Warning: this is mostly a travel blog today

 We returned from the US, had about 10 days off, and headed back to school. If you know me at all, I assume you know that I like to "squeeze every minute" out of most days. So, a day after we returned, I decided we should visit a farm and stay the weekend. We saw a fabulous lightening storm as a reward.

The balance of our vacation was spent driving Marieka to gymnastics practice (4 hours in the heat- this girl is amazing), going for walks and bike rides, and enjoying the bits of summer we had left.

We then decided need to check out Colonia de Sacramento, an UNESCO world heritage site. At just 100 miles away, I knew we couldn't miss it, and it is so good to have a break from the day to day.

Holy cow, this city was gorgeous! The weather was windy and cloudy, but still warm. Rob and I started our day with a walk to the Colonia sign, and he got to be Uruguayan with his mate and thermos in elbow:

Every city of any size has one of these signs. I like the uniformity of them!

We then headed out to the old part of town, estabilished in the 1600's by the Spanish and the Portuguese. There is discussion of their different architechtual styles, but I don't understand it enough to explain. Just believe me when I saw this is one of the prettiest places I have ever been to! They even have the remnants of a city wall and gate!

We just wandered the quaint streets, admired the old cars that are parked (most of them are now planters) and marvelled at the wind whipping through the streets. When the Spanish came, they reported "the water seems clean but it is really windy." This was not a lie!

Street of Sighs

We got to swim *first indoor swim pool in UY* and we enjoyed a large outdoor food court with loud techno music where strangely, we were only one of 3 tables occupied. I think the wind scares people off. We also got a gorgeous sunset view along with a sweet marriage proposal! I hope she said yes!

The next day, we explored a new beach, paddleboarded and then went to a fabulous lunch at the Earthship Hotel, a hotel that is built into an earth berm and is equipped with endless solar panels. Food was amazing and location was calm and perfect.

Wine bottles make excellent walls

This hotel is built into the dirt and has solar panels. Very cool.

Parilla + pizza oven: Uruguay Cuisine in 1 photo

On the way back to Montevideo, we visited Colonia Suiza and of course, bought some cheese. We also saw this impressive water tower in the small town, which drew heavily on their Swiss immigrant heritage, or something!

Summer is drawing to a close and public school reopens soon. It was basically "Labor Day" here last weekend, which is known as Carnival Break. We took the 3 1/2 hour drive to Punta Del Diablo, the far flung beach town with an intense hippie vibe just 30 miles from Brazil. The weather was iffy and rained and thundered (as it seems to here!) but it was a wonderful place to escape to. 

The first night, we were booked at a hostel because lodging was difficult to find. The place had received a number (ok, 6) scores of "10" on booking.com so we figured it would be good enough.

We were wrong.

It was definitely a hippie hostel which would have been ideal for us 30 years ago without a teenager, but now just felt awful and a whole lot of effort. The floors were plywood and every chair in the place seemed to be broken. The beds were nicely made and the art was cool and funky (one room was wallpapered entirely in newspaper), and I will admit, there was a nice hammock outside of our room. However, in the deluge on the first night, there were puddles THROUGHOUT the building on the inside. Building codes be damned!

One of three things I didn't hate at the hostel: 

dulce de leche, the creative wallpaper, and this hammock.

The breakfast included Dulce de Leche, which was good but didn't make the experience any less terrible.

We switched hotels the next day, telling the hostel politely "Perhaps I am too old for hostels." Our next place was on the beach, was not made with plywood and had a swim pool It was a bit rainy, so we explored Santa Teresa National Park. We got to see capybaras, niambus (the UY version of an ostrich) and strangely, a Vietnamese Pot Bellied Pig.

The greenhouse had some beautiful plants.

We also got to walk through a wetland that was very much like Nisqually Wildlife Refuge, if far more humid.

I got to find a swim group to swim with at Playa Grande, which some people consider to be the BEST bieach in Uruguay. A woman runs a swim group there everyday, with beginner and advanced groups. Then she moves on to teaching kids swimming lessons, in the ocean! We laughed about how we have both been lifeguards and swim teachers but I have never taught at a beach and she has never taught in a pool!

The sense of summer ending in Uruguay is palpable. The tunics are ready for purchase at the stores and the back to school displays are huge.

I can feel their sadness a bit. These people love summer!

Coming up: lots of long swims as I try for a 10K. Rob will support my small group of swimmers tomorrow by carrying water and snacks on board the paddleboard and we try to train for this insane distance.

Rob will try to bike pack and plan a longer trip through UY.

Marieka continues on swim team and gymnastics and continues to get awesome grades.

Thanks for reading.

I will leave you with a little video of a swim I did a couple of weeks ago around Seagull Island!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKyVv-ynh3w