We have really settled into life in Piriapolis right down to taking our empty beer bottles back down to the local supermarket and recyclying them in exchange for money off our purchases. The bungalow is so dinky and at night we sit outside with a cold beer and bag of chips (oh yes I will have to do some serious exercising when we get home but as I have already said in Uruguay all shapes and sizes let it hang out on the beach and my bum is probably middle of the range size wise so bring on the chips!) The boys amaze us letting their imaginations run wild and there is a lot to be said for getting away from your day to day home comforts. Paul and I reckon Piriapolis is a mix of Portugal and France but at this time of year even lovlier because the beaches only have a handful of people on them despite the gorgeous weather. We have extended our time here and are still leaving for Cabo Polonia on Sunday but come back to our bungalow on Tuesday for another five nights. Yesterday we went to Punta del Este where the rich and famous holiday and although the beach was gorgeous it was just like any other resort round the world so we were happy to hop on the bus and come back to our little slice of paradise. I think I mentioned the beaches are virtually empty this time of year which is a good thing because the other day aside from one of those disgusting couples that cant leave each other alone in public (I have to order Paul to hold my hand from time to time when we are out and about as he is usually charging ahead on a mission)we had it to ourselves. We were just about to yell at the couple to GET A ROOM when Josh charged at me with a handful of wet sand. I took off all of a wobble only to trip and face plant spectacularly on the sand. The little sod still chucked the sand at me while Paul hissed at me to tidy myself up. One boob had deigned to fall out of my bikini top! Not my proudest moment but thankfully Mrs Loved up was to busy gazing at Mr Loved Up´s speedos to notice.

There are seven hills surrounding Piriapolis and we climbed one the other day for some fantastic views over the town and its surrounding beaches. Once at the top we collapsed for a bit before exploring around the little white chapel perched nearby. It was swamped by a school party and I now know what it is like to be a celebrity. There I was hot and sweaty with my little off white legs poking out of my shorts doing my usual, shouting at the boys, when I noticed the kids were staring raptly at me. Their teacher introduced himself and said he was their English teacher and that the children were fascinated by me because they had never heard English spoken by a New Zealander before. Hence I had my fifteen minutes of fame holding court while my audience listened to me prattle on. I think Paul was a bit put out but hey it makes up for the time in Tunisia when, being a blonde, he got treated like Brad Pitt while I spent the fortnight feeling like one of Brad´s stalkers.

The only downside of Piriapolis or rather Uruguay in general is that we have had real problems getting money out. Our cashflow cards have been getting rejected as unrecognizable and we feel like we have spent far to much time going from bank to bank since we have been here. In the end we had to use our last resort, visa cards but it was a nice feeling to be able to go and have an icecream again.

Lots of love to you all xox Michelle.