We had an action-packed few days on the Panagea Ranch near Tacuarembó - a first-hand experience of the life of the gauchos (cowboys). The owner of the ranch, Juan Manuel, is undoubtedly one of the funniest men I have ever met and he made our stay very enjoyable. Despite his pains to stress how basic the accommodation was, it was perfectly comfortable and relaxing and the food that they served up was great. When we arrived we were a bunch of nervous horse-riding...

Montevideo is the capital city of Uruguay. I didn't have much time there - I arrived late at night and went straight for dinner. Emma, Jim, Julio and I carried on to the El Pony Pisador bar where there was a live band playing samba, salsa and suchlike. They stuck on some reggeaton videos when the band took a break - that was more to my liking Before we left the next morning, I just had time to visit the Palacio Legislativo - a gorgeous, elaborate building, deco...

I took the ferry across the Rio de la Plata from Buenos Aires in Argentina to Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. Colonia is a small sleepy town; it is quite pretty with cobbled streets lined by tall trees. When I arrived in the evening, we went for dinner at the quirky El Drugstore restaurant - it was colourfully decorated, had live music and even had one table outside in an old car! The next day I went for a relaxing stroll around town - it doesn't take long t...