Busses, boats, taxis, Dr. Suess, and the Devils End.

Hellooooo everybody. Its been a fun couple of days since my last post. A was a bit sad to leave a place as nice as Bariloche, but I knew that new places and good times awaited me.. and I couldn't have been more right. My 22 hour bus ride from Buenos Aires was uneventful, even with a 3 month old sitting next to me. She didn't make a sound, whew.. I opted to crash back at Hostel Tango for a night in BA so I could say hello to a few friends.

Unfortunately they didn't take my request for a wake up call to seriously and I awoke running late for my boat. Thankfully I made great time getting across town, didn't make any mistakes navigating the subte, and made my boat with a few minutes to spare. I now have a new stamp in my passport courtesy of Uruguayn immigration. I took the cheapest boat. It dropped me off in a town called Colonia.

A sharp contrast from noisy Buenos Aires, stepping into Colonia is like pressing the mute button on the TV. No more traffic, just the birds chirping and the wind in the trees. The old city, about 10 square blocks, was paved with cobblestone sometime in the 1700's. Lots of little nooks and cranies to poke into and enjoy a cafe or some local artwork. I met a Swedish girl on the boat, Theresa, and we spent the afternoon touring the town together and enjoyed lunch at a waterfront parilla (restaraunt), then took the evening bus about 2 hours up the road to Montevideo. From there a it was a quick taxi ride to Red Hostel. Red Hostel is probably the least oustanding accomodation of my trip, so I was glad to only spend 1 night. From the brief time I spent in Montevideo, its seems to be a cool city.. Lots of European style architecture, but I was anxious to get my commute to Punta del Diablo out of the way.

So after purchasing a new pair of flip flops, I hopped the 2pm bus for a 5 hour journey through Eastern Uruguay.... or the land of Dr. Suess as I like to think of it now. Uruguay is much greener and grassier than Argentina's oh so common desert scrub. The rolling hills and grazing cattle could even be compared to parts of the U.S. if it werent for the abundance of sporadically placed palm trees. I would not have been the least bit surprised to see the Cat in the Hat taking a stroll amongst the cows. Aside from the peculiar landscape, the bus ride was most interesting.

Apparently the 2pm bus from Montevideo doubles as the school/commuter bus for many of the coastal towns we passed through. The ticketing office didn't give much regard for seat numbers, I must have encountered at least 4 people who were asigned seat 29 (my seat) as we picked up and dropped passengers along our route. I learned quickly that priority goes to whoever was seated first, thankfully I had boarded at the point of origin, women and children being the exception. I managed to hold my seat for the first 3 hours of the journey until I relinquished my seat to a grandmother with her sick grandson.

There certainly isn't much regard for seat belts here. The bus took on as many people as it could fit, standing room included. Each time the bus made a stop, a rather heavy set employee had to make his way down the narrow center aisle to collect bus fare from the new passengers. So between all of the seat exchanges, comings and goings of passengers, a crowded center aisle, and the ritual round of the ticket guy.... a tango of sorts was performed at each stop. People of all shapes and sizes shifting and shuffling thier way around the bus in order to move or be passed. It became quite humorous by the end of the ride.. but after 5 hours I was ready to be off.

At last I arrived in Punta del Diablo, The Devil's End. What a town this is. I don't imagine they have any more than 500 permanent residents. An assortment of houses are spread across the ocean front, laced together by sandy streets that may or may not lead somewhere before they dissapear around the next corner or hill top. Its a fishing village, a fleet of about six or eight ships that bring in anything from shrimp to baby shark. I watched today as the sea birds and a few sea lions gathered around the bay in anticipation of a free lunch. The water is a bit chilly, but that doesn't seem to slow down anyone who is interested in surfing. The beaches are soft and clean, not too many shells. There is one supermarket.. I haven't seen a gas station, but I did pass a few horse drawn buggies during my walk through town today.

Hostel Tranquillo is quite comfortable. It has all of the amenities you would expect from a place that has recieved such great reviews. It's 2 stories, and rests just about 2 blocks up the hill from the water. The large front porch is slung with hammocks and the kitchen is located outside on the 2nd floor balcony. Its pretty hard to describe, so I'll just say that the place is beaming with character. In conjunction with the Hostel, the owners also opened a bar and restaraunt on the waterfront. Super cool. Its two stories tall with a roof top terrace and bar.. more hammocks outside, wine, beer, and some damn good food. As the busy season picks up the second floor will also act as a sushi bar.. serving up whatever the locals pulled out of the water that day.... we'll see how that goes. I have been lucky enough to avoid any food born illness to this point and I'd like to keep it that way.

So I am very comfortable here. I have made arrangements with the owner to work the reception desk 2 nights a week in exchange for a free room, with the option to help out behind the bar on buys nights. This will be my home for the next 4 weeks until Ry makes his way here to escape the bitter cold that is Arizona in December :-) I plan on spending my time reading, learning spanish, surfing, taking afternoon naps in the hammock, and enjoying the company of all the travelers passing through from different parts of the world. Life is good.