After a wonderful, but rainy day of rest in Coban it was time to pack up and head back to Guatemala City. For our first leg of the trip, because we both had arrived after long (well mine was long anyway) flights, I had booked a private transfer for my sister and I to Coban. It was not cheap and since we had the luxury of time and a full day’s rest for the trip back, my sister and I decided to book a shared shuttle to the city for 1/3 of the cost.

Before booking the shuttle, I inquired about the quality of the bus, the size and how may stops it would make during the 5 hour journey. The company indicated that the bus was air conditioned, held 22 people maximum and that it had only one stop prior to picking us up in Coban. This sounded pretty acceptable to me as I have taken much worse bus trips in my travels across Asia. However, once the bus arrived to pick us up, my positive thoughts soon faded. I had hopes that my sister and I would be able to pick our seats and at least store our bags near us once we got on the bus; however, there was barely enough room for us to even sit, much less store our bags – as EVERY available space was jammed with people – who groaned when they saw that even more people were boarding the bus! Granted its capacity was 22 people, but that number meant every single space was occupied, even the extra pull down seats in the aisle – there was not even an aisle with all the seats filled! My sister and I looked at each other, stuck our headphones in our ears and mentally prepared ourselves for the next 5 hours.

The bus ride went smoothly, all things considered, and we arrived in hectic Guatemala City almost on schedule until we got within the city limits. The bus was supposed to drop us off at a set hotel location, but the traffic was so bad (at a complete standstill) that the driver dropped us off about 1.5 miles from the drop point. After 5 crammed hours in the bus, rather than try to catch an Uber right away, my sister and I donned our packs and walked halfway to our hotel, which turned out faster than sitting in a car the whole way!

Our hotel was the lovely, albeit slightly pricey Hyatt Centric in Guatemala City – a strategically planned luxury stay for a proper shower and drying off after 5 days in the wet, damp mountains! A long, long hot shower later, my sister and I set off for the evening to dine at Sublime, one of the top 50 restaurants in South America, and oh it was worth its rating!

The next morning my family was set to arrive In Guatemala City at 1pm and after a wonderful buffet brunch at the hotel, my sister and I hopped in an Uber to meet them at the arrivals gate at the airport.

Our next destination was Lake Atitlan, which would require a good 3.5 – 4 hours of winding, two-lane highway driving. However, prior to the trip, I had researched the woes of road travel in Guatemala and convinced my dad that a 30 minute private helicopter ride would be MUCH more enjoyable after his flight in from Atlanta and, albeit hesitantly, he agreed to pay the expense (to be honest, after a week of road tripping, my sister and I could attest to how accurate my research had been and were looking forward to being in the air versus land).

The helicopter company arranged to pick us up at the airport and we all hopped in a large truck (with my sister and I volunteering to ride in the truck bed) and set off for the nearby local small plane airport. After a quick check in with the company, we were loaded into our comfy private helicopter and we were off! Needless to say the views and ride were truly incredible and the entire experience was very ‘VIP’. After 30 minutes in the air we landed on the shores of Lake Atitlan, where a small boat was waiting to whisk us to our Airbnb, located in the town of San Juan de la Laguna, a 20 minute ride away (or 2 hours by car!).

Lake Atitlan is absolutely huge – but seeing it in person makes one truly appreciate its scale (and why it takes hours to navigate its circumference) – my family and I were ever so grateful to be in the our Airbnb in less than an hour as opposed to 4-5 hours via road travel (thank you ‘daddy warbucks’ for paying for the heli ride)! To sweeten the heli ride VIP status, I had also pre-arranged for a chef to greet us upon arrival with some snacks, so as my family drew straws for the best rooms in the Airbnb we were all in high spirits. Later that evening, after some unpacking and a little stargazing we enjoyed a local specialty dinner cooked for us (Pepian) by the chef at our Airbnb.

The next morning, my sisters and I decided that we wanted to try our hands at paragliding, and after a great home cooked breakfast by the chef, we set off on the ~30 minute boat ride to Panajachel. The ride in the morning was very smooth and we hopped off the boat ready to explore and paraglide!

