Colonia & Montevideo, Uruguay

---

We were up ridiculously early to leave from BA to sail across the Rio de la plata to Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay. The ferry took 3 hours and was quite plush (apart from the bathrooms) and on the lower deck they even had a cabaret singer, making up her own words to english songs.
We arrived in Colonia and we all cottoned onto something reasonably quickly - it was warmer! Who knew?!
Colonia is a very cute little country town, with wide cobbled streets. Went out to a family-run dairy ranch for the afternoon where they produce their own milk, wine and cheese. They laid on the most impressive bbq feast and we hooked in, big time. The country air was of course being blamed for our appetites. We rode horses, took in the fresh air, drank lots of wine, played with the animals (including the largest labrador i have ever seen!). A really pleasant experience after the hustle and bustle of Buenos Aires.
Back to Colonia in time to catch the tail-end of a beautiful sunset with the entire youth population of Colonia. Must be the in thing to do.

Lunchtime the following day we set off for Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Driving through the countryside in Uruguay is like going back in time. Crazy old rustbucket cars, small farm houses, dodgy fencing, etc.

Now seriously, whoever told me Uruguay was cheap was surely lying. Went to a mall that was so phenomenally expensive i walked into shop after shop and couldn´t help but baulk at the prices. Did manage a cheap snigger at quite a classy-looking women´s clothing store politely entitled "TITS".

Down to the waterfront we went for lunch where someone had graciously translated their menu into English for us Spanish-barren types, much to the amusement of our table. We had to send the poor waiter away about 3 times as we were so distracted with the descriptions to actually choose something to order. Some personal favourites were:

Loin to the Cream of Pepper
The Cheff´s fish sword
French Rack to the Coast
Tart of lukewarm apple
Tower white black of mousse of chocolate
The fishes to the day grill and sauces to election
Iron of the Cheff´s bird Mussini

Another case of Lost in Translation. Love it.

Now, something i had heard about before this trip but only witnessed a few times in Buenos Aires was rife here in Montevideo. That is the art of drinking Mate. Mate is the local version of green tea and locals walk around holding their special mate cups full to the brim of mate leaves, a thermos of hot water tucked under their arm and a stainless steel straw with a filter on the end. Seems it is a local obsession.

---

Photos

The Ranch
Mega pooch.

The Ranch
Mmmm... cheese.

The Ranch
A wee baby goat.

Staying on the right side of the Law
Montevideo...

Iron of the Cheff´s bird Mussini
My selection. A culinary delight of chicken, onions, mushrooms with french fries in the middle. Quite apparent from the title!