URUGUAY…..U Need To Visit, Then Head to Iguazu Falls

We took a 90 minute ferry ride from Buenos Aires on the River Plate to Uruguay, located on the southeastern coast of South America. It is the second smallest country on the continent. There are 3.5 million citizens and probably more sheep/ cows/ bulls than people.

We stay for one night in the charming “colonial” city of Colonia del Sacramento.

This is the oldest city in Uruguay and the noisy Parakeets in Plaza Major don’t disappoint.

The other nice surprise was the restaurants give a 10% discount if you use a credit card. This is the opposite of Argentina where there is an up charge of 10% if you pay by card.

The prices in Uruguay seem to be higher than the other countries so the discount on meals was nice.

We left early for a day of bus riding. About 8 hours through Montevideo to Tacuarembo on to our next great adventure. For the next three days we would be real life “gauchos” on an Estancia.

All of my fellow travellers saddled up horses and helped with chores on the farm. They herded cattle and sheep. One highlight was helping the farmer with sending the cows through the anti-tick pool.

I didn’t get on a horse but enjoyed my stay resting and reading on the veranda. Watching the pigs come by to see if we dropped any food at lunch.

Part of the experience was having three really good meals a day, taking quick showers, using water from a bucket to flush and only having 3 hours of electricity each evening from a generator.

We could buy wine and beer and we had great appetisers of salami, cheese and sausage.

The writing on the wall says it all—all fuel was wood.

This was one of the best and unique experiences that I have had in my travels—and most of the time I was watching.

We left our Groucho experience and after an overnight bus trip (buses are quite nice with little curtains that separate you from the person beside you) we arrived (like Dorothy) at the Iguazu Falls.

There is no way to describe the size and depth of this natural wonder. We flipped from the Argentina side to the Brazil side and permitted our minds to enjoy the sights and sounds for two days.

The Brazil side is larger but Argentina is no slouch.

We walked along trails and pathways. Some took a helicopter and everyone but me got on the crazy boat that got you close and personal and soaking wet.