Somewhere in the world is a person who has a burning desire to go to Montevideo.

I know this for a fact because I met that person in Rio. Godfrey from London, who'll never know I wrote this.

It was never on my bucket list to visit Uruguay, I must admit. But there it was, a little shimmer on the horizon. Only an hour away by ferry from Buenos Aires. Closer than the trip out to my father-in-law's for Saturday dinner.

So, 22 hours after landing in Buenos Aires, we boarded the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento.

It was horribly cold and windy when we got off on the other side of Rio de la Plata. Thanks to a lack of research on the tour guide's part [that would be me], we were in our summer Ts and shorts.  The streets were wide and empty. The sky was a forlorn grey. There were hardly any leaves on the trees. I fell in love with the place right away.

 
In fact, between you and me, I'll probably be moving into this house on The Street of Sighs soon.

Or, if that's not available, maybe this one.

Or one of these!

 I won't be picky, I promise.

I'll be buying myself a car too, of course. Who cares if I can't drive?

I can always use it as a planter box.

There were a lot of dogs on the streets of Colonia. They may have belonged to people but they seemed quite at home roaming about on their own.

Or snoozing in the flower beds.

  

 This one adopted The Other Half for a few blocks.

***

We I reluctantly left my future retirement village for Montevideo after only 1 night.
 It took more than 4 hours to get to Uruguay's capital city by bus.

 Mostly because it broke down in the middle of the highway and we had to wait for the next one to come by. It was our very 1st lesson in being *tranquilo. And why not? Everyone else was.

Here's the 1st dog we saw in Montevideo.

It was definitely suicidal a free spirit with no vertigo problems and very tranquilo owners.

Montevideo has a lot of gorgeous old buildings.

Many of them looked abandoned or uncared for. There's no money to fix things up, we were told.

One day, it'll be spectacular.

It was in Montevideo that I 1st met Malfada.

And had fruit juice by the jugful made with milk. Burp.

While the juice might have done bad things to my waistline, it was definitely less addictive than THIS beverage.

I snuck the picture from this blog. It has a story too, about this Uruguaian favourite. Go check it out!

We also met this boy...

...who arrived with some friends at Plaza independencia...

...and was last seen running off into the sunset, on Montevideo's main street.

There were just as many street dogs in Montevideo as there were in Colonia.

We met this one outside the mercado del puerto in the ciudad vieja. She was quite old. Everyone at the craft stalls outside the mercado knew her. She had a collar on, but apparently belonged to no one.
That day, she scored the leftovers from our light lunch of half a cow, blood sausage and various fiddly innards. 

I bought this lovely pendant from the stall where we found her.

Yes, it is EXACTLY what you think it is.

Up the street from the mercado, we saw more dogs.

Some may not have had homes.

Others clearly did.

From our hotel room in the rambla, we saw dogs being taken out for walks or just free running with their friends on the promenade and in the little parks. I failed to take any pictures of them so, sadly, you'll just have to take my word for it.

I have to say, we never saw anyone ill treat a street dog in our short stay there. And, for what it's worth, we didn't meet any dogs that were wary or afraid to approach us.

So if you asked me, "Were the dogs in Uruguay happy?"

Based on the ones we met in these 2 places, and in a completely un-scientifically researched way, I'd have to say, "Yes, I think so."

***

From Montevideo, we took a ferry back to Buenos Aires. The sunset over Rio de la Plata was just as pretty as the guidebooks had described. You couldn't even tell how brown the water was.

My eyes started to water the instant we arrived in Buenos Aires. Anyone who's been there will know exactly what I mean.

So how tranquilo are YOU? From this fun link -

*Fique tranquilo
If Brazilians value any single trait, it's optimism; it's being able to solve problems. And if the problem can't be fixed, just relax and forget about it. At the first signs of someone's stress, a Brazilian often says Fique tranquilo (fee-kee kdang-kwee-loh; Don't worry). It has a very calming effect.


If the bus takes off just as you arrive to the bus stop, don't worry. Fique tranquilo: There'll be another one in ten minutes. And you can make friends while you wait.

***

Just in case anyone cares ...

I went on holiday too! It was cold and wet a lot. My humans forgot to pack my princess bed. I only got 1 lamb neck a week. There wasn't any telly. And there were way too many dogs there.

I don't know why anyone wants to go on holiday. They're not so fun at all.

These are the only pictures I have of my 6 week holiday. The Camp Commandant took them. Sad eh?

ACHOO! *!!!*^! cough! cough!!*^*Novembro and guilt. The making of a very confused post.

