Today is the 30th birthday of one of my readers. She is not just a reader but also my sister and one of my best friends.
I’m so bummed I won’t be able to celebrate with her in person this year.
I just wanted to give her a (sort of ) public shout out for the happiest of birthdays!
Love you J! Here’s to your next thirty (plus!) years!
Who forgets keys? Me!
It was raining so I couldn’t even just wait it out on a bench, so instead I decided to wander in the local CVS. There was so much that I could have purchased, but the thought of carrying it eight blocks in the pouring rain, even with my golf umbrella, does not bode well for me.
Plus my rewards card is on my keys.
Instead I decided to wander in the supermarket which is essentially across the street from my apartment building.
A couple of things I noticed as I wandered around to kill time:
To top it all off I wrote down notes for this post as I waited outside my apartment door for the boyfriend to come home as I was eating string cheese (total impulse buy) that I had just bought right outside of my door
That’s right. Keeping it classy.
I have been following along BootsnAll’s 30 days of Indie Travel Project. I’m hopping in a little late but I am going to start with day three – music! Here goes:
There were several men dressed alike who were making beautiful music in Split, Croatia. The crowd enjoying their music grew and grew and one of the guys pulled me from out of the crowd and started to serenade me!
The music echoed off the walls that surrounded part of the town. We bought their CD and when we listen to it, it brings us back to a warm and sunny September day in the ancient Roman city of Split.
As a kid, I only had fish, my sister had a turtle. We never had a furry friend – nor did I ever desire one.
I’m not an animal lover. Call me afraid, call me weird, but it’s true. Even petting zoos freak me out. Remember when you put a quarter in the machine to buy the food in order to feed the animals? I would put my hand out and as soon as the animal would lean in to eat the food, I would pull my hand back in fear, scattering the food everywhere; thus teasing the poor animal.
When the boyfriend and I started dating, I learned that everyone in his family had at least one dog. I eventually (this took years) warmed up to Shadow and we took a liking to one another. I was still nervous but he only ever wanted to be petted. When people say their dog is good and friendly, this one was. Shadow was truly, a good dog.
When we would come to visit, no matter the time we got in, Shadow waited at the top of the stairs waiting to greet us. I think he was more excited to see the boyfriend, but then again the boyfriend was more excited than me to see Shadow. Shadow would stand at the top of the stairs waiting for us and wagged his tail so hard it would beat against the ground. He was waiting for the big hug and some good behind-the-ear scratching from the boyfriend. I would run my hand from somewhere behind his neck to the middle of his back before pulling it away. Sure, laugh. But Shadow is the only dog I have ever pet, willingly. And even this small gesture took me a few years to master.
One of the first times, if not the first time, I met Shadow, we were visiting the boyfriend’s parents for a long weekend. I had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. I walked out of the bedroom and Shadow was there, standing guard. I was terrified – and at a standstill. I couldn’t walk the ten feet to the bathroom without passing Shadow. I didn’t know what to do because I really had to go to the bathroom. Shadow started to bark and the boyfriend’s sister was awakened by the commotion and upon realizing I was scared to leave the room, she held his collar so I could leave the room. Little did I know then, Shadow was probably just making sure I was okay. He wasn’t going to pounce, attack or bite.
When we ate, he always laid under the table near me patiently waiting for hand outs. I think this is because I am a slow eater and he knew that I would be the last to finish. Again, I was afraid to feed him, just like at the petting zoo, so once I finished my meal, I let the boyfriend feed him any leftovers.
Shadow loved walks, hated taking medicine and loved being at the lake.
Shadow was the kind of dog who didn’t care who pulled on his tail or who would snuggle up on the floor with him. With so many kids in the family, it was bound to happen.
When the kids would swim in a pool, or in the lake, he always kept watch. He would pace around the area keeping an eye out.
When I heard the news that Shadow had been put down this past weekend, I shocked even myself. My throat got tight and I started to cry. I cried because I was sad. I cried for Shadow but then I cried for my boyfriend who loved Shadow so much and then I cried for everyone who loved him. I cried thinking about how the kids would learn that Shadow was in heaven and I cried for the boyfriend’s parents who loved him so much.
I never really understood when people said a dog is part of your family. I get it now.
