08.45 It's all quiet outside our room. Where is everyone from last night? Well, I guess they will probably pop up. We are still in Montevideo and in Uruguay. Like yesterday, we are at Green Hostel with its icecold walls and warm blankets.

10.27 The breakfast was similar to yesterdays, toast, cereal and milk and coffee. We got a little spoiled with fresh fruit in Brazil. It is not so much of that here but on the other hand, this is not a hotel either. Soon it´s time to see more of this southern capital city. It can´t be many capital cities to the south of this city.

11.18 The sounds of yesterday evening came most likely from a Taekwondo club nextdoor to our home. We’ve walked along the beach road Rambla Francia and are now looking out over the gray, wavy Atlantic Ocean. It warms a bit when the sun peeps out from behind the clouds. We are now further south than we have ever been before.

Christer at the "beach chimney" along the Rambla Francia.

11.33 We left the windy sea and gave up plans to walk far out on the long pier there. We had indeed come even further south, but had also been exposed to splashing sea water and icy winds.

11.37 We are now back at the Plaza Independencia, Independence Square. It warms a bit more in the city center than by the sea. It is time to explore new areas in this city.

12.14 From the square there was a long walk along the street of San Jose where some potential lunch restaurants should be. We found a number of hotels, including "Hotel California", but it is hardly the one which is mentioned in the old song.

12.24 Today we will be having lunch buffet at the restaurant Buffet Atlántico which we eventually found at San José 1028. They have Asian owners and Asian food at excellent prices. We have grabbed food from the abundant buffet. Unfortunately, it is quite drafty in here so we would prefer to eat with our jackets on.

The street Avenida 18 de Julio in downtown Montevideo.

Is this car allowed on the streets?

Peter is having lunch at the affordable Buffet Atlántico.

13.27 It was delicious but as I said chilly at the lunch restaurant. In addition to regular guests there were plenty of seniors who came in and picked up food in boxes, convenient and simple. The take away food had a price based on weight. Now it's time for a bench break on a green bench. We are at the Plaza Fabini, also known as Plaza del Entrevero. It is not exactly a hot day. Now we aim towards a heated mall, whether it is possible to find one.

13.54 No mall with heat is found. However, we have seen some men (street vendors) who kept themselves warm by drinking something out of small cups. They filled them with hot water from thermoses. We have also seen a tango-dancing couple. They were outside a restaurant next to the Fuente de los Candados, a fountain with a railing around. Loving couples had attached padlocks to the railing. As long as the lock last, so will the love. The last time we saw this kind of padlock formation was in Riga in the spring of 2008.

Avenida 18 de julio.

Street vendors warm themselves with a local tea, mate.

A little tango might attract more diners?

14.44 What has happened since last time? We have seen a small business named Bimbo, we’ve visited a small stationery store and Christer has bought socks from a street vendor. The socks he brought with him from Sweden have been worn, pair after pair. The price was clearly affordable and the socks sturdy. We have also been looking for a toilet in various small malls without success.

15.10 We've been surfing the internet and warmed ourselves at Cyber Bless. There was also a toilet there so now the search is over. Now we're going out in the cold again. We might take aim on the city's southern parts, all to beat our own southern record.

The national football team (the sky blues) are being remembered.
They finished fourth in this summer's football World Cup.

16.15 We are pleased with the record that we already have and see no reason to break it. It is a bit too cold for such adventures. It's cold here but it has certainly never ever been snowing here. Christer has also bought a souvenir in a shop at the Independence Square, a knitted cap!

16.27 The Post Office in the city centre has been visited. Now our postcards are on their way.

A considerable amount of postcards were sent from this post office for the long journey north.

17.15 Cold rain and hail, no snow, however, drove us first into a small store and then to our home. We have seen people standing, walking and sitting; they all have a goblet, earless mug of the same type as the men we saw previously. In the cups there is a combined spoon/straw. The drink is mate, a kind of tea. Chopped leaves placed in the beaker and you just add hot water. It is very common in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.

18.39 Here, in our room, it is around +13-14˚C. It might not be just that much warmer on the street. I am surprised if it reaches above +5˚C

19.26 Today we had a classic dinner. We have gone to Burger King for hamburgers. Sometimes it's easy to watch, order, pay and get your food in a minute. Nor is it a hassle to understand menus, no waiting on the bill, no cover charge. Another thing that is nice is the fact that it's nice and warm in here. We are almost alone in the restaurant and have access to a newspaper which someone left behind.