Dear Miss Anny,

Thank you for pestering The Typist so much and reminding her it's Novembro. She's been busy doing laundry, cleaning the house and weeding the yard [when she's not sleeping]. She's also been sick and keeps my out-at-work human and me awake every night with her coughing and sneezing. 

Anyway, thanks to you, she's now on A Guilt Trip and feels bad about being such a slacker and is typing for me again. I'm sorry this isn't a good story but her head is still full of snot and it's making it hard for her to think. It's just to let you know I'm okay.

"See? I'm okay!"

I hope The Typist bucks up soon. Until then, much love to you and The Dom.

Georgia Little Pea xox

p.s. The Typist has been packing! I think she may be going away again!

***

Georgia Little Pea arrived home 1 day after us [and 2 days late thanks to the Qantas strike], riding calmly at the back of The Camp Commandant's wagon.

In 6 weeks, her fur had gone lighter, her belly skin, dark. She had a few scratches and nip marks, and mites in her ears. It took 2 baths to rinse the dust from her fur and the mud from between her toes. She hadn't put on or lost any weight. She smelt of the kennels, and still does, despite a 3rd bath with a lovely shampoo infused with citrus essential oils. 

Her blankie was too stinky to be saved. 

This time round, she settled back into her routine immediately. She didn't forget any of her vocabulary.

Yet, she's not the same dog.

She no longer wants to cuddle on the lounge.

She no longer needs her blankie or her jammies.

She prefers sleeping on the rug or outdoors to her cushy princess bed.

She's no longer interested in playing with other dogs, but is more comfortable around them, even the yappers.

She's more independant and confident.

She hasn't argued with me once. Sadly, she seems to have lost her sense of humour and her belligerence.

Is this the way she'll be from now on?

Who knows.

It could just be that our little girl has grown up.

Excuse me. Do you, by any chance, know where July and August went?

July

 

I decide to take a month off from blogging to plan a trip to Brazil. I have 3 books to read, some googling to do, a route to organise, pousadas and excursions to book. How hard can that be? I figure I should start learning some Portuguese as well.

Meanwhile, Jack moves to New Zealand, leaving Georgia, Mana and Tora bereft.

The ladies are heartbroken for at least 2 minutes.

August

I can't believe it's August. I don't seem to have made a dent in my planning. I realise I may have been delusional about how quick and clever I am.

 

Georgia starts to look tragic.

 "It's been a long time since you told anyone my stories. Don't you love me anymore?"

She seems to be sleeping a lot.

"Leave me alone! What's the point of getting out of bed? We don't do anything anyway."

She becomes standoffish and doesn't want to play anymore. 

 
 "Who are you again?" 

"Ugh. No kissing please."

Very strangely, she starts to pee like a boy.

I tie new ribbons and flowers on her collar so people will stop telling me what a handsome boy she is.

August passes by in a blur.

Winter ends with a hot and sunny 31st and the promise of a fabulous Spring!

September

Someone forgets to tell the weatherman it's the fabulous 1st day of Spring.

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Fortunately, the grey skies don't last.



 * **     

In 2 sleeps, we'll be leaving on a trip we first started thinking about more than 2 years ago.

Then Rufus fell sick, and plans were put aside.

I've been dreaming about Rufus and Jordan lately. The last time we went on a big trip, they were both still with us. It makes me sad to think about it.

Last week, I met a lady on Darling Street who asked after Rufus. When I told her he was gone, she said, "You must be glad." After the tiniest of pauses, she added, "I didn't mean it that way." Poor thing. I guess she must have realised how it sounded. But I do indeed know what she meant.

The way I see it, this trip will be the final chapter in The Story of Piglet and Thumper.

** *         

To everyone who's been writing us over the last 2 months, my apologies for having stopped so abruptly, without even a quick post of explanation, and for not dropping by to read your stories. I never intended to, or thought I'd be away this long. Thank you for keeping us in your thoughts! I hope you're all well. 

Thank you also to Lori and Katie who recently nominated this blog to take part in The 7 Links. I had hoped to do something about it, but I fear I've run out of time. 

Georgia will be going back to holiday camp. We trust she'll be fine, make friends, maybe even have fun. I think she senses some momentous thing is about to happen because she's taken to sleeping by our backpacks.

Her bag is all packed and ready to go. It contains 1 blankie, 1 bag of bikkies, 6 lamb necks, 1 tube of Revolution, and a letter filled with last minute instructions, worries and hopes.

Our bags [which contain considerably more things] are almost ready as well. 

So for now, I wish you all a happy Spring [or Autumn, as the case may be].

Abraços e beijos a todo o mundo. Até Novembro... :)

"What do you mean, I'm standoffish?"