Radiovagabond

Velkommen til Flashback Fredag.

I denne uge er vi i Colombo, hovedstaden i Sri Lanka.

Denne episode var udgivet første gang i september 2019.

Velkommen til Flashback Fredag. I denne uge er vi i Cape Town, Sydafrika.

Denne episode var udgivet første gang i februar 2020.

As I was working on the next episodes from Saudi Arabia, I came across a recording from the car when I was driving across the country with Cynthia Rignanese – who calls herself "Cynthia Globe" because she travels so much. In fact, Saudi Arabia is her country number 124. She's a lawyer from Florida and has her own law firm, which allows her to take a lot of time off to travel the globe.

And this episode comes out just a few days before we meet again for another epic journey in four African countries. Ghana, Togo, Benin, and São Tomé & Príncipe. But that's another story.

PLAY THE GAME & TRY NOT TO HIT A CAMEL

In this one, we play a game as we're driving across the Saudi desert, trying to avoid hitting one of the many camels walking across the road from time to time. And the speedbumps. Oh my god, the speedbumps... They just come out of nowhere without any warning.

The game basically goes like this:

We take turns asking simply, "would you rather A or B questions". And here they are so you can start thinking about what you would answer yourself.

• Would you rather go to the Arctics or Antarctica? The north- or the south pole?
• Would you rather go scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef in Australia or do the Rickshaw Challenge, driving a tuk-tuk yourself for ten days in India?
• Would you rather spend a weekend in the seven-star luxury hotel, Burj Al Arab in Dubai, or in a glamping tent in the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania?
• Would you rather ride a camel or an ostrich?
• Would you rather do the Trans-Siberian Railroad or go dog sledging in Eastern Greenland?

MEET CYNTHIA - AGAIN

I met Cynthia in Florida when I was there in 2021, and you might remember the episode where we talked about how she got into collecting passport stamps. If not, go back and listen to that one too.

RIDING AN OSTRICH IS WRONG

We're having fun talking about the thrill of riding an ostrich in our conversation. But according to PETA UK, it is cruel to ride an ostrich. PETA stands for The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

An article says that the ostrich skeleton is not designed to support a human's weight, and this practice is likely to harm the physiology of the animals. We all live and learn (as we should), like when I went swimming with dolphins in the Bahamas and later learned that you should not support places where they keep and train dolphins in captivity. Listen to the episode about that if you want to hear more.

In another article from PETA called "Holiday Attractions You Need to Avoid", they also say:

"Please, never ride an elephant, a horse, a donkey, a camel, or any other animal at a tourist attraction."

Specifically, when it comes to camel riding, they say that

"Camels are intelligent, sensitive animals who suffer when forced to give rides to tourists. In some parts of the world, these regal animals being beaten bloody with sticks before being sold to the tourism industry. They are used for rides in the blistering heat, they are denied access to food, water, and shade."

I'm not saying it happens everywhere ... but maybe, so make your own choices. When I rode camels in Morocco and the Dubai desert, I had no idea. Now, I don't need to do that again.

MALAYSIAN VISITING GREENLAND

We talked about visiting eastern Greenland, and I mentioned an interview we did when I was producing the LEGO Art podcast about the World Map. Here Malaysian-born, Wani Baumgartner talks about her trip there. We also speak to other amazing world travellers, like Thor Petersen, Dane and Stacey, and Earnest White III. If you want to hear the whole thing, go to LEGO.com/Art and click on the World Map.

LET'S DO IT AGAIN, CYNTHIA

This was fun. I'll see if I can persuade Cynthia to do another when we're soon travelling through Africa.

The luxury train in southern Africa I was talking about is called Rovos. Go to Rovos.com to see more about that.

My name is Palle Bo, and I gotta keep moving. See you.

Velkommen til Flashback Fredag. Vi er New York.

Denne episode var udgivet første gang i november 2018.

We're back in Uruguay, and if you haven't heard the first part of my visit to this little South American country, you should go back and listen to that one first.

In that one, I arrived in Uruguay with a small group of nomad friends. We went on a tour of Montevideo, we went to prison, I shared a lot of facts about the country, I opened the history book, I talked about the weather, and then at the end of the episode, I went half an hour north of the capital and found a beautiful winery with the Italian sounding name, Pizzorno.

