Author Archives: Damien

The next day (Thursday 17th) was a day of travel. We had heard very good things about Tigre just north of Buenos Aires, or more accurately the large river delta just above it where people live in stilted houses and the only way to get around is by boat. Rather than go the easy way back to BA by fast ferry and then train to Tigre, we decided to head north by bus to the small town of Carmelo where a ferry connected directly with Tigre. It was a different way to get there and would give us a chance to see another part of Uruguay.

Unfortunately, Carmelo is a dreary shithole that we could not wait to escape. Dirty, dusty streets where in some areas perhaps half the buildings are derelict. An uninspiring central plaza. The leafless trees that lined every street were a nuisance because it was impossible to walk the footpath without dodging a tree every ten metres. Aggressive stray dogs followed us the entire time, which of course suggests how much dog shit there was to avoid. And easily the worst meal we have eaten on this holiday… we did the right thing: wandering town at lunchtime looking for a place that actually had customers (which was hard, as there were barely five places open at all). Things looked well when we scanned the menu and finally ordered different daily specials, but the food itself was appalling. My roast chicken was so dry it could suck moisture from the air, and came with an over-salted potato salad that was inedible. And Joel was served a truly unidentifiable piece of gristly, fatty meat. It had a very odd taste, somewhat akin to pork but unlike anything either of us have ever tasted (and I’ve tried a few unusual meats). It was meant to be beef. Speaking about it a day or two later with a friendly host in BA, he said with some caution “I don’t THINK they eat dog in Uruguay”. But he wasn’t certain.

With relief we boarded our ferry to Tigre, and were surprised that we spent nearly all of the two and a half hour trip actually travelling through the delta. Stilted houses of every type were dotted throughout the channels, from very modern and large mansions to ancient and decaying shacks. As we got closer and closer to Tigre the houses got closer together, but it was not until we only minutes from the town that we saw our first car. Out in the delta, boat is the only way to get around.

The guidebook had suggested that Tigre itself didn’t have much to offer, so we had booked a hostel that was actually somewhere in the delta. Something different, something interesting, right? I assumed it would be fairly close to town, perhaps 15-20 minutes, and all we had to do was get one of the local ferries to take us there. Due to the late arrival of the ferry from Carmelo we just missed the 5.30pm boat, so we made sure we got on the 6.30pm which was the last local ferry of the day. In fact we were almost the last people on, and crawling inside the long barge we noticed it was very full. Probably overloaded, actually, judging by the fact that the waterline was barely one foot below the window sill. That didn’t stop our pilot from drag racing with another ferry as we left port of course, and my heart leapt to my mouth when the nose of our craft plunged underwater while passing through someone else’s bow wave. Fortunately we surfaced, and after a few people got off the waterline rose a little and I was able to relax a bit.

Did I mention it was dark? And raining? Because we’d missed the earlier boat it was twilight when we took off, and within half an hour there was little to see through the windows but blackness. Our pilot drove at speed through the night, sometimes missing jutting piers by only a couple of metres, with just a hand-held flashlight and years of local knowledge to guide him. After 45 minutes I gave in completely to the experience and was enjoying this journey into nowhere – we had no choice but to trust the ferry crew with our lives. After 90 minutes, I was beginning to wonder if we were being delivered back into Uruguay… eventually we entered more open water, which I think truly was the demarkation line between the two countries. There were choppy waves all around us, and the pilot’s torch was having a hard job seeing them in the gloom. After a few more heartstopping moments the attendant tapped us on the shoulder and we got set to land. Running through the rain with our bags we saw the warm, inviting lights of our hostel up ahead and raced to the warmth.

And discovered that on this night, our newly-built hostel (a resort, really) which could house over 70 people was empty apart from us and the manager. The manager, Geraldo, had no english. And the satellite internet was down. We ordered a beer. That night we played pool for a while, then cards, while watching Latin American Idol which Geraldo was watching on the big screen TV. We then invited Geraldo to join us for a drink or two while he pumped music through the speakers at high volume. Nothing else to do, really, though we made the most of it as best we could.

The next day there was no power, which meant no hot water either. We boarded the return ferry at midday, which took almost two hours to get us back to Tigre. We certainly had a very detailed tour of the delta over these two days! By this stage we had no interest in exploring the town and just wanted to get to our next digs in BA, so we went to the train station and slept as the train headed south.

Finally, another post!

It has been hard to keep on top of this blogging thing recently, especially as in one place recently there was not only no internet but also no power…. Buenos Aires is amazing and deserves its own detailed post (shortly), so this time I’ll bring you up to speed with our side-trip to Uruguay and the river delta just to the north which will bring me up to date (ie. Sunday 20th).

After five nights in Buenos Aires, we boarded the enormous ferry that plies between BA and Colonia in Uruguay for a few days sight-seeing in that neighouring land. We had originally intended to go to Montevideo but baulked at the cost of the fast ferry – and the slow boat was too slow to contemplate. This is where the flexibility of having no plans for this part of the trip kicked in well: we decided to go to closer town of Colonia instead and day-trip it to Montevideo on the second day.

