Uruguay

It´s on the coast between Brasil and Argentina for those of you who don´t know. We headed here direct from Buenos Aires.

A Small History Lesson

We headed to Colonia del Sacremento. A tourist town chock full of history. It was originally established in 1680 as a neutral territory between the feuding Portuguese (Brasil) and Spanish (Argentina), both of who were busy discovering/colonizing the world. This town was fought over for centuries and changed hands 9 times. As a result, the town has been built and destroyed many times, but what is left is quite amazing. Eventually the Spanish won, probably due to their allegiance with England.

Anyway, it´s a cool little town with cobbled streets and a lot of very old buildings, with both Portuguese and Spanish influence.

Bella on the original City Gates, complete with drawbridge and canon. The town is built on a penninsular and this stone wall went across the pennisular to protect its residents.

A typical street and portuguese house.

A street leading up to the Basilica.

We were lucky enough to have a local guide in this city. Sabrina, a girl Benson (Bella´s brother) met when he was here about 18 months ago. She took us out on the town and introduced us to the local drink, mate (ma-teh). A herbal drink that the Uruguayans drink all day. Walking down the street, driving in the car, shopping. Always with a mate in one hand and their thermos tucked under their arm.

We then decided to head up the Western border. Uruguay is known for it´s beaches up the eastern coastline. With us deciding to travel in the middle of Winter, we decided to skip the East and head up the West. We headed to some small towns and get a change of scene from Buenos Aires. We definitely got off the gringo trail, as there were no hostels, and we stayed in some kooky old hotels, complete with pink satin bedspreads with matching curtains. We ended up spending 10 days in Uruguay. A good change and a worthwhile experience, although I would recommend travelling in Summer.

From a small town in Uruguay, we decided it was time to head to Iguazu Falls. One of the major 'to do's' in South America. We managed to have an alignment of the planets. With numerous stories of travel being notoriously time-consuming we were sceptical of what buses we would get and how long we would be spending in bus terminals. In 20 hours, we ended up travelling over 1200kms, via 3 buses, in 2 countries, with 15 hours on a bus. All with no planning. I love it when things work.

Next, Cataratas del Iguazu (Iguazu Falls)!!!!!