Since I have been waiting impatiently the time to leave Argentina and begin a new adventure in Africa, I decided to use the time to do a short trip to Uruguay.
From Buenos Aires, one can take a quick boat ride north and be in Uruguay an hour later (round-trip US$ 60).
The town you arrive at is Colonia, a small place, very quiet, especially in this period, the equivalent of fall down here. Colonia is the oldest town in Uruguay, and was founded by the Portuguese in 1680.
The historic quarter, where I stayed, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is very beautiful, as you feel transported in time when strolling through the cobbled streets.
There, you will not find much to do but walk around and go to the beach. By now, the water is too cold to bath, but the long beaches are empty, and it is the perfect place to relax far from Buenos Aires.
Back in Buenos Aires, I left the apartment I had to go to a backpacker hostel. Sleeping in an 8-person dormitory does save you tons of money (Hostel Garden House, US$9 a night, highly recommended)
Now I am just getting ready for Africa. Reading books and tracing maps. I will fly to Johannesburg on Wednesday, spend few days there, and then take the bus to Durban to begin the customs paperwork. The procedure for the vehicle clearance will probably be a pain, and I have hard time finding the necessary information. As always, I will try to save money by doing all the import procedure myself, but the harbor people don’t like that much, and are reluctant to give information on the procedure.
Hopefully I will be driving toward Kruger Park around April 30. From there, I will probably cross to Mozambique and work my way up north.
Again, stay tuned for more adventure beginning soon.