Author Archives: Mike

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About Mike

Journalist, writer, world traveler

Mistakes, I Made A Few

Posted on March 21, 2012 by Mike

Her backpack: Indigenous woman in Cotopaxi, Ecuador, several thousand feet above sea level where oxygen is hardly plentiful. And she manages to still smile

“Has it been a year?” a friend asked, as I stood in his dining room in Miami. “Yes, I’ve been gone exactly a year,” I replied, feeling somewhat uncertain myself.

It was hard to believe that a year ago last month  I left the United States for Colombia, where I started this great global adventure. Hard to believe how much ground I covered by road and how many people I met along the way. How many lives I touched and how many lives touched mine. I am not the same person that left the United States last February. I am changed, for the better, I think. I know more about South America and South Americans. I’ve seen more. I’ve learned a thing or two about tolerance, and above all, patience. You have to be an extremely patient traveling for a year in the Third World. You must adjust to all sorts of situations and customs.

I bit my tongue – mostly – when someone tried to lecture me about the evils of the United States. I listened and nodded and sometimes even agreed with the disagreeable.

South America was great in so many ways. I am now back in the United States. In Miami, to be exact, nursing an injured knee, the result of a tumble in Chile.

My backpack: Compared to what she's carrying above, maybe I should quit whining... 🙂

The knee seemed to bounced back to health, but as I started to make my way across Argentina and Uruguay, with a backpack that seemed to weigh more with every step, the pain returned. So after limping around Montevideo for a while, I hopped online onto the American Airlines website and booked a flight to Miami. The plan: see a doctor about the knee, take it easy and start anew in Europe.  That was the plan. This month, my doctors have had a thing or two to say about that. After X-rays, physical therapy for up to three months has been ordered. I start April 9. Not exactly the way I had hoped things would turn out, but also not as bad as it could have been. No need for surgery, for instance. That’s good news. Bad news, I am in Miami instead of Brazil, which I had to skip to deal with the knee. No worries, new plan is Brazil has been appended to 2013, but more likely early 2014 given my detour.

Meanwhile in Miami, I’ve had time to reflect on the year that was.  What I did, what I would do differently. And with this entry, I hope you, dear future traveler, will learn from my mistakes. I list a few:

1. The Backpack: Mistake number one. I bought the biggest one on the market – 91 liters – but nobody told me that amount of weight is nearly impossible to carry fully loaded, uphill, up stairs, for long periods, especially for a man who weighs 170 puny pounds. (My weight at the start of my trip was more than 190 pounds, at times closing in on 200 pounds).

But I carried two backpacks, so there! 🙂
In Santiago, Chile.

Some might say I don’t have to fill the backpack with the kitchen sink, but another unforeseen problem with a pack that size is it has to have a certain amount of stuff in it, otherwise the fasteners won’t close properly. So then you are forced to load up with stuff you really shouldn’t be carrying. So my advice is buy a backpack built to carry the minimum you will need on the trip, not the maximum. You may find yourself wearing the same clothes more often, but your legs, spine and shoulders will thank you for it.

2. The Fights: So the stranger learns I’m American and I get one of two reactions – love or hate. The United States is not the most popular nation on Earth. That has been made very clear to me across South America, with one individual after another laying into me about Iraq, Guantanamo, American imperialism, 9-11, on and on. From Colombia all the way down to Argentina, I heard from individuals who really believe that the United States government blew up the World Trade Center and crashed planes into the Pentagon as a pretext to attack Iraq.  Really? These conspiracy theorists were fed this story line by conspiracy theorists in the United States. So I can’t really fault their ignorance.

Sometimes I would allow people to go on and on and have their say. Sometimes I would challenge their assertions. And that more often than not was a mistake. People form their own opinions and they won’t change it no matter how much rational reasoning you try to impart. So my attempts to set the record straight often ended in disagreement. Henceforth, I will just shut up and smile.

3. Voices Inside My Head!: As most of you know, I’ve been couch surfing my way around the world. It’s been amazing, but not always smooth sailing. And it’s been those times when I didn’t listen to that voice in my head that said “go to a hostel or a hotel”. When traveling in a strange land, go with your gut! It’s nature’s way of alerting you that something is amiss, perhaps even dangerous. The times I ignored that little voice inside my head I ran smack into trouble and had a bad experience. Nothing major, just unpleasant. When the voice told me to find someplace else to stay, I should have listened. When it told me not to attempt to go down that canyon, I should have listened. When it told me….well, you get the idea.

Knee Issues: Herein may have lay part of the stressed knee problem! Not enough leg room on some buses in South America for people more than five feet tall!
Two-plus hours on a bus - in this position - to Santa Marta, Colombia

4. Tentative – I bought a tent for this trip and it was one of the things I ended up shipping back to the United States because I was carrying way too much. I should have kept the tent! Housing is important and that tent would have come in handy throughout South America. I had used it only a couple of times and thought I would not use it again. Wrong! So many places that allow camping and it would have been great to have it and awake in some beautiful spots. The  tent stays with me on the rest of the journey.

5. Thanks For The Advice: When you travel you will run in to people who have advice as to where and where not to go. What to see and what to skip. Opinions, opinions, opinions. But it’s your trip and if you have your heart set on someplace, do not allow others to dissuade you. Do your own research and decided for yourself if it’s worth it. A couple of times, against my better judgment, I skipped a couple of places then heard from others that those places were phenomenal. For instance, I am hearing from some that the Egyptian Pyramids are a bore. No amount of criticism of the pyramids will keep me out of Egypt. I will draw my own conclusions about the pyramids.

