Excursion in Uruguay and Bidding Goodbye to Buenos Aires

I can hardly believe that six weeks have already passed! Well, it´s kind of odd, because at the same time, I am really ready to go. Maybe it´s just that it´s hard for me to place the fact that six weeks of my ¨adventure¨ have passed here in this city already, and I don´t know how exactly to measure or compare how long the time feels. It doesn´t so much as feel short...that´s for sure...as it does sort of unreal...like the time here has passed without having really contained much of the stuff I measured my life by before. It´s been different. I´d probably call myself a creature of habit, even though I do love to accept new challenges and step out of my comfort zone. I still thrive on routines. Simple routines, in which I am doing things that I love to do, that are fullfilling, and although sometimes very difficult are also straightforward. It this city, I have often felt like a hampster spinning on its wheel fervently racing to accomplish little if anything of real substance. While this assesment might sound somewhat bleak, my experience has also taught me much, even if by an excercize in futility. I long to take long strides in the mountains. To breathe clean fresh mountain air and clear my head and heart a bit. The city makes me feel kind of gunked up, I think. Whether from air pollution, clogged streets, my own uncertain schedule and mission here, or the many bodies which constantly bump me and push me about, giving me the impression of a world in which there are people everyone but true warmth nowhere...I don´t know. But its probably been a combination of all of these and more. It´s not that I want to be alone. I love company--but I´m just discovering that I am pretty particular about what kind, how much, and the quality of the environments that I want to be in. It matters a lot to me.

That´s one of the reasons why I was so pleasantly suprised when I took a trip last weekend to Uruguay. I´d heard a lot about the ways in which the culture is different there. From the smiling faces of small-town people to the uncrowded and emmaculate beaches I found, Colonia turned out to live up to it´s name. I boarded a ship for a 4-hour trip to get there, said goodbye to BsAs and set off to spend the day on my own exploring the Uruguayan port town and enjoying its open spaces.



When I arrived, the first thing I did was hit the beach. Bliss. The atmosphere was quiet and friendly, the beach right in town, and the mountain bike I rented to get all over the region for the day was only $1.50 per hour! Score! There were friendly smiling faces to meet me eveywhere I went.





At the tourist office, a nice man in a suit enjoying the afternoon on the beach handed me a map of the region´s historic places. It was a perfect bike map, as all of the streets were laid back and manageable by bike (although the mountain bike was needed for the cobblestone streets!)



On my way out of town, I biked past a kite-flying contest. Everyone seemed to be having a really good time, and it was fun to stop by for a bit and see how high some of the kites were, and pretty too.



On my way back in, I decided to make a stop at a beautiful beach where I saw lots of kids playing around and laughing. As I walked by, a waitor at a beach cafe playing reggae music stopped me to remark about what a lovely day it was (in English) and then offer to watch my bike while I walked to the water. When I came back, I got an invitation to a real Uruguayan party! But alas, I wasn´t prepared to stay for more than the day, and I headed off to catch my boat back.

Ahh, goodbye, Uruguay. As we floated away, I thought about how I´d like to return sometime. I heard that Montevideo, 2 hours away from Colonia, is the most laid-back capital in South America, and I believe it.




Maybe I will return sometime. For now, it was back to rockin´ Buenos Aires...


but not for long. After an illness this week kept me in most of the time, it´s already time to pack up and head off to Bariloche tomorrow! I am so excited!! I know I will miss this city sometimes; I doubt there is anything that compares to it anywhere else in the world...and I am grateful for what I have learned here, even if it is that I am certain that it´s time to leave, and that I will be going to a place I really need to be.