Thursday, October 26, 2006


We're back in BsAs! Unfortunately, we came home to find we don't have any cold water. Makes for very interesting showers (ouch!) and flushing the toilet (gross). It's only been 2 days though, and the porter is here trying to figure out why we have hot water but no cold water. I'm crossing my fingers this is an easy fix.
Uruguay was absolutely amazing. We started off in Carmelo which is a tiny, sleepy town on the Rio de la Plata. We had a couple very relaxing days there... met 2 stray dogs that followed us around day and night.
From there we went to Colonia. Chico found a golf cart rental agency which he was absolutely ecstatic over. It was a great way to see the entire town. We stayed at the Hotel Colonial which I would highly recommend. It offered free bicycles, Internet access, comfortable rooms, great food and great people.
The next morning we made our way to Montevideo just in time for the quarter final football (or soccer for my American readers) game between Uruguay and Brazil. This was my first football match and I'm hooked (in fact, Chico and I are going to the La Boca match this weekend). The following day we decided to head into wine country as a suggestion from one of our guide books. We took a train (yes... there is a commuter train in Montevideo. We should have taken the fact that no one knew there was a commuter train as a sign, but we were determined to taste Uruguayan wine!!) We hopped on the train that surprisingly still ran considering it dated back to the 1920's with no updating whatsoever, and took the hour ride into Juanico. There are no signs alerting riders to what town they are in, so we found it out by asking the passengers several times at each stop (picture of Juanico above). We found the winery. We found the winery closed. We found a convenience store, bought 2 bottles of wine, and waited 5 hours for the train back to Montevideo.
The next day we decided to travel to Punta del Este, which is the playground for the rich during the hot summer season. It really is a beautiful city, but loud and the hostel we stayed at was full of 20-something boys who were on a week long drinking binge (not quite the scene we were looking for and so we checked out the following day).
From Punta del Este, we traveled north along the coast to La Paloma. We must have looked lost from our backpacks and both of us looking at the Lonely Planet for a map, because 2 Uruguayans stopped their car and asked if we needed help. They immediately called their friend for directions to the hotel for us and then asked if we would like to see the next town over (Las Piedras) with them once we got settled in. Later that afternoon, our friends picked us up and drove along the coast to Las Piedras. We walked along the beach and our friends practiced their English (no practice needed from what I could tell), and then stopped for a drink at a bar right on the ocean. They recommended dinner at a restaurant in town we might like. Oh. We did. It was run by 1 man who played the part of host, waiter, and chef. Chico had lomo and I had pasta. And it had FLAVOR! For anyone who might find themselves in La Paloma, visit La Choza for some great food. As we walked back to the hotel after dinner, we stumbled upon a fairly large drum circle and I decided I was going to live in La Paloma someday. We stayed 2 days there... sunning ourselves on the beach, drinking wine in the evening, relaxing and having a wonderful time.
Our porter just left. He was unable to find the problem with our water. I'm not sure if this means he will find someone else who may be able to help, or if we are just out of luck. Hmmm...

2 comments:

miss tango said...

Maybe this is the official week for water problems. The other day we had no cold water, for 24 hours, and then 2 days later no hot water for the day.
Welcome to Argentina my friend!

Cheryl said...

What a gorgeous picture! Reminds me of the train station where we used to drop my dad off for his ride into Manhattan, only yours has beautiful green grass.