Monthly Archives: January 2013

Cabo Polonio Exploration

Continuing from my time in Cabo Polonio…and the windy night

After what seemed like a few minutes later, the sun was up. I was the first one up so I cut a piece off from some bread we had bought at the supermarket and headed out. I wanted to explore the village, buy a bus ticket to Minas and hit the beach!

Before leaving Colonia, I had emailed with my CouchSurfing hosts in Minas, that I probably wouldn’t arrive until after 7 that evening (enough time to have the whole day in Cabo Polonio but early enough that I would arrive during daylight and well before dinner).

I headed out and literally took a hike. I walked around the water’s edge and followed the path worn into the grass. I did see a lot of baseball sized poop. I figured it was the horses I saw the previous day.

baseball sized poop

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And then, I saw them…sea lions or walruses (not sure which).

 

 

sea lion or walrus

Not behind barbed wire, not on display like at a zoo – just sea lions chilling on the rocks. There were a few of us that happened upon the sunbathing sea lions and we proceeded to ooh and ahh together and take photographs.

I’m not well-versed in sea lions – and if they like being photographed, or how fast they move, had they been pissed – but everyone seemed to be respectful of their space and they did not move more than a few inches while I was there.

I got in a few photos and then watched in awe. They love the sun as much as I do. They lounged around and hardly even moved for the time I was there.

As I walked on the beach in Cabo Polonio admiring the sea lions, I was joined by a few other people doing the same thing. One person in the group spoke English and asked if I was traveling alone. I said yes. She shared the info with the others, and then said that I was very brave. They all nodded in unison.

At this point I wasn’t feeling so brave.

While I was enjoying the rustic nature of Cabo Polonio and was really trying to immerse myself in the relaxed feel of the village, I couldn’t get this nagging feeling to go away.

I had spent a few hours alone watching other people enjoy their vacations with their friends and I was feeling kind of lonely.

I was missing the company of Laura in Colonia and Romina and Mariela in La Pedrera. I wasn’t really certain about what to expect in Minas since I had only exchanged a few emails with my hosts. My eye was really bothering me and I was envious of the other people I saw having fun with their friends. I wasn’t sure if I was homesick or if I just really wanted running water. Pity party for one, please.

I continued my walk around to the other side of the village where there were a few stalls/trailers selling jewelry and food. I stopped at a beach shack to buy an apple juice and asked where I could buy bus tickets. He shrugged. I wasn’t sure if my Spanish wasn’t great — donde esta comprar boletos de autobus — or if he didn’t want to deal with me. I continued my attempt at asking around town and either no one knew or I didn’t understand the reply.

Since it was nearing late morning, I decided to head back to Daisy’s.

I still wanted to spend some time on the pristine beach, and I had to hope that someone would have more information on the bus situation.

Advertisement

Happy New Year

Once I returned from South America I spent a fair amount of time writing blogs to get (and stay) ahead of real-time. I had months of scheduled posts with the hope to keep writing to stay ahead and with job searching, working and planning a wedding, I just never got ahead of myself. I came to the end of those scheduled posts just before the end of 2012. I have a fair number of draft posts that I am ready to finalize and can start to schedule now. My hope is that once I have them scheduled from now until the end of January, I can spend some time writing to get (and stay) ahead.

I love writing and keeping a journal of my travels on my blog. With that said, I want to make some changes and improvements to my blog for the coming year.

Instead of saying I want to write a better blog (which I do), I have provided specifics on things that I’d like to change and/or learn in order to write that better blog. If I make my goals public, at least I’ll be held accountable if by no one but myself.

I’d like to spice things up. I think there have been posts that are a little bit dry (and I’m the one telling the story!). I want to tell my stories (albeit I am little behind*) from my time in South America and travels since then — without boring anyone or feeling like a braggart. I want to improve my writing and story-telling with each post. I want to make my blog more visually appealing — using at least one photo in each post (starting in this one). I know not every post is going to be spectacular, but I’d like to cut back on the number that are less than stellar. As I prepared this post, I figured out the new tools to fix photo size and placement — which I should have learned before I published the previous post.

I want to learn more about WordPress and its latest tools so that posting pictures is easier. I want to make the process of using WordPress easier on my end. I want to decide what to do with my Simply Three Cents Facebook page since I don’t utilize it other than a place to push out my posts. Should I post in real-time on Facebook with other travel content like I do on Twitter? Should I create a Simply Three Cents logo (since the current logo utilizing three pennies are lame)? Why do the posts that push to Facebook showcase the WordPress logo (maybe because those posts are missing photos?) I’d like to decide what’s the best use of each of the tools I use with my blog.

I have done a fair amount of writing this year for online publications — both paid and pro-bono. I’d love to continue writing for various publications so long as they will have me.

I follow a lot of travel blogs, and while I don’t ever anticipate this to be on the caliber of those (since I am not looking to make my blog a business), I am inspired by a lot of what I see there so I know what greatness looks like IF you dedicate a lot of time to your site with the intention of making a living on it. I’m just not looking to do that right now for a variety of reasons. If I can keep a chronicle of my travels to entertain, inspire and motivate others, in a relatively clean format with consistent and engaging blog posts, I’d be happy with that.

If you’ve been reading, I thank you. If you’re new, welcome. Feel free to use the tools to the right to see older posts based on geography or category. If you like my blog, or a post, feel free to share it. If you hate something, let me know. If you have any questions or suggestions, please let me know.

*I’m way off in terms of timing from my adventures in South America but the stories are still there to tell. Please bear with me.

Me in the Tram Car Above Salta, Argentina