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Independence Square
Montevideo, Uruguay After 17 hours on the overnight bus from the waterfall, we briefly stopped in Buenos Aires before jumping straight on the ferry across the River Plate to Colonia de Sacramento, Uruguay. At first we weren't sure whether to check out Uruguay however being only one hour over the water from Buenos Aires we thought we may as well. We liked Colonia, a small sleepy town dating back to the 1600's with great Parrilla's or Grill houses, which I have to say are a meat lovers dream!!! Basically a retaurant that consists of a huge grill pilled high with gorgeous Steaks, Sausages etc and really good value!
One thing we noticed about Uruguian's is they seem to have a love affair with Mate. Mate is like a green tea, where they stuff a small open pot with herbs add boiling water and drink though a kind of metal straw. It seemed stange to us as literally everyone is walking around with a pot stuffed full of green herbs and a flask of hot water under their arms. Apparently a real social thing originating from South American Indians. Hard to explain what its like so link below.
http://www.noborders.net/mate/what.html
The guys
Revolution Day
Approaching Plaze de Mayo, Buenos Aires in the hostel were very kind to let us try some and was just like green tea. I don't know why it seemed strange to us as after all us British are a nation of tea addicts, especially Rachael!
After a night in Colonia we caught the bus to the capital, Montevideo. It was getting colder now and really could see Montevideo having a lot more to offer in the summer. There's a great sandy beach but was deserted when we were there. Unless you're really into architecture we didn't really find anything to inspire us. Especially with the sprawling metropolis of Buenos Aires just over the water, which we both agreed is in a league of its own!
Well we've spent the last six nights in BA and enjoyed every minute! The place has a real vibe, the food is fantastic and the hostels we've stayed in full of likeminded people from all over! To top it all off there's loads to do and it was really good value aswell!
When we actually arrived in Buenos Aires, we weren´t aware at the time that it was the Revolution Day. A National Holiday (on a thursday??) to
commerate the first attempt at independence from Spain. It turned out to be quite a spectacle as we checked out the noise coming from Plaza de Mayo (main square) and surrounding streets. We we unsure as to whether it was a demonstation or a celebration. The guys at our hostel later confirmed it was a celebration but a few political groups and trade unions were out in force with their banners. It certainaly expressed the patriotism of the Argentianian people. Mike was glad he left his England Shirt at home!!
The following day we took a bike tour (much needed exercise!), which took us to the tourist haven of the Boca, which is actually quite a poor area, with a cluster of elabourately decorated houses, which were originally knocked up from cheap materials like corrigated iron to house immigrants. They now serve the purpose of luring in the tourist $$$$!
Again on the bike tour we rode thought a nature reserve on the edge of the city backing on to the River Plate and we're fortunate to see a huge Eagle munching on a rodent only a few meters away! This is starting to look like a wildlife
Eagle
Spotted on our cycle tour of BA in bordering nature reserve tour and we haven't even hit the jungle yet!!!!!!
We also went though the old port area of Puerto Madero (pictured) which has a striking resemblence to the Bristol waterfront, maybe mixed with a touch of Canary Wharf! Nice bars, offices and expensive appartments!!
The following day we thought we'd check out Recoleta, which has a world famous cemetary, where Eva Peron now lays to rest. If your in BA you've got to visit this place, not for the faint hearted mind as you can actually see the dusty coffins in the maize of elabourately decorated vaults! There was definitely a chill running though the place! On a slightly less grave note (couldn't resist that one!)
Tango Time!!!
Again no trip to BA would be complete without taking in the Tango experince. We were fortunate to see the raw stuff in the market square of San Telmo and a wonderfully coriographed show in one of the numerous show houses throughout the city!
I nearly forgot to mention the fantastic weekend markets, which can be found all over the city consiting of antiques, arts and really original handcrafts, which we couldn't resist and now fill our
Puerto M
Part of Buenos Aires that reminded us of Bristol Waterfront backpacks!! Parents be expecting packages arriving soon!!
Oh and Rachael and I beleive it or not are now craving vegetables, after living on a stable diet of Steak, Steak and more Steak!
Which we both agree has never tasted sooooooo good! Especially on an Argentianian Asado or BBQ!!
Well we're flying to Lima tomorrow with a brief stop over before heading to Cusco where the physically demanding Inca Trail awaits us
We both absolutely loved Buenos Aires and will return for a longer period one day!
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