The garbage horses defy the rain and the cold.

20.06 We're back home. Reggae music are heard from the lobby below. We're going to pack what little we had unpacked. Out on the streets some people drove around with a horse and cart. They collect the garbage. Does that the horse a garbage horse and the driver a garbage horse driver? In any case, it is one of these professions in our world that we barely knew existed. They differ clearly from the nice cars and houses in the center. Probably they originate from some more rundown part of the city.

21.37 Guitar and drums are heard from the lobby. We´re sitting in the room and are drinking local beer, Pilsen and Patricia. We are also thinking about how our website should be better in the future. Some small changes to be implemented when we get home in about a month from now.

Friday 16th of July

07.50 Heavy breathing and snoring can be heard from the room next door. It is, with some reluctance, that I pull away the blanket. Now it sounds as if someone is singing or is the person just talking in the sleep?

08.56 The last breakfast in Montevideo is over and we're back in the room. Now we will just walk down the steps, arrange with a taxi and travel to the bus station, a new destination, new room and new adventures await.

09.19 The Green Hostel is behind us. I will not miss it. It was cold and not the most brilliant service. It is simply simple. Sometimes it felt more like a hangout for a couple of friends than an accommodation for tourists. There was also live music to the middle of the night. Now our taxi has taken us back to the Montevideo bus terminal Tres Cruces. It was a good taxi driver, he offered Christer some candy. Around me there are some mate drinkers. I wonder how it tastes. Maybe I should try it some time?

09.52 Turil (http://www.turil.com.uy) is the name of today's bus company. They will take us west to Colonia del Sacramento. There a day with various activities awaits us. We also practiced Spanish by speaking with the nice baggage man. He then loaded up our backpacks in the trunk.

11.05 There is cultivated land on both sides of the road. Here and there silage bags appear. Now we pass a shop where there is agricultural machinery outside. Soon half the journey is done.

12.11 Our ultimate goal for the day is approaching. We just drove through a long palm avenue. It is sunny and nearly cloud free. I am sad to say that it seems to be cold. But it is after all, winter.

The inner parts of Hostel Colonia.

Peter is writing down some notes in our simple and cold room.

12.53 We’ve arrived in Colonia del Sacramento, a cozy small town with many old buildings from colonial times. We have purchased a bus ticket for tomorrow and the sales woman looked strange at Christer when he chose the 5:40 bus instead of the one leaving at 14:30. It was a relatively short walk from the bus station to our next home. Today's room number is 13 Today's accommodation is Hostel Colonia. Nowadays it's a hostel but a few years ago it was a simple hotel. There is a small blue wooden staircase up to our room door. The door and the window are open. It is cool in the room. When we checked in a scooter drove past the front door and went through the lobby.

13.22 We walked out of the hostel and sat down at the restaurant La Pasiva next door. It belongs to the same chain as the restaurant we dined at the first night in Montevideo. Now we have ordered pasta and meat sauce. Christer changed his kind of pasta because the waitress thought that he had chosen a bad type of pasta. We´re sitting on the restaurant´s outdoor seating, and now we are being served grated cheese. All around us we have our old friends, the dogs.

Christer is having lunch in the sun. You have to enjoy the few warm sunny minutes each day.

A dog is enjoying the winter sun.

13.58 There was plenty of food and lovely with sun. We are also going to take the opportunity to recommend the soft drink Paso de los Toros which is incredibly tasty. It is made from grapefruit, a perfect thirst quencher.

14.15 We have started our walk around the small cozy town. In South America it is unusual that small towns also have many tourist attractions. We have walked through a park and have made a short stop at a small sandy beach. Here we have met a dog who seems to want to guard the beach, but he is also curious to see and greet us.

14.40 Once again, I look out over the water that I previously only seen on maps. This time, it´s the Rio de la Plata. We have just seen a parked car that had the reminiscent of a 1930´s Chicago. It was well groomed and polished.

A dog at the Rio de la Plata.

Vintage car parked in Colonia del Sacramento.

The ferry from Buenos Aires is arriving.

Somewhere beyond the water behind the two of us, is Buenos Aires.

14.52 This is really peaceful. Between the houses are the charming cobbled streets, meat is being barbecued in the gardens and out on the water we can see the ferry from Buenos Aires in Argentina on its way here. Buenos Aires is located approximately forty kilometers away across the river/bay.

