20 December - Home Sweet Home

We’re baack. Apologies for it taking me so long to write my final installment but I think I have only gotten over the jet lag/time difference in the last few days. Its funny isn’t it how when you first go on holiday the adventure seems to stretch on forever and then before you know it you’re home again wondering if it actually happened! To say it wasn’t fabulous would be a lie as would saying it wasn’t hard work but sitting here now looking back on it all the hard bits seem to have dissolved into funny little anecdotes while the good times loom large. The boys did fantastically well on the never ending journey home the reward for which being they got to see David Beckham at Auckland airport. Who? Is pretty much what the boys said when told of the superstar’s arrival - oh well I now have a very grainy shot of Becks to add to the photo album.

I think the whole getting back to reality has been softened by the fact that we have moved into a new albeit temporary rented home. It’s next door to Mum and Dads in Oxford with lots of room for the boys to run round and we have had Sky put in for those wet days, of which they are plentiful at the mo. I am raising my eyes heaven ward and saying a silent thank you for Playhouse Disney. Josh is still muttering about wanting to learn Spanish which would be quite something but we will see. Dan is chuffed to be home and amongst his faithful friends, Thomas, Douglas, Bill, Ben and Annie and Clarabell his faithful friends. Paul has eased back into the whole work thing and is pleased he can have a couple more days off next week for Christmas. Speaking of which MERRY CHRISTMAS x

I forgot to mention Josh´s little gem when we were on the bus to Santa Lucia, Mum, he announced in his usual foghorn voice, I know something really big that you´d like to be sitting on! Paul and I cracked up and were once again grateful for the lack of English spoken in Uruguay. What he was actually talking about was a house and I think he meant I´d get a good view from the rooftop. Colonia was so so soooo beautiful and I was sad to leave but Paul and I will be back one day just the two of us to fine dine our way round the city. Carmelo was a laid back little town with the Rio de Plato river being its main attraction. The temperature hit 37 degrees which resulted in an impromptu swim in the river. Josh in his undies, Paul in his shorts, Dan in his nap and me fully clothed. I have never been so relieved to jump into water in my life. One night there and then the ferry to Buenos Aires which was a much more enjoyable crossing than the initial one over to Uruguay as much more to see. We are enjoying the city much more this time round as we knew what to expect and things are familiar. The boys are in a childrens play area in a pretty ritzy mall called Gallerias Pacificas complete with fresco paintings on the ceilings. I dont have much money so got to go. Wish us luck for our 13 hour flight home. Buenos Aires to Santiago to Auckland to Christchurh AAAAGH!

We have a new number one low on our list of destinations...Santa Lucia or as the tourism webpage for Uruguay described it, the Romantic Circuit. We didn´t get off to a good start crammed on a local bus in stinking hot weather for nearly two hours. Upon arriving we lugged our gear and the boys for what felt like miles before finding one of only three hotels on the edge of town. We felt like alien visitors and as we puffed through town it began to dawn that perhaps there was a reason the locals didn´t see many overseas tourists. We booked into the only open hotel that once upon a time would have been grand but now was a shadow of its former self. Dumping the bags we dragged ourselves around the streets in search of these crumbling romantic ruins and when we found them failed to see any romance in them at all. Decaying and crumbling would more aptly describe them. We did have the best value icecreams of the trip that afternoon and a couple of cold beers perked Paul and I up. The boys really enjoyed eating their tortas frittas, fried potato bread, on the grass along with all the other locals escaping the heat later that night and it is quite a sight to see the locals riding round bare back. We decided one night was definitely enough and in the morning woke up to discover we were under seige from bugs, 1000´s of them had congregated in our door way. We hot footed it pretty quickly up to the bus stop and got out of there. I suppose it is good to escape all the lovely tourist destinations and get a glimpse at the real Uruguay but having said that it was a relief to arrive back into the gorgeous town of Colonia again. Today we have come to see Real de San Carlos home to a bull ring over 100 years old and will spend the rest of the day meandering around Colonia.Our trip is rapidly coming to an end. Tomorrow we catch the bus to Carmello which is a riverside town an hour or so down the coast for one night. From there we catch the ferry into Tigre, Argentina for another night and then its back to Buenos Aires for our last two nights. Ciao M x

Hola, some very exciting news... we have a brand new nephew called Kaleb Matthew. He was born on 20 November weighing in at 8.11oz and both him and Rachel are thriving. Cant wait to meet him at Christmas.

Its our last day in Piriapolis so we are headed for the beach. Its time to move on and tomorrow we catch the bus to Montevideo (not stopping there) and onto Cannelones. We are travelling a bit blind now as our lonley planet book doesn´t cover Cannelones but I found a place on the net called Santa Lucia which is nearby that looks lovely. Only 9 days travel left! Love M.

