Thoughts (II)

 11. Small change is scarce in Colombia, in fact street vendors may not have change for 10,000 pesos ($2.50).  In Argentina, most places offer discounts or special deals if you pay in cash.  (Neither seems to be the case in Uruguay).

12. Debit cards here are tied to a particular bank (company), so if you ask for a "cajero automático" (ATM), you'll be asked, "which bank?" Just say "any Visa" or as appropriate.

13.  Food in general has been a disappointment.  If you're a meat 'n' potatoes guy, you'll be in hog heaven, although beef is more popular (if a menu says "carne" [meat], that defaults to beef).  Sometimes you'll get a bit of salad with the comida corrida/menú/fixed price meal, but the idea of a salad as a meal is pretty foreign.

14.  If you're expecting a postcard, don't give up hope!  The were no postcards to be had in Colombia, and I couldn't remember the one shop I found them in in Argentina.  Finally, in Montevideo, they're in all the tourist shops!

15.  Stay away from Doritos (bad) and Cheetos (my feet smell better than they taste, so foul they went in the trash).  Stick with Lay's "Clásica," they never disappoint.

16. I'm so thankful that I brought along my Alexa Amazon Echo.  Sometimes it's a bit fiddly to set up, but then I generally have it tuned to WAMU (NPR) or BBC World Service.  A bit of home to keep me grounded, even though it also maintains my general stress levels about the state of US politics.  But I can counter that by Bluetoothing to it and rocking down.

17.  The one thing I most regret not bringing along?  One of those heating coil thingies to make boiling water for instant coffee.  One of the places I stayed in had an electric kettle and it got a lot of use.  "Why don't you just order one from Amazon," you ask.  "Because you need a national identity number from the country you're in, so they can charge duty on imported items, and I don't have one," I answer.  PS gifts aren't subject to duty.

18.  The guidebooks all say, "bring earplugs." Completely unnecessary for me for all my travel time.  But there's always tomorrow . . .



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