The Necessity of Empire – Slavery, Freedom and Deception in the New World
Greg Grandin
I started reading this because Baden insisted I read something relevant to the countries we were travelling through. I grudgingly selected Greg Grandin’s book and found it pretty enlightening.
Apologies in advance for a navel gazing episode of the How Are You? Where Are You? podcast.
We’re finding it difficult to make sense of our trip and what we have learned. It’s also not easy to try and explain why we have decided to cut our journey short but we give it all a crack for you here.
It’s strange to think that we are about to start cycle touring in our own country. After eight years away there’s a whole lot of reacquainting to get done but they reckon the South Island is stunning so we’ll probably be alright.
We do all this while grilling meat and drinking red wine on a remote beach in Uruguay. It’s been paradise but travelling here without our precious bikes…well that’s been super strange.
If you are up for a read from someone who has written about the realities of cycle touring much better than we have been able to articulate, check out this blog. We felt oddly emotional about our whole experience after reading this.
Colonia, Uruguay
Clockwise from top left: ruins of church and lighthouse in Colonia; lots of old cars in the streets; street sign for main square; street scene.
Valizas, Uruguay
Clockwise from bottom left: On the beach; big, empty beach; giant ice cream; our little beach bach; we built a raging fire a BBQ, or asado as they call it.
Buenos Aires
Clockwise from top left: statue on Avenida de Liberator; Juan and Evita Peron at the Evita Museum; interior shot at the Museum of Latin American Art; this is for cigarette butts at the bus station – a vote between Messi and Ronaldo for best footballer.