Buenos Aires

All good things come to an end. Four months had flown by and, suddenly, we were on board our last bus back to Buenos Aires for our final week of the trip. We had decided to devote this time to getting to know the city, which we had fallen in love with last time we were there. 

It felt as though we reallt had to make the most of our final few days, so we got straight to it when we arrived. We spent the first day exploring a part of the city we hadn't been to before: Palermo. This pretty neighbourhood is the centre for good restaurants, bars and shops and is also home to some of the best parks in the city. It was a warm day, bright and sunny day and so it was perfect to be able to wander around the busy green spaces, which were packed with families also enjoying the lovely weather. There were a couple of places of interest in the parks, such as a art museum and a Japanese garden which kept us quite busy. 

That evening we headed out to a music night which had even recommended to us by many people called Bomba el Tiempo. Its a performance every Monday night by a percussion band, which turned out to be just as good as we had been told. The whole crowd is drawn into the rhythm created by the fantastic performers and the atmosphere was excellent. As we left, more artists were performing outside the venue, who then set off for the after party. This lead to a line of people following them through the streets, dancing and cheering until we reached the chosen bar! It was great fun!

The following day we devoted to leather shopping, one of the most important activities when visiting Buenos Aires. There is a particular street in Palmero called Calle Murillo, which is filled with leather outlet shops. While at first we felt as though we were being rather unsuccessful, just as I was ready to give up any hope of finding anything I particularly liked, we walked into a shop selling leather biker jackets. It was not really the place I thought I would find the simple design I was searching for, but the leather was incredibly soft, and the styles fitted very well. In fact, Tanya and I fell in love with the same jacket and I ended up buying it, with Tanya placing an order for another one to be made for her for the end of the week! This just shows how local and small scale the production is, and we now the lucky owners of beautiful Argentinan leather jackets. 

We decided to celebrate our purchases and headed out that evening. Firstly, we went to a restaurant which we had heard has a "happy hour", which entitles you to 40% off the bill, between 7 and 8 which is aimed at tourists as locals would never eat so early. It was perhaps one of the first steaks we'd had here which we were really happy with, although the speed at which you have to eat it is a little off putting. The discount made the meal very reasonable for a reataurant with such excellent food and reputation. After leaving the restaurant, we stumbled across an excellent wine shop, whose owner was extremely chatty. We ended up staying there for nearly an hour, learning about wine and their makers. This is really one of the things which I love about this city: the friendliness of the people and their ability to chat endlessly. We then carried on the evening when we arrived back at the hostel after meeting two travellers from Luxembourg who, it transpired, went to the European School there! 

Predictably, as Argentinan nights start late and end late, we needed a short lie in the next day. We were out by late morning however, Tanya with sketch book in hand. She wanted to go back to the cemetery in Recoleta which we ha visited on our last stop in the city, in order to make some sketches of the stunning architecture. Meanwhile, I took the time to visit a few museums, including the church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar museum, which features some interesting religious art, and the Palais de Glace for the second time (it was there that the war photo journalist photos were up which I mentioned in a previous post) where the exhibitions had changed. One of the exhibitions was particularly interesting. Supported by Amnesty International, it displayed photos of various Argentinian women who had had an abortion (which remains illegal here), along with a brief story. Additionally, I learnt of the history of the building which, as its name suggests, was once an ice rink, followed by a theatre, before finally an exhibition centre. I also had ample time to explore the fine art museum which includes woks by Monet, Van Gogh and Goya. 

That evening we had tickets for the Marriage of Figaro at Teatro Colon, voted one of the best theatres for its acoustics in the world. We somehow managed to use the few last pieces of decent clothes we had left to make ourselves vaguely presentable and set out for what was to be a fantastic evening. We had excellent seats, high up but with a great view and the performance was top class. We went to bed that night tired, but happy. 

It was back to sightseeing the next day, and we were intent on fitting in as much as possible of the areas of the city we had not yet visited. With this is in mind, we set out on a long walk, starting with a wander down the prett cobbled streets of San Telmo, which are teeming with antique shops and bars famous for impromptu tango nights. From there we walked over to one of the most well known areas internationally thanks to it being home to the most famous Argentinian football team: Boca. We walked past the stadium and carried on towards what we were far more interested in seeing, a little street called La Caminata. This street became famous when it inspired a famous tango writer to use it as the setting for a tango. The reason for his fascination with the street is due to the incredible bright colours of the houses. The story goes that the residents of the street, although very poor, used to beg paint off the boats which pulled into the nearby port to brighten up their houses. Nowadays it is purely a tourist destination, with tango dancers posing or photos and figurines of characters in the tango hanging out of balconies but its definitely a sight to behold. 

