Once again we´ve taken way to long to update the blog, so you might want to get a Timmy Ho´s coffee before sitting down to catch up on our journeys.
Punta del Diablo feels like a lifetime ago. It was an excellent few weeks in which we hung out at the beach day in, day out. Our routine was simple--
*Wake Up *Eat a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and drink packeted cappaccinos while lying on the hammock *Apply way too much sunscreen and head to the beach at around noon *Lie down *Play stick ball (a brazillian game with paddles much like ping pong rackets,but bigger .. and a racket ball) *Jump into the warm ocean and play in the waves *Lie down some more. Maybe even fall sleep and burn a teensy bit .. *Leave the beach at 5pm *Hunt for food at the market, go to the bungalow* cook it* Kevin snacks on candy before dinner * eat it * Kevin snacks on candy some more which hurts his belly after having that litre beer with dinner*share a few bottles of wine* play cards or watch a movie* go to bed.
*Wake up and repeat
On one fatefull day, our routine was disturbed by an American couple. Johnny and April of Miami, Florida. Ages 40 & 49. We felt like having a lazy day so we decided not to cook and Kevin wanted to go out to the local pizza pub. While we were there Johnny started chatting up a storm and wanted to buy us another round of beers. He suddenly became Kevin´s best friend. So for the next 2 nights we´d go out, get drunk, and be merry.
Punta del Diablo feels like a lifetime ago. It was an excellent few weeks in which we hung out at the beach day in, day out. Our routine was simple--
*Wake Up *Eat a grilled ham and cheese sandwich and drink packeted cappaccinos while lying on the hammock *Apply way too much sunscreen and head to the beach at around noon *Lie down *Play stick ball (a brazillian game with paddles much like ping pong rackets,but bigger .. and a racket ball) *Jump into the warm ocean and play in the waves *Lie down some more. Maybe even fall sleep and burn a teensy bit .. *Leave the beach at 5pm *Hunt for food at the market, go to the bungalow* cook it* Kevin snacks on candy before dinner * eat it * Kevin snacks on candy some more which hurts his belly after having that litre beer with dinner*share a few bottles of wine* play cards or watch a movie* go to bed.
*Wake up and repeat
On one fatefull day, our routine was disturbed by an American couple. Johnny and April of Miami, Florida. Ages 40 & 49. We felt like having a lazy day so we decided not to cook and Kevin wanted to go out to the local pizza pub. While we were there Johnny started chatting up a storm and wanted to buy us another round of beers. He suddenly became Kevin´s best friend. So for the next 2 nights we´d go out, get drunk, and be merry.
One evening Kevin offered to do the dishes. How nice. Wet sponges give Kevin the willy´s so he stragically picked up the sponge between his forefinger and his thumb. Luckily he did so because a teensy tiny scorpian had crawled up the pipes and had made the sponge its new home. Thanks to Indiana Jones, we all know that the tiny ones are the most poisonous. But of course, that doesnt stop Kevin from playing with it until it scurried back down into the drain.
So to help give an idea of how small Punta Del Diablo actually is, we must tell you that there are no ATM´s or banks. The closest place to get money is Chuy, a border town 45min away. We each only had about $100 pesos left ($4USD) so we hopped on a bus for $30 pesos each and headed into town. Its a hole in the ground but kinda cool because it borders Brazil, so one side of the town is Uruguay and one is Brasil. Everything on the Brazil side is priced in Reals and everything in Uruguay is priced in Pesos. Its like that Simpsons episode. Brazil - Uruguay, Brazil - Uruguay.
So to help give an idea of how small Punta Del Diablo actually is, we must tell you that there are no ATM´s or banks. The closest place to get money is Chuy, a border town 45min away. We each only had about $100 pesos left ($4USD) so we hopped on a bus for $30 pesos each and headed into town. Its a hole in the ground but kinda cool because it borders Brazil, so one side of the town is Uruguay and one is Brasil. Everything on the Brazil side is priced in Reals and everything in Uruguay is priced in Pesos. Its like that Simpsons episode. Brazil - Uruguay, Brazil - Uruguay.
One day we felt very adventurous so we decided to hike to Uruguay´s only National Park. Kevin was super excited because there was Fort there, available for touring. So we packed up, got directions from our hostel keeper, and prepared for our 2.5 hour hike. 3.5 hours later we reached our destination. It was well worth the effort.
After Punta del Diablo we went to Montevideo for a day. It is the oldest city in Uruguay and the architecture reflects this. There are tons of antiques to buy for super cheap so we spent some time wandering the markets and antiqueing.