15.12 A narrow spiral staircase took us to the top of a white lighthouse. The entrance was not so heavy, 50 US cents. From here we can see the water and the city. We can for example see the ferry port. Down on the ground a man seems to be cutting stones. The wind is cold up here and we are far from alone.

15.41 We made our way gradually down from the lighthouse. It was not easy, especially not if you were meeting someone in the spiral staircase. Now the waves roll in in front of us. Behind us we have the remains of an ancient fortification. Christer just said that eighteen days are made and twenty four days remain. This goes for this summer’s travel. The fort is the Bastion de San Miguel. All of the old parts of the town that we have seen are on the UNESCO World Heritage list. There are plenty of tourists here, most are from Argentina and the United States.

Time to visit a lighthouse.

View from the lighthouse in Colonia del Sacramento.

Peter writes his journal even on high altitudes.

16.07 It's time for some sacred stuff again. We stopped at the cathedral Basilica del Santisimo Sacramento. Before we came here, we have also looked at the ruins of the old houses that stood here for hundreds of years ago.

16.24 We were looking into the cathedral and also got a street map from a guy at the church door, he offered maps in exchange for a small coin. Opposite the church there are some restaurants with spectacular old cars outside. In one of these a tree is growing. How long has it been here?

16.58 No. 33 and 34 are our seats on the bus tomorrow morning. 9-10 is the number of degrees we have now. We are back in the room at the Hostel Colonia. So I was wrong the other day when I thought that no place would be colder than what we had in Johannesburg last year. There are plenty of older cars in the city.

The oranges were just beyond the reach of our greedy fingers.

Christer found an ancient cannon.

This car has been parked here for a while.

17.32 Sure, the room is nice, but oh so cold. We will leave the room in the near future. Internet first, more needs to be seen of the city and then we'll have dinner.

18.02 We're sitting in the calm around a wooden table. We are in the hostel’s common room, waiting for computers to become available. Now I think that one became vacant. A man sat down by the fireplace instead.

18.49 We are briefly back in the room. Shortly we will go out and find a dining venue offering parrilla, grilled meat.

Lazy dogs in winter clothes

A large V appeared at night on General Flores Street.

19.28 We are where the local bus stops and turns, where the main street ends and where the water begins. It's dark and we're trying to photograph the moon and trying to see Buenos Aires across the water. None of the projects are going that well but one senses that there are some lights far away on the horizon.

19.43 We will have parrilla some other time. We are now at the restaurant Mercosur. Here we shall try Milanesa Napoletano and red wine. I bought a notebook that will serve as a future travel journal before we got here. The cigarette package that the lady before me bought had a picture of a person in a hospital bed.

(Watch: http://www.tobaccolabels.ca/gallery/uruguay/uruguay2009healtheffectsvascularsystemcardiovascul)

20.51 Both of us were served a big steak, breaded, topped with ham, cheese and bacon, to it we got fries and tasty wine. We are really stuffed. At the table next to us there was a family from Porto Alegre in Brazil. We were there five days ago. It is +7˚C in our room. It will be like sleeping inside a refrigerator this night.

22.14 It's nice to have a hot shower. It is tough to walk outdoors straight from the shower the small distance to the room. It was a brisk walk on a stretch of, well, 8-10 meters. Now I must hide under the covers to gather heat. Good night!

Saturday 17th of July

04.34 It is time to leave the warm embrace of the blanket and quickly put on some clothes. It's morning, its cold. How cold? Well honestly, I probably don’t want to know. Today is it by the way exactly ten years since our first interrail train trip began. At that time it was a common joke between us that we would buy the blue train timetable. It felt totally unrealistic because it covered the timetables from outside Europe.

05.18 On our walk to the bus station we got company, a black female. She was sociable and she wanted to have protection from us? It was the same dog that we had next to us when we had lunch yesterday. The city feels completely deserted. Is anyone else awake? The dog entered the bus station a couple of minutes after us and she sits by the ticket counter. Is she about to buy a ticket?

05.29 The dog tried to blend in. She sat near a table where a family was sitting. She did well to make it look like she was their dog. All tricks are allowed to get inside and get warm. Soon we´ll enter the bus.

05.34 The dog's newfound "family" disappeared and she was discovered by a guard and no longer welcome inside.

05.47 Drama early in the morning. An elderly lady on the bus is struggling to wake up the young man on the seat beside her. She wanted to pass him and said repeatedly, "Señor, señor!". I made signs to her to shake him. But the nice lady did not want to do it. In the meantime a young man in a couple argued about seats with some others. The sleeping señor woke up, let the lady pass and then went back so sleep. The couple just sat down in their seats.