We then carried on our tour of the port area, heading down to the equivalent of the City in London. Here we had one of the best lunches, in an excellent all-you-can-eat place were you can choose food off an incredible salad bar, including cold meats and cheese, the grill, included the best steak I had in Argentina (so tender!), a bottle of wine each and a dessert. We could barely move afterwards and only just about managed to roll ourselves home! 

The following day we headed out of the city for a getaway to a nearby town on the Delta, the river networks in the surrounding area. Tigre can be described as Argentina's Henley. Most of the property down along the river seems to be owned by the Buenos Airwa Rowing Club, and the rest are holiday homes for the wealthy city folk. Many of the pretty riverside houses are on stilts, to prevent damage from flooding. We started the day with a visit to the Museum of Mate, the tea which is drunk in incredible quantities in Argentina. It is drunk out of a single mate gourd, shared around the group and filled up from a thermos of hot water over the Yerba (herb or tea). The gourd has a metal straw with a filter on the end which keeps the leaves out as you drink it. Wherever an Argentinan travels, chances are he will have a little shoulder bag with a thermos, a mate gourd and some Yerba, ready for when he needs a pick me up!

We then wandered down past the naval museum and the beautiful building which houses the fine art museum before heading off to find some lunch in the Puerto de Frutos market. After lunch, we took a boat down the river, hopping off to have a walk around a little neighbourhood on the delta. The houses were enchanting, and you can see why this is a favourite holiday destination for Porteños. 

It was back to the leather shopping street the next day to pick up Tanya's jacket and a few last souvenirs. We had an excellent lunch in a little restaurant in the area, where I had my pasta and cheese cravings cured with an enormous plate of gnocchi (spelt ñoquis here!) in a cheese sauce. Not needing dinner that evening after that, we set out for the city's exhibition centre to catch a show at the Tango World Cup and Festival, which was on the week we were in the city. Unfortunately, that night's show was cancelled due to a force majeur, however we were happy to browse the stalls selling beautiful tango shoes and dresses and watch the large group of people dancing impromptu dances on the large dancefloor in the centre. We vowed that we would come again the next night for the show as the atmosphere was so good. 

Our final day in Buenos Aires, and indeed in South America, was a Sunday. We spent it as Sundays should be spent: wandering around the antique market in San Telmo, having a last steak lunch and walking through the ecological reserve on the edge of town. We returned to the tango festival that evening and saw a fantastic show which told the history of tango in various scenes. The dancers included on of tango's great modern heroes: Juan Carlos Cepos who was instrumental in creating the modern tango show concept and the worldwide revival of the dance. It was a truly special night and we could not have planned a better way to end our trip than being present at such an iconic Buenos Aries event. 

I am currently sitting at the international airport in Buenos Aires. I cannot quite believe I am going home, but I'm sure it'll sink in when I board the plane. I hope you have enjoyed my updates as much as I have enjoyed writing them. Perhaps I will carry on posting when I am lucky enough to travel again. I just hope it's not in the too distant future as I have many places in mind which I wish to visit! Here's to planning and to future posts! Thank you for reading. 

Lots of love,

Emma

The Iguazu falls

Although we didn't start this trip with a definite plan in terms of the precise destinations we were going to visit, the Iguazu falls, along with handful of other places, were always on our list. There are 275 waterfalls, between 62 and 80 m high and steed over 2.7 km and are considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world. It was certainly not to be missed! 

We arrived in Puerto Iguazu, the nearest town to the Argentinian side of the falls, early in the afternoon and set about organising ourselves to visit the national park the following day. We then wandered down to the Hito Argentino, an obelisk painted in the colours of the Argentinian flag, which is situated near the edge of the Iguazu river at the point where both Brazil and Paraguay are visible. The two other countries mirror the obelisk with ones of their own.

The following day we were on a bus heading to the national park by 9 o'clock in the morning. The park is quite large, with several circuits which you walk around offering different views of the falls. The immense size and power of the water, cascading down waterfall after waterfall was mind boggling. Additionally, throughout the morning the sun shines directly on the water, creating stunning rainbows which only add to the beauty of the place. 

