Why does the title of the blog keep on changing?

The title of our blog, as you might have noticed, keeps on changing. Leaving a trace of the changes reflects the changes in direction, obviously, but also shows how the overarching goal of our trip becomes clearer as we move along.

You would think we would know what we were doing when we decided to sell everything and leave. Well, kind of. We love Vancouver and it's probably the best place in the whole world for us to live, but we felt it was time for a change. A next step.

Fadi blames that feeling of restlessness on his Third Culture Kid (TCK) status and his last name, which in Arabic means "bird." I can't do the same: my last name means"earth" or "soil" in Latin; you probably can't get more rooted than that. In my case it probably has to do with my ancestors, who kept on moving from country to country. If the records are correct, the different branches did some major moving: Netherlands, Portugal, Brazil, Switzerland, France, Italy, Argentina. And ending up in Uruguay didn't help. Either the condition of "pueblo transplantado" (transplanted people, according to Brazilian anthropologist Darcy Ribeiro) of its people, or its open, barrier-less and windblown landscape makes it too easy to want to go out and explore.

But I digress. Regardless of reasons, our moving was just the next step from a change that began more than 10 years ago when we decided to make quality of life a priority. Since then, we have been trying to live our lives so that they match more closely our values and beliefs (more about that later here and here).

As we move along, we seek (or, as it turns out, we run into) people that help us learn more about alternative ways of living, sustainable transport and energy, bio-construction, organic and urban farming, garbage and recycling, and other issues that we care about, and we also get a chance to give these alternatives a try.  

Not a bad way to learn and grow. And not a bad way to end the year. Plus an appropriate posting for the end of the year.

Our New Year Resolution? Be greener :)

Happy 2012 everyone!

 

(For those in Vancouver, if you want to start the year on a green note and let Canadian government know that we want Canadian behavior to match Canadian image, join the rally on January 1st by the Art Gallery downtown. Ahhh. I miss Vancouver).

Cityscapes: why a megalopolis is, by definition, not pretty

I feel vindicated.

I’m reading Michael C. Boxall’s latest thriller “The GreatFirewall.” The action is taking place in Shanghai when I read the following comment about subways: “[Shanghai’s] subway didn’t smell like [a heady blend of vanilla, balsam and ambergris]. But neither did it have the roachy fetor  of New York, [...]”

My first thought: Thank you!

Since I commented on my not-love for NY, people have been jumping about how is that even possible, eeeeeverybody loves NY, because NY is sooo great. Apparently not linking NY is akin to not liking Paris. A cultural faux pas.

My take on the whole issue? People don’t really look at famous places for what they are, but for what they represent.

Kitchen Series #8 - Christmas Dinner Potato Salad

Before (ingredients) and after (prepared salad)

We would have never guessed we would spend Xmas with a bunch of ex-pats from Canada, the US, Chile, Italy, Thailand, and I don't know where else, in Punta Fría, up a hill overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

The hosts asked us to bring some salads and we prepared a nice cold potato salad that would go well with a hot summer celebration.

Cold Xmas Potato Salad

Ingredients:

potatoes

red onions

olive oil

dijon mustard

honey

raspberry vinegar

Adobe dreaming / Construcción de casas de barro

I love how sometimes life has a way to tell you you're on the right track. I re-connected with a former colleague I hadn't seen nor talked to in years and guess what she said: "Pueden venir y ya de paso conocen mi casita en construcción. Te cuento que estamos al mango construyendo una casa de barro con nuestras propias manos". Yeap. They happened to be building their own adobe house. How perfect is that?

The structure already in place: wood, stone, mud on the walls, grass and a traditional quincho on the roof

Awaken your inner child: how to play with mud with a purpose

Casas de adobe. Ladrillos de barro. Bio-construcción. Vivienda ecológica. Hay quien sabe a lo que me refiero. Y hay muchos otros que, a la mención de barro, largan una carcajada mientras sacuden la cabeza y mascullan algo sobre hippies o tribus prehistóricas. En Uruguay, donde la construcción de barro y paja es lo que tradicionalmente se usó en el campo para hacer los ranchos, surgen miradas preocupadas y comentarios sobre vinchucas y taperas.

