90 Days = A Trip to Uruguay

In order to remain in Argentina without a penalty, every 90 days American citizens must leave the country. This Saturday marked day 85 for me & Cutter, so we hopped on a boat for a last-minute weekend in Colonia, Uruguay.

Once again, we were graced with a BEAUTIFUL spring weekend. I've realized that we're really lucky to be here and doing a little traveling now, before the weather gets hot and the tourist season kicks off in Dec-Feb.

Anyhoo, I was again skeptical about Colonia, cause it kind of sounded like it would be a big tourist trap, but HOT DANG, my low expectations proved me wrong again!! It was just swell.  We just got back actually, and Cutter is on the beanbag watching Enchanted (the princess movie) dubbed in Spanish. Life aint so bad.

The cuisine in Western Uruguay is quite a bit like it is Buenos Aires, as it turns out. EXCEPT they have THIS little specialty: chivito. The layers: 1) fries, 2) lomo (thin steak), 3) cheese, 4) ham, 5) bacon, 6) fried egg. And a glass of juice. Hits the spot.

We are going to build one of these at our house someday.

Cutter scares a child.

Basically, Colonia is one sickeningly cute place. It's a peninsula on the river with an oceany feeling, with Portuguese roots, and South American charm.  Full of lovely trees, flowers, cobblestone streets, great bars and restaurants, and views of the coast in every direction. Here, we are on our way to have a glass of wine and catch the sunset.

Afterward, wine and cheese for dinner at this little tasting place in an old stone house.  "Lunch for 2 / Appetizers for 4" consisted of more cheese than I could have ever imagined eating in my life. 

Here's a crappy picture of our little table nook at this very charming place.

If you're ever in the neighborhood, go check out Colonia! Especially in the springtime.  Be prepared to do very little, except eat chivitos, have drinks on the water, watch the tourists go by on their way to the many little museums, and take naps on the rocks on the shore. Yes!!

So, that's the last post for now. Just a little update on our mini-vacations from Buenos Aires. We have about 2 months left here, and are still hoping to do a long weekend in Mendoza or Salta, and one big trip at the end to Patagonia.  In the meantime, we're still workin, studyin, and hanging out in this great big city. We have a nice little crowd of (English-speaking) buddies, and some new native friends, so Cutter and I don't have to only talk to each other. (phew.) Happy autumn to all of you in los estados unidos! Eat some apple pies for us.
xoxoxo
signing off,
e

Tigre means Tiger

With great excitement, we took our first day-trip a few weekends ago with our roommates, Aimee & Chris, to Tigre, a small town on the edge of the Paraná Delta. (Total length: 200 miles of watery, islandy mazes!) Tigre means tiger, of which there are none, and never were any, here. There were, however, jaguars, which they called tigers, and named this town after. Aimee, Chris, Cutter, and I skipped the town and hopped straight on a boat into the Delta.

It was the first weekend of spring, and what a beautiful weekend it was. Feliz Primavera! Look at that beautiful brown water!! Actually, after 2 months in Buenos Aires, this was quite nice.

Peaaaazzzz

Cutter is pumped. The water is splashing, the sun is shining...

Just look at those azealeas. We disembarked a good ways in at the island of Rama Negra. Here, we began our hike to Alpenhaus, the German restaurant in the middle of the Argentine Delta. Of course.

One of the best parts of the Delta is the dogs. Just chillin with a beer on the dock. Walking around on bridges, takin' a swim, visiting other islands and dog friends, generally frolicking.

There are many strange pads in the Detla. Here is a cool one. Nice gazebo!

We arrive just in time for lunch at Alpenhaus. Give me schnitzel!!!

Sun + German Beer + Large Sampler Platter of German sausages, potato salad, pickles, cheeses, etc. = ... this unflattering picture of Cutter and Aimee having a GREAT time. 

Top it all off with apfel strudel.

After an extended lunch, we continued our wanderings on Rama Negra. Oh glorious flowers!

Muy romantico.

Our best dog friend leading the way across the Kissing Bridge.

Nearly 6... the next boat-bus is on its way to pick us up.

But not before we select this house to purchase.

Not this one.

The boat ride back to Tigre. A splendid day! And a great respite from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Up next: COLONIA, URUGUAY!

Iguazu Falls: A funny thing happened on the way to the waterfalls...

Hello friends! Tomorrow and Tuesday are the final exams in my Spanish class, so instead of studying I decided that tonight would be the best time to catch up on the 'ol blog. I'm far, far behind, so here's what will happen: three blasts of our three weekend trips. The first: IGUAZU FALLS!!!

We began our journey with a lovely 20-hour Friday bus ride, which included: free whiskey (pictured here),  dinner (ham&cheese sandwich, sweet ham&cheese rollup, and chicken stuffed with ham&cheese), inflight movies, wine, a smelly bathroom, semi-reclining chairs, and other amenities. A mere 24 hours after we departed our house...

We're here! After checking into our bedbug infested hostel room (we switched), we spent all day Sunday at the Parque Nacional de Iguazu. Cutter enters the jungle.

This cute little critter is called a coatí.

Awwww

Ahhhh! You may have been alarmed by Cutter's white upper- thighs, but that's not what this coatí is after.  No ham&cheese sandwiches for YOU!

They post this sign after you pass all the coatís.

Moving on... We descended into the jungle, and what did we find...???

Yes, waterfalls! Iguazu comes from the Guarai or Tupi words for "big" and "water." Ohhh.  Other facts: Up to 300 waterfalls flow from this puppy at one time. Iguazu is in the northeast corner of Argentina, on the border of Brasil and Paraguay.  In summary, there are a lot of big waterfalls here at Iguazu.

This is our friend Daniel. Hi, Daniel. This is a view from our walk along the Lower Circuit.

A trip to Iguazu would not be complete without a boat ride INTO the waterfalls.

I left out the picture afterwards where we are very, very wet, and very, very not tan.

A view from the Upper Circuit. 

Look at the teeny people! (And the rainbow!) Good photo, Daniel.

Moving along, we took a really long, hot walk, during which we spotted some capibara and were attacked by butterflies. But at the end of a closed off trail, we got to swim here!

Last but not least, we rode a little train up to a hike to the top of the Devil's Throat, or Gargantua. It bastically looks like the world... fell off. Photos really don't do any of this justice...

Some girl. And GARGANTUAAAAA!!!

We thought it was funny when we saw a rainbow on the map of at Gargantua, but there actually is a big, huge rainbow. All the time.  Whoa.

And that about wraps it up, in a nutshell. We headed back Monday afternoon on a much smoother, slightly shorter bus ride home. Here's  me and my complimentary plastic glass of champagne, which was served between the 2nd and 3rd Nicolas Cage movie.

I have to say I was a little skeptical about visiting this super-tourist sight, but it was super-worth-it. I forgot to mention that we also saw monkeys, spiders, cool birds, and plants and stuff. Added bonuses to the amazing natural wonder that are the falls. Top that with a beautiful, toasty spring weekend, and you've got a pretty nice trip.

Iguazu: CHECK! Up next... Tigre.