Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay

Just three hours north of Punta del Este on the Uruguayan banks of the Rio del la Plata sits Colonia del Sacramento, one of the oldest established townships in all of South America… It’s fascinating history and prime location directly across the river from Buenos Aires makes it a popular day trip for city dwellers and tourists alike. After our amazing experience at the Di Tella farmstead in Maldonado, we checked into the Don Antonio Posada (www.donantonioposada.com) in Colonia for three nights and found this to be more than enough time to explore the town’s historical center and beach life.

The town itself is very small but crammed with sites of historical interest, tree lined beaches, restaurants, cafes, and tacky gift shops: everything a tourist could possibly need to stay entertained! The Portuguese and the Spanish battled over Colonia for nearly 100 years beginning in the mid 1600’s, trying to firmly establish a base for exports to Europe from the Plata river valley… During this time they managed to build, destroy, and then rebuild the city many times over…. What remains today is quaint and picturesque: ancient-looking cobbled streets winding towards the banks of the river; tree lined squares with crumbling cathedrals and timbered houses; the ruins of fortresses and convents built and abandoned. Although the overall feel of the place is very commercialized, it somehow manages to retain a bit of local Uruguayan flavour, despite the presence of large buses carting hoards of camera wielding tourists at most points of interest. We were once again lucky to be visiting in the off-season; we were told that numbers would really increase just after the new year.

One of the coolest things we did in Colonia was to rent a little golf cart, which became our sole mode of transport around town. Paul did all the driving (providing me with a much needed break from being behind the wheel) and Rachel and I were left to sit back and take in the scenery at a sedate 15 mph. We really enjoyed the beautiful Ferrando beach and state park, which lies just outside the center of town, as well as the early 20th century ruins of a bull ring and hotel build by a Russian entrepreneur (who subsequently went bankrupt and left the project to decay).

It was hard to head back to BA, knowing that we would be facing the struggle of packing up once again and saying goodbye to our new friends in South America… but also looking forward to Australia and new roads ahead! More soon from Oz! xxx Jason

La Masia: on the farm in Maldonado, Uruguay

Only a few days after Rachel's arrival in Buenos Aires, we took off once again for the shores of Uruguay, which is quickly becoming my FAVORITE destination in all of South America... The Buquebus ferry service from Argentina to the Uruguayan coast leaves a bit to be desired, but upon arriving, Uruguay is so beautiful, friendly, and quiet in comparison to brash, deafening BA, it makes the journey well worthwhile.

When I mentioned that we might be heading back to Uruguay, our gorgeous friend Tamara offered to put us up at her family's farm in Maldonado, Uruguay... just a few short miles inland from Sara's place in Punta Del Este. Tamara told me a few times that the farm is "very simple" and that she "rescued it" from complete dilapidation... I was under the impression it would be just a place to stay, nothing really special, which does not at all accurately describe the amazingly beautiful scene at La Masia!

Each of the buildings that make up the living quarters are about 100 years old, perfectly furnished and restored... In total, there is enough room to sleep 20 or more guests without much effort... The grounds are immaculately landscaped with lovely traditional brick patios, flowering jasmine, giant bougainvillea, palm trees, and a big swimming pool... The grounds are absolutely massive and contain a working citrus farm, with 1000's of orange and lemon trees spread across the back of the estate. I've never really seen anything like it....

We arrived late on Wednesday night, and the very remote location and pitch blackness made finding the place a bit of an event, but once we found it, we were in backwater paradise! We stocked up on groceries with the help of Tamara's fun and hospitable groundskeepers Carlos and Sarita (who live on the property in a detached house) and we settled in to our large and comfy rooms... I haven't slept so well in weeks: the quiet nights, clean air, and fresh sheets made for perfect sleeping. We spent our time either lazing around the farm or walking around down at the beach; we also spent one afternoon in Punta del Este with Serita brousing around the local craft markets... Our last night on the farm, Serita and Carlos came over to the main house with their son for a big barbecue; we had a lovely evening despite our terrible Spanish (Paul is getting so great with the language; I almost wish we had more time here for him to continue to improve!).

It was truly hard to leave such a tranquil environment and I am already looking forward to our next visit to La Masia! We are forever indebted to Tamara and her family for not only being so gracious and kind to us, but for giving us the opportunity to spend a few days in such a peaceful and beautiful setting. More soon! xxx Jason

The Amazing, Incredible Iguazu Falls Weekend

Iguazu National Park absolutely defies description... words and photos can't even begin do it justice. Jointly preserved as a national treasure by the Brazilian and Argentinian Governments in 1934, the sheer enormity of the falls is enough to impress even the most hardened traveler, but it doesn't stop there: the remote jungle location, amazing plants and wild animals, and the deafening sound of the crashing water just heightens the experience. Iguazu is, without any doubt, one of the coolest things I've ever seen. Although the "flow rate" of the falls during our visit was considered to be "average," there is nothing average about millions of gallons of water plunging into a permanent cloud of mist, eventually crashing against the rocks hundreds of feet below... and that's standing at the top of the falls! The view from the bottom is a completely different and equally unmissable experience.

