Uruguain Over Our Heads

The Christmas lights are hung, garland outlines store windows, Santa, who is always a jolly white fat man even though it is South America, is propped up in store windows, and it´s 32 degrees...celcius. Its definitely a challenge to be in the Christmas spirit when one is constantly sweating pretty profusely and all the kids are out for summer, not winter, break. I will say that America wins with the most over the top decorations (i.e. store decorations come out in August, carols dominate the radio, and Christmas tree lots occupy any vacant space.) It seems to be bit more low key here. There are a few decorations here and there in some of the stores, I have not heard ´Feliz Navidad´one time since we have been gone, and it´s funny when I see images of christmas portrayed because there is obviously no snow in the picture. But there is a similarity that both Americas have in common: Coca-Cola. It´s true. The Coca-Cola company really does rule the world. If there are decorations they are most likely going to be affiliated with Coke,which makes me sad.

But on to bigger and better things! So Mike and I finally got on the same page health wise while in Buenos Aires. Once we were done with the vomit situation we were able to continue to enjoy the dynamic city of B.A. On the Friday before we left we made a trip to the city´s zoo, which was actually quite impressive with the variety of animals that they had. However, the regulations are not a strict as zoos at home. First of all there were quite a few animals (including wallabys) that were free to roam the zoo,which is fine until the ducks start snapping at your toes. Also you are allowed to feed the animals if you by the special food the zoo provides. That´s a great experience however now not only do I have to feel guily about not giving money to every beggar on the street, but I also get the same sad face from monkeys who are now people friendly and more aggessive than the average bum. So after the zoo we hopped over to the horse races solely because it was free to get in. Mike bet on a winner alright....Él Crack. So the race begins,we´re looking for good ole crack,and when the race is over he is nowhere to be found. We figured he must have been scratched. About 2 full minutes later this spastic horse comes freaking out down the track. Who else could it be? Yep. Él Crack. We never got the full story but we assumed by just looking at him that he either forgot to run out of the gate or had a panic attack. The last two days in B.A. were great. On Saturday we spent most of the day at the park. We were with Sarah and John, a bunch of their friends, and some delicious food from the near by tapas bar. It was a great way to spend the afternoon, just eating, playing cards, and drinking maté. On Sunday Mike and I went back to San Telmo to see the famous Sunday Market when I was able to keep my bile my belly and not on nearby street venor´s blanket. We saw a tango show and attempted to see one of the famous Boca soccer games, but the ticktets were much too expensive because it was a championship game. Our last night in B.A ironically we all went to the restaurant Kansas,which is American cuisine and famous for their ribs. Mike and I are poor so we filled up on bread and just ate dessert...of course.

From there we took a boat to the neighboring country of Uruguay. Our first stop was Colonia which was just lovely. It was a small quaint town famous for it´s historic old town. Essentially we were tourists that day and went sightseeing and had wine on the beach while watching the sunset. From there we went to Punta del Este which is this great beach resort town. And by great I mean it would have been cool if the town was open. Apparently Punta has quite a small high season (about a month long) and we were about a month early for it. I will say that it was really nice having the town to ourselves and lying on a peaceful serene beach. That is until the Chilean reporters come up to you and want to interview you for the local evening news. It was so funny because the guy kept asking us questions in spanish and we would answer in english, bascially having no idea of what he said. Mike held his own and did the interview in spanish and telling the reporter that we came there because it was the best beach in the world, to be nice,and then the cameraman pans the beach and there is no one on it! A minor discrepency. From there we went to the famous hotel of th artist Carlos Paez Vilaro, which basically looks like a hotel made of marshmellow! Too bad that is not actually the case. On our way back we wanted to take a more scenic walk down the beach and ended up walking about 7 miles! Eh...just walking off all the ice cream I say. From there we made our way to Montevideo. As John put it so eloquently 'it´s a day of old buildings, statues, and mosolieums.' So Montevideo has not pumped as much into tourism as say Brazil and Argnentina. In the end it all worked out because we took this incredible bike ride down the beach which gave a window into the city´s more authentic side. After that riveting sightseeing day we were off to Salto to enjoy a relaxing day at the thermal hotsprings. Again , most of the town was closed due to the slow season, but the hot springs were excellent. We lucked out because there weren´t that many people there to begin with, so we got to enjoy the pools to ourselves.

And now we are currently back in Argentina in Puerta de Igáuzu and tomorrow we are off to see the world famous Igauzu Falls ! And on a last note I would just like to remind all relatives, friends, and anyone who is enthralled in the gift giving spirit that Mike and I are away from home for the holidays. Life is hard. We miss our families and the joy that Christmas brings. Any attempt to mimic the Christmas we would be having at home is underway. This includes recieving gifts. Feel free to send any monetary doantions to our parents who will then deposit said gift into our accounts. Remember....it´s for the kids.

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