The Adventures of the Morrisons

I had injurred my foot about a week ago now and it had been in some real pain so we thought a few days at one of South America's most famous beaches would help. Rest, rest and more rest.

Punta was only 5 hours by bus from Colonia so we went over early in the morning. Punta is Uruguays answer to Monaco. Literally. We arrived there and there was a street circuit set up for 3 days of racing. So much for the peace. I think the series was called the TC 2000. Not quite F1, more like F3 and various other types of racing with cars like Porsche's and Ferrari's.

The beaches there were beautiful and the sunsets amazing over the harbour. Uruguay is a truely beatuful country along the coast. It's quite a bit more expensive than Argentina however so we were spending a lot more. One large bonus in the hostel was that they didn't seem to mind you taking your own beer and rum to the bar. Exactly how they make money in that bar I will never know. I never really saw more than 4 or 5 drinks bought there in 3 nights and the hostel was very busy.

The first day at the beach was not too bad until the roar of the street racing started. At this point I decided day 2 would be spent at a beach out of town. There was a "bikini" beach which is where the famous folk like Shakira tended to go. That'd do. Off we headed for it on a local bus. Only one problem. I actually had little clue as to where it was, only which bus to take. About 45 minutes later it became completely apparent that we had gone to far but the beach there was great. Only the weather wasn't but it was brilliant for watching the kite surfing. What a speed they go at. That evening we bumped into "football" Dave again. Apparently he had just recovered from the christmas night out so we embarked on a few more beers that evening in the hostel bar taking us to the back of six. We agreed to meet up again in a few hours after some sleep. Boca were playing AC Milan and the Utd were playing Liverpool. Dave never quite made the first game, an enthrawling 4-2 win for Milan. Still, he saw the dull 1-0 win for Utd and that's the one that counted after all.

We'd definately have been better off at the car racing I think!

Well, so much for the peace and quiet. We spent 1 more day in Punta in the vain hope the wind would calm down a little. It was still in the 30's but the wind was actually making it cold, not by Scotland standards however.

To finish our trip in Uruguay we decided a trip to Montevideo would be needed. It is the capital and is also on the southern coast. To be honest this place has been the most dissappointing of our trip. The city doesn't actually have much to offer in terms of points of interest. We've walked around quite a bit in that way we do but it feels a little uneasy. On the plus side we found a large indoor food market which cooks up your dinner in front of you. There are hoards of people touting for your business but we settled for the area where the old men were after all they were bound to know best. And they did.

Tomorrow morning we head for Buenos Aires for two weeks over the festive period. At last we are booked into a double room again. It'll be bliss not having to share with smelly travellers once more. I'd have a rant about it but I fear sounding like Victor Meldrew and that's not something I want.

The tenth of December, a little over 2 weeks to christmas. Ali and I decided that a short trip to Uruguay was in order. The websites and books all question why more people who travel this part of the world don`t go. Heck, we're going and first stop is Colonia de Sacramento, a small port town in the far south west of the country.

The trip started with a 50 minute trip across the sea from Bs As on a super fast ferry. It was pretty cool and a change from the long bus rides although they have become part and parcel of getting from A to B by now. 12 hours by coach doesn't phase us at all. We decided to stay in El Viajaro Suites Hostel as it sounded pretty good. Sure enough when we arrived it lived up to the expectations and fortunately the first night in the dorm was just Ali and I which is always a bonus. We took a wonder around the town and went to the highly recommended "El Drugstore" for dinner. A craving for chinese food was fixed albeit I've never had peas and potatoes at the side of my sweet & sour before!! Two for the price of one though as that was my 5 a day fruit and veg in a oner. Most unusual in Argentina I tell you.

On the second day we took a further walk about town. It's probably only got a population of circa 22k but it still covers quite a large area. In the end we walked the far length of the town up the coast and along the beaches to the bull ring. I've never seen a bull fight and I was pretty curious although I very much doubt Ali would have gone in even if it didn't turn out to be closed. Yep, closed for years not just for the day damn it. We met some gaucho type guy there and after we took some pictures of his horses he tried to get us to go riding with him. I had planned to go horse riding anyway but somehow this didn't seem the right time. I'd just pay the extra few quid and do it via the hostels I thought. Plus he didn't have any saddles and I hear it can be pretty uncomfortable at best.

When we got back to the hostel after dinner we met Dave. Actually Ali had met him earlier I think. Anyway, Dave was travelling by himself for 4 months ish and trying to take in a football match at every premier ground in Argentina. The season is over at the moment so he too was taking a much needed bit of quiet time in Uruguay. I spent most of the rest of that evening talking with him about football. What a trip. I imagine 90% of men would love to do that.

