Uruguay

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Hi Folks

Will have to fill in all the gaps for you when I get home. There´s far too much to write about and just not enough time, so I´ll just give you a quick summary of events to keep you posted.

We decided to take a ferry from BA over to Colonia in Uruguay. We hadn´t planned this but several people had told us it was worth doing and I´m so glad we took their advice. When we got there we found a golf buggy rental shop just outside the port. We decided to hire a little Moto (which we named Molly) so we could get about a bit faster and see more. You´re allowed to drive buggies on the roads and don´t need a licence, so it was a great way to get about. We had such a laugh going over the speed bumps and pot holes and amusing the locals with our arm signals!

Colonia del Sacramento is a real oldy worldy place with lots of vintage cars, cobbled streets, lovely restaurants and little craft shops. It was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese and is now a UNESCO World Heritage site.

After spending time in the town centre and exploring the museums, we climbed the 118 steps to the top of the lighthouse and could see the skyscrapers from Buenos Aires in a haze across the water. Lunch was spent in a wonderful cafe (under the shade of some jacaranda trees) with live music and lots of home-baked bread. We then visited the local bull ring and drove round the coast past all the millionaire mansions.

Shopping here is a real experience and buying a new pair of flipflops turned out to be a real fiasco and took over half an hour. Generally you choose your item and take it to a desk to get a ticket. They then staple your name to your purchase, put it under the table and you take your ticket to another desk to pay. On this occassion I was also asked for my passport and had to give my name, address and home phone number. (Locals just show their ID card.) Once I had done this, someone else brings your goods over to another desk where you give your receipt before you can take your flipflops! You can never just pop into a shop and buy something in five minutes! I guess it´s a good way of making jobs. It took four people to deal with my flipflops purchase.

Uruguay is not at all touristy and it was lovely mixing with the locals and seeing real life. It´s certainly somewhere I´d like to explore more, but there´s still so much to see and do - I´m not sure when I´ll fit it in!

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