Easter lunch

The mellis (mellizos, fraternal twins)

Rodrigo and Mauro came to visit today. I’ve mentioned Mauro’s departure for New Zealand, and Rodrigo’s return, and hanging out at our place. We went to a restaurant near the beach that used to be a night club, now a restaurant with such interesting things as a “breakfast pizza.” Yes, that’s literally what it’s called, based on an American breakfast, even though that’s practically impossible to find in Uruguay.

Doesn’t show real well, bit it’s got bacon and an egg.

Mauro’s off to Buenos Aires in a week to join his Argentinian girlfriend he met in New Zealand and two Paraguayans they met at the restaurant they worked in this summer in Punta del Este, and will be taking off for northern Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and ending in Guayaquil, Ecuador, where they will work in a restaurant through another contact they made this summer.

Rodrigo is working locally, finishing his studies, and taking a course to become an airline steward.

Become an…? Methinks the travel bug has bit.

Oh, and almost forgot: after lunch we went to Baipa and brought back treats to have with tea. I didn’t last a year this time between visits, but since the previous interval was 22 months I’m doing OK overall 😉

Hangin’ out

guy playing guitar
Mauro, back from over a year in New Zealand, surprised us with some intricate Beatles’ songs on the guitar Santi loaned me. Actually his sister’s, but hey.

guy with dog on floor
His fraternal twin (mellizo) Rodrigo, lounging in front of the wood stove, got something interesting going on with Gita (full name: Doguita), the poorly drawn dog.

guys on couch
Then Santi apparently morphed into the equivalent of human catnip, and had the crazed cat Oscar going wild.

Mauro and Rodrigo had their horoscopes read earlier, our birthday gift to them, by our friend Hazel, who turns out to be an exceptional astrologer.

Then we talked about psychic protection, lucid dreaming, clairvoyance…such a treat to be around young, curious minds.

Día del Padre

Father’s day meant to me finally, a circular from Tienda Inglesa whose front pages are filled with cool stuff instead of women’s clothes and processed food products.

It took on new meaning when Santi arrived waving a paper, which I took to be a bill he’d seen in our mailbox. But no, instead he gave me a father’s day note and a very nice bottle of wine I’d never had before. Sweet! (The P.D. says The bus was moving a lot [when he wrote the note].)

Particularly unexpected since he has a father and father-in-law living nearby. But that’s Santi; he bought a Hibiscus for my wife on mother’s day.

Rodrigo’s back!

I hear a yell from my wife upstairs, and look to see Rodrigo, who left for New Zealand over 18 months ago, strolling up the driveway! Seems he likes surprises; he told no one but his brother (since he needed a ride from the airport) that he was arriving. Serious noise at his parents’ house: what are you yelling about, his mother demanded of his sister, who saw him first.

New Zealand gives out 200 work permits per year for Uruguayan kids; he left last year ahead of the others. Great joy to see him back.

Elsewhere in the news, we had chivitos today. Big deal? At Marcos, yes. Big. When we moved to Uruguay, I promised myself I would not have a chivito more than once a month. This is my first (I think) this year. What’s a chivito? Watch (note: since posting, blocked in Uruguay; requires VPN…or just have fun searching chivito on your own!)

In other news yesterday.

Firewood was delivered yesterday, but the people never showed to clean the chimney.

Mid-morning, our son’s friend arrived at the door quite agitated. The night before another friend drunkenly refused his offer of a couch, instead climbing on his motorcycle to head home. He’s alive, but parked in the hospital for a while with two broken ribs, ruptured spleen, head injuries and perhaps a broken foot. Apparently there was no contact with another vehicle. His is the motorcycle I fixed a few days ago.

By late afternoon, it was clear our dying 18 year old cat Zeus was nearing the end, so we took him to the vet to be put down. As soon as we got back, I buried the body, wrapped in newspaper and still warm, in the front yard near where he used to hang out. I say near because sometimes we’d see him lying in the middle of the street, which didn’t seem a good place to bury him.

45 minutes later our dinner guests arrived.

Couchsurfing redux, redux

We got involved in Couchsurfing when we lived in Mexico, and hosted a number of interesting, and fun, people.

One time it was Sara and Sébastien from Paris, en route by bicycle from Anchorage Alaska to Ushuaia, at the southern tip of Argentina and the southernmost city on the planet. When we hosted them, we had no thought of moving from Mexico. When they learned we were in Uruguay, the became our first return couchsurfers before heading back to Paris.

Similarly, Marjorie and Jörg, retired five years and traveling extensively in the Americas from their home in Lörrach, Germany, stayed with us in Mexico, and when they learned of our move promised to include us in their South America trip. We shared their delightful company for a few days as they got ready to head home, while this rather impressive refitted Toyota Land Cruiser parked in our driveway.

As an added bonus, they taught me some new German words: Grünschnabel, Quatschkopf, Quasselstrippe, and Frostmemme. You’re on your own for the first three; the last means someone who’s always cold. I’m not sure I’ll be using them any time soon, but you never know.

They are, after all, kind of catchy.