Un proceso eminentemente colaborativo

La construcción en barro es milenaria, pero hay un movimiento de vuelta a esta técnica entre arquitectos, incluso en Uruguay. Entre estos arquitectos está una amiga mía que es gran defensora de ese tipo de casas y que me viene comiendo el coco hace más de una década con los beneficios del barro: mejor aislamiento del frío, del calor y del ruido, más económico, más maleable y con mayor posibilidades creativas, duradero, seguro, agradable. Lógico entonces, que cuando ofrecieron un taller de ladrillos de barro en mi universidad en Vancouver, aproveché.

Musings on the simple, nomadic life

Scaling down in a consumerist society is not a simple, fast or in any way easy  process. I'm still trying to figure out this working-living-traveling thing and I'm feeling a bit confused. The living out of a backpack gets harder with age. Right now I just want a place of mine where I can leave my stuff. Can you believe I still have stuff?

Missing my office

The getting rid of everything was positive in one very specific way: you get to see what you really miss. So far: rice cooker, electric kettle & thermos.

Close second: yoga mat-second big computer screen-ergonomic keyboard-mouse combo. My hands + back + neck are suffering the lack of a proper office setting (hence the delay in posting).

In short, you miss what makes your everyday life easy and smooth,  food- and work-wise. I also realized most objects I owned were so irrelevant that I couldn't remember what they were even a few hours after I gave them up.

Kitchen Series #7 - Fresh Summer Salad Combo

There is so much you can take in terms of asado, pasta and pizza - the staple food that shows up in every gathering and outing in Uruguay.

After only a few weeks I was killing for some fresh veggies that would better suit the warm weather we were having. Also, salads is the easiest way to make sure everything is GF.

Anything corn is difficult to find in Uruguay, so, for the guacamole, I substituted the corn chips with thin GF crackers.

The main ingredient of the other salad is the palmito, or heart of palm, not very popular in Vancouver, but super common in Uruguay. Time to indulge then.

Women, violence, and media

Curious how sometimes they connect, the randomly drawn information dots:

 

Women against domestic violence (photo taken from here)

* a thousand black and purple women march in Montevideo against domestic violence and a picturesque gobbling of a president handles pro-women pamphlets, 

Natural Uruguay: from words to action

"Uruguay Natural" is the slogan the Uruguayan Ministry of Tourism adopted a few years ago to convey the idea that one of the top attractions the country has to offer is its natural environment, the clean and wide open spaces of beaches and countryside.

Unfortunately, the waste disposal system is lacking at many levels, the doubling of the population due to tourism puts more pressure on the environment, and finally, Uruguay is not isolated and garbage that ends up in the ocean makes its way back to the shore.

As a consequence, the state of the beaches after the winter months, when there are no cleanup services, was on the disgusting side of things. Not wanting to sunbathe surrounded by plastic bags and discarded boxes and thinking of our soon-to-visit young nephews and niece, we participated in the International Coastal Cleanup Day that takes place around the world every November.

This was the result:

After just 1 hour collecting garbage in a 10 sq.m. area

"Ocean" brand cigarettes: it doesn't mean that they have to end up there!

Putting the garbage back where it belongs

Uruguay natural: de las palabras a los hechos

Hay un largo a trecho a recorrer para llegar a hacer realidad el slogan del Ministerio de Turismo. La calidad de "natural" deja un poco que desear cuando vemos el estado de las playas después del invierno.

Después de una hora de recolección en 10 metros cuadrados de playa

Cigarrillos "Ocean": no significa que tengan que terminar en el idem

Poniendo la basura en su lugar

Día de Limpieza de Costas / International Coastal Cleanup Days

Homesteading in Uruguay: What to do when mushroom picking goes bad

We had been discussing mushroom picking options with Dan & Angie back in Baltimore, when I commented my mother's famous pickled eucalyptus mushrooms. Because of the pickling process they last for months, but they never survive that long because they're just too yummy. As a result, I rarely get to try them - they grow in the seasons I avoid visiting (fall and winter) and are long gone by the time I make it to my parents' house. This time, though, one mushroom made it to early springtime. And not any mushroom: a giant one!

Though impressive in size, the results were not that great. As I always suspected, bigger is not always better (and I'm not being biased there). I tried it in a sandwich in lieu of a portobello mushroom, which you can't get here, but it was too bitter. We guessed a couple more rounds of boiling would have helped to get rid of the bitterness. Oh, well, we'll figure it out during the next mushroom season.

Nothing to worry about! Plenty of other veggies to grill. With abundant wood around and mild days, we spend a lot of time outside barbecuing: tomatoes, carrots, onions, bell peppers, potatoes and sweet potatoes, and even apples. Toss with a bit of olive oil, rosemary, thyme and salt and you're good to go. Healthy. Good. And GF!

