ARRIVAL

Now that you've seen the contrast we experienced in traveling from Ohio to Buenos Aires, I'll continue with our trip. The flights down here went relatively well. We kept Greta's clothes on (mostly) and the girls got a lot of attention as they sang "Jingle Bells" and ran in circles in the Panama city airport! We were able to crash and sleep for a day in B.A. The following day, we got on the "busquebus" or the ferry, to take a 3 hour trip across the widest river in the world, which brought us to Colonia, Uruguay. The ferry was much fancier than any of us imagined, and it was easy to travel with the kids. In Colonia, we got on a bus and drove through the countryside until we arrived in Montevideo. This is the city where Mark's mom grew up and where she lives now. It was wonderful to walk through her current neighborhood, a few blocks from the beach. We learned quickly that just about everything we need is within 2 blocks of her apartment. So, we walk everywhere, basically, which is so refreshing. We became accustomed to falling asleep and waking to the sounds of the city -- cars, horns, motorbikes, and the sweet clip-clop of the horses, who carry carts for picking up trash throughout the city. The horses are sometimes dressed up in fancy hats! After a couple days of getting to know this area, it was time to head out of the city to "Playa Verde." This is where we would spend the Christmas holiday -- on the beach, staying in the beach house of a friend who Mark's mom has know since she was a child.







. . . more on our Christmas experience later. . .