argentina and uruguay bAck Hi there, my dear friends!! Here I am back again, this time I will tell you about these very intense months travelling in Argentina and Uruguay, meeting wonderful people, enjoying cultural centres, circus and poetry workshops and much more!! 9th september 2007 I feel really happy, my luggage is ready, we start our trip... We get into one of these time machines that they call planes... Southern Hemisphere, there we goooooo!!!!! 10th september 2007 We arrive to Argentina!!. Maya's family is waiting for us at the airport, reunions are so emotive! Some tears and laughs, and we got into their car, Camilo the dog coiled at Luis' feet, I get my first mate drink of this hemisphere. Glew is a village 50km away from Buenos Aires, with unpaved streets, many dogs and many birds. Maya's parents live in two different houses, so we have two, in one of them there are three dogs, so we'll have to juggle to get in with Camilo. It's been raining a lot these days, plants and trees are happy and little frogs show that spring is coming soon. I am thrilled, Maya hadn't been back for two and a half years, they're all so happy...!! And of course there was a party! Many relatives and friends came to visit, mixed bbq carnivore-vegetarian, colorful salads and new flavours for me, wine was good. It was a crazy house, all happily chatting and shouting, laughing with their eyes. 17th September 2007 Luis and Camilo left today for Uruguay... We woke up really early and went to say farewell to the harbour. They started their trip almost 6 years ago and now they come back to Uruguay, they must have many stories to tell!! I will miss them for some days. 21st September 2007 Spring starts today in this side of the world. A little story for you... The day we came out of that time machine that they call plane it felt like if we had brought with us a little piece of the Caribbean in our pocket... Rosa came a few days later in a very stormy way, they say she always comes late, but they still call her Saint. Now came Spring and she came to stay...We were all missing you! She is a welcomed guest in all our homes and gardens, all nature dressed in green to welcome her, we all know what's her favourite colour! Spring brings news from other places. She brings a contagious magic, happiness and colours floating in the air. Mr Wind is happy, he blows warmth and whistles at each corner, he was always in love with Spring, but he knows she's a traveller, that's why he doesn't dare... Mr Wind transports Spring to the most remote corners, they trade seeds and odours. They wake up very early or maybe they don't even sleep, but the truth is that they wake up the sun every day; they wake up the birds who, singing with Mr Wind, wake up the butterflies, bees and hummingbirds; who in turn call the ants so that they can tickle the old trees, who are lazy and still sleep. And thus nature sings its tune louder and louder as since Spring arrived every day is a PARTY! 1st-15th October 2007 I met many people here. In Glew, the cultural center "Gringo Viejo" is nearby. There are shows, parties and workshops for juggling and many other activities. But you must have a very good balance for some of them!. By the way, food is really nice over here! I think we'll have to roll to go to Uruguay, hehe... I simply love "dulce de leche", so sweet!! 16th October 2007 I enjoy ferries very much... We are onboard the Isaba, crossing La Plata river, the sun is watching us from up there and my little heart beats happily to a new place. We go to Uruguay! The ferry stops at a place called Colonia, and from there a bus takes us to Montevideo. We have a coffee with chocolate "alfajores" while we wait for another bus that will take us to Maldonado. Again on the move, but this time I spent the whole trip sleeping. At the station, we were greeted by Luis, his father and Camilo. I was again so happy! I enjoy when the landscapes change in front of my eyes. Luis' family was really nice, very good people, and they live in a beautiful house in a neighbourhood full of trees. Camilo's little brother also lives there, but now he's not small at all, they're both big dogs! 17th-31st October 2007 Uruguay was fantastic! We spent whole days juggling and we met a mobile circus full of friends!!!!! Thanks for everything, Uruguay…!!! friends!! laguna del diario little "murga" in Montevideo little friend! Balance! Warming up the drums mobile circus November 2007 We came back to Argentina where we attended a Workshop on Circus, Juggling and Street Shows, in Monte Grande. It lasted for 5 days, a lot of people from everywhere, wherever my little eyes looked I could see gigantic balloons rotating, people hanging from pieces of cloth or walking on ropes. There were workshops during the day to learn all kind of techniques you can imagine and at night, live shows and of course, a lot of happiness! Then back to Glew with a lot of energy and new juggling tricks to practice. We learnt vitrofusion with Maya's mum, the magic of colours is incredible. And today, we went to "La Bomba de Tiempo", live drumming and a lot of dancing! at the workshop incredible! juggling with lights vitrofusion Wow! December 2007 Oh... the moment finally came, that moment that burns my heart, when a trip is over and I say farewell to some friends in order to meet new ones. This time it was a bit different, since my new trip companion is not here yet, she's coming back to Argentina in a few days. Maya, Luis and Camilo are flying back to Costa Rica, so I will stay for a few days with Cristina, Maya's mum, until my new friend come to fetch me. I'm really keen to meet her, her name is Marisa, I've been told that she's a juggler, artisan, reporter and likes travelling a lot. As you already know I don't like farewells, I prefer to say "see you later"... and I keep in my little heart a place for each of my friends. I'll take this chance to show this poem by Galeano to all my trip companions. See you soon Luis Maya and Cami...!! Arriba compañeros! It's in Spanish: "Un hombre del pueblo de Neguá, en la costa de Colombia, pudo subir al alto cielo. A la vuelta contó. Dijo que había contemplado, desde allá arriba, la vida humana. Y dijo que somos un mar de fueguitos. - El mundo es eso – reveló -. Un montón de gente, un mar de fueguitos. Cada persona brilla con luz propia entre todas las demás. No hay dos fueguitos iguales. Hay fuegos grandes y fuegos chicos y fuegos de todos los colores. Hay gente de fuego sereno, que ni se entera del viento, y gente de fuego loco, que llena el aire de chispas. Algunos fuegos, fuegos bobos, no alumbran ni queman; pero otros arden la vida con tantas ganas que no se puede mirarlos sin parpadear y quien se acerca se enciende." Eduardo Galeano. El libro de los abrazos. A week with Cristina… She's an artisan, during the week she makes colorful stars and moons. During the weekends she has a vitrofusion stall at Plaza Francia, Recoletas, and the tourists come attracted by the music of the hanging pieces of glass and are impressed by the colours and bubbles that create melodies with the wind. Here I wait for Marisa! I'm looking forward to meeting her. with Cristina