06.12 We are slowly moving north. It is time to get some sleep.

10.00 Our bus from the company Chadre is running late. There have been passenger exchanges here in Fray Bentos. I slept a little along the way, well I slept a lot. I have slept for a couple of hours.

12.09 We have stopped in Paysandú, one of Uruguay's major cities. Passengers get off and on.

12.52 Lost time is taken back. The bus is filled with people. There are not enough seats for all on the last stretch between Paysandú and Salto. An hour remains of the trip. Christer and I are reading in our books by the Scottish crime author Ian Rankin; The Black Book and Mortal Causes.

At the bus station in Salto.

The "short" walk to the hostel was a long, very long walk.

13.56 Well, look here! We arrived ahead of schedule. We are in Salto in northwestern Uruguay. Here, it is not so hot. I'm craving for some coffee. Christer has left to look for yet another ticket office. We will soon find out what we do next.

14.10 Darkness! Eternal darkness! Christer has spoken with an energetic English speaking lady at the ticket counter. She told him that there is no bus on a Sunday (tomorrow) to the places we thought about to travel on to, either Uruguaiana in Brazil or to Concordia in Argentina. However, there is a night bus option to Posadas, Argentina. But that means hassle, switching and the transport is also quite expensive.

14.29 It is leaning towards that we still take the night option to Posadas and spend two full days there. We have not so much to choose from.

Salto

You can find Salto Hostel on the second floor.

15.47 We went for the night bus option. After the ticket purchase a long walk to Salto Hostel (http://www.saltohostel.com) followed. We had underestimated the distance on the map and we also took a wrong turn several times. In all cases, we´re staying in the cold room number 6 and have a bunk bed. When I booked this room, I managed to arrange with a double bed but we had no problems changing it. We asked if we can stay longer tomorrow. The lady who checked us in is about to consult some other people about the final price.

17.27 We may stay here until this time tomorrow. Now we are at the restaurant Carbonara and have ordered food. I started by ordering beef but changed my mind when I was asked to choose a side dish. I went for pizza instead. It is a choice that I might regret. Christer was more assertive and chose pizza. Outside, it's a cold rain. Behind us there is a birthday party for children. It is a big cake on the children's table. They seem to have really fun.

18.41 I finished dinner with an espresso, strong enough to bend a nail. After dinner, we bought the evening- and travel snack at El Revoltijo, a large supermarket nearby. Here at the hostel a fire is burning in the fireplace. In the room outside our door, two fathers are playing with their children.

Good books in a nice atmosphere.

20.23 I have been reading, and Christer is reading by the fireplace. The children we have seen are playing happily. Three (Americans?) has checked in. Everything seems quiet and nice. There is something cozy, homey with a fire in a fireplace.

21.26 There is a commercial for Pan Sueco, Swedish bread, on our TV. What kind of bread that is so typically Swedish? Is it the thin loafed bread or crisp bread? It did not look familiar.

23.39 We have been on the internet and I have played a table-football gable against a girl at the age of (around) five. She became ever so happy and really pleased when she scored. It is time to sleep. Tomorrow morning it is time for laundry.

Chris and forgotten underwear.

Sunday 18th of July

08.54 There will be no clothes washed today, maybe just a city tour. It's raining, wet, cold rain is falling outside. I hope it holds up soon. Maybe not for the laundry but I do not want to sit here all day.

10.52 We have experienced a huge breakfast´s opposite. The coffee and the bread were more or less consumed. We told about it but the lady in question wanted to see it with her own eyes to believe it. More coffee and bread arrived but not much for grown men. We are about to head out. Should we bring umbrellas? There is no internet connection on our computer today. Has it rained away?

11.25 Umbrellas were brought and they have been used. Now we are standing in the drizzle at Plaza Artigas. Here, as in Montevideo is Uruguay's national hero and founder, General Artigas on horseback. Along with the square there is a street with for the day, appropriately name Calle 18 de Julio, 18th of July Street.

José Gervasio Artigas (1764-1850) has been celebrated with garlands on the Constitution day, July 18th.

We walked on the 18th of July-street the 18th of July.

11.50 We are at Trouville Pizza for an early lunch. We are here to get warm, get dry and to eat. Here in Salto, as in previously visited cities in Uruguay cars of an older model rolls around. Many are very well kept. An elderly gentleman who just came into the restaurant is shaking hands with each member of staff before he sits down for Sunday lunch.