Every town on Lake Atitlan has a slightly different feel to it and is known for different things, from handicrafts to food specialties. The town of Panajachel was heavily influenced by seafood, with a plethora of seafood stands and restaurants dotting the shoreline. In contrast, the town where our Airbnb was located was mostly full of restaurants serving grilled meats and stews (and of course pizza, pizza everywhere!).

Paragliding was not new to me, but it was to my sister and I was excited for her to try the experience of essentially running off a hill and taking off like a kite. Paragliding at Lake Atitlan is pretty popular and one can observe the gliders all around the lake taking off and landing throughout the day due to the ideal wind conditions. After meeting the paragliding company in town and paying for our glide, we hopped in a van and rode 20 minutes on some rather ‘interesting’ roads (basically dirt roads and farming fields on the edge of a mountain) in an even sketchier van. But, in the end we made it without dying or falling off the cliff. We quickly suited up and then proceeded to run off the mountain and glide! The flight was excellent, lasting about 30 minutes with stunning views of the lake and surrounding areas. While it didn’t compare to my Bolivia experience, it was miles above my experience in Peru (which may/not have been weather dependent).

After paragliding we decided to browse the town for some light grocery shopping for the Airbnb. While I did not sample the ‘enticing’ beverage carts selling everything from fruit juices to margaritas, they provided some good photo opps (although, local children exercising may have been the highlight). I also discovered a new love for the stands selling roasted fava beans covered in salt, chili and lime – yum!

The next morning, after another delicious home cooked breakfast my family and I decided to try our skills at water sports – kayaking and water bicycling on the lake. We were…moderately successful, with only a few algae casualties, but fun nonetheless!

The rest of our stay in Lake Atitlan consisted of some relaxing, a bit of hiking to some viewpoints, some tuk tuk rides and stargazing. All in all a wonderful experience at a gorgeous lake and superb Airbnb!

After 4 nights in Lake Atitlan, it was time to say goodbye and head to our next city on the Guatemala tour – Antigua, a ~2-3 hour drive away. I hired a private van for transport and while it arrived on time, we were quickly delayed not even 15 minutes into the trip by the winding roads of Guatemala with a jackknifed truck blocking our route and delaying our trip by almost 1.5 hours! Once en route, we made decent time to Antigua and were soon in our next Airbnb, a swanky home located right in the city center.

Antigua is known for its history, volcanoes and churches galore – a treat for history buffs of the world. However, I’ve seen a lot of churches and climbed many volcanoes in my day, so I was happy enough just wandering the cobblestone streets for a few days. I did manage to squeeze in a pedicure, massage and a great cooking class at La Tortilla cooking school where I learned how to make the tasty Jocon – a green stew unique to Guatemala.

After a few days in Antigua, it was time to move on to warmer weather – we checked out of our lovely Airbnb and headed to the coast and the small beach town of El Paredon. For once, traffic was a breeze and it took us only 2 hours to reach the town from Antigua!

For the most part, Guatemala had been mild in terms of weather with chilly nights and temperate days in the low 70s so I was surprised to find that the beach was blazing hot and humid (and grateful I chose one of the few hotels – Kaana Surf – with air conditioning for our 3 night stay). The town itself was sparsely populated with only a handful of little restaurants, surf shops and tiendas, but the beach was pure paradise with its warm ocean waters and nothing but black sand for miles. We quickly donned our swimsuits and spent the rest of the day playing in the waves, watching the baby sea turtles release at sunset and dining on ceviche for dinner.

The next day, after some morning body surfing, I arranged for a tour to the mangroves to the sea turtle feeding area – El Paredon is one of the few places in the world where sea turtles are spotted year round! The adult sea turtles swim and feed in the mangroves and at certain spots you can observe them coming up for air every 20 minutes – such a cool sight!

We spent 3 full days in El Paredon and the rest of our time was spent boogie boarding, swimming and relaxing. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the city for our final night in Guatemala before our return flights home.

An uneventful but full 3 hour van ride back from the beach took us to our final night in Guatemala City at the Hyatt Centric, where we all enjoyed some very, very long showers – that black sand gets EVERYWHERE!!

Final verdict – how did Guatemala rate on the ‘Outlaw scale’?

