Blogs from Carmelo, West, Uruguay, South America

David here... True to form, within 20 minutes of setting out from Montevideo by bus, we were both nodding off. The scenery in Uruguay is pretty flat so we weren't missing much really. The journey was 3.5 hours and was very comfortable, although it was also a local bus with people jumping on and off at random points. Oliver, our host in Carmelo, met us at the bus station and drove us to our lodgings - La Pratica. Along the way he told us about the town, landmarks, where to get supplies, the best places to eat, etc. All very useful and it was nice to be able to chat to someone in English for a change. We were staying in an old shipping container converted into a room, with a sofa bed, bathroom, and a ... read more

We woke up Saturday morning relatively well rested. Our room rate includes breakfast, so we head towards the restaurant for what we expect would be your standard continental breakfast. Nope. It was a massive spread of local meats, cheeses, Narbona yogurts, breads and pastries, cereal, fresh fruit, bacon, eggs, etc. Yum. We enjoyed it thoroughly and then caught a ride to La Tierra de Caballos for some horseback riding. Eric and I were the only two on the trail ride, which was led by an authentic-looking gaucho who tried earnestly to communicate with us. My horse had a mind of its own, generally ignoring my directions to stay in line and out of the thorny trees and bushes. Eric's horse had a, como se dice?, gas problem. We both laughed at that one... Thankfully my horse ... read more

It’s that time of year again… when my visa runs out and I have to leave the country. This time it was kind of special, as it’s almost a year since I set foot in Argentina. On the 15th of this month, to be exact. This is actually quite an achievement for me. I realised earlier today, that the last time I spent one whole year in a country was, well, years ago… I think I worked out that it was 2003… says a lot. So yeh, my visa was about to run out, and the easy option is a short hop across the river to Uruguay. Annoyingly for me, my visa had to run out the week before our winter holidays start. Otherwise I could have killed two birds with one stone, and spent some ... read more

Yes, it's visa time again so we decided to go off to Carmelo in Uruguay. Having visited Colonia and Montevideo, we just wanted to go somewhere different. Fortunately, Cacciola have a ferry from Tigre which is much cheaper than Buquebus! The journey over the water took a little over 3 hours and we were a bit surprised by how shabby the boat seemed, and disturbed by the lack of safety instructions or lifejackets (not that we expected to sink!). Arriving in Carmelo at night was good as the customs people only gave a cursory glance to our bags in their search for foodstuffs which they feel may bring the dreaded Foot & Mouth disease to Uruguay. Our uneaten oranges escaped! Then came the search for a hotel. We wanted to go to the Rambla but were ... read more