We arrived last Wednesday from BA, and having pre-purchased an all-inclusive package deal, we were met by our driver as soon as we stepped off the plane. We immediately realized that we were no longer in the city when we spotted a huge black beatle the size of a mouse on the floor of the terminal. Welcome to the jungle. Most of the hotels and resorts on the Argentinian side of the falls are situated along the main road to town, Puerto Iguazu. Our hotel, the hyper-glamourous Hotel Cataratas (www.hotelcataratas.com) was set slightly off the road and from the front, looked like nothing special... but once inside, our first impression changed significantly. Besides giving us access to the fabulous pool, spa, and sport facilities, our pre-packaged deal included all our meals, available in two seperate restaurants... For those who know me well, it is needless to say that I nearly ate and drank myself into a calorie-induced coma on a daily basis... Fantasic presentation and slightly less-than-clueless service was the icing on the cake... The hotel grounds also include a huge vegetable and herb garden, providing fresh ingredients for the meals, and perfectly landscaped grounds complete with tropical flowers, banana and mango trees, and some crazy jungle plants I've never seen before. Oh, also the massive prehistoric-looking beatles, which would come out at night to chill by the pool.

Our first day was spent on the Argentinian side of the falls, as the river Iguazu itself is the land border with western Brazil. Although we had the services of a guide during the entire day, we found her to be endlessly annoying and uninformative, as her long-winded speeches were conducted primarily in Spanish, spoken so rapidly that I'm suprised that her fellow countrymen could understand what she was saying. She would give a 5 minute monologue in Espanol, followed up by a 2-sentence "translation" (in the loosest possible sense of the word)... Something to the effect of: "These are the falls and they are very beautiful." I wanted to push her over the side.

We began by taking a little train to the top of the "Devil's Throat," the largest of the falls... The view from the top is nothing short of stunning; the heavy spray and constant roaring noise coming from the the falls left us drenched and somewhat giddy as we walked back to the train... From there, the tour continued with a crazy boat ride on the Iguazu river at the bottom of the falls called "The Gran Aventura," which was one of the most exhilerating and frightening things I've ever experienced... Picture this: 20 semi-sunburned tourists strapped in a speed boat, hurtling down the river at breakneck speed, banking sharply around white-water rapids, before finally arriving at the frothing, churning, deafening bottom of the falls... The driver of the boat (who was obviously highly experienced) would steer us dangerously close to the full impact of the water, drenching us with spray that felt as powerful as a firehose... We were completely drenched and breathless... Unbelieveably, there was a cameraman on board, filming the entire experience... I am not sure how he managed to keep standing and not drown himself in his attempts to film us... After we came off the boat, soaked and a bit shaky, the cameraman was there taking names of those interested in purchasing a DVD copy of the film he just shot... I couldn't get my name down quickly enough. I felt like I was in a trance during the long, winding hike back to the top of the falls to exit the park... We spent the evening relaxing by the pool and consuming huge amounts of grilled steak and red wine at the Parilla-style restaurant before crashing out... I slept like a rock that night, worn-out and totally satisfied.

The following day was spent on the Brazilian side of the falls, which after the previous day's excitement, was somewhat more relaxing and sedate. A large part of the morning was taken up by the tedious and overly-complicated border-crossing procedure, during which I was singled out by the Brazilian authorities and made to complete additional forms, simply for being only one on the tour bus holding a United States passport. During the course of the day, I was twice teased by the French and Italian members of our tour group for the long hold up at immigration, humor which I believe was thinly disguising their general disgust with Americans and the USA.

The Brazilan side of Iguazu is undoubtedly a stunning sight, as the large majority (over 80%) of the falls are on the Argentinian side, making for fabulous views from across the river and endless photo opportunities. The temperatures on Friday were remarkably high: the intense sun combined with high humidity was pretty exhausting. One the day's real highlights was spotting a pack of cute Coatis (which resemble a cross between an anteater and a brown, long tailed racoon), a rather large monkey, and two brightly colored toucans, one of which was feeding her young in their treetop home. We were somewhat relieved to be back to the comfort of our airconditioned hotel at the end of the day, and enjoyed a lazy, relaxing repeat of the previous evening.

Coming back to Buenos Aires felt a bit like "coming home." We've spent the past two days getting back to our routine, doing laundry, looking through the photos, and remembering our priceless experience... Paul is working hard today on his workshop material, and we are finalizing a few details before Rachel's arrival on the 13th of December. More soon! xxx Jason