitale. The church, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was built in the sixth century and it has the best preserved Byzantine mosaics outside of Istanbul. The grandeur defies description–overwhelmingly beautiful.

The students have been great–interested, enthusiastic and kind. They’ve made good friends with our counterparts from rural Georgia. We lost two adults and one student phone, and missed an hour looking for them, but eventually found them all and moved on.

Our hotel just outside of Florence is in a beautiful setting.