The way from Uruguay to Brazil

Oy,

Riding has become a routine.

i wake up around 8:30, stretch a lot , eat breakfast and ask permission from chicho to ride. he doesn't always let me. some problems had occurred now and then, none of them are serious. like Tomasito (from a previous post) and Robocop (thanks to Eran) say: "everything is fixable".

the days are changing from one end to another. one day could be just glorious and sunny when the riding is a pure pleasure. other days could be raining like hell and quite cold (tough not freezing). in Uruguay i just stop in a farm and ask for permission to camp on their ground. they always say yes. in Brazil it is another story. people are very friendly but have less trust for other people. i approached two farmers and they both send me to another place. the last farmer had this big empty Hangar near the gas station.

he sent me there and allowed me to sleep inside. there i met this lovely family who live just beside the gas station and have a shop for truck and car batteries.

in the morning when i tried to start the bike.... surprise, surprise, the battery was completely dead. it died in the perfect place. Pedro, the owner made a small makeup to the battery and charged it and now it is like new.




so here is the battery family.



and here are some really funny Uruguayan kids, i guess they are from the West Coast, yehh!!

bye now,

starting to miss you a bit

E + C

People are strange..

Hey,

i left Montevideo after beginning a photo project about the strange names of the Uruguayans.

my papa had told me before we came here about an author named Leonardo Haberkorn who wrote a story about the rare names of some of the Uruguayans. in his story (which is a true one) he tells about people with rare names like: Roosvelt Stalin, Musolini Baptista, Waltdisney Dutra, John Lennon Medina and... here comes the strongest one. Hitler Dasilva. yes yes, in Uruguay there are 3 persons who are called Hitler. i am sure lots of German people would see that as a sick joke, but these people carry that name without any problem.

i located Leonardo in Montevideo and told him i would like to take portraits of these people. we joined forces and now i am in pursuit around Uruguay for strange people with strange names.

our mails to each other looked even stranger. it looked like : "hey leonardo, today i photographed Hitler. it went good. he is a really nice guy. can you send me the phone number of John Lennon? is he in Montevideo? by the way, Walt Disney did not want his photo taken. bye for now, eilon".

i here give you a few of them:

Winston Churchill Umpierez

Trademar Lemos (as for Trade Mark)

John Lennon Medina (he doesn't know any Beatles song)

Hitler Dasilva

Hitler Aguire

and his son Hitler

thanks for all of you who commented on my blog.

bye for now

and if you find Che Guevara or Jim Morisson, give me a call. i need their photos for my project.

:)

E

Leaving Montevideo After 2 1/2 weeks

Hey,

this posting is specially dedicated to the stuff of Palermo art hostel in Montevideo. Luis, Anita,Nico,Irene and Marianela. thanks so much...

so.... I left Montevideo after 3 weeks of stay in a beautiful and friendly hostel. The hostel was built by Luis & Ana, a young couple who promotes art and dedicated the hostel to art lovers. i offered them to take photos of the neighbourhood and the Candombe scene which takes place just around the corner. he accepted my offer and therefore i traded my photos for my stay.

it's funny how things change their value depending on location and time. in Israel i could sell these photos for hundreds of US$, but here they served me for a room. needless to say that this deal was just right for me, at this time and at this place.

The hostel was great. it is located in a quarter named Palermo where the Candombe drummers play their weekly routine on the streets.

i joined a group of Candombe drummers (Cuerda in Spanish) and escorted them through their drum practice for the annual Carnaval which takes place at February.

in their routine they warm up the wooden drum with near the fire until they sound just right. then the group aligns in rows where the leaders are in the front conducting the beat to the rest of the group. then they march along the street for 500 meters (give or take) in a slow pace and small steps imitating the steps taken by their ancestors black slaves who could march only with chains on their feet. the group must keep perfect pace and rhythm. young drummers who choose to join the group sometimes get their hands bloody for keeping the pace.

for more info on Candombe look here:

http://www.candombe.com/

at the rest of the days i wondered along this laid back city. it has great beaches, very long boardwalk (Rambla), very nice weather and a slow slow pace. sometimes too slow. Nico, a young guy from the hostel showed me around some of the best Pizzas i have eaten (even better than those in Italy).

so i leave you with the photos. click here for more:

http://picasaweb.google.com/eilonpaz/MontevideoUruguay

i now go north and will enter Brazil in a few days.

Ciao

E

A small Asado for the friends

Hello everyone
instead of words i will use video.
we made a small Asado in the hostel just before i left.
here it is:



Bon Apetite
E

Tristan Narvaja Sunday market, Montevideo

Hello Comrads !!
i here report you from the weirdest flea market i have seen, at least until now...
Tristan Narvaja Sunday market in Montevideo, Uruguay.

In a country which preserves almost anything, the people here just sells anything which has a form.
old grenades,coca cola bottle taps, 60's posters and magazines, first model of Macintosh, used nails and more.
my uncle Leibe told me he saw a stall of false teeth for sale.
i looked for it the whole day, but did not find it.
instead i found this glorious Bolivian musician. he left me with a stupid smile for the whole day.

so friends, i leave you with this.

and remember

ALWAYS TRUST THE MONKEY!!!

(Tali & Joe, this one is for you)

Adios

E