Absolutely delicious barbecued veggies and fruits.

Compost bin in process

Fadi having a blast playing in the workshop.

The veggies we had in our previous posting were from our local feria, but the plan is in place to grow some of our own.

To begin at the beginning, Fadi built a big compost bin and we have started composting. Mom was reluctant at first, but she now gathers buckets of peelings, eggshells, coffee, tea, mate and other helpful organic stuff every week.

More bins are to follow and we hope to have some nutritious soil to feed our plants by the summer.

As you can see, quite a bit of planning went into creating the bin.

A fancy one!

Uruguayan stereotype

Watching fútbol, drinking mate and eating torta fritas on a rainy day by the fire of eucalyptus and piñas. What could be more stereotypically Uruguayan?

Staying by the fire while it rains outside.

GF torta fritas recipe

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon xanthan gum

150 cc de agua

enough amount of premixed GF flours

Mix all until you get a dough that is elastic. Shape into flat discs and fry. Sprinkle with salt, sugar, or powder sugar and eat. It's so unhealthy, that you might as well skip the GF part and eat the common ones with white wheat flour and lard. You'll probably die either way, but it's a classic of rainy days that has to be honored every now and then. Having mate at the same time helps you believe that they will be easier to digest. Ha, ha.

Fishing + Kayaking: Survival Skills 101

Fishing for self-consumption. After having failed miserably to catch anything edible while on the sailing boat, we wanted to learn how to fish - you know, to add protein to the veggie-diet that would eventually come from our garden-to-be. So, when we heard about the 'on kayak' twist on fishing our friend Gastón had been raving about, we decided to try it. Low key, human powered, and supposedly much more successful than throwing the line while standing on land? We're in!

Heading back after filling the kayak
with fish

Fadi's first try had a success rate of 0 fish. As with my growing-veggies attempt, it seems we would both die of starvation if we lived in a society that required more than brain and computer skills to feed yourself.

Only then do you realize how important it is to have friends like Gastón, who comes every time with a basket full of fish, and Diego, who was very lucky after only having it tried once before.

Gastón congratulating Diego after a stellar performance

It was also an excuse to reconnect with friends
and share a few laughs

If you want to give it a go, contact Gastón, who organizes everything through Pesca en Kayak. Let us know if you're luckier than us. We might want to add you to our skillful-friends list.

Working on the go

Enviando artículos desde una biblioteca.
Silencio bueno para trabajar
pero olvidate de conferencias en Skype.

El sueño del pibe: trabajar para uno, sin tener que rendirle cuentas a ningún jefe, estando en contacto sólo con gente que a uno le gusta y desde cualquier lugar del mundo. Fantástico. En teoría. En la práctica, no tan fácil.

En los últimos años hemos estado preparando el terreno para hacer exactamente eso. Desde las oficinas en Vancouver, lo de trabajar de forma independiente funcionaba estupendamente. Con conexión inalámbrica a Internet y muy buen ancho de banda, dos oficinas completas montadas en la casa (celulares, fax, impresora, escáner, biblioteca de consulta, archivo, documentos de apoyo), todos los servicios a dos cuadras (biblioteca pública, banco, correo, cafés) la consultoría de Fadi y mi empresa de servicios de textos e idiomas marchaban sobre ruedas.

¡Feliz 200 años Uruguay!

El bicentenario encuentra a Uruguay con muchas novedades.

Desde Vancouver y Venezuela al Pinar

Del norte y del más al norte aún, cada varios años, coindicimos en el sur...

Washington and beyond

So, we flew, walked, car-pooled, sailed, cycled, bus-ed, train-ed, hitch-hiked, metro-ed, taxi-ed, ferry-ed, electric-car-ed, rowed, and walked some more on our way south.

But eventually it was time to take a big leap and we had to fly again. To get to the airport, we had to car-pool for half an hour, take a commuter train for another hour, jump into a metro for a couple of stops, wait a shuttle bus for an hour and take the bus for another hour. Ouch! One would expect better connection to the airport in Washington D.C.

Homesteading in Baltimore

Cute Ruby on the Ferry tour of Baltimore harbour

Over the weekend we spent some quality time with good friends from our days at Michigan State University. Angie is an anthropologist who now runs a small home-based business for environmentally conscious parents (Urban Homesteaders) and Daniel is a journalist working with refugees in a local NGO.