Our accomodations during this trip have been almost exclusively private rooms in hostels with their own bathroom, and with just one exception the research has paid off handsomely. Location, the size of the room, the bathrooms… all have been at least good to excellent and certainly very cheap: our average price each night per person has been just A$25! But for Colonia we desired something a little nicer, so in true flashpacker style we checked into the boutique hotel “Posada del Virrey” on the edge of the old port. And not just any room: the top-floor suite with jacuzzi and private balcony with sweeping views across the Rio de la Plata. LUXURY, I tells ya, and most welcome too 🙂

Colonia’s historic old town is so picturesque that it is UNESCO World Heritage listed, with a few small blocks of cobbled stone houses on cobbled streets sitting prettily on a point overlooking the Rio de la Plata. It is also an extremely popular weekend destination for BA inhabitants as it takes just over an hour on the fast ferry to get there. However it’s a complete tourist town – I think I would find it suffocatingly so in high summer but mid-week during low season it was almost comatose. A few dogs wandered up and down the streets, loud unmuffled scooters rumbled up and down the main drag, and cars intermittently prowled as well. There are no traffic lights in Colonia.

After gaping at the view from our balcony for a while I headed off to see some more of the town while Joel had some quiet time back in the room. The historic part of town is very small, almost too small given its popularity, and less than a kilometre out of that area rather poor-looking houses and apartments are the norm. The view of the Uruguayan countryside is idyllic, however: very green and lush, with numerous trees dotting the mostly flat pastureland. I was on a mission to get details for our trip to Montevideo the next day, and discovered that my planning was off and it would take almost three hours each way to get to the capital. We talked it over later that evening and decided six hours on a bus was not worth just 4-5 hours in Montevideo, so we simply relaxed and enjoyed our lodgings. Watching the sun set over the Rio de la Plata was magical on this evening, the few rooftops in front of us and the old port to the right framing the scene perfectly. That evening we hit the casino to play the slot machines – there honestly was very little else to do that night as all the live music venues were closed mid-week. In fact we had quite a lot of fun and both of us walked out slightly ahead. Woo hoo!

The next day was pure relaxation. Waking up mid-morning, wandering down for buffet breakfast then back to the balcony for a couple of hours. Reading Haruki Murakami in the sun, the gentle thump-thump of dance music from the parrilla barbeque restaurant across the way blending peacefully with the chatter of parrots in nearby palms. The odd cat patrolling rooftops, the river sparkling in the distance. Much nicer than six hours cooped up in a bus! That afternoon we went horseriding through the countryside and along the sands of the riverfront, passing several small farm lots with cattle, sheep, goats and more all munching contentedly on the dark green grass. There were only the two of us plus the guide, and at two and a half hours it was almost too long a trek but still definitely worth it (especially at just A$35 each). The hand-made soft saddles were much more comfortable that the hard saddles I’ve used before, but I still looked forward to using the jacuzzi back in the room afterwards 😉

After some unspeakable food the day before we were committed to eating well that night, and found a very nice-looking parrilla (bbq) restaurant in the heart of the old town. The food was a little ordinary, frankly, but there was a man singing spanish folk songs and playing guitar throughout the meal which made the atmosphere very warming. To go with we had a bottle of tannat, an obscure red grape variety that is only grown widely in certain parts of France and in Uruguay. Light-bodied but with decent depth, this bottle of Don Pasqual Riserva went well with the rich and meaty food. It was our first (and probably last) taste of the ubiquitous parrilla: a mixed grill cooked over a large hearth which can contain a variety of meats. On this occasion it was ribs, half a chicken, ribs, chorizo sausage, blood sausage, and ribs. Very fatty but manageable – thank god every meal in South America is served with bread…

Sorry for the break in transmission – we´ve had some internet connection issues at our latest hostel in Buenos Aires but everything should be back to normal tomorrow.

Of course we haven´t been idle: since my last post we´ve had another night in Santiago before flying to Buenos Aires, where as I´m typing this it´s approaching midnight on our fourth night here. Lots of walking-sightseeing, a football game, a fire, theatre (in Spanish about a French icon), reading, relaxing and loads of food. Believe the hype: Argentine beef really is divine.

Still to come: more Buenos Aires, Montevideo and Colonia in Uruguay, and then another stay in Valpo because we just can´t get enough 😀

Our lodgings in Valparaiso, Hostal Caracol, get better and better. Not only is it a completely relaxing and tranquil place, for the past two nights we have had it all to ourselves…
http://www.hostalcaracol.cl/

Yesterday was a total rest day: sleeping in late, self-cooked bacon and eggs for breakfast using some of the finest bacon I have ever seen, reading Haruki Murakami in bed for hours while Joel went clothes shopping, watching the movie Blood Diamond on DVD, dinner at the cafe 30 metres down the street, another movie, then bed.

I´m feeling very fresh today, ready for our return to Santiago so we can fly to Buenos Aires tomorrow!