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Montevideo: Small City, Big Happenings

Posted on February 12, 2012 by Mike
Tango music fills the streets in the Pocitos section of Montevideo

It’s a river so vast it resembles an ocean. And it sometimes behaves as such. Fed at times by the salty waters of the South Atlantic Ocean – depending on shifting currents – the La Plata is the widest river on Earth. From one shore to the next, there’s no sign of land. Just water all the way to the distant horizon. Add fine-grain white sands to its shores and you have a beach.

MONTEVIDEO: Reflecting the old and the new

On the two sides of La Plata’s shores rise two great cities. One of them on the Argentina side – Buenos Aires – is known throughout the world as a desirable place to visit. The other, on the Uruguay side – Montevideo – one might say lies in the shadows of the much larger and better known Buenos Aires. Uruguayans acknowledge their capital city is not exactly the destination that is Buenos Aires. But they don’t seem to mind. They like Montevideo for what it is – small with easy access to just about everywhere – and full of laid back and very friendly people.

But to me, Montevideo is much more. Like Buenos Aires, it has some amazing classical architecture; good transit system – although no subway – great nightlife; worthy museums and historic sites to see; and all the great restaurants you will ever need. It also has something Buenos Aires does not have: beaches.

VEGANS LOOK AWAY!: Meat-eaters, you MUST have a chivito canadiense when you come to Montevideo: beef, ham, fried egg, lettuce, tomato, bacon, cheese, mayo, yum!

I fell in love with Montevideo. To me it’s a smaller version of Buenos Aires – sorry Uruguayans, I know you don’t like that comparison 🙂 – but with people who can’t wait to show a stranger genuine hospitality. So for me,  Montevideo struck the ball out of the ballpark. I say to you, go ahead and visit Buenos Aires. That is an absolute must. You would be a fool not to. You will find much to enjoy. But do not overlook Montevideo. Hop on the BuqueBus – the very comfortable ferry – and go across the La Plata to Montevideo. The crossing is three quick  hours, as the ferry has food, drinks, televisions, wi-fi, and much more to keep you busy during the crossing. Or you can just sleep :).

The BuqueBus also travels between Buenos Aires and Colonia, Uruguay. Spend a day or two in this beautiful, historic city, then take a bus – again with free wi-fi – to Montevideo. That’s what I did. And when I got to Montevideo, intending to spend just a couple of days, I stayed for weeks!

The BuqueBus: Ferry crossing the La Plata River, the world's widest river, from Buenos Aires (in the background) to Colonia, Uruguay. That's the Uruguayan flag fluttering in the wind.

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Buenos Aires: A City Of Contradictions

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Mike

Mixed Messages: Old meets the new

So what’s it been? About a month? For me, that’s a long time in one place. I didn’t plan to stay this long in Buenos Aires, but that’s the way it goes in the world of no-hurries, no-worries travel. I get to any given place, remove my hat, wipe the sweat from my brow, look around, survey, take stock,  go!

I should have been gone for weeks from Buenos Aires. Instead, I stuck around, looking for something more, something extra or extraordinary out of the place. I’m not always sure just what that one thing more might be. That’s Buenos Aires. You get a sense that you’ve had enough of the place, but you stay one more day, and another for something you fear you may have missed or could miss or absolutely don’t want to miss.

On the "A Line" old wooden trains from a bygone era are still in use

Look at me, talking about “you”. That “you” is of course me. There is something about Buenos Aires that I simply  have found mysterious. In one month, just when I think I have my finger on  South America’s second largest city, it’s a faint beat. Is Buenos Aires dead to me or to die for, I ask. I want more, I want to hear more, experience more, and the more I do and see, the more I want to do and see. So I stick around.  It’s hard to leave.

And what have I learned about Buenos Aires?

I’ve already written about the peopleof Buenos Aires. That still stands. I’m not going to rehash that. I’m all about the place this go round. And what I’ve seen is a great city. Truly one of the best. Striking architecture. Imposing. A mix of styles and eras. I love the buildings in Buenos Aires.

Unusual Sight: A deserted subway. This almost never ever happens in the second largest city in South America

If you come to Buenos Aires, look up! You will see buildings straight out of Europe. There is good reason Buenos Aires is labeled “the most European city in South America.” Hands down, it is! Walk the city – it’s easy to do, but while you are casually strolling looking up, every so often glance down – the sidewalks are unfortunately a minefield of dog poo.

I could live in Buenos Aires. That’s a huge endorsement, people! But I don’t think I could do it forever. Some cities I know I could spend a lifetime there. Buenos Aires is not one of them. I don’t exactly know why, I just know. Like every large city, there are good things and there are bad things about the city. I believe the good outweigh the bad, but the bad – for me the lack of diversity, for instance – is a biggie. I am currently in the city next door – Montevideo, Uruguay– much smaller than Buenos Aires, but far more diversity of people. You see a spectrum of people and that makes Montevideo a warmer, more inviting place.

Evita's final resting place, in the Recoleta Cemetery, a tourist mecca!

That is of course my opinion. For others, the fact that they can go all day without seeing a black person is just fine, even welcomed. I think Montevideo is a richer place because of its diversity. And it’s just across the La Plata River, the widest river in the world. It took three hours to cross the river by ferry and every time I look at the river it feels more like an ocean. You cannot see the other side from one shore to another. Amazing.

Anyway, the bottom line about Buenos Aires is that it’s a world-class city with Third World oddities. You will still see horse and buggies driven by men who go around the city rummaging through trash to find cardboard and other recyclable. On the subway trains and buses, peddlers peddling everything from bootlegged movies to chewing gum; and people riding outside overcrowded trains, hanging on for dear life! And yet, you can spend a night at the opera in one of the finest theaters in the world. Spend time in some of the most beautiful parks. Dine at a myriad of super fancy restaurants. In short, Buenos Aires is a city of contradictions.

So come to Buenos Aires and spend a little while. You might find it hard to tear yourself away. I did.

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