My first thoughts about going to Paysandu, a little (despite being Uruguays 3rd biggest town) riverside town in western Uruguay were not favourable. Firstly, we had to wait 3 hours for the bus here and second, a small child hit me while we were waiting for the bus. i swear to god i didn´t do anything to deserve such a whack. i was just sitting there minding my own business in the bus station when a seven or eight year old child just ran right up to where i was sitting and whacked me on the arm. i was so shocked i just sat there, while people around me either laughed or looked at me like i must have previously commited some terrible crime against the child. i wasn´t too pleased when i realised he was also going to paysandu and was sat right in front of us on the bus.

fortunately, the journey held no other incidents of interest and Paysandu has turned out to be a fairly likeable, though quiet, town.

things i´ve noticed that are the same, no matter where in the world you are-

• teenage boys have silly haircuts
• teenage girls stand very close together in groups and dont like to move without at least 3 other friends moving with them
• old ladies natter, while their husbands look on
• supernanny is always on the tv

steve is being an absolute hero at the moment and carrying my rucksack as i´ve crippled my back. hopefully he won´t injure himself leaving both of us unable to walk. A lovely/crazy american lady did give me both a regular massage and an ´aura massage´while we were in colonia to try and sort it out. Aura massages for those of you not into your alternative therapies involves, well, to be honest, i´m not too sure what it involves because i had my eyes closed and my aura masseuse didn´t actually touch me. steve tells me though that it involves a lot of hands being waved over my back and the shaking away of bad energies through clapping and waving. all of this conducted in a restaurant, much to the amusement of the uruguayans eating there.

unfortunately, it wasn´t an immediate healer so for a little while steve is in charge of bags while i am forever grateful.

next stop, Mercedes.