Sore knees and bonzai trees

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plains; and in Argenitina, it falls on our heads! At least for only 1 day and now it´s over and we can get on with things. Like walking a gazillion...yes, a gazillion kilometers. I think we walked more yesterday than the boers did making their way to the Vaal.
Pallermo and Recolletta. That´s where we conquered the sidewalks. From Museums that wouldn´t let us in, to others where we couldn´t find our way out! From Evita´s tomb to the Japanese gardens where I had to beg for change so we could get on the bus home ( the bus conductor doesn´t want my paper money) to a smoothie place run by a John Cleese look-a-like. A pretty good day I´d say. We tried to take pictures of cars in the car museum, but they had employed someone from the Gestapo who threatened to call the president of Argentina if I didn´t put my camera away! I´m assuming that´s what she was trying to say. Something about a telephone. I googled a pic of Argies president and she´s a good looking older woman so maybe I should have kept my camera rolling!

We are doing the tourist thing and we´re having a blast. I am loving busses and now, I´m loving ferries too. I´m not going to bore you with details but we´re done with Buenos Aires for now and soaked up the sounds and smells...oh yes, and the sights, and not slept nearly enough and now it´s time to go! We wil be back though....we will be back. That 750g steak needs to be tamed and I know a guy....

So this morning we were up really early (not hard when the local municipal dude cleans the gutters with his leaf blower at 6am) and we poured a huge breakfast down our gullets in 7 minutes flat and then got a taxi to the ferry station to cross over the Rio de la Plata in to Uruguay. Taxi drivers are on a death wish I tell you and they tried to take us along with them this moring. Good grief! Then, when we were off loaded at the port with what felt like 48 bags, we realised we didn´t have Laura´s camera bag. I THROW down by bags, and start sprinting up the road, in rush hour traffic, waving my arms like a crazy person, shouting and grunting and trying to stop the taxi. He stopped and I tried to motion to him to open the boot. He pulled over and opened the boot. Empty!! About 429 thoughts are running through my head. Not 1 makes sense and we start to have a mini English freakout on the pavement with the locals looking at the bonkers bus-lovers, wondering how we could possibly host a World Cup if we can´t even look after a bag! We were in dispair.
Then, the taxi pulls up next to us, Magnum PI has a big smile on face and lifts up...LAURA´s CAMERA BAG!!! I said thank you about 56 times, promised to name all my children after him and tattoo his mothers name on my forehead, I was so happy. Now....off to customs.....the fun hadn´t even started yet!!! Now; if you need to unpack the entire contents of your bag all over the counter in full view of the rest of South America, at least have someone who knows what they´re looking for, search the bag. Mr Bean also rocked up and he reconned that if he can make me put my bag throught the x-ray machine 99 times, he´d have a rip roaring story to tell his friends at the braai on Friday night. And so it began. The word ´victorionox´was thrown around alot and I assumed they thought I had a knife packed in with my delicates. I did not. But, when everything is unpacked and they can´t find anything, they must obviously assume I´m trying to hide something I shouldn´t and the next policeman arrives. 3 men and and that lady from Cheers were trying to find out what could be in my bag that I could use to take over their country. After all. backpackers can´t be trusted. ´´Plancha!!´´ This was what they started to chant next. I thought a chinaman had a flat tyre but it seems I was the 1 with a plancha. An iron. this is what they wanted. Our tiny travel iron that had survived the war and made it´s way in our bags. A little, collapsable iron. A darn useful little thing when you´ve got creases in your clothes. Not so useful when it gets you into trouble with the law.

So the huge ferry ride over here was not so eventful and Laura, Brad and the little travel iron arrived in uruguay 3 hours later!! We walked to our Guest house and we are loving the peace and quiet of this little beach town called Colonia. Sea, sun, locals on scooters and golf carts. Yes, you can ride around this town in a golf cart if you want to!! We picked a scooter, and it was like Taiwan days all over again!! AWESOME!

We are glad to be away from noise and pollution and it´s a quiet little garden haven that will be our home for the next 2 days before we head into central uruguay.

Will keep you posted!

til later

Brad and Laura