travelswithalice

December 30, 2019

A birthday celebration in the Amazon

Getting a year older can be lots of fun!

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # December 30, 2019

December 23, 2019

What to wear in the jungle & some cruise notes

What to wear?

In the jungle, it’s bug-repellent treated fabrics, long pants, long sleeves, hat, and comfortable closed-toe shoes. Recommended accessories are bug-repellent wristbands and stick-ons complemented by lashings of bug-repellent creams and sprays.

It’s good to keep in mind that black attracts flies and navy blue attracts mosquitoes. I learned about this belatedly, on our fifth safari.

I noticed strips of cloth set up like banners at more or less regular intervals on the roadside.

“They’re traps,” our driver informed us. “Blue cloth for mosquitoes, black for flies.”

Nice to know in places where blood-sucking tsetse flies or parasite-and-virus-carrying mosquitoes scare me more than lions or any one of Africa’s Big Five.

It may be a good idea to take your cue from the locals. 😊

On cruise ships, wardrobe guidelines are simpler and less frightening: from Relaxed Casual in the morning to Elegant Casual or Black Tie Optional in the evening.

We always stay below the radar whatever the dress code.

* * *

My sentiments about cruising change from day to day. Today has not been great. Neither has yesterday, come to think of it. I’ve just sent this message to some friends:

The ship has hired lots of unskilled, inexperienced Filipino workers- they probably won’t get jobs in Manila! And have not trained them well. I feel sorry for them. It’s not fair because they’ll get blamed for not doing their jobs well and it’s not their fault! 😡

* * *

I’ve never been one for cruising. Even now as I write this while literally crisscrossing the equator, I’m still not sure how I feel about it.

But if meditation or mindfulness are such wonderful things, then this must be just the thing.

* * *

Some highlights todate:

In Rio de Janeiro, there are three obligatory stops:

1) Christ the Redeemer on Corcovado.

Yes, we’re here at 710 meters!

2) Ipanema.

3) Copacabana.

In the São Paolo coastal town of Santos is the “Palace of the Official Coffee Stock Exchange”. It’s an imposing, opulently appointed building reflective of the enormous wealth generated by the coffee trade during the early part of the 20th century. Inaugurated in 1914, this was where the price of coffee beans was determined by brokers on the trading floor until 1950.

Paraty is quite unique and very pretty, my favourite so far. I love the look of the houses with their doors painted in colours of the Brazilian flag and the curved cobblestone streets that are designed to be washed clean when the tide comes in.

Olinda in Recife is an art-filled place. With brightly painted houses, music and dancing everywhere, it seems to be always on carnival mode.

* * *

Having left Recife on December 20, we’re at sea for three days, just off the coastline of Brazil.

We’re en route to the Amazon, for me the very object of this trip.

The adventure begins.

* * *

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # December 23, 2019

December 14, 2019

Montevideo

Apart from the beautiful roses from Uruguay that I always look for in the Dangwa flower market in Manila, I knew nothing about this country, nor to be honest have I ever tried to discover anything about it.

On a bus tour of Montevideo this morning, our young guide Cynthia changes all that for me. Engaging, spirited, and whip-smart, she starts her commentary with an invitation to call her out should anyone believe her to be lying or mistaken.

“I’m liking Uruguay more by the minute,” I keep whispering to Stuart. What’s not to like?

People here are known to be friendly and generally relaxed. They have lots of holidays, a mild climate, great beaches, good public transport, and apart from petty thievery, there is no serious crime. Assaults or muggings are practically unheard of.

Politics are not rabid or violent. While the country is predominantly Catholic, religious practice is low-key and mostly private. There is absolute separation of church and state.

Government and the economy are stable, inflation and unemployment are low. Majority of the population is middle class and extreme poverty is virtually nonexistent.

Abortion, divorce, same-sex marriage, and marijuana are all legal.

Education is free and obligatory for 14 years from age 4. Free health care is available to everybody, including visitors. Not only is abortion legal, it’s free, paid for by the government. The decision is solely the woman’s just as in cases of divorce: it’s the woman’s prerogative.

I have yet to see a policeman or an armed guard of any kind in the city. Cynthia says the country’s current president goes to work at his office building unescorted, using the main entrance just like everybody else.

He opts to live in his own house and uses the official presidential house only when required by protocol for official functions.

Except for the national flag by the front door, the president’s house looks ordinary; there are no guards.

At BAAR FUN FUN, a virtual shrine to tango dating back to the 19th century, we are introduced to the uvita, a high-octane liqueur similar to grappa.

Tango is a source of friendly rivalry with neighbour Argentina with whom Uruguay shares a contentious tango history. We are told authoritatively that tango should not be called Argentine tango.

“It’s just tango.”

Furthermore, we are informed that contrary to popular belief, legendary tango singer and composer CARLOS GARDEL was Uruguayan, not Argentinian.

(Actually, he was both; and he was born French.)

Labels: Baar Fun Fun, Carlos Gardel

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # December 14, 2019

December 10, 2019

A week in Buenos Aires

First meal in Buenos Aires has to be lunch at SOTTOVOCE in Puerto Madero where for less than USD15, or a little over PHP750, you get a 3-course meal and a bottle of wine.

The set lunch comes with a champagne cocktail and a bread basket with 3 dips. I’ll be happy to stop at this point or maybe go straight to dessert but the main course is usually too good to pass on.

There’s limoncello, cognac, and port on offer too but it’s really all a bit too much for me. Not for Stuart though; he almost never passes on limoncello.😊

A strange sight on the riverside. It takes me a while to realise that it’s an advert for “The Irishman”. Wow, seems like an elaborate and expensive advert for a movie!

Another restaurant we like is LA PECORA NERA, in Recoleta, not far from Alvear Palace Hotel.

Jessica greets us warmly as she unlocks the door and leads us to our table. We like that table in the inner section.

I’m happy to see that ossobuco risotto and dark chocolate ice cream with candied orange peel are still on the menu.

December 3 is our 37th wedding anniversary. How to celebrate?

Breaking out of our comfort zone, we decide to attend a “milonga”, a kind of tango party for avid tango enthusiasts. We’re helped along on this rather ambitious enterprise by two accomplished tango masters, Natalia Galain and Victor Francia, who try to make Stuart and me look good on the dance floor but barely succeed in making us not too conspicuous.

There’s another Sottovoce, in Recoleta. It’s smaller, nicer, a little more special. It’s where we were at Christmas last year for Noche Buena and it’s where we’re having our anniversary dinner this year.

They lit up the Christmas tree in the hotel lobby last night; a string quartet played carols; and a crowd of excitable children waited for their audience with Santa.

Outside our window, the river is all dressed up for the holidays.

Labels: anniversary, milonga, restaurants

posted by Alice Dimalanta Jones # December 10, 2019

travelswithalice

December 30, 2019

A birthday celebration in the Amazon

December 23, 2019

What to wear in the jungle & some cruise notes

December 14, 2019

Montevideo

December 10, 2019

A week in Buenos Aires

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