To pass the long and frozen winter months in Michigan we had a tradition with Dan and Angie: long dinners with fondue and arghileh. Of course, muggy fall in Maryland didn't provide the proper setting to remember old times.

Instead, we walked around, went for a stroll through the neighborhood to see a little bit of their neck of the woods, played with daughter Ruby, and learned some German. Let me back up and explain something. Angie is originally from Baltimore and Daniel is from Germany. Ruby has learned both languages and, like some Arabic speakers I know, sometimes interchanges between the two, often within the same sentence. Lucía got to practice her rusty German, but for me it was sometimes a challenge!

NY, NY. Third Take: The (Mostly) Good

If there's something to say about NY is that it cramps a lot of different forms of life in a small space.

And, as always, it was the people who were the highlight. Not the high-end stores, the fancy restaurants. Certainly not the beauty (among the big US cities I know, I would pick Chicago or SFO anytime). The city didn't live to its reputation of having a bunch of pushy, rude dwellers who don't care about their fellow human beings. On the contrary, they were nice, open, helpful, caring, trusting and friendly. Partial proof of that were the places we stayed.

Great art pieces everywhere in Tami's place.

Thanks to AirBnB we stayed in the apartments of two born-again NYorkers. One a Jamaican, the other a Portland (OR) transplant. Both artists (Tami, a jewelry designer, and Debbie, a clothing and accessories designer) with very interesting homes. Super flexible with our last-minute, scrambling-to-get-accommodation needs, and they left their apartments basically to ourselves. Debbie's was by far the cleanliest and delightfully decorated place we stayed on our whole trip.

NY, NY. Second Take: The (Mostly) Bad

NY is not an easy-going city. You don't just drop-by on NY. To visit her, you need to plan, organize, coordinate. We didn't, and suffered the consequences.

Had to get NY's metro system like the palm of my hand

All in all I was seriously underwhelmed by the big, bright apple. This might be anathema to many; certainly it is to the eight million people living there who tend to be hard core about the greatness of the city. But surprisingly it is also the case for many non-NYorkers who swear to love NY. 'How can you not?' was the accusatory response I got after I posted the 'underwhelmed' remark on Facebook.

I blame it on having missed out on everything.

Prospect Park, in Brooklyn, a recommendation by two very different sources and conveniently within walking distance from our apartment, had just held its last event for the summer and was basically closed for the season. You could still wander around -which we did, plenty, as we got lost-, but completely empty it was slightly heavier on the spooky side than on the relaxing one.

New York, New York!

Ahoy maties!

We've been in New York city for a number of days having arrived on Monday. We'll be here till Friday when we head down to Baltimore to visit some friends. And we have yet to take a day to sit and relax in one spot: we've been walking all over the place to see as much as we can of New York.

Hull: The Little Town That Could

If there's something you have to thank CouchSurfing for, is that it takes you to the most unexpected places and puts you in contact with amazing people you would have never met otherwise. And that's how we ended up in Hull, Massachusetts, a little town on a peninsula across from Boston, at the house of Michael and Judeth.

Walking on Sunshine

[To be read while listening to the music of this video]

What can you do in Hull? Well, given that Hull is on a long, thin peninsula surrounded by ocean there's probably more seaside per sq.meter of town than most towns in the world. And it was sunny. What to do? Walking on sunshine, of course! Saturday happened to be the Endless Summer Festival. That meant there was music and food and people walking to go with the sun and the walking. What a perfect lazy day.

 Loved Michelle's idea of drawing a sketch - sometimes a much better memento than a photo. We stopped at this restaurant for dessert and coffee. Lovely view of the marina, on the protected side of the town.

Miles and miles of white sand beaches to walk on. Open to the North Atlantic.

Have to train kids on all things boaty since they're young.

Hull is all about the sea.

Wharfs, boats, marinas, seafood, kayaks, ships, docks, lobster traps, buoys ... - the sea everywhere.

Touristing around Portland, Maine: happy feet

Luckily, Portland is a lovely place! Lots of history, lots of character, and very hospitable people... a great place to be tourists - something we haven't done much so far.

So, what have we done in the last couple of days? Well ... we walked and walked and walked... to the point  that we have worn out the heels of our shoes!

Kitchen Series #6 - Thainese (Thai & Japanese)

Luego de tres semanas de dieta forzada en el barco no me sorprendió lo que la balanza me dijo cuando me pesé: 3 kilos menos. No mucho para muchos, mucho para mí.

