Rick´s bad internet cafe experience doesn´t reflect the entire Urugauy excursion, although it highlights some of the anti-U.S. sentiment we have experienced. The little tourist town we visited in Uruguay of Colonia del Sacramento was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1996. The old town has many historical buildings and the original cobblestone streets built by the Portuguese or Spanairds settlers. An interesting bit of trivia is that you can tell who built which street by the type of drainage it has -- the Portugeuse placed drains in the middle and the Spanairds placed drains along the sides.

We rented bicycles and rode along the beaches to a rather odd place called "Real de San Carlos". Apparently an Argentine playboy built this leisure complex during the early twentieth century, complete with bull-fighting ring, basketball or pelota court/theater, hotel, and horse racing track. The bull ring pictured here was only used eight times before bullfighting was outlawed but the ruins remain standing.




We had the opportunity to try a new type of wine with our great steak dinner while in Colonia. They produce a very rich red from the tannat grape. I believe the only other place to grow it is in the southwest of France where it is blended with other grapes. Uruguayans love beef every bit as much as Argentines and this 100% tannat wine complements grilled meat well. After a couple of days in Uruguay we returned to Buenos Aires and wandered along Puerto Madero for a couple of hours. The Argentine economy appears to be on the rebound and there is no place that reflects it more than this regentrified port. There are loft apartments above trendy restaurants and shops for several kilometers. We enjoyed the "cow art" along the walkway.




This blog entry would not be complete without sharing Rick´s version of the famous Evita pose at Casa Rosada, the presidential palace in Plaza de Mayo. The balcony has been used by many of the dictators and demagogues that fill Argentina´s history. Rick was very disappointed that he was unable to gain access to the balcony for the photo like Madonna did for the film Evita.
He pulled off a great pose, however, as the onlookers and policemen in the plaza could see. Don´t cry for Rick, Argentina....

We´re back from Uruguay. When I (Rick) signed in to an Internet cafe in Colonia, Uruguay, the fellow managing the business made a point of playing a video of the 9/11 bombing at ear-peircing volume, with him and his friends laughing about as loudly as humanly possible. I presume that this was intended for me, since, while I spoke Spanish to him (in extremely polite terms), he answered me abrubtly in English.

We are headed to Uruguay today, taking a boat across the Río de la Plata. We should be back in Buenos Aires on Friday.

Argentina´s conflicting identities seem to us to be extraordinary. By their own popular history, there is the conflict between the "sophisticated" metropolis/capitol Buenos Aires and the rural cattle barrons that control the power in Buenos Aires. There is also:

-- the aspiration to be a Europrean nation (with the Itialian blood and lingual influence) versus the geography and authoritian klepto-culture that set it firmly in South America.

-- the expansionary, triumphalist military claiming the Falkland Islands and part of Antactica vs. the impotence in warring with second-class power Great Britian, let alone the U.S., a nation it once regarded as a rival and is now the world hegemon.

-- the money and style for which it yearns vs. the financial humilation of the November 2001 bank crisis, and currency devaluation.

In some ways, this is the U.S. that failed. As China and India take over global dominance, and we suffer decline at home, this may also be our future, faded glory.