Valle edén

After we finished our field work, we had some free time around Tacuarembó before heading south towards Montevideo. We decided to explore Valle edén (Eden Valley) near town, which boasted a pretty cool natural area and some waterfalls.


When we got there, the road ended at a small river, with the main bridge completely washed out. Luckily, there was a cool foot bridge across the water.


The "12 person maximum" sign on the bridge was pretty generous, I think. With the three of us, the bridge was swinging pretty good. Granted, the water wasn't very deep and the bridge was only about 12 feet off the ground, but still.


After the bridge, we were trying to find the waterfall we had read about, but with the road washed out, the alternate route was pretty made it pretty difficult to find. The random woman we talked with near the Museo de Carlos Gardel suggested we keep walking the 2-3 km up the road we were on, and we could find a smaller, more private, but slightly less impressive waterfall. We figured that was as good of an adventure as trying to find the bigger one, so we kept going on foot.

A ways up the road, we passed by a shack of a house at the end of the road. A guy came out and asked where we were headed. He said the waterfall was pretty hard to find, but he would take us through the field behind his house and up the "trail" to the waterfall. So we were joined by two local barefoot tour guides - our first time with Uruguayan hippies. They were very friendly, extemrely knowledgeable about the area, and very helpful about leading us to the waterfall.



The waterfall was pretty awesome. It was probably only about 10 feet high, but was flowing over a small cave area. We never would have found it on our own - the "trail" was pretty invisible, and even then, part of it was inaccessible because a recent storm had downed a couple trees. We followed the barefoot hippies all the way to the waterfall and actually around it to the top of it, where you could see the entire valley.

It was so nice to stand in the cave area, where it was cool and damp. The weather was usually pretty muggy in Uruguay, and even a short hike made us sweaty (well that, and the fact that our leisurely field work and Sonia's cooking didn't exactly keep us in shape).

Our hippie tour guides were very gracious, and took our money at the end of our journey with gratitude and politeness. I was constantly impressed with the people of Uruguay, especially around Tacuarembo. People seem genuinely nice and always had time to chat or show us around. Even the woman at the helado stand near the foot bridge was very excited to meet us. She had us sign her guestbook and seemed to incredibly happy to have tourists at her stand.

Rivera - a cuidad en Brasil y Uruguay

Even though we are now home (safe, sound, and really cold), there was still a lot that happened in our last few days in Uruguay. The last few days went by so fast that I actually forgot all the things that happened - the things we saw and the people we met. Even though I know I'll be back down before too long, and I'm comforted by that, I had a hard time leaving. It was hard to leave Sonia and her family, and the estate at La Corona as a whole. It was hard to leave the gracious people. It was hard to leave the good wine. It was hard to leave the warm weather.

So, now as I'm surrounded by blankets, a wood fire, a clingy dog and cat, a husband surely ready to come home from work, and occasional naps, I'll get down to the rest of the trip.

We spent the majority of a full day with Sonia and Luana on a trip to Rivera. It is a pretty cool city that straddles the Brazil-Uruguay border to the north. Most of the city's shops are duty free, and because of that attract a lot of tourists and traffic. It was one of the biggest commotions we've been in the middle of while we were here.

The border between Brazil and Uruguay is identified by tons of stone structures dotting the line between the two countries. It seems funny to see these historic structures even in the middle of a bustling city.

Sonia decided the best plan of attack for lunch would be to ask a local where to go. We stopped in at a gas station, where she hopped out to ask a gas station attendant where he would recommend we go. In typical Uruguay/Brazil style, the guy talked to her for awhile, then decided he was ready to leave and could lead us partway to the restaurant. He hopped on his moped and headed through town, with John at the wheel of our truck trying to keep him in sight.

After our guide waved us on, we had to stop 3 or 4 more times to ask other people where the restaurant. It was like playing a game of Hot and Cold, but as adults and speaking in another language. We thought something was wrong with us the three times we tried unsuccessfully to find the grocery store in town, or when we tried to find a local wine shop, but apparently this is just how it works down here. Just keep asking until you actually find it.

Everyone that Sonia asked was helpful - there was no hesitation when they spotted her hanging out of a truck window asking if they wouldn't mind answering a question. In the states, I think we'd be ignored a lot, but here, I think people are just used to striking up conversations with strangers.

We finally found the restaurant, and as we pulled into the parking lot, I realized that I had actually been here before. Apparently this is the place to be, because Juan Pedro took us to this lunch spot in Rivera on my last trip in February. I cracked up, because, really, what are the odds of ending up in the same place twice without planning it?

John was pretty ecstatic to be here, because he had heard my tales of the Brazilian barbecue. Our table was loaded with side dishes, and the waiter constantly came by with various meats on skewers - chorizo, chorizo and cheese, chicken legs, chicken hearts, beef roast, beef sirloin, you name it.

After lunch we headed into the downtown area for shopping - in the fancy duty free shops and also in the street market. During the afternoon, Sonia directed us to a helado stand for some ice cream, and we learned that Luana wanted to treat all of us to a snack. It was so nice to spend time with them, and we felt pretty honored to know that they liked us as well. The ice cream tasted awesome - it was a pretty muggy day with lots of walking in the sun, so it was a welcome way to cool down a little.

Downtown Rivera is literally between the two countries. We had to be total tourists and take pictures of us literally straddling the line between Uruguay and Brazil. In this shot, I believe that I am standing in Uruguay, and John is all the way in Brazil.


The street market offered hours of entertainment. Apparently you could find anything you might possibly need here. For instance, if you need guns or counterfeit knives, head into Rivera...


Or say you need to load up on sunglasses by "Prado" or "Dolce & Cabana"...

Or maybe you need to expand your collection of illegally copied CDs and DVDs. There were probably a dozen vendors with huge collections...

Sadly, we didn't walk away with much from the market, but we definitely had our fill of entertainment and sights.