VISITING A WINERY

I'd just met Lucio Alonso when I left you at Pizzorno Family Estate. He was in the middle of telling us how he ended up working here as a winemaker at the age of just 22. When attending a wine conference in Brazil, he got a call from his old classmate, Francisco – the fourth generation at this winery.

The vineyard is 21 hectares = 52 acres = 30 football fields (soccer fields) = 210.000 square meters. That's enough – figure out how much that is in square feet.

The Pizzorno family's fourth-generation continues a family legacy, and the wines produced today by Pizzorno Family Estates represent a rich and prosperous land. The third generation Carlos Pizzorno is still in charge and has evolved production using modern vine cultivation and winemaking techniques.

IS URUGUAYAN WINE ANY GOOD?

If you're like me, Uruguay might not be in your top ten countries when you think of good wine-producing countries.

But it seems like that's changing… that more and more people remember this little South American country. Lucio will talk about that in a minute… but first…

LAW AND ORDER

let's look into some statistics to see if it's a safe country.

Crime rate

The crime rate is relatively low, and one can visit the country without worrying about the crime other South American countries are known for.

Taxis and means of transportation in Uruguay are reliable and safe. You don't even need to negotiate the price of the ride because all taxis use taximeters.

Corruption

With a score of 73/100, Uruguay once again leads the Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) and ranks first in Latin America and in 18th place worldwide. For reference… less corruption than France at no. 22, the USA at no. 27 and South Korea at no. 32… and about the same as Australia, Belgium, and Japan also at no. 18. Denmark is no. 1 the least corrupt country in the world according to the Corruption Perceptions Index from Transparency International.

Safety

In general, Uruguay is safe, and it is the safest country to visit in entire Latin America. It is economically and politically stable. Even though it is so safe, you should watch out for petty crime in tourist landmarks and crowded areas. The crime rate is low, but pickpocketing and bag snatching does happen, even though it is not very common.

Here at Pizzorno Winery they have 11 different kinds of grapes and produce five different lines of wine – some for the domestic market and some only for export.

The classic Merlot line is called Don Próspero, named after the person who started the winery over a century ago in 1910.

I've you've ever been to a vineyard, you might have seen that the grapes are smaller and more compact than what you will eat as a snack. But the grapes I'm looking at here are big and look like something I would find at the supermarket.

- - - - - -

NOMAD CHECK

I've been sharing many interesting things about Uruguay, and I feel it's very livable. And I've thought that this might an upcoming hotspot for digital nomads sometime in the future.

So, let's look into that a bit more – with a little help from data from our friends over at NomadList.com.

COST OF LIVING

Montevideo is affordable. According to Nomadlist.com, you can get dinner for less than $8, a beer at a restaurant is around $4, a Coke is $1.27, and they say that cost of living for a nomad is $2,319 a month. But that of course, depends on the kind of life you want to live.

INTERNET SPEED

With an average of 9 Mbps, the internet is good. Not fantastic, but decent.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Again, according to NomadList, the quality of life is pretty good. On a scale from one to five, it gets a four.

ENGLISH SPEAKING LEVEL

It's not very good, so it helps if you can speak a bit of Spanish to get by.

OVERALL SCORE

This is based on all the different data points, with the highest weight given to cost, current temperatures, internet speed, and safety. Other indicators are also important, like air quality, if it's fun to live and, if there's good nightlife and low racism, and if it's LGBTQ+ friendly.

The total score for Montevideo is 3.25 on a 1-5 scale. That ranks them far from the top of the list as number 387. And I must say that this surprises me quite a bit. But then… NomadList.com has the data.

- - - - - -

Then we came to the best part of the tour: Where we tasted the different kinds of wine.

And I'm going to leave you with that. Thanks to Lucio and the team at Pizzorno Family Estate for taking the time to give us this private tour.

I'm Palle Bo, and I gotta keep moving. See you.

In this episode we're going to visit a small country in South America. I'm on my way from Buenos Aires in Argentina with a small group of nomad friends that I've gotten to know from the Nomad Cruise.

We're going to be spending a few days in Montevideo and then the others are going back to Buenos Aires, but I'm staying a few days longer because I have an interesting appointment in the countryside. Something I'm also going to share with you here on the podcast.

FACTS ABOUT URUGUAY

HOW BIG AND HOW MANY PEOPLE?

Around 3.5 million people live in Uruguay. With 181,000 km2 (69,000 square miles) Uruguay is the second-smallest country, and the smallest Spanish speaking country in South America. Montevideo is the capital andwith 1.7 million people, the country's largest city.

