A forward continuation of backwards

Sorry to interrumpt the Quebrada of the Cuervos adventure but a report on backwards is called for. As I was out tearing around in the one-time tallest hill in Uruguay, el cierro de las animas. I discovered two things that are quite backwards yet enjoyable.

One- I was in a life and death fight with athlete´s foot for over 2 months before I came to Uruguay. Sure my life wasn´t in danger very often but multiply the strenth of tough actin tinaktin by 100 and you will have the total of my desire to eliminate that itch. Who would think that despite my best efforts, the dryness, and the cold that defines my mother´s house, athlete´s foot could cling to existance? I came to Uruguay, in this time of year, a hot, humid country where athlete´s foot should be everywhere including your face. It dissappeared. Completely gone. Needless to say, somewhat backwards, but I have no complaints =D

Two- In el cierro de las animas, there is a series of cascades that cause a pooling of water in a place called pozos azules, or blue pools. I climbed the cascades up as close to the top as I could get without a machete. Peaches and nisperas from the local fauna floated by in irregular intervals. Late in the day, I watched clouds begin to gather of the cierro and decided to high tail it out of there. I asked the owner of the property if I could pitch a tent right there but he told me to camp in an arroyo under a bridge nearby. I took a quick look at the clouds and a quicker look at the bridge. It didn´t take long to make my decision. Sleep there and I´d probably wake up swimming in an overflowing river of cowpatty water working its way to a beautiful beach resort. The resort sounded nice but this guy forewent the rafting trip. To make a long story short, the rain caught me as I blasted down to a hotel of sorts that I had seen, and I spent a fair while slogging along the highway until I found the turn off. Nice story but it doesn´t seem at all backwards. I negotiated with the owner, got a nice 40 percent discount and made a little swimming pool in the room he gave me. After I dried off, warmed up, and killed off the locals...not people-mosquitos...I removed a dripping, sticky wad of money from my wallet and realized that I had been travelling for several days and I had more money than I would have had had I stayed in the capital. That´s backwards. Everyone saves money to go on vacation. They do not go on vacation to save money. The capital is expensive, but again, I have no complaints. Who wants to come down and save some money with me?! :)