Primer orden de cosas cuando nos bajamos del barco fue engordarme. ¡Y qué mejor manera que con comida asiática!

Aunque en Vancouver hay a razón de 3 restaurantes japoneses y chinos por cuadra, la costa este de Norteamérica, con menos población asiática, tiene que combinar las cocinas asiáticas para atraer suficiente clientela.

Una de las mejores combinaciones: comida tailandesa y japonesa.

For all the rest, there is Mastercard

days on the boat: 22
harbors / bays in which we anchored: 6
countries visited: 2
hours of sailing: 110+
night passages: 4
hurricanes: 2

Course correction

The locals in Nova Scotia describe the waters of the Northern Atlantic as "heavy", having greater effect on the boat's keel. It often gets very rough and sea sickness medicine (Gravol) is widely used among fishermen for that reason. The medicine did help me and I was able to keep my shifts and do things around the boat, but it had the opposite effect on Lucia and she got even worse. And because we believe sailing should be fun and not a torture, we've decided to jump off and continue southbound down the eastern coast by land.

Land Ho!!!!

Yes, folks, we have made our safe passage across the Gulf of Maine from Port La Tour to Portland, ME.

It only took us about 50 some hours. It turned out that we got some excellent sailing winds leaving the coast of Nova Scotia late Friday morning. It was a little rough coming into the US Coastal waters this morning, but nothing crazy. And we got some excellent sun in the middle of the trip :)

Why sailing in cold weather is uncomfortable

Layers I wore during nights:

1 pair of rain boots
3 pairs of socks (because more didn't fit inside the boots)

Port La Tour & Barrington: what happens when you end up out in the boondocks

After staying in beautiful Carters Beach we took advantage of good sailing winds out on Wednesday and made way to Port La Tour. A desolate place with okayish protection from the sea. One major problem: no provisions, no library, no access to internet, no public transport.

Kitchen Series #5 - Michelle's Wishful Thinking

We wanted to contribute something to Nalom's dinner and even though we were still far, far away from the tropics (hence the wishful thinking), Michelle came up with a great tropically-inspired dessert, perfect to complement the spiciness of the Laotian dinner.

Michelle's Wishful Thinking

Melt butter on a pan.
Cook spears of pineapple well and put aside.
Cook brown sugar on same pan with juices and butter until pasty but not caramelized.
Mash very ripe bananas and mix it with sugar and butter to make a sauce.
Pour sauce over pineapple.

Add cinnamon or rum if you like.

* GF
* Serves 8

Kitchen Series #4 - Thea's Green Goodness from the Garden

Coming with fresh veggies while on board is always a challenge, specially when you end up in towns where they might only have a 7-Eleven type of store and the only veggies for sale in miles are canned tomatoes or french fries. So, we didn't have any expectations when we anchored in Port Mouton.

Yet, first thing we see when we start walking out of Carters Beach is a little stand by the road with a sign selling gigantic zucchinis and other veggies for pennies. Behind, and slightly below, was a whole garden full of the freshest veggies we could have asked for, organic to boot. The magician behind this bounty was Thea, who (we later found out) was friends with Nalom. So, when Nalom invited us all for dinner the following day, she also invited Thea to come along. She showed up with the simplest but superb soup, made all with veggies from her garden.

Thea's Green Goodness: zucchini soup with mint and herbs fresh from the garden

Disclaimer: Again, I was too late to take pictures. The soup was gone
and I had to pick a random one for illustration purposes.

Cut zucchini and boil it almost completely with oil, salt and pepper.

Towards the end, add cumin, mint, parsley, cilantro, ciboulette.

Puree all in food processor and serve with a dollop of sour cream or yogurt, or sprinkle some parmiggiano on top.

Voi la!

* Vegan
* GF
* Serves 8

Kitchen Series #3 - Nalom's Laotian Spicy Salad

What a whirlwind! Nalom is the oldest of 10 siblings and it shows. She loves being with people, is amazing at hosting and organizing, gets everybody involved and doesn't accept a no for an answer.

Port Mouton & Carters Beach

Port Mouton ... lovely place. It may have cold waters but
it has an incredibly warm community

A wonderful little spot on the the southwestern shores of Nova Scotia. Quiet waters, beautiful white sand beaches and great friendly people.

In the wee hours of our first morning there, Stan had come up in his kayak to say hello and offer us his hospitality. He and his wife, Nalom, were great hosts: they took us in for a dinner, helped us to get fresh water and gave us a ride into Liverpool to get some provisions and run errands.