WHERE IS IT?

It shares borders with Argentina to the west and southwest and Brazil to the north and northeast. And then it's bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast and the river we're crossing, Río de la Plata to the south.

A MAINLY FLAT COUNTRY

Much of the country consists of gently rolling land only a few hundred feet above sea level. Uruguay's highest point is Mount Cathedral at 514 meters (1,685 feet).

RELIGION

The majority of the population 58% of Uruguayans define themselves as Christian (47% Roman Catholic, 11% Protestant), and approximately 40% of the population says they have no religion. In the capital of Montevideo there's also a small community of Jews.

Church and state are officially separated more than a hundred years, since 1916. Religious discrimination is punishable by law, and the government generally respects people's religious freedom.

DEMOCRATIC AND TOLERANT

Uruguay is a democracy and ranks high on global measures of personal rights, tolerance, and inclusion issues, including its acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Actually, being gay was legalized all the way backin 1934. The country has legalized cannabis, same-sex marriage, and abortion.

EAT MORE BEEF THAN ANYONE

We know that Argentineans love their beef, but Uruguay consume the most beef per person in the whole world.

URUGUAY HAS THE LONGEST NATIONAL ANTHEM IN THE WORLD

When Uruguay achieved their independence in 1828, they needed a national anthem. The poet Francisco Esteban Acuña de Figueroa offered to write one. The anthem originally had 11 verses but since many of them were rather rude about their previous colonizers Spain, Portugal and Brazil, only the chorus and first verse are now sung. But even so, it's almost five minutes long, making it the longest national anthem music in the world.

URUGUAY HOSTED THE 1ST WORLD CUP EVER

Like many South American countries, football (what you call soccer in the USA) is the most popular sport in Uruguay. The first-ever World Cup tournament was hosted in Uruguay in 1930. This actually came about after football was dropped from the Olympics program – after Uruguay had won gold medals back-to-back in Paris in 1924 and Amsterdam in 1928.

And they also won the first World Cup and won again in 1950 – which was especially a big deal as that time they beat the favorites Brazil in Brazil.

URUGUAY'S ELECTRICITY COMES FROM RENEWABLE SOURCES

One of the most amazing things about Uruguay is how eco-friendly it is, particularly when it comes to energy production. In 2020 it was estimated that between 98-100% of Uruguay's electricity was generated through renewable sources – wind and water (hydropower) and a bit of solar and biomass energy.

What's even more impressive is that it took less than 10 years for Uruguay to get to this point, and costs are lower. I hope more countries in the world can take pointers from Uruguay.

THE FLAG

Their national flag consisting of five white and four blue horizontal stripes and in the upper left corner on white background there is a sun with a face – "The Sun of May." The Sun is a national emblem for Uruguay – andalso the national emblem of Argentina, and they also have it in their flag. This sun symbolizes a god that was worshipped by the Inca Empire – the Incan sun god Inti.

FREE WALKING TOUR OF THE OLD MONTEVIDEO

We joined a "Free Walking Tour" through "Ciudad Vieja". On our 2.30 hours walk through the Old City of the capital Montevideo, our tour guide Rodrigo shared a lot about Montevideo´s culture, society, and history.

The original fortifications are gone here in Ciudad Vieja, but there are churches and mansions dating back to the 18th century surrounded by narrow cobbled streets. After having been neglected for decades, dozens of buildings have been restored and now they house smart cafes, hotels, hostels, restaurants, and boutiques. Other buildings are still crying out for some tender loving care.

We start the tour at Plaza Independencia, where there's also a big palace: Palacio Salvo. Rising 105 metres, it's the most eye-catching sight on Montevideo's largest square, and when it was unveiled in 1928, this "skyscraper" was the tallest building in South America.

And you can actually rent an apartment. Wouldn't that be cool?

At the plaza's core, there is a statue of Uruguayan independence hero, Jose Artigas. He is considered a national hero in Uruguay, sometimes referred to as "the father of Uruguayan nationhood". His mausoleum below street level.

A LOOK IN THE HISTORY BOOK

As Rodrigo is talking about history here at the Independence Square, let's have a look in the history book…

Uruguay had long been inhabited by indigenous people who would hunt, gather, and fish. Europeans discovered the country in 1516, and it was settled by the Portuguese in 1680. But in 1726, the Spanish took control and founded Montevideo and only a few indigenous people remained.