Cabo Polonio was one of those places that makes you feel as though you have arrived at the ends of the earth. It´s a fishing village inhabited by 500 locals and a couple of handfuls of tourists. Jutting out on a peninsula it can only be reached by sea or by four wheel drive truck. Our landlady Corina sorted us out with directions otherwise I don´t think we would have got there. We caught a local bus to the town of Pan de Azucar and then had to double back on foot as we had expected to pull into what transpired to be a non existent bus station hence we missed our stop and found ourselves plonked on the edge of town. The next drama was locating a place to buy our tickets for the coach but,eventually we got ourselves sorted and climbed on the coach that would take us to the drop off point for Cabo Polonio. We watched Uruguay´s eastern scenery whiz past from our cramped vantage points with the boys on our laps (kids are free on the buses so long as they sit on your knee). Gentle undulating hills of soft green gave way to fields of waving grass and yellow wild flowers. In the late afternoon sun it glowed. Eventually the bus pulled over to the side of the road and the driver shouted "Cabo Polonio". There the adventure really began with a bright yellow open backed dune truck waiting to take us to the village. Futile negotiations in English and Spanish were entered into for a ticket until an American girl intervened and wrangled us a return passage. Eventually the truck the boys christened the banana truck rattled and shook and took off over the sand dunes. The boys didn´t stop laughing from the moment we were off and every bump that tossed us around saw them giggling hysterically. Once we reached the beach I saw in the distance what I thought was a ship wreck but as the truck edged closer I saw that it was a mammal, a sea elephant to be precise and I can honestly say I have never seen anything so big (sorry Paul). The village sitting out on its vantage point was a sight to behold and I couldn´t wait to get there. When we did were dropped off in a sandy square and left to our own devices. A fishing village come hippy colony would best describe the place and the smell of horsepoo mingled with cannabis wafted through the air. There was a small and colourful market whose keepers were seemingly uncaring as to whether they made a sale or not as they laughed and joked in the sun. After asking directions to the hostel we headed up a dusty road that ended with a pink hotel literally on the sea. We could step off the veranda and paddle in rock pools while the Atlantic crashed in a few metres away. Once again our lack of Spanish was a problem but I challenge anyone to take me and Paul on at a game of charades at the end of this trip! Eventually we wound up with a lovely room, complete with shuttered windows opening out to the sea sadly it only had one bed but we weren´t spoilt for choice and besides our hostess had mimed back at us that she would give us a mattress to lay on the floor. Bedding sorted we went exploring and got our bearings. To say it was fabulous is an understatement - it was like nowhere we have ever been before. Women were doing their washing by hand over stone basins outside tiny rickety cottages, a quarter of which have no electricity. Horses and hens roamed free range and colourful fishing vessels dotted the shoreline. Behind the lighthouse were mounds of rocks, home to the local sea lion colony and the boys had a great time making huts out of the crevices in the rocks while we watched the sea lions via for top dog. The locals had knocked up a brightly painted pirate ship complete with fish netting and a plank and the boys whiled away hours fighting over who was actually captain of the ship. Actually seems to be the current catchphrase and it made us smile hearing Dan say "Josh actually I am the captain and its my boat". We ate on the hostels veranda with the sea washing in and out beside us. We found our tiny restaurant that served the best and cheapest pizza we have eaten on this entire trip. That night Paul and sat outside our window with a bottle of wine and marvelled at the billions of stars in the sky then crashed out (albeit fitfully due to our cramped sleeping arrangements)listening to the waves wash in and out. For those who have ever travelled on the New Zealand dollar you will no this would normally be an unaffordable luxury but the room and breakfast cost us US$35.00. Though its inaccessability is its appeal I have to say getting back to Piriapoulis was a mission. The dune truck was crowded to maximum capacity and when the bus came through on the main road at break neck speed we were taken in the opposite direction of where we were headed to the next town so as to purchase our tickets. In the end we were glad of the diversion because we were allocated seats whereas passengers climbing aboard later on were out of luck as it was standing room only. It took forever as the bus stopped and started,weaving in and out of every small town it could find on the way. We were hustled off at one of these towns and barked instructions at about getting another bus to Pan de Azucar from here. By this time we were hungry, tired and cranky and very pleased when the bus showed up within a few minutes. From Pan de Azucar, as seems to happen in South America, the bus back to Piriapoulis magically pulled up within fifteen minutes and by 8.20pm we were back at the bungalow. Today is a do nothing beach day! xox

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.

Pirapolis is heavenly. Blue skies and blue sea with a soft sandy beach. Our bungalow is dinky with everything we need and it is so nice not to have to charge off in the morning for breakfast. Self catering all the way. The boys are loving it as are we. We are here until Sunday and then off to the wilds of Cabo Polonia. Waiting with bated breath for an email announcing the safe arrival of baby Kaleb, Rachel and Matt xox