Blogs from Salto, North, Uruguay, South America

Why visit a big city popular with foreign travelers when you can soak in thermal baths? I jumped off the gringo trail in Argentina and hopped across the border (after a 7-hour bus journey) to Salto in Uruguay's little-visited north. And as Robert Frost would agree, taking the road less traveled has made all the difference. I'd decided to skip Rosario, Argentina's third largest city with well over a million people, in favor of visiting towns with thermal springs that run along both sides of the Uruguay River that marks the border between these two countries. From Mercedes, Argentina, I traveled 7 hours past open fields dotted with flowers and cows to Concordia, then another bus to the border with Uruguay. There, the two countries shared an office, making this the easiest border crossing so far. ... read more

So.... Today we are playing catch up and trying to at least put down where we have been so my dad's map can be complete and he won't come searching for us ;) We have given up on the photos till we return. Such is our luck. But know that we tried, and we are getting really excited to come home. Hmmmm pickles, mexican and thai food, scones and lattes and a million other lovely things that make the USA so great!... read more

After an early morning jog, oh yes you heard it here folks, there was just time to grab some breakfast and have a stroll round the shops. In one particular shop my eyes light up. For there, in front of me is a pair of Havaianas, their standard Brazilian flag has been replaced with an Argentinian flag - these are quite unique and I snap them up. I'm a little ashamed of my purchase though and the ease in which I bought them as Tor is the flip-flop queen and has yet to find a pair she likes. So shhhhh! In my excitement I don't realise that I've left my sunglasses behind and when we go to check out I am hit by the sense of something missing on my head. Arrrgh. One run up and ... read more

Hvorfor regner det altid, naar jeg er paa ferie...? Ha ha. Jeg befinder mig i skrivende stund i Salto i Uruguay. Salto er den by, der ligger allertaettest paa Uruguays nordligst beliggende graenseovergang til Argentina. Den krydsede vores tropper tidligt i morges... Jeg er stadig ikke helt vaagen. Vores sidste dag i Brasilien i gaar brugte vi paa at besoege den brasilienske side af Iguazu-vandfaldende. Det var ogsaa overdaadigt og ufatteligt smukt, men man kan jo kun tage saa og saa mange billeder, og jeg foelte mig maettet af faldenes skoenhed, selvom den brasilienske side giver et utroligt smukt overblik over, hvor mange vandfald der i virkeligheden udgoer det samlede vidunder. Jeg var utroligt traet i gaar - baade fordi vi havde vaeret ude og faa en lille drink dagen forinden, og saa ogsaa fordi, at ... read more

From Paraguay we decided to shoot straight across to Uruguay. We had already been to Argentina and only had 3 weeks before we had to be in Rio for the start of the Dragoman tour. Leaving Asunción in the morning, we took a posh double decker bus which soon crossed into Argentina. Our stuff got x-rayed at the border and we had two very long customs stops. The long straight roads on the open and flat landscape took us comfortably to Resistencia, arriving early evening. Here we found a night bus going to Concordia at 9 pm. The 3 hour wait turned into 2 hours when we realised there was an hours difference between Paraguay and Argentina. Just about missed the bus! We got little sleep on the night bus. We thought the baby across from ... read more