Buenos Aires(again) & Montevideo, Uruguay.



Kara says:

A few days in BA and now settling into Montevideo.

Nice to be back in BA but completely different city! Winter (brrr), swine flu (or the less stigmatising, for pigs, "gripe A") and not a soul around. The schools were closed for a month to contain the spread of flu, the theatres closed, people were supposed to stay at home - and they really did! So very odd. Felt alot more european than before, don't know if it was because everyone was wrapped up in winter clothes shuffling through the biting wind or because now we've seen some more of South America we get why BA is seen as being the Paris of the south. Visited all our favourite haunts - local english pub for delicious ale and even more delicious porter, bar El Federal (see photo of Karl) for cosy nibbles and our favourite milonga (where there was room on the dance-floor all night! crazy.) and wandered around generally, reminiscing...

Photo of the Obelisco with giant argentine flag just to remind us where we were.


And then to Montevideo, our very own apartment all to ourselves! Although still recovering from the reality of having to clean your own toilet after 3 months in hotels. So Montevideo is about the size of Dublin, though early research is showing it has considerably less pubs. It's on the coast, we're in a coastal suburb that's feeling alot like salthill (nice prom, biting wind...) and very refreshing for walks. It really feels alot like Ireland at the moment, it's our first winter in years really so it's quite (pathetically) exciting - wrapping up warm for those afternoon walks, the smell of fires, bare trees!

Poor Karl's had to give up on his dream of surfing here every day - not alot of wave action alas. I think he's secretly pleased in the face of the current cold snap straight from Antarctica.

Can't say there's much news. Have been conscienciously doing nothing. Had a celebratory back-in-our-own-apartment-with-an-oven dinner, see photo, a roast!!! With brussels sprouts!!!!!!!!!! Our stock of candles had suffered somewhat on road so Karl did some DIY on them (see photo) with quite a special result I think, I especially like the touch of the matches still attached in places.

Also photos of Karl in the local shopping centre, and "fixing" our plants with his homemade gloves.



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