seth from somewhere » Uruguay

Plato del Día: Chivito

Seth — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 10:00:55 +0000

There’s a very good reason why I didn’t lose as much weight on my second backpacking trip to South America as I had on previous trips to Europe and Peru. I usually come home ten to twenty pounds lighter after travel but my Spring 2009 trip was an exception. I didn’t gain weight but my clothes still fit the same when I came home; The chivito is one of the reasons.

Bread, mayo, beef, bacon, ham, cheese, and a fried egg. This is what my diet consisted of for five of the eight days I spent in Uruguay. Breakfast was a light meal of bread and jam so I had enough room for two monstrous and delicious chivitos. I spent three days in Uruguay’s capital and almost every meal was taken from a street vendor a few blocks from my hostel because they had the best chivitos I could find. I had to swim the calories off in Punta del Diablo after almost a week full of chivitos in Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo.

Every national dish has a story and the chivito’s goes like this: a woman from northern Argentina ordered baby goat meat (chivito translates to little or baby goat) at an establishment somewhere in Uruguay. The owner, lacking chivito meat, improvised a sandwich of ham, sliced filet mignon, and other ingredients on a toasted bun. The chivito was born and Uruguay was hooked. Will the world become hooked on chivitos and Uruguayan beef?

Photo by Flickr user The Black Azar

Photo by Flickr user como_un_pez_en_el_agua

seth from punta del diablo in video

Seth — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 17:43:08 +0000

video taken march 22, 2008.

seth from an update

Seth — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 16:07:09 +0000

it is raining in bariloche, where i arrived yesterday after a wonderful crossing from chile that took me over three lakes and over the andes mountains. the weather was amazing for the lake crossing so i guess i can stomach a rainy day in bariloche; gives me a reason to spend the day hitting the famed chocolate shops in town.

below are some photos to enjoy from punta del diablo, uruguay and mendoza, argentina. i will post pictures from chile and bariloche within the next few days. hopefully i will also be able to upload video. cross your fingers.

here is an interesting article about bariloche and its heritage that still hangs over the town. there are some pretty repulsive quotes in the article. here is a story from the new york times on the subject.

i prefer this blog to be apolitical but i do have to link this story about my former boss traveling to the same continent i am on at the moment.

seth from punta del diablo, uruguay

Seth — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 15:44:22 +0000

seth from estadio centenario in video

Seth — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 20:44:19 +0000

seth from uruguay in pictures

Seth — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 12:34:56 +0000

colonia del sacramento

mercado del puerto, montevideo

tristan narvaja sunday market, montevideo

penarol vs. bella vista, estadio centenario

seth from a keyboard, finally

Seth — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:13:33 +0000

my many fans (counted on one hand) have been emailing me about updates and living vicariously through my blog. well, i have a blog post ready but the space key on this keyboard is annoying and the Internet cafe is overpriced.

i will have at least two posts, maybe more, ready and posted tomorrow after i arrive in uruguay. i also hope to have some photos online. in the meantime, here is a list to tide my fans over.

most memorable to date

1. boca juniors soccer match at la bombanera; the atmosphere puts any sporting event i´ve attended in the united states to shame. the fans sang the entire match and i think they moved it´s foundation when riquelme scored the equaliser with boca playing with only 10 men

2. renting a bike and cycling wine country near mendoza, argentina.

3. birthday party for my host father in buenos aires. the spread of food was amazing and the family welcomed me as one of their own.

4. taking a ¨shower¨ under one of the waterfalls at iguazu falls. i purposefully didn´t take a shower that morning.

5. steak, steak, steak. the argentines love their beef and know how to cook a great steak. puts nebraska beef to shame.

seth from where?

Seth — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 04:36:13 +0000

I will arrive in Buenos Aires at 10:25 am Argentine time on Sunday, February 10th (Argentina is 4 hours ahead of US Central Time). I will be staying with a host family for two weeks in Buenos Aires while I attend a Spanish class.

My return flight leaves from Quito, Ecuador on May 6th and I will arrive in the USA on May 7th.

Where will I be between February 10th and May 7th? Honestly, I’m not sure but below is a list of things that I hope to experience. Obviously I won’t be able to do everything on the list due to time constraints.

- Learn Spanish and tango in Buenos Aires
- Watch a Boca Juniors match in Buenos Aires
- Drink wine at the National Wine Harvest Festival in Mendoza, Argentina
- Tour an Argentine winery
- Eat an enormous steak at an Argentine asado
- Stay at a guacho ranch
- Ride a funicular in Valparaiso, Chile
- Trek Patagonia
- See Easter Island
- Drink mate in a sleepy Uruguayan coastal fishing village
- Be the only American on a Paraguayan bus
- Celebrate Semana Santa (Holy Week) in Ayacucho, Peru
- Hitch to Cachora, Peru. Hire a local guide and mules for a 10-day trek to Choquequirao and Machu Picchu
- Learn how to surf on the northern coast of Peru
- Swim with the sea lions at the Galapagos Islands