21 March 2008 - Uruguay

Day 171 - We arrived in the town of Colonia after we had crossed the Rio de Plato. We found a local cafe to have some breakfast and then it was back to the hotel for some sleep! (we hadn´t got back until gone midnight the night before and were up at 5am!). After a nice couple of hours sleep we had a look round the town. The town was very small but had lots of character. There were some lovely buildings and unusual features such as old cars with trees growing out of them!

Day 172 - A trip to a local ranch/farm was organised. The farm was mainly a working dairy farm, where they produced their own milk and cheese. We got to ride on a couple of their horses (Ricky´s first time!) which was fun. Lynne had the owners 5 year old grandson taking control of the reins so she felt quite safe! (he was a natural!). We had a walk around the farm and got to go on a deathslide across a small river! It was then back to the main barn for a huge lunch, complete with wine and three different desserts! After the farm we took the three hour bus trip to the capital of Uruguay, Montevideo.

Day 173 - In the morning we hired bikes with some of the group and rode along the seafront. Unfortunately Lynne´s bike was a little big for her so she kept falling off!! We had a nice lunch in a cafe by the beach before the ride back to the hotel. For the afternoon we took a city tour. The city isn`t very exciting though - the highlight was probably the football stadium where the first ever World Cup was held.

Day 174 - We had a quick look around the shops to try and find a Uruguay beer t-shirt but had no luck (our first failure!). It was then onto a bus for the journey to Salto.

Day 175 - A trip to the local water park was organised. It wasn`t quite Wet N Wild but at least it was wet! There were a few slides and pools, although the temperature of the water was about 30c so not exactly refreshing! It was then onto the next leg of our trip but first we took a taxi back to Argentina to catch the overnight bus to Brazil.