Back to Montevideo to get our passports!

Cory and I at the Parrilla!

Picture of the inside.

Picture of the grill!

Cory and headed back to Montevideo on Wednesday March 11th to get our passports at the US Embassy. First I have to tell you we made it without getting pulled over by a police officer. I drove with both hands on the wheel, lights on, didn't run any yellow lights, and had all of our documentation with us. We were ready if we did. The only thing we wanted to see and do while we were in Montevideo is to go to this huge indoor Parrilla (BBQ). We had heard this was the place to go if you wanted Carne (meat) and more Carne (meat). It is a huge building that is kind of outdoor/indoor. Inside there are rows and rows of Parrilla's (see pic above). You basically just pick one and sit down and start to order right off the grill. For $45 Cory and I ordered...Chorizo (sausage), Kingclip (fish) w/ roquefurt cheese sauce, Lomo (Flitet Mignon) 16 oz, 2 liters of beer, bread, salad, and papa frita's (french fries), that also included tip! Yummy! We were so stuffed and hot from sitting in front of the parrilla! Oh yeah, we also had some stuffed pork thing a guy from Canada ordered next to us and he couldn't eat all of it. I do have to say the steaks here are AMAZING and cheap for the size you get! I thought of many family members who would of died and gone to heaven in a place like this. If you ever make it to Uruguay, this is a must stop place! This is one of our highlights of the trip!

What have we been up to lately?

Hola Familia and Amigo's,

Sorry it has been a few weeks since I last posted. We have been really sick! We all got a head cold with a cough then one Friday night I got the chills and then a really high fever for 3 days. The highest my temperature got was 103.8, but it hung around 103 for about 3 days. I got some antibotics and it went away. Then Ava got a really high fever. We ended taking her to a medical clinic and she had a double ear infection. Poor little girl. She received a round of antibotics and is feeling alot better. Cory had still had the head cold thru all of this and he ended up taking a round of antibotics also. Kai was about the only healthy one. When we took Ava to the medical clinic it was amazing. We walked in and were helped right away it cost is about $50 to see the doctor, a pediatrician, and 2 perscriptions. WOW, amazing...we don't even have insurance here! But, we can join the clinic for $10 for the family per month and there will be no other charges. I won't go on my soap box about perscriptions and healthcare in the US.

So, we all started feeling better and decided to head up to the Gaucho Festival. All 5 of us got into our red Hyundai and headed North! But, can the Streeter's leave La Barra and not get a ticket? Nope...as we entered into one of the tolls to pay a police officer motioned for us to pull over. Crap! Not Again! How can this be? What did we do now? I think other things were said, but that was the jist of it. This time we were told that we needed to drive with our lights on at all times. Thank goodness for Karen once again. I had her tell him to tell me where on our car rental contract did it say that. He could not show us. So, he was still going to give us a $23 ticket that we had to pay in Montevideo (we weren't going there). Karen talked us out of the ticket and he only gave us a warning. He said that if we get a ticket for not having our lights on that my driver's license can be taken away. Great...my Oregon Drivers License can get taken away in Uruguay. So, we only have the car till March 15th then we are taking the bus everywhere. At some point you do have to laugh.

Anyway...our road trip was long and scenic. We drove 1060 kilometers which is about 600 miles. We saw the Gaucho Festival, drove over the Rio Negro, stayed the night in a town called Melo, paid only $15 per person a night for the room, and had a good time checking out the "real" Uruguay! See photo's below. I have alot more, so I will be posting another allbum on Shutterfly.

Chow,

Images from the car on our road trip!

Self portrait in back seat of our Hyundai! Can't believe all 5 of us fit in that car for 600+ miles.

Above are some pictures that we took from the car while were driving around Central and Eastern Uruguay. Most of the Country looks like this. It is actually very beautiful. VERY Green with rolling hills. Even though there are no majestic mountains here and it is realatively flat. There is so much beauty. There are evergreen trees, palm trees, and ecalyptus trees. There are large tree farms here where they grow pine trees and ecalyptus trees. We met a family who is from Seattle, but are living here for the next 3-5 years. He works for Werehauser. Werehauser has huge tree farms here and they just built a mill here. Interesting?

Gaucho Festival

Gaucho's walking down the street.

A beautiful horse...notice he is on the road with motorcylces, cars, and buses!

A young girl getting ready!

They had a mechanical bull. A large group of Gaucho's formed around the mechanical bull and were all taking turns seeing how long they could ride it. Lots of laughs!

Kai and I riding the ferris wheel at the festival.

We took off on a long car ride and one of our destinations was the annual Gaucho Festival. Most of the Country is only populated along the coast line and the capitals of each departments (states). We went to Tacarumbo which in the North Central area of the country. The Gaucho festival was HUGE! There were Gaucho's everywhere (Uruguay Cowboy) on their horses. Girls dressed in their pretty dresses riding hores. There were tons of booths selling "Gaucho Stuff" and ALOT of really good food. One of the the items we all love is the fried sweet bread with a a little sugar. Kind of like an elephants ear you would get back in the states, but well...different!

Climbed to the top of Jose Ignacio Lighthouse

Karen and Kai at the top of the lighthouse.

Mom and Kai at the top of the lighthouse.

View from the lighthouse looking East.

View from the top of the lighthouse looking West.

Kai climing the 121 stairs!

Ava, Cory, and I have been sick, so I decided one day to get Kai out of the house. Karen, me, and Kai drove to Jose Ignacio to hike the 121 stairs to the top of the lighthouse. It was a gorgeous day. Most of the days here are beautiful with blue skies! We had a good time. We hiked to the top of the lighthouse and then walked on the rocks that go far out in the ocean.

Our trip to Montevideo

We had to take a trip into Montevideo to get our stolen passports replaced. In my last post I wrote about our experience getting there. Above are some pics that I took around town. Cory and I are going back to Montevideo on March 11th to get our passports. So, we will see if we can make it with out getting pulled over.