The Uruguayans fought to resist complete takeover from Argentina and Brazil – and in 1828, a treaty proclaimed Uruguay as a separate state and buffer between the two countries. Two years later in 1830 they got their first constitution.

They had a civil war from the mid-1800s to until stability was finally achieved in 1905 when one of the sides (the Colorado's) were elected to power.

Uruguay suffered the effects of the Great Depression but had an economic boom during World War II and the Korean War. They were able to sell wool, meat, and other animal products to European countries and the U.S.

But the end of the wars brought a slump for the Uruguayan economy and political instability that lasted into the late 1900s.

New leadership would eventually bring about economic growth and more job opportunities that continue through present day.

URUGUAY: THE NEXT BIG THING?

East of Plaza Independencia, you'll find the busy Avenida 18 de Julio shopping strip. And that's where we're going for lunch and a cool beer after the tour with Rodrigo.

Montevideo is not something that is high on many people's bucket list. But things are changing – and I can see why. The city is emerging as one of the continent's coolest capitals, famous for its architecture, old quarters and thriving cultural scene.

It's only a short 45-minute flight from Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. But you should consider doing like we did – riding the ferry across the Rio de la Plata.

Most of Montevideo's residents are descendants of Spanish and Italian immigrants, giving the city a strong European feel.

If you get there and have time for it, you should also take a walk on La Rambla, Montevideo's 22-kilometre waterfront esplanade. We were only there for a few minutes because we went to prison.

THE WEATHER

In Uruguay, the climate is subtropical, with mild winters (from June to August) and hot summers (from December to March). It's also quite rainy throughout the year.

In most of the country, the average temperatures are similar to those of the coasts of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe. But here, even the summer is rainy, but don't worry, this doesn't reduce the sunshine hours much as it mostly happens because of thunderstorms.

The best time of year to visit Montevideo (if you like warm weather) is from early November to early April.

MODERN ART IN AN OLD PRISON

The Museum is called "Espacio De Arte Contemporaneo" – in English "Contemporary Art Space". It's in a part of what was the Miguelete prison building from 1889 to 1986. There's a ton of history in this building. It was modeled after an English prison in Pentonville, England built in 1840. The building itself is absolutely also worth the visit. It's an easy walk from the old town of Montevideo – Ciudad Vieja.

You find exhibition of all expressions of modern art – some of it so modern, I had a hard time to understand. I enjoy abstract art – I don't have to see what it is. But some it was on another level and in my opinion just plain weird.

And it might seem like I'm contradicting myself but the weird one of the reasons why I like going to see exhibitions like this. To push myself to see something new even though I don't really understand what I see. It makes me think.

I HEARD IT THROUGH THE GRAPE WINE

Argentina has Malbec. Uruguay has Tannat. It's dry, bold red wine, made from grapes brought to Uruguay by a Basque in the late 19th century and the Tannat wine accounts for a third of the country's wine exports.

You find it in many wineries in Uruguay and also here at Pizzorno where I'm meeting Lucio – a young winemaker in his mid-20's. Three years before my visit to the winery Lucio got a call from Francisco – the fourth generation in the family-owned winery.

My name is Palle Bo, and I gotta keep moving. See you.

CORRECTION

Before we wrap up this episode, I'd like to say something about the episode I did from the Maasai Village in Kenya.

Because I might have said something wrong in that episode. I received an email from, Esther Ngunjiri:

"Hi, I've read your story on the maasai and I can say you got most of it right but not all maasai are as primitive as you put it. Most maasai bury their dead in graves and have permanent residences, though the young men move their cattle from place to place for pasture.

Another thing you got all wrong is the 40-something lifespan. That's a pure lie. I live in Kenya and I can assure you they live up to old age, rarely do you find maasai's in hospitals cos they make their own medicine from herbs, honey and sometimes raw animal blood. They live up to old age of 80 or even more. So, what the young guy told you was very true, the kind of concoctions they make boosts their immunity so much that they rarely fall sick.

There were times, not sure if they still do, they used to pierce a bull neck drain a bit of blood mix it with milk and drink it raw.

Esther."

Thank you, Esther to set me straight. I always try to do my research as good as I can, but sometimes I'm wrong.

In my research, I googled "Life expectancy Maasai" and found several different blogs and websites saying more or less the same. That the average male lives to the age of 42, whilst the women live until the age of just 44.