There´s really not much to say about Uruguay. We really enjoyed it. The people were nice, the weather was great and it was a wonderful change from the wet weather in Brazil. We didnt see any tourist attractions, we just kinda lazed around on the beach. So it was terrific for us, just not so interesting for you to read about. Sorry for the dissapointment. But look out, this next bit is a doozy.
After a 2.5 hour ferry ride from Motevideo, we arrive in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It´s Christmas eve and smoking hot. We arrive at our hostel and it is terrible. No air con so the room is actually hotter than outside because there are no windows. And for some strange reason there seems to be a water leak so it feels like a steam room. But hey, it´s Christmas Eve, time to be merry right? Lisa has some friends (Geordon and Marylin Rendle) in BA that attend an English speaking church and they invited us to join us for a candle light service. To get there, we must take an old rickey train at a run down station. Bus terminals and train stations are always dingy, but this one was a little scarier. We got into the first cabin and take a seat. A smelly degenerate teenager walks by but eyes Lisa up like none other. Yes, she looked cute in her little white dress ... but still it was a bit much. We have to add also, that the train had about 4 other passengers on the entire thing at this point. After a few minutes, the degenerate comes back and plops down right next to Kevin and directly in front of Lisa. Never taking his eyes off her for a second, he takes the knife (not a butchers knife, but not quite a swiss army knife either) from under his sleeve and starts stabbing at his water bottle. She is super uncomfortable but doesnt want to get up and leave for fear that he might get offended and then do something awful. So she sits there, smiles politely and says Hola! , but not a sign of emotion ... not even a blink. His eyes were fixed. Kevin takes her hand and they quickly get up and walk to the other end of the train. After that, no sign of the degenerate and they made it to church on time. After visiting with the Rendle Family, its 11pm and following the Argentinean culture, it´s time for dinner. The 2 of us found a cute little Chinese Food buffet next to our hostel that was bursting at the seams with locals. As 1159 struck the clock, the everyone started getting anxious for the Christmas Eve countdown. Midnight was the best minute ever. Everyone was hugging and yelling ¨Feliz Navidad¨ while Lisa caught herself yelling Happy New Year. (Oops) The cooks came out and hugged and kissed Kevin while the owner came out to deliver free sparkling wine to everyone! Since when does South America give stuff away for free? ´Tis the season I suppose.
When we got back to the hostel we decorated for Christmas. Found some stockings (aka our hiking socks) and made a tree out of branches and Lisa´s dangly earrings.
On Christmas morning Lisa, keeping up with Sadler Tradition, read the Christmas Story from the Bible before opening gifts Santa brought. There was no turkey, but we found a nice restaurant and a couple bottles of wine and had a nice evening, just the two of us.
Buenos Aires is known for tango. So we got a touristic packaged deal on boxing day for a night on the town including a tango lesson, followed by a wonderful 4 course meal with all you can drink wine, (of which we took full advantage) and lastly a spectacular tango performance.
December 27th. Lisa turns 23. We take the train out to a smaller suberb of the city called Tigre and explore the infamous Buenos Aires Fruit Market. I dont think any actual fruit was sold, but there were lots of handy-crafts and home decor items. It was a lot like Ikea. Come to think of it, Ikea products are probably all bought here. Don´t be fooled with the Swedish lie. For dinner, we got dresssed up and went out for another nice meal. Kevin suprised Lisa with asking the waiter to bring over a piece of cake with a candle in it. Because after all, you can´t have a birthday without a birthday cake. Afterwards, the waiter hooked us up with some fee birthday shots. Mmm.
STAY TUNED, THE REAL EXCITMENT BEGINS WHEN 3/5´S OF THE HATTON FAMILY ARRIVES TOMMORROW.
Buenos Aires is known for tango. So we got a touristic packaged deal on boxing day for a night on the town including a tango lesson, followed by a wonderful 4 course meal with all you can drink wine, (of which we took full advantage) and lastly a spectacular tango performance.
December 27th. Lisa turns 23. We take the train out to a smaller suberb of the city called Tigre and explore the infamous Buenos Aires Fruit Market. I dont think any actual fruit was sold, but there were lots of handy-crafts and home decor items. It was a lot like Ikea. Come to think of it, Ikea products are probably all bought here. Don´t be fooled with the Swedish lie. For dinner, we got dresssed up and went out for another nice meal. Kevin suprised Lisa with asking the waiter to bring over a piece of cake with a candle in it. Because after all, you can´t have a birthday without a birthday cake. Afterwards, the waiter hooked us up with some fee birthday shots. Mmm.
STAY TUNED, THE REAL EXCITMENT BEGINS WHEN 3/5´S OF THE HATTON FAMILY ARRIVES TOMMORROW.
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