September 27th
Day 13

Today was our last whole day in Uruguay. Tomorrow morning we ferry to Buenos Aires, Argentina. Our last few days in the country were spent in a tiny horse ranch just outside of a town called Rocha, and in the picturesque town of Colonia del Sacramento.
I don't know how on both of our big trips I've had "interesting" expiriences with riding animals. In Laos, southeast asia, the elephant I was riding decided to take off through the jungle after being frighented by the noises of a car in the distance. And Although we had excellent hosts at the ranch we stayed at, and superbly trained animals, I still managed to almost get bucked off my horse after it was bitten by another one, during a ride up the mountainside. Other then that small, startling moment, everything was perfect. The people who owned the facility were two down to earth, dread lock wearing, vegetarian gaucho's.

We stayed in a beautiful little house with a grass roof and walls made of old car tires, mud and straw. The horses roamed around freely through the many acres of land, along with many dogs, skunks and lizards.

We spent all of today walking around the small 1700's looking town of Colonia del Sacramento. The architecture here looks as though it was taken from a picture book, with brightly colored houses and stone roads. I'll be a sad to leave Uruguay tomorrow, but I can't wait to see everything that Argentina will hold.

September 24
day 10

I find it quite amazing how much I take for granted, coming from Canada, where we have almost unlimited resources and dont think about how lucky we are. I found myself having some kind of a revelation walking through the small dirt paths of punta del diablo, carrying a six liter jug of potable water. surrounded by houses that would probably be a little over two times the size of my bedroom at home, with grass roofs and walls made of mud and straw. It's odd to think back to telling my mom that I have "no clothes" to wear to school, when there are kitchens here the size of my closet.

We've been staying in hostels in two different fishing villages since we left Montevideo. One of them being Punta del diablo, where we hiked in the forests and along the beaches in the rain. Spotting whales splashing around a short way from the shore, and parrots flying right above our heads. I'm writing from cabo polonio, an even smaller, more rustic village in which the only way to enter or exit is by taking a half hour jeep ride to get through the rough sand dunes. While walking along the beaches its not a scarce sight to see washed up sea lions or penguins, levi was beyond excided to take many picture for his class. We have no electricity here, and having a hot shower requires turning on a gas tank and lighting right behind the shower head with a lighter. I preferred a ice cold shower to the pungent smells of gasoline. WiFi is also not heard of in the entire town, so I'll be posting whenever I find the next connection.

'Winter' is just ending in Uruguay, which I find hard to believe in the twenty degree weather. Colby and I got many odd looks being the only people in the ocean when everyone else was wearing winter jackets and scarfs.
I suppose the temperature will be getting warmer and warmer and although I'm hoping to return to Canada with an amazing tan, I am already beginning to miss the snow.

September 19
Day 5
I'm currently writing from a bus, heading to a small village called punta del diablo. Up until now we've been in The overpopulated city of Montevideo, which houses half of Uruguay's three million people. Although the architecture was beautiful, and the people welcoming and hospitable, I can't say I'm too sad to move on. The primary reason for this was being scared for my life at every intersection. There were none too many traffic laws in the city, and it seemed pedestrians were considered as 'afterthoughts'. I believe I saw 4 or 5 traffic lights in the four days we spent there, and the many kilometres we walked. At first I wasn't quite sure how anyone could ever cross those roads safely, and by watching the locals that was confirmed, nobody does. They simply look in the way traffic is coming, and leisurely stroll across the street in between oncoming cars, avoiding being hit by no more then a few centimetres . My family stuck out like a sore thumb, running when cars approached us, traveling at speeds that would be much past the speed limits, had there been any.

The sidewalks were a different hazard entirely. The pathways were made up of many different tiles, some very beautiful, all very dangerous. Every few steps there would be either a broken tile or one that was missing, which made for many holes in the ground or small ledges that were amazingly easy to trip on. I thought it was very ironic that the city with the worst sidewalks, was also the one with the most high heels. From what I've seen so far, the ladies in Uruguay wear no makeup and their natural hair but very tight outfits, and remarkably high heels. I've begun to question my femininity, when I resemble a duck walking in two inch platforms, and the women here navigate the rough terrain in six inch heels.

Although my parents had warned me before leaving, I wasn't quite aware of how rare blue eyed, blonde haired, fair skinned girls were in this part of the world (other then on billboards).  Colby and I have begun to distinguish a flattering gaze from an unsettling one. I think I've seen two other people who could have been naturally blonde so far, and unless I decide to dye my hair, I doubt I'll stop sticking out so much.

Even though Montevideo proved to be slightly stressful and overwhelming at times, it was all in all a great start to our adventure. The people there embraced us, and we received many helpful hands from the locals. At one point when we were totally lost after being given two addresses to our youth hostel (both wrong), a man walked around with us to find it for almost an hour. My dad referred to him as our angel, and he was delighted to let us know that it was actually his second name.

So far it's been a great trip, not without complications... But those are what make some of the best stories.