You can get right up close to a few of them, and we felt the spray and the power up close. We were therefore very glad that the weather so far north is much more pleasant during the day, reaching 25 degrees during the day. The heat was especially appreciated after we finished a boat ride on the river, where they take you directly under two of the falls. We were completely soaked, but the experience was like no other. Additionally, this allowed us a view of more of the falls from the river, which are normally viewable from an island reached by a boat from the main land. Unfortunately, the island was closed during our visit due to high water levels. On the bright side, this meant the falls were at their most impressive, which can be hit and miss during the dryer months of winter. 

We ate lunch in the sun on the lawn of the Sheraton hotel on the complex (imagine staying in the national park!), far away as possible from the thieving coatis! These small mammals, related to the raccoon, are notorious for stealing food and bothering tourists. They had already tried to grab a sandwich out of Tanya's bag as she took some photos, and there were warnings everywhere that they could become quite dangerous (on the Brazilian side, the warnings also included that they might transmit rabies!). 

During the afternoon, we jumped on the train which leads to the "pièce de résistance" of the argentinan side: an incredible view over the "Garganta del Diablo" or "Devil's Throat". At this point half of the river's flow converge at one point ibto several falls and there is so much water that all you can see as you look down is white froth and foam. Again we were soaked and unfortunately this was the last straw for my camera, which now refused to close it's zoom! This is a little annoying for the rest of trip, as we now do not have a camera, however iPhone will have to do for the last week! 

We finished the day walking the "Sendero Macuco", a path which leads to a small hidden waterfall set apart from the main strip. The real reason for the walk however is for the wildlife you see along the way. We spied several colourful birds, butterflies and a few interesting mammals. Of the latter, the most common were, as a fellow walker so eloquently put it, like gigantic rats! They had large, round ears and no tail, but besides that the description was very accurate. Most interestingly, we caught sight of a tapir in the under growth, and as we left the trail at the end of the day, as if they'd been placed there on purpose, there was a group of monkeys swinging the in trees above us. 

We were very excited the next day to set off for the Brazilian national park. From what we'd heard, you get a completely different view of the falls, it's much more panoramic. Additionally, it would give us a very brief taste of Brazil, a country we would have loved to have devoted some time to but which we'd had to leave off the list. It was very strange to suddenly be in a country with a different language, and it made me realise how "at home" I'd become in Spanish speaking South America! 

The views from Brazil are indeed more panoramic, and you get the sense for the scale of the place. As you walk along the trail past the falls, the views seem to become more impressive with every turn. At the end of the walk, you can walk out on to a platform which mirrors the platform on the Argentinan side of the Gargana del Diablo. Once again, the morning sun played tricks on the water, and several rainbows were often visible at a time, reaching out over the water. 

The park on the Brazilian side of the falls is significantly smaller, and we completed it with a couple of short hours. We therefore had ample time to visit the excellent "Parque das Aves" (bird park), across the road from the national park. Here we were able to get up close to some amazing species, including the colourful toucans and macaws. The park is laid out with avairies you can walk through for excellent views and photo opportunities. All the birds in the park have been rescued and are very used to human contact. They don't even mind if you stroke them as they sit on the banisters of the walkways through the aviary! The macaw cage is particularly fun as they fly around quite oblivious to the people inside, meaning that often you have to duck to get out of their way!  We were able to hold a bird on our shoulders for an obligatory tourist snap (which ended badly for me as my macaw decided the charms on my bracelet looked very tasty and bit my wrist!). In addition to the birds, the park had a butterfly enclosure with several gorgeous species as well as adorable hummingbirds flying all around as you walked through. 

We decided to make the most of our very short stay in Brazil and take a look around the local town of Foz do Iguaçu. Here we tried the local cheese bread balls, accompanied by fresh fruit juice, and soaked up the culture of the country and it's extrovert residents. It was then back over the border at the end of another wonderful day, filled with beautiful sights. With all this border hopping, we now have 7 stamps from Argentinan immigration! 

We spent the evening in the company of an Argentina couple who currently live in Brazil, who introduced us to some of Argentina's comedy scene via YouTube. Highlights included a long lived advert about "la llama que llama" (the llama who talks) which was very amusing. The next day, we were able, for the first time in a while, to get up when we liked and to spend the day catching the rays by the pool and lunching in the local market. 

