The gateway to Uruguay and Gaucho country

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Saturday 7^thFebruary 2015



This blog is being written half way across the Atlantic on a flight bound for England. It is the early hours of the morning. Very sadly, John’s mum passed away on Wednesday evening, so we are returning to the UK. We shall return to South America to continue our travels in a week or two and resume the blogging. Here follows a very brief update, since we left Buenos Aires on Tuesday morning…

The ferry across the Rio de la Plata to Colonia de Sacramento took just over an hour and it was a smooth crossing. Colonia is a small town, the oldest in Uruguay, with some of the old walls still intact. It is located in a strategic position, guarding the entrances to the River Uruguay and the River Parana. We stayed one night and then caught a bus up the River Uruguay to Carmelo.

This is gaucho country, where the gauchos originated, before spreading across the river into Argentina as the cattle herds grew larger. They can still be seen herding the cattle here; it is real cowboy country, where more people use horses than bicycles. It is flat open country, very green and lush and also full of vineyards. We really liked it here, being way off the beaten tourist routes. We were the only tourists on the buses. The accommodation was a tad basic (check out our photo of the “fully equipped” kitchen).

We spent two nights in Carmelo and left there early yesterday morning. Being off the beaten track meant a thirty hour journey, two buses and two flights. We shall land at Heathrow this afternoon. Over the weekend, we shall publish this blog, together with some photos of Colonia.

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