After I got your email, I looked more into it, and I still haven't been able to find anywhere where it says, "80 or even more". I'd like to know where you have those numbers, but you seem like you know something I don't know.

Anyway, I apologize if I said something wrong. And for all of you listening… please remember that I'm not a journalist or a "truth witness" on anything. I do my best but I'm not always right.

Velkommen til Flashback Fredag. I denne er vi med på Nomad Cruise fra Spanien til Grækenland via Menorca og Malta.

Denne episode var udgivet første gang i september 2020.

Velkommen til Flashback Fredag. Vi er i Toronto, Canada.

Denne episode var udgivet første gang i december 2017.

Velkommen til Flashback Fredag, hvor du kan tage med til Rabat i Marokko. Denne episode blev udgivet første gang i januar 2019.

Velkommen til en specialudgave af Radiovagabond – optaget i maj 2022.

Ved en konference for digitale nomader, der hedder NomadBase Live i Kroatien, mødte jeg Orest Zub fra Ukraine. Han er også digital nomade og en stor del af netværket Nomad Mania, der er grundlagt af vores fælles ven Harry Mitsidis.

Orest har været i 129 lande indtil by og har været digital nomade i 10 år. Da Rusland invaderede Ukraine i februar, tog han hjem til sit hjemland for at hjælpe til. Og de mente, at han ville gøre mere gavn ved at lave videoer end med et gevær på frontlinjen. Nu tager han rundt i landet og fortæller historier på sin YouTube kanal, om hvad der sker i landet.

NOMAD BASE LIVE

Vi er som nævnt begge en del af konferencen NomadBase Live – som er en rimelig ny event, arrangeret af de samme som gav verden Nomad Cruise (som du har hørt mig tale om tit her i podcasten).

Da Corona-pandemien ændrede alt, og det ikke var muligt at arrangere en Nomad Cruise fik de ideen om at lave lignende arrangementer på landjorden.

Dette er deres tredje NomadBase Live, men min første. Og jeg elsker at deltage i denne type arrangementer, hvor jeg møder gamle venner og møder ligesindede, som forstår min lidt anderledes livsstil.

På denne NomadBase, der bliver holdt i smukke Primošten ved kysten i Ukraine lidt vest for Split, er vi 274 digitale nomader fra hele verden. Vi hører foredrag, deltager i workshops og networker.

OREST ZUB PÅ YOUTUBE

I en af videoerne på hans YouTube kanal, kører han til Kiev sammen med en erfaren krigs-korrespondent, Rauli Virtanen. Han er en 73-årig finsk forfatter, journalist, foredragsholder og Tv-producer. Han var faktisk den første person i verdenshistorien, der havde besøgt alle lande i verden – og dermed en stor inspiration for både Orest og mig selv.

SAMLER PENGE IND TIL ET BØRNEHJEM

Det er en tradition på NomadBase Live (og tidligere på Nomad Cruise), at vi har en "charity dinner", hvor vi alle giver et mindre bidrag til et godt formål. Og Orest var blevet bedt om at finde et godt formål med fokus på børn i Ukraine.

Han fandt et børnehjem i byen Velykyi Lubin i nærheden af Lviv i den vestlige del af landet. Dette børnehjem hjælper børn fra området og fra den krigsramte østlige del af landet.

På konferencen holder han foredrag og afspiller en video, som han har optaget på børnehjemmet. Her ser vi en lille 7-8-årig pige, som siger (med et alvorligt ansigtsudtryk), at hun er fra Mariupol, som er en af de mest ramte byer i landet.

Efter den russiske invasion, blev byen et strategisk mål for russerne. Den 19. marts lavede en russisk politimand en video, hvor han sagde:

"Børn og ældre dør her. Byen er ødelagt og er stort set jævnet med jorden."

Og det er altså denne by, denne lille pige havde en tryg barndom indtil den meningsløse krig startede. Da Orest spiller denne video, sidder vi alle i salen med tårer i øjnene.

EN MINIBUS TIL BØRNEHJEMMET

I et Facebook opslag efter NomadBase, skrive Orest, at vores første bidrag til børnehjemmet vil være en minibus. Indtil videre har indsamlingen indbragt omkring 45.000 kr., hvilket vil være nok til en almindelig brugt 8-personers minibus.

Hvis du også har lyst til at give et bidrag, kan du gøre det via PayPal [email protected] eller se andre muligheder på OpenMind.com.ua/support.