We'd thoroughly enjoyed our time in Iguazu, but it was soon time to head back to Buenos Aires for our final week. I hope to have my last post of the trip up by Monday next week, just before we board out plane home. What a strange thought!

Lots of love,

Emma 

Cordoba and Salta

By late morning of the day we reached Cordoba, we were out and about hitting up as many museums as possible! The city is home to many, and they are generally of excellent quality. Additionally, the "Manzana Jesuita" or Jesuit quarter, is home to many beautiful and impressive buildings ranging from churches to school and university buildings. One of the countries most important university is in Cordoba, and the student population brings art, science and culture to life in the city. We visited many student exhibitions during our time there, and that first afternoon we checked out the fine art museum housed in an old palace, as well as the contemporary art museum on the same square. The latter had some particularly interesting exhibitions, my favourite being a photography exhibition of frozen flowers from the region. 

The next day, Tanya fulfilled one of her dreams: she jumped out of a plane at 3000m! I'm so happy for her, as I know that this was something she really wanted to do on this trip. She has a video of the jump, which I cannot wait to see, and came back looking super happy! I personally have no desire to try this particular adrenalin rush (I suffer from a fear induced by watching a TV programme which followed a storyline involving a parachuting accident!), therefore I amused myself taking in another couple of museums that morning. I learnt about the history of the city in the Municipal Building's museum, and took some (hopefully) pretty photos of the cathedral in the sunshine. I also visited the "Museo de la Memoria" a chilling museum which chronicles the arrests made by the secret police, the D2, during the "Dirty War" in the 1970's. It was very well done, and indeed I returned in the afternoon in order for Tanya to visit it too. A couple of final art museums later, we rounded off the day lying in the sunshine in the park. 

Having satisfied our hunger for museums, we jumped on a bus to the nearby town of Carlos Paz for our final day in the region. We got some good exercise in there by climbing to the top of a hill over looking the city. All along the pathway up, the story of Jesus carrying the cross is told in stages ending with a huge cross at the top of the hill. We had a picnic lunch at the top, making the most of the incredible view of the town and the river. 

We spent the rest of the day walking down by the river side, which slowly turns into a lake. The day was very windy and we enjoyed watching the dinghies, windsurfers and kite surfers out on the water. After a well deserved ice cream, it was time to get back to the city and catch our bus heading for our next stop.  

Salta is in the north of the county, not far off the Bolivian border. There are perceivable differences between the people and culture of the north and the south. For example, many of the people, understandably, bear a stronge resemblance to those from Bolivia and we were once again surrounded by Coca leaf sellers and stalls laden with alpaca goods. 

The weather on our first day in the city was blissful. We quickly changed into shorts and tshirts, and after a tasty lunch in the sun on the square, we hiked up to the town's mirador for the excellent view over the city. We spent the rest of the afternoon dozing in the heat at the top of the hill, finally getting the sunshine we have been craving for some time now! 

The next day we were picked up at 10 o'clock by a gaucho who drove us out to a ranch outside of the city for a riding tour we had organised the day before. The horses were rounded up and tacked up when we arrived, and I took the oppurtunity to ask about the local tack,particularly the saddles. Although I have ridden in South American saddles before, I have never had a chance before to properly see how they are made and used, and was very interested. We spent the morning riding through the dry, mountain region, which, our guide explained, is green and fertile during the summer, but during the winter they have little grass to speak of. The horses were a little on the thin side, which I put down to this vast difference in precipitation between the seasons. During the summer, they put on plenty of weight on the lush grass, which sees them through the harsh winter. When I asked, it was explained that the horses are corralled during the day but roam freely at night, and they were clearly well cared for and fed with what was available. 

We finished the ride through the plains at the foot of the hills, where we even had a few races! After all the rides we have been on on this trip, Tanya is getting very good! She rises perfectly to the trot and has excellent balance. I have a couple of videos of the races (one of which I think captures the moment when my horse took advantage of my preoccupation with the video to crash through some trees... I always get the silly ones!). The loser was supposed to buy all the drinks for the winner, but I think the guide decided to drop that idea after what would have been a photo finish between me and him...!

The tour was rounded off with a great barbecue, complete with salad and potatoes and, of course, lots of red wine from Salta. There were four playful kittens on the ranch which begged for ever scrap we left. It was a lovely end to the tour, only to be completed by a gorgeous Italian ice cream when we returned to Salta. 

