Uruguay - Montevideo & seacat ferry from Colonia del Sacramento to Buenos Aires

---

Following a pleasant and uneventful 12 hour bus journey I arrived in Uruguay's capital Montevideo. So chuffed to say the temperature here is a bit cooler and the scenery on route was pretty spectacular!

When I got to the bus terminal I found the tourist office who gave me the essential city map and instructions on how to get a bus to my hostel....and this time I got it right no detours (well one minor one) finally arriving at my beautifully quirky hostel there are lots more mature residents here most likely due to the higher price tag but worth it to be in such a central location and have the space of my own company....the perfect opportunity for some me time to reflect on the past few months and contemplate what I have installed for the rest of 2014!

For the first time ever I took part in the free walking tour with a small group of 3 English guys, an American couple from Chicago and a Belgium girl from Bruges. It was interesting having all the random conversations during the 2 hours and picking up some great ideas for Buenos Aires and my travel plans to get there. Have decided to get the bus to Colonia del Sacramento and then take the SECAT ferry (yes me on a boat!!! this will give me the perfect opportunity to get a 1 hour tester of what it will be like ahead of my Irish road trip later this year?).

Following the tour the Belgium girl and I opted to have lunch and sample the Uruguayan cuisine and what a feast we had, worth every penny of the $580 pesos :-)

Proceeded to walk through out the afternoon and explored the rest of the old town and took in some wild river views before retiring to the hostel and just in time for my fresh laundry being delivered....ah the simple things that bring so much pleasure! Finally spoke with my Canadian dorm mate who has been a fountain of knowledge on the Brazilian lack of culture and a walking wiki page (those of you who know me will fully appreciate what a learning experience this is for me, since I don't follow the news or know much about history, so my brain is getting a total blast of data....let's see if I retain any of it lol).

I am so enjoying this relaxed pace of life, without any deadlines and pressure....however it has taken me by surprise how much I am missing certain aspects from bonnie Scotland, for which I am so glad to say my iphone and access to free wifi have been a godsend and to think 3 years ago I didn't have a notebook or phone with me....how things evolve in such a short period of time!!!

Uruguay is a more relaxed and safer country than Brazil, cheaper and the temperature suits me far better. Locals love their matte (a bitter herb drink) which they carry with them religiously - a special cup with a build in straw and their thermos flask - the muscles in their left arm must be amazing! The only down side is the majority of them love to smoke too which makes walking down a road a rather stinky experience.

Due to bus times I was unable to visit the quant Colonia del Sacramento town. So all I saw was the ferry terminal building and an amazing sunset which unfortunately after capturing it on my camera I did not load the images to my notepad before my mugging :-(

My first impressions on arriving in Buenos Aires is WOW....what a beautiful looking city and how friendly the people are in particular bus drivers. I managed to get a FREE bus journey to just 3 blocks away from my hostel and since I did not have change he let me ride without paying...now that is I a first anywhere for me! And all of that without being to speak each others language but 5 bus drivers on their break figured out which bus I needed and gave me advise on getting a bus card for my stay....how very nice of them, so very impressed!

At moments like these my brain almost melts down, imagine what I could achieve if only I made myself learn to speak Spanish...maybe one day...

Well now that I have decided that my plans for Argentina are going to cover trekking at the Iguacu falls and tango show / lesson plus the usual sightseeing I will probably provide at least a couple of blogs.

p.s. sorry no more photos due to stolen camera

---

Photos

Independencia square
there are 33 palm trees

gate to the old town
apparently you lose 5 mins of your age when you head in to the old town but then gain 5 mins when you leave so not really a door of youth!

this is the widest river in the world
so much for me and the group thinking it was the sea!

the phantom tiler fixing up the broken tiles
there are lots of random designs throughout the old town

can you believe this is a half portion?
needless to say after that lunch I didn't have any dinner lol