I was just talking with my good friend Benjamin Valenta, and decided to catch up on my postings so my friends can keep up.
We arrived in Buenos Aires with the intentions of heading to Uruguay for the weekend, and being back in time for the Boca Juniors game on Sunday. We did foresee the implications of being in a predominantly Catholic country on Easter weekend, CRAZY. We headed for the ferry terminal, only to wait in line to find out all the ferries were full. With nothing else to do, we headed for the bridge up the river even though we were told that most of the border crossings have been closed. It took us a while to figure out how to get out of the city and head north. Having done so, we encountered more Easter dilemmas when we sat in bumper to bumper traffic for over an hour. We made it to the first bridge around 4 hours later, only to find that sure enough it was closed. We could not give up. We headed another hour and a half north and finally found a crossing that was open. We crossed into Uruguay thinking the problems were behind us. Apparently Uruguay is quite the getaway for Argentines on Easter weekend. It had a feel much like the 4th back home, people camping, barbecuing and hanging around the town. We found one of the last beds in town at a home stay. We are still not sure but we think the ladies name was Diva (spoke so fast we could only catch every 5th word). We still wanted to see the main attractions of Uruguay, even though we had killed a day getting there. So we picked Colonia over Montevideo and headed out early in the morning. About an hour in we stopped for a hitchhiker wearing a top hat, and she got in with her friend who had an accordion. 
They were two friends from Quebec (French speaking Canadians) who were heading to Montevideo. They enlightened us to the reasons for the borders being closed, paper. The reason we had to drive so far was PAPER. There is a paper mill on the Uruguayan side that is polluting the river, and the Argentinians have responded by closing the borders. Anyway, we dropped the Canadians off at the junction (we think we were heading the right way, the signs can be very helpful),
and headed for Colonia, on the way stopping to cheer on the cyclists as they raced by.
It is a great relic of colonial architecture and a very laid back atmosphere.
We ate some Chivito, (traditional Uruguayan food, a pile of french fries, topped with a thin steak, ham, cheese and a fried egg. Cholesterol here we come!) and enjoyed the evening showers.
The next day we headed up the coast to Carmelo. There is a old Jesuit church in ruins outside of town. The church was closed and used as a orphanage for some time, before it was abandoned.
Afterwards we headed back to Salto and stayed at Diva´s house again. We headed back to Argentina the next morning and had paper get us again, this time a ticket for not having the proper insurance papers in the car. While Laura stayed with the cop as ransom, I went back to the nearest town to get money out of the ATM to pay the fine. With the ticket delay (and getting lost entering Buenos Aires) we were not able to get to the futbol game. Going to stay in Buenos Aires for a week and take more Spanish classes, and then the parents are coming for a visit on Saturday! Would it be lame to say I miss my Mommy and Daddy.
We arrived in Buenos Aires with the intentions of heading to Uruguay for the weekend, and being back in time for the Boca Juniors game on Sunday. We did foresee the implications of being in a predominantly Catholic country on Easter weekend, CRAZY. We headed for the ferry terminal, only to wait in line to find out all the ferries were full. With nothing else to do, we headed for the bridge up the river even though we were told that most of the border crossings have been closed. It took us a while to figure out how to get out of the city and head north. Having done so, we encountered more Easter dilemmas when we sat in bumper to bumper traffic for over an hour. We made it to the first bridge around 4 hours later, only to find that sure enough it was closed. We could not give up. We headed another hour and a half north and finally found a crossing that was open. We crossed into Uruguay thinking the problems were behind us. Apparently Uruguay is quite the getaway for Argentines on Easter weekend. It had a feel much like the 4th back home, people camping, barbecuing and hanging around the town. We found one of the last beds in town at a home stay. We are still not sure but we think the ladies name was Diva (spoke so fast we could only catch every 5th word). We still wanted to see the main attractions of Uruguay, even though we had killed a day getting there. So we picked Colonia over Montevideo and headed out early in the morning. About an hour in we stopped for a hitchhiker wearing a top hat, and she got in with her friend who had an accordion. 
They were two friends from Quebec (French speaking Canadians) who were heading to Montevideo. They enlightened us to the reasons for the borders being closed, paper. The reason we had to drive so far was PAPER. There is a paper mill on the Uruguayan side that is polluting the river, and the Argentinians have responded by closing the borders. Anyway, we dropped the Canadians off at the junction (we think we were heading the right way, the signs can be very helpful),
and headed for Colonia, on the way stopping to cheer on the cyclists as they raced by.
It is a great relic of colonial architecture and a very laid back atmosphere.
We ate some Chivito, (traditional Uruguayan food, a pile of french fries, topped with a thin steak, ham, cheese and a fried egg. Cholesterol here we come!) and enjoyed the evening showers.
The next day we headed up the coast to Carmelo. There is a old Jesuit church in ruins outside of town. The church was closed and used as a orphanage for some time, before it was abandoned.
Afterwards we headed back to Salto and stayed at Diva´s house again. We headed back to Argentina the next morning and had paper get us again, this time a ticket for not having the proper insurance papers in the car. While Laura stayed with the cop as ransom, I went back to the nearest town to get money out of the ATM to pay the fine. With the ticket delay (and getting lost entering Buenos Aires) we were not able to get to the futbol game. Going to stay in Buenos Aires for a week and take more Spanish classes, and then the parents are coming for a visit on Saturday! Would it be lame to say I miss my Mommy and Daddy.
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