In betwwen my two weeks stay in Buenos Aires i took a short trip to Uruguay, which is easy todo from ba. I caught the fast buquebus( ferry ) to a town called colonia. This is a small town in Uruguay just a short trip across the Rio de la plata. Colonia is a world cultural heritage site and has many old colonial buildings. I checked into the Hi hostel here which was small but had a great vibe about it. I then hired a bike and explored the town, which i think managed to do in about 1.5 hours. But it was a nice ride through the narrow streets and to the light house. The next day a jumped on a bus for a two hour ride to the capital Montevideo, the bus depot is undera large shopping center in the middle of the city and i was staying in the old town ( ciudad Vieja ) so i grabbed a taxi from outside and headed over there. The taxis in Uruguay have meters, but i´m not sure why as the reading on the meter is not the price that they charge. The drivers look at the reading then look in a book and come up with a cost. Anyway i got to the old twon in 15 mins and checked into my hostel which was above an irish bar. The hostel was very dated and the rooms were very small but i had a private room so that was ok. The city of montevideo was very run down and dated, it was in need of some serious investment, there was clear signs also that there is a big problem with drugs in the city as i see many addicts in doorways just as i walked around the town. There also is a problem with street robbery, I see from the balcony of my room gangs waiting for victims in the dark streets, they were all armed with clubs. There was nothing todo in this city so i moveed onto the beach town of Punta del este, which is two hours from the capital. The hostel i was staying in here was called the Barra backpackers, it was able to sleep`about 100 but at the time of my stay i was the only occupant, which was fine as i got the small pool to myself. The town of Punta had some nice beaches and a very nice yacht harbour oh and yes a casino that robbed me of 10 pound. The town has some great houses and apartments at very cheap prices compaired to the uk, many of which remain empty as they used to be owned by the rich from argentina but after the economy crash there were many that had to give these holiday homes up. I found Uruguay to be worth the visit and a nice break from the heat and dirt of BA, But it does not have a great deal to offer and does not feel very south american.