Armon Suites Montevideo

... Martin admitted to only being able to say "no fala Portuguese"- at work he speaks English even to his Brazilian counterparts. When he said this, Darren joked back that of course he could also order a beer, to which he replied no. As strange as this seemed, it was a bit difficult to judge someone who spoke flawless English and native German. Martin´s limited Portuguese turned out to be stronger than his non-existent Spanish. We enjoyed ...

... of wine to bring home. After Bouze we went to a winery called Stagnari. It was a lot less formal and a hell of a good time. We sat around with the winemaker Laura for 4 hours around a little coffee table drinking all the wine she had to offer. She even gave us a huge basket of emphandas. When we finished we all bought a bottle of the 2006 Primma Donna Merlot. When we asked her how much for the tasting she said nothign and REFUSED to take the tip ...

An early breakfast and a final walk down the cobbled avenues of Colonia to capture some last photos in the morning sun before boarding the bus that would take us across Uruguay to the capital city of Montevideo. The beautiful streets of Colonia soon gave way to the highway and a stretch of green fields extending off into the horizon; not the vivid lush green of Vietnam, but rather a more muted green ...

... as I promised and only go in the sun in the "safe" hours before 11am and after 5pm. It;'s working out to great for the tan though and we are off to a club tomorrow night so might have to cheat tomorrow and do a bit longer. I'm wearing factor 30 so I should hopefully get a nice colour and not go bright red. ** cut to me tomorrow night crying cos Im like a lobster and can't go out lol** After a few hours in the sun I did a quick hour in the gym (okay 40 ...

... s bus terminal in the morning, and shopped around for a bus to take us to Colonia tomorrow and a ferry from there to Buenos Aires...

Uruguay is the smallest Spanish-speaking country in South America, sandwiched in between Argentina and Brazil. Like its larger neighbours, the country has a rich history in fútbol and was the first to win the World Cup. The ...

... and no one really seemed to be that bothered that I was wandering into their country, a young, unshaven and slightly dishevelled man laden down with heavy bags and stuffed pockets (bread stolen from the ferry restaurant!!). Officially I had left Argentina and was now in diplomatic no-mans land, able to commit crimes and escape the detection of domestic and international police forces. Forgoing this opportunity ...

... is really to hang around and try to sort out our Spanish notes so that we can access the relevant bits easily rather than shuffle through 20 pages of dog eared A4 pages and then trying to decipher my apallaing handwriting... We have been back to the botanical gardens (with all the cats) and given them some of our lunch :o) They seem to really like chicken empanadas (a bit like small cornish pasties). We fly to Ushuaia ...

... my blog. I really haven't got much choice because the city has turned into a ghost town. Every place is closed and has been since early yesterday afternoon. I couldn't even get a bus out until 11:30 tonight as even the buses have stopped running. I checked out of the hotel at noon and was hoping to go see a movie or two to help kill some time, but even they are closed. At least I found 1 restaurant that was open (after 2 hours of walking around) so I am not dying of hunger. I ...

... and its rare to see a citizen not toting the ubiquitous thermos and mate under one arm. It can be quite comical, seeing people trying to carry multiple grocery bags, maneuver a scooter, or do a number of other activities without the use of their ¨mate arm¨. Our first destination was Colonia, a charming seaside town founded by Portuguese and Spanish settlers. Cobblestone streets ...

... in their white ¨dresses¨ and blue bows. We learned that the world´s biggest outdoor barbeque had taken place at ths location last April and saw pictures of it. What an event! Lunch started off great, but ended badly. We (actually I) chose a meat place, with the wood fire inside, called Padilla (I think). Two people spoke a little English, and we learned that the chorizo is actually sausage. We ended up ordering a steak and small potatoes (first ...