We've been initiated here in Uruguay. Officially joined the backpacker ranks. First mosquito bites, first hostel with shared bathroom, first cold shower, and the first time we've really felt the effects of what Josh called the "tourist tax" - the price is listed right there on paper but somehow they find ways of charging you more. The fact that it's normal to pay 400 Urguayan pesos for dinner, which we then convert into Argentinean pesos and then into dollars probably hasn't helped our cause...

But I can't complain too much. Colonia is totally idyllic - a small coastal town replete with requisite cobblestone streets, white stucco mediterranean architecture and gorgeous sunsets. It's situated between two rivers and only a one hour boat ride from Buenos Aires. We met one super friendly Porteño hockey stick salesman here in Colonia on business for the first time who couldn´t believe he´d never made the one hour trip before.

The thing to do here is rent motos. Everyone from grandmas to teenagers tool around on these things. We've seen entire families on one. We shared one and rode along the coast and through some of the town. Josh made it look easy but it took me a few tries to get the hang of balancing. The hostel we stayed at also rented bikes at no charge, which we took over to the local mall where the parking attendant assured us it would be safe to leave them unlocked - for a little tip he would take good care of them. My bike was tiny and Josh's bike didn´t fully pedal all the way around, but we managed to make it to the mall and back.

It's been nearly three weeks and I'm starting to feel a little guilty that we haven't been to a museum yet. A mall, yes, a museum no. We tried to go to one our last day in Buenos Aires but it was closed, on a Tuesday. We took it as a sign and instead checked out some beautiful rose gardens and had time to track down a yoga mat for me - which involved a seriously long scavenger hunt - and a financial calculator for Josh. Priorities.

I'm going to keep this post short because we're heading back to Buenos Aires in a couple hours to catch our first overnight bus up to Iguazu Falls. We'll write again once we get there and download our photos from Colonia then as well.

Oh, and so as not to completely abandon my side food blog project, I have to report that we've enjoyed the Urguayan speciality - Chivito, which is steak, bacon, ham, cheese and egg, on a sandwich or a plate with fries on top of a salad - twice. And the ice cream here's not terrible either.