13.02 We are leaving the room warm, dry and satisfied. Now we are looking out over the Rio Uruguay. On the other side of the river is Argentina. It is not the first time that we gaze across a river from one country to another. In addition to us we can see a family taking pictures. They are from Argentina, if we can trust the car's registration plates. We have also seen a car from France parked along a street here, weird!

A rainy day in Salto.

Lunch at Trouville Pizza.

13.21 Close to the river there were plenty of bushes but also plenty of fish. Large shoals swam around and broke the surface from time to time. One got the impression that there were more fish than water there, a fascinating sight.

13.32 We've looked around a bit more down by the river and the harbour, found a bunch of dogs, a closed museum, and an abandoned rail with a trolley.

13.48 Home sweet home. We are back in our cold room. Something that is not back is the internet connection on the computer. Before returning home, I stood and posed on a trolley. We have also seen one of the Americans who checked in last night. It's a small world/city.

Peter is testing abandoned rail.

A car from France, here in Uruguay?

15.32 The internet connection came back and remained which is good. What also remains is the rain which is less good. In six hours we should be at the bus station. What should we do until then and how do we get there, by foot or by taxi?

16.43 We have taken one last stroll here in Salto. There was no rain for a while. This is a quiet pleasant town where you probably do not experience too much stress in your daily life. We walked past the city's zoo but we did not have time for a visit there.

17.24 There is light rain in the air and we have walked to the restaurant La Trattoria. Here we have just ordered dinner. Today as well as yesterday, I ordered the same kind of food as Christer, Milanese Tropical. The reason this time was that they did not have the entrecote that I ordered.

17.40 It takes time to get food. The middle-aged waitress has asked us something about the sport broadcast on TV but we don´t quite understand what she meant. It appears to be hockey for women (hockey, not icehockey).

The Uruguay river (Rio Uruguay), border between Uruguay and Argentina.

18.35 A Milanesa (large cutlet in several layers) is more than a grown man can handle. I am ever so satisfied. Perhaps one Milanesa is meant for two or more persons, it must be so. At the restaurant an elderly man asked for a chocolate bar to go with the coffee. The waitress went out and bought one. When she returned, it appeared that the man was satisfied with a small piece of the bar. Now we are back in the room to pack and then walk towards the bus station.

19.28 A medium-sized South American city is easy to cover by foot by two experienced men. We are catching our breaths and are letting our umbrellas dry. We are back at the bus station and we´ve got plenty of time.

19.59 The umbrellas refuse to get dry. Within two hours, we should be in the next country, Argentina.

20.15 An old man here at the bus station was wondering about our origin. In a mixture of Spanish and English, he asked first if we were mormons. It turned out he was on a naval visit to Sweden in 1954. Then it had been -22˚C. He told us that he still had a black and white photo at home as a souvenir of the experience.

20.40 Our next trip has begun. It started in a parking garage. We´re goong by car (taxi) to a bridge which crosses the river and towards the Argentine border. Our bus company had arranged a "taxi" that will take us to the border and a bit further. There we are connecting with the "correct" bus at a "place where there are policemen," the woman standing in the travel company's counter said to us. Three other people shall apparently also go with the bus. They are sitting in this very moment in another taxi. It is still raining.

ARGENTINA

21.34 Our driver slowed down. Some capybaras stood and said goodbye to us before we crossed the Rio Uruguay. We were smoothly stamped out and in at the border station. Now we are standing by a small hut under a viaduct by a highway. Beside us, there are a few policemen and the three men from the hostel that we thought were Americans. They are two Canadians and one Australian. In addition we have the Alsatian dog Rambo and his little black girlfriend Marta. The dogs are in the company of police officers who have some kind of roadblock here and check various things from the passing vehicles.

21.56 We stand in the rain and wet and are talking to our newfound friends. They have been traveling for three months and have traveled through Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina before coming to Uruguay. Suddenly we feel like novices. The tall Australian claims that he is about to take a short trip to Sweden soon.

22.36 The arrival time is passed by six minutes. I have come to suspect that the bus would be late. How late is it?

23.00 After looking and hoping for a number of passing and stopping buses, we are on board and on the road. It says Kurtz on the bus. It is green. Everything that we were informed about has come true. It's great to come on board and sit down in a dry, warm environment. The night bus has ultimate comfort with blankets, TV and a bus hostess.

Is it the right bus this time?