Obviously in order to have some quality peace and quiet I needed to hire one of the beach buggies I had seen parked by the restaurant the day before. I told myself I could teach Ali to drive a little, even just steer with confidence. I'd seen some quiet places. In no time at all we had a red buggy. Anyone who knows anything about cars will know red one's are the fastest. We'd been anway for about 8 weeks at this point and I felt I had it in me to successfully drive on the left, er I mean right hand side of the road.

We motored for about 45 minutes up the main coastal road to the west but seemed to be getting nowhere in terms of finding another town so we decided to head back given I had no idea where petrol stations were situated and I had battered through almost half a tank. The buggy comfortably sat at 50kmph but on a good downhill you could stretch her to 60. That equates to eating a heck of a lot of bugs by the way. By now I was definately getting well used to driving but Ali still didn't want a shot. Shock horror. After lunch we headed in the opposite direction and before long we found the most beautifully idylic beach. You could see for miles and only one small family were there so we lay about for a while. The father upon seeing us arrive tried to get us to take the buggy onto the beach for a "spin". Fortunately I had actually read the t&c's of the hire over lunch and #8 quite clearly stated that the beach buggy was not to be driven on sand so being the mature sort of guy I am I actually obided by the rules for a change.

Ice cream time was now upon us so I drove back into town. Here came my first and only time of driving on the wrong side of the road - pulling out at the junction. It only lasted about 3 seconds but it felt like a lifetime as the police waved at me. I pulled down a side street, then another, parked up and we took ourselves to get that ice cream. Close call, but the reality is the friendly police here were only saying hello.

Back at the hostel the room filled up with Keith (unsurprisingly from Cork), Sonny and Alex. I had met Sonny on a few occassions around Iguazu before, usually drunk. It turned out Sonny and Dave lived quite close back home. After a few lagers I decided that since I was going to cook that night anyway I would make dinner for us all. There was an asado out the back in the courtyard and I had now been to a few so I thought I pretty much new what I was doing, much like I've seen Gordon Ramsay on the tele so I could work in Claridge's. A few of the lads trundled down to the supermercado for steak and some other asado food, onions, peppers and the likes. It wasn't long before I got it going, albeit I had some help from the hostel manager. I can't even remember his name but he plays centre for Uruguay in the rugger. Naturally he seemed pretty big.

A few hours passed and the meal had been a massive success. A few girls from Sweden had joined us but they were drinking tea. We were now all decided that this was a full blown christmas night out since none of us would have a work one at home. The beer, wine and rum were in full flow. In South America it is pretty normal to not head out until 2 or 3am so we did just that. We found a pub with some locals and settled down. Keith joined in with some local traditions, Dave spoke Spanish to a couple of the dogs outside and I tried my hand at pool with some guy from Columbia. A great night out only marred by getting lost and having to get a map in a petrol station on the way home. Still, we had made some good friends along the way.

Well, this is a pretty random entry. It's circa 5am and I woke up with the need to write something. Hopefully my clothes are on the right way around as people are beginning to come in from clubbing and I am sat at the front door.

I've decided to write my top 5 things about travelling so far. Come Peru they may have changed, maybe not.

5. Food. Some of you may or may have not noticed my increasing gut size. I truely love my food, yep, not kidding. Every place we go there is a new place to try, a new local dish, a regional speciality. Going out at home will never be the same. It's got slightly more expensive here in Uruguay but the quality is amazing. Cordoba has been my favourite so far but it would be nigh on impossible to name my favourite dishes.

4. Weather. Personally I can't believe I am only putting this at 4. I reckon it's been 8 weeks ish since we left the UK and we've had around 4 or 5 UK type days. Why do we put up with it? 30 to 40 every day, eating our meals outside if we want, a lovely tan ...... Life is definately different here.

3. New places. Where do I start. Rio, Ilha Grande, Paraty, Iguazu, Cordoba, La Cumbre, Colonia, Punta del Este. It strikes me now that we don't try enough new places in our lifetime. Take a week or two, try something new, you'll love it probably. I can hardly wait to go to some places on our list ... Bs As, Patagonia, Atacama dessert, Andes, Inca Trail ......

2. People. Without people where would we be. We've met some right interesting folk you know. Mind you we've met a few right wierd one's too. One's I should mention for the right reasons (sorry if I forget, edit is great) ...... Lorna, Claudia, Laura, Debra, Rob, Rodrigo, Paola, Dave, Keith. I love meeting new people and this trip has definately been an experience for that.

1. Ali. Wow. I knew when Ali and I decided to travel it would be pretty amazing but I never realised quite how good it would be. Sometimes you take things for granted. I'd like to think I don't but I probably do. Ali has been the best travel patrtner you could dream of. She's there when I need her, she's bloody hillariosly funny, sometimes without knowing it, a great listner and talker, up for an adventure and above all my wife. I'm a lucky chap indeed.

Well that's enough for now. I need my sleep I think.