Thanks to the remoteness of Ushuaia, here’s a short history lesson courtesy of LonelyPlanet.com:
Between 1884 and 1947 Argentina imitated Britain’s example with Australia and made the city a penal colony, incarcerating many of its most notorious criminals and political prisoners here and on remote Isla de los Estados (Staten Island). In 1906 the military prison was moved to Ushuaia, and in 1911 it was combined with the Carcel de Reincidentes, which had incarcerated civilian recidivists since 1896. Since 1950 the town has been an important naval base.
The prison was no longer in use but it was very cold (no heat) and depressing. This, or any prison for that matter, is not where I’d want to spend any time incarcerated. You’ll see a tour on the first floor. They only offered the tours in Spanish so we decided not to join. In each of the cells were signs and information in both English and Spanish so we self-guided ourselves through the prison.
As Ushuaia is a remote place, the city, or maybe it was a campaign by the tourist board, recognized that it’s a feat in and of itself to get there. We found out that the post office and some banks provide various stamps for your passport, to say you arrived at ‘the end of the world!’
I didn’t want to spend our time in Ushuaia hunting down these stamps so I reminded myself to be happy with just one version of the stamp. As luck would have it, we stopped in a bank and the woman went nuts — stamping every version of the stamp in our passports!
The next time I visit Ushuaia, I will be boarding a cruise to Antarctica!
Upon landing in Ushuaia, we took a cab right to our bed and breakfast. Our cab driver’s only English was ‘Bill Gates.’ As soon as we got in the cab, he asked us where we were from.
As soon as he learned that we were Americans, he asked us if we knew Bill Gates.
Sidenote: I was not sure if he was asking us if we knew Bill Gates personally or if we knew of Bill Gates. I’m going to chalk it up to my own translation issues because yes to the latter, no to the former.
Our cab driver proceeded to tell us, very excitedly, that Bill Gates has a research ship docked in the harbor. He did not hesitate to show us the ship – as he pointed in one direction and we were going around a roundabout in another direction!
Being in Ushuaia we were thisclose to Antarctica — relatively speaking.
Being in Ushuaia is still a good five days out by sea from the elusive continent. Those five days are in good weather, which even in their summer is not guaranteed.
You could purchase a last-minute cruise most anywhere around town. They leave tomorrow, or the next day, cruises were offered at discounted rates … again, it’s all relative. Those ‘discounts’ were still going to cost thousands of dollars.
Let it be known, travel to Antarctica is not cheap – the cost for one person to cruise to Antarctica, even at this last-minute discount, would have cost more than we spent for our 11-day trip to Argentina. For two people! And I am including the cost of two roundtrip international airfares (NYC-EZE) and our domestic airfare within Argentina — three one way flights.
We spent some time chatting up the guys who booked our Beagle Channel boat tour. One of the guys was reading a guide about the terrain and animals found on the continent.
We learned that the tour world is a small one. Everyone who works at one of the businesses along the waterfront touting trips to the penguin rookery or sailing around the Beagle Channel (we did both) has a friend or a friend of a friend who can alert the others to extra spaces, or possible work, found on the Antarctic-bound ships.
These guys needed to be at the ready – with gear and money (if for pleasure and not for work) – because their chance could be the very next day!
One of my most memorable landings was flying from El Calafate (which was an amazing place in and of itself) and landing in Ushuaia, Argentina.
I have always known that I wanted to travel to the ends of the earth and had already scoped out a few places to keep on my radar – Kiribati Islands anyone?
Then it just so happened that quite a few seasons ago on The Amazing Race, teams traveled to Ushuaia. I immediately fell in love and knew I would have to get to the southernmost city one day.
Somewhere in the air, I just couldn’t believe we were finally heading there! The flight was just about an hour from El Calafate and I couldn’t wait to land! I felt like a little kid, I was so giddy with excitement. Because Ushuaia is basically surrounded by mountains and water the scenery that you can see on the descent into town is amazing!
When we landed, I couldn’t wait to get off the plane. I was just absolutely and completely in jaw-dropping awe that we had arrived at the ‘end of the world.’
“You don’t develop courage by being happy in your relationships everyday. You develop it by surviving difficult times and challenging adversity.” — Epicurus, Greek philosopher
This was my fortune in a fortune cookie the other day.
Not only do I love this quote but I love how my local sushi restaurant still puts a fortune cookie in the delivery bag.
simply three cents 