We timed our stay in Salta perfectly as, having enjoyed two days of perfect sunshine, the following day the clouds hung low over the city and the temperature dropped radically. We therefore visited the churches the city has to offer, including a beautiful one painted sky blue and pink. It was then on to the museums which included the contemporary art musem, which houses some interesting exhibits mostly by South American artists, and the Musuem of the High Mountains. The second museum was very well presented displays including its highlight: three mummies of Incan child sacrifices discovered and excavated from the Llullaillaco Volcano, which stands at 6739m. They are excellently preserved, and although only one is displayed at any one time, the explanations of the sacrifices and the displays of the objects buried with them fully make up for it. During our visit the "lightening girl" was on display. She was only about six years old when she was chosen to make a pilgrimage to Cuzco and symbolically "marry" the son of another important family from a different region within the Incan empire, before travelling back to her region and being drugged and buried alive at the summit of the volcano. These sacrifices aimed to united families and regions, as well as appease "Mama Huaca" or Mother Earth.    Her name comes from the discolouring on her face from a lightning strike which occurred at some point during the 500 years she lay in her tomb. 

As the day drew to an end, we once again packed up our bags, which really do seem to be getting heavier and heavier, and made our way to the bus station, trying to mentally prepare for the next 24.5 hours which we had to spend on buses across most of the country's length to Peurto Iguazu. The beauty of the falls which awaited us there made the long hours bearable, and when we arrived we checked quickly into a hostel to get ready to visit them the next day. Keep an eye out for the next post to see how we got on! 

Lots of love, 

Emma

South Eastern Argentina and Uruguay

We left Patagonia one afternoon and fourteen hours later woke up to find that we appeared to have arrived home in England. The views from the bus showed expanses of farmland, mostly cows in lush fields, and it was raining, well drizzling, just like at home! Ironically, we were actually arriving at the most popular beach destination of the porteños (the people of Buenos Aires), however we were completely out of season. Mar del Plata (which translates as Sea of Silver) is a large, bustling place and its main attraction is the long sea front whose beaches are packed in the summer (in fact the guide book recommended a visit in the summer simply to never be able to say that a beach is packed again!). We checked into a hostel and into a room with a lady and her young daughter, whom we promptly found out were running from the father with whom the mother was in a custody battle over the daughter. We do meet some interesting people on our travels! 

We tried to make the most out of the city, despite the drizzle and the cloud. As we wandered down the beach front, it was easy to see why it is so popular with holidaymakers in the summer months. There is plenty of lovely sand to lie on and there are restaurants, bars and clubs abound. There are also supposedly some good swells for surfing just along the coast. However convienent it may be, the whole city/beach set up just made me nostalgic for childhood holidays on country beaches in Cornwall. The beaches may get crowded there too, but I have to admit, the traffic and the general hustle of Mar del Plata did not inspire me. As there seemed little point in hanging around too long out of season, we spent the evening at the cinema (a proper rainy day activity!) and were up bright and early the next day, en route to Buenos Aires. 

Although it was still a little drizzly when we arrive in BA, the city had a great feel form the start. When we checked into our hostel, we found out that there was a free tango lesson that night in the bar. It was only short and covered just the basic steps, but it was good fun and ticked one of the must do activities in Argentina off our list. The next day we spent in a mall out of nessecity as we had both run out of trousers through wear and tear! 

We were therefore keen to get lots of sightseeing in the following day. Our first stop was the Retiro district, where we wandered through a Saturday market. This is also where the city's famous cemetery is and it's fascinating to walk around it to marvel at the splendour of the tombs. Many of the country's famous personalities are buried here, including Evita whose tomb was definitely the most visited. Wandering through the surrounding area, we stumbled across an interesting photo exhibition, containing in the most part photos taking by war photo-journalists in Syria. It was haunting but very interesting. We wandered back into the centre of town via one of the most uptown streets in the city, which lead us past the Teatro Colon, the city's opera house. We had been thinking about going to see a performance, as it is acoustically cconsidered to be among the five best concert houses in the world. We obtained some information on performances and have subsequently bought tickets for when we return to the city for our flight home to see the Marriage of Figaro, which we are very much looking forward to. 

