URUGUAY & PARAGUAY

URUGUAY - COLONIA de SACRAMENTO

To get to Uruguay Caitlin and I took the boat across the Rio de la Plata leaving from the port at the marina in Buenos Aries. After an hour on board we docked at Colonia de Sacramento, the former smugglers port.

Luckily it was only a short walk before we reached the town and found a hostel to leave our bags and go for a mooch. We wandered down to the end of town to the Barrio Historica, the historical area, where we found the tile-and-stucco colonial houses that lined the narrow, winding, cobbled streets.

Before long it was getting dark and both of us were getting peckish so we headed into the back streets to find an old style neighbourhod Parrilla (barbecued meat steak house). We put an order in for a platter for 2 and were chuffed to bits when a plate of hot coals arrived atop with a mountain of meat! Amoung the mountain we found steaks, chicken thighs, chorizo, ribs and ´blood sausage´ - black pudding I guess. We were each given a wooden chopping board for a plate before we attacked our dinner, and when we did we were pleasently surprised at just how delisious it was - even rivalling the renound meat that we had eaten in Argentina!

First impressions of Colonia de Sacramento were beautiful. I found it so refreshing to find myself in the picture perfect little town after previously spending a lot of our time in hectic cities.

The following day Caitlin and I had a great time, we took a golf buggy out for a few hours to go exploring further out of town. I think we were the slowest vehicle on the roads but it was a fun novitly and an excellent way to see the sights.

We set out of the town, passing the sports stadium and driving along the edge of the gorgeous white sand bay. Turning inland we came across some interesting attractions that Gave us more insight into the intriguing culter and history of Uruguay.

My favorite places were the horse racing track

(unfortunatly there were no races being held at the time)....

... and the old "Plaza de Toros", the bull fighting ring.

With a little time to spare on the rental we went back to the pretty streets of the barrio historico and tried to navigate our way around the bumpy maze of one-way roads that seemed to have tno logic to them at all! It was a shame that in the afternoon the clouds rolled over and it rain over the town for the rest of the day. We took shelter in our hostel playing cards and watching bad TV.

The next moring the sun was back and we went to visit El Faro, the restored lighthouse. We ascened up the spiral stair case and climbed the final ladder to get to the outdoor platform at the top, giving us 360 views of the colorful town below.

Caitlin and I had planned to go and see Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, but desided to stay in Colonia de Sacramento for the whole day. So when the sun kept shining we went to the beach to soak in the rays and listen to the bohemian playing his guitar in the shade of the willow tree nearby.

After our third night we checked out and were back on the boat to Buanos Aires. I absolutly loved my time in Uruguay, I only wish I could have stayed longer. To me Colonia de Sacramento had got "IT", whatever that is to keep me happy for days

PARAGUAY - CIUDAD del ESTE

From Argentina, crossing the busy boarder into Ciudad del Este `City of the East` left us right in the middle of market mayhem when we got off the bus. The city is a renowned center for contraband goods, earning it the nickname `Supermarket of South America` - I bet you could find anything you could ever need around the streets of this city!

Ciudad del Este, apparently like the rest of Paraguay, is a place of remarkable contrasts:

• It is rustic and sophisticated, where the grotty markets start on the doorstep of the fancy, air-con shopping malls.
• It is extreemly poor and obscenly wealthy, where the football hooligans celebrate outside the grand casinos.
• It boast exotic natural reserves like the Monday Waterfall just down the road from the massive, artificial Itaipu Dam.

During our stay in Paraguay Caitlin and I did go and visit the impressive 80 meter high Monday Waterfall. It was brilliant because we got the whole place to ourselves, apart from the wildlife! Although, I think this is because the it suffers from its close proximity to the Iguazu Falls on the other side of the boarder.

And we also saw the Itaipu Dam too - voted one of the 7 Wonders of the Modern World! Paraguay´s publicity machine is awash with facts and figures about the Itaipu hydro electric project; with a resevoir 220m deep, 7km wide and a whopping 170km long it is able to generate 80% of Paraguay´s electricity as well as 25% of Brazil´s too!
But what the project avoids the mention of is the envirnoment consequences it caused when the 220m deep resevoir drowned the Sete Quedas Falls, a set of waterfalls more impressive than the Iguazu Falls, along with several indigenous villages and a wild amount of habitats belonging to all the birds and animals in the area.

A oment to remember in Paraguay was definitly our meal at Gauchino Grill on our last evening. We made full use of the salad bar before the all-you-can-eat meat feast began where waiters would arrive at the table offering cuts of meat that they carried with them ...

...`Sì por favor, más, más!`

I don´t know howbut, I managed a trip to the dessert cart too!