Our last visit of the day was to the "Casa Roja" or "Pink House", Argentina's equivalent of the White House (although the president does not live there, only works there). After wandering around looking at the exhibition of paintings of South American heroes, we decided to take the tour of the building as it only runs at weekends. It quickly became apparent why, as we were taken through the rooms used to welcome visiting officials, to inaugurate new officials and even the President's office itself! We learnt that the iconic pink hue of the building's exterior was due to the type of paint used when it was built. They used to use a mixture of limestone and animal fat, in order to offer some protection from the weather. The animal fat often had some blood left in it, hence the pink colour. There were several further interesting rooms, such as that which was dedicated to the most influential women from Argentina, and the room which contained Evita's desk, and from which lead to the balcony she used for her speeches. We were unable to go out onto that balcony, but we did go out onto the neighbouring one, which afforded us a fanatic view of the main square below. 

The next day we ventured out into one of the cities outlying districts, where each Sunday a "gaucho" (the equivalent of a cowboy in Argentina) market. We had a wonderful time wandering through the stalls selling everything from nic-nacs, to everyday clothes, leather goods and artisanal products. There was a stage in the main square of the area where local music was being performed as well as improvised music down little streets and on one of the smaller squares. This produced a fanatic atmosphere with impromptu dancing and clapping. There was even a mechanical bull and Shetlands dressed up in full western gear for children to have their photo taken on (of course I got my pony fix with a few cuddles!). We feasted on Choripan (a chorizo sandwich), Dulce de Leche filled pancakes and candy floss. Additionally, later that evening upon our return to the centre, we went out for a genuine Argentinean steak. This is certainly not the country to be trying to diet in! 

We were back on the road the next day, or, more accurately, back on the water! We took a ferry across the river to Colonia in Uruguay, which we found to be a picturesque small town, bordered on three sides by the river. We were starving by the time we arrived at three in the afternoon having not had a chance to eat lunch yet. We settled therefore for an all you can eat "asado" or meat grill. It included sausages, black pudding, ribs, pork steak, chicken and offal. We ate (probably more than) our full and subsequently felt revived for an explore. We wandered down by the river side and eventually settled down to watch the incredible sunset from a look out over the water. 

More exploring followed the next day. We climbed the lighthouse which gave us some great views of the leafy plaza below and of the surrounding river. The town is full of old cars, most of which look totally abandoned, but try provided some fantastic photo opportunities! They ranged from little Renaults, to American muscle cars, to black beasts you could see mafia bosses in! The cobbled streets made me nostalgic for my childhood, and the narrow streets and sheltering trees complete the charm of the place. After lunch, we regretfully left on a bus bound for the capital: Montevideo. We arrived too late to do much more than cook and head to bed, however we did walk through the large main square on our way to the hostel, which peaked our interest for sightseeing the next day. 

We only planned to stay one day in the city, therefore we set off early the next morning in order to squeeze in as much of the city's sights as possible. I think we did remarkably well. Our first stop was back to the Plaza de Independencia, which had looked so impressive the night before and it did not disappoint during the day. It is dominated on one side by the Palacio Salvo, finished in 1928 and which, at 100m, was the tallest building in South America for decades. We wandered around the "Ciudad Vieja" (Old City), taking in the various churches, plazas and palaces eventually reaching the port where stands the dark and ominous port customs building. On the other side if the road lies the Mercado del Puerto, a market which is filled with one parilla (grill) restaurant after another. We were offered a glass of "medio y medio", the local drink containing have white wine, half sparkling wine. The grills were already laden with meat and vegetables and we were sorely tempted to return to eat there later in the day. We finally decided however to head to the less touristy (and therefore better value) Mercado de la Abundancia. Here we had yet another steak, washed down with some wine and finished off with a pudding for under ten dollars. It is worth noting at this point that we are still searching for a truly excellent steak, as although up until this point they have been tasty, we are yet to be completely blown away by them. We have a couple of recommendations for restaurants in BA however, and are looking forward to trying them out when we return! 

In the afternoon we took the time to visit a couple of museums: the History of Art Museum and the Automobile Museum. The former was interesting and extensive by South American standards, but lacked an abundance in original prices. It's saving grace was the original Egyptian mummy on display. It was bought originally by a wealthy Uruguayan before eventually being gifted to the museum. Owning to our aforementioned fascination with the number of old cars in the country, the latter was a perfect end to the day. It included examples of the first cars (one allegedly built in Belgium!) through to Ferraris and huge American muscle cars. 

That evening we boarded yet another night bus back across the border, our short adventure in Uruguay over. We were heading to Cordoba, known as Argentina's cultural centre. I will make sure to keep you up to speed soon with all the culture we amass there, and what comes next!

Lots of love, 

Emma