FOOD: Moderately good. There is a lot of variety in Guatemalan cuisine and each city/area seemed to have specialty dishes unique to the area to try along with almost anything one could ask for in terms of international cuisine (and of course American fast food chains), especially in Antigua and Guatemala City. While I wasn’t particularly wowed by any dish or the cuisine in general, I did especially enjoy all the stews I tried.

SAFETY: Everyone I encountered was friendly and very eager to please, however, the roads are really dangerous and pedestrians have little to no rights – if you are not careful you will get run over by anything with 2 wheels or more!

LANGUAGE: Spanish and Mayan dialect is spoken in various places, with the occasional English, you will need that Google Translate!

THINGS TO DO: There is a huge variety of outdoor activities to choose from – adventure seekers will find no shortage to keep busy.

TRANSPORTATION: The biggest negative about Guatemala is its transportation system and roads – getting around is incredibly taxing and while there are bus options, they are not quick due to the traffic and winding, two lane roads. Private transportation is also expensive, making traveling on your own difficult. Plan for extra days in the country just to get from one place to another.

MONEY: A mix of cash and credit cards. Most private transportation requires cash payment – tuk tuks and van rides. However, Uber is possible with cards and some shared transport allowed me to pay in credit card. Tours and activities were a hit/miss in terms of cash/cards. Best to have some cash available in the local currency. ATMs are relatively easy to find with a ‘5B’ name, even in smaller cities like Coban.

VALUE: Moderate. While food and hotels are decently priced, Guatemala is on the more expensive side for Central America in general.

OVERALL: I’m glad to cross this final country in Central America off my travel list and the bucket list item of Semuc Champey. I enjoyed my trip and felt I saw and did almost everything I needed to get a good feel for the country, but probably wouldn’t do a repeat visit over other Central America favorites like El Salvador and Nicaragua.

TRAVEL MILE COUNT: From Coban to Guatemala City, to Lake Atitlan, to Antigua, to El Paredon & back to Guatemala City = 407

TRAVEL METHOD COUNT: 1 helicopter ride, 4 Ubers, 1 pickup truck, 3 boats, 4 tuk tuks, 3 van rides

TRAVEL CASUALITIES (Items lost): 0 (replaced by bands and scarf thanks to my mom bringing them to me from the USA)!

Next up, heading waayyyy across the pond to the Middle East – will I make it? Stay tuned….

After a smooth flight into Sao Paulo, Brazil, I checked into the lovely Laghetto Stilo Sao Paulo for a bit of ‘luxury’ before my 13 hr flight to Guatemala. Sao Paulo is a huge city and not one of my favorites in Brazil, but the Laghetto Stilo was a nice respite for the night; I particularly enjoyed the complimentary champagne, coffee, flavored water, and candies upon check in.

The next morning, in usual fashion, I set out to explore and walk the city, which turned out to be a mini discovery of Brazil’s cultural diversity. Just by chance, my hotel was hosting a Arab/Brazilian festival and at the nearby Parque Ibirapuera, there was an African festival happening with music, dancing and exhibits. After a few hours of festival hopping, I ventured further into the city and stumbled upon Sao Paulo’s Little Tokyo, which was a street packed with people, vendors and shops selling everything from trinkets to Japanese street food.

By early evening, it was time for me to head to the airport and set off for my flight to Guatemala via Houston.

Brazil is a country I’ve visited twice prior to this stopover and each time I fall more in love with it. There is something about its raw passion and cultural diversity (along with its undeniable beauty) that speaks to my soul. While Sao Paulo was nothing like Rio and had little to offer in terms of adventure, it was still a great way to spend a layover.

Uruguay to Guatemala isn’t exactly the most direct travel route and some of you may wonder why I put Guatemala on my trip list? What was the sense behind that particular geographic route? My trip to Guatemala was chosen for 2 reasons: 1) it was the only country I’d not yet visited in Central America and, 2) my family was joining me there for the Thanksgiving Holiday. I planned 15 days total for my trip, as some parts of Guatemala required a long drive time to visit, specifically the famous Natural Monument, Semuc Champey, a major bucket list item for me. While my entire family did not join me for the full 15 days (my parents did not want to endure the long car/bus travel time to the northern parts of the country), my younger sister, being an adventurous sort, decided to join my travels 5 days before the rest of the family arrived in Guatemala.

After my layover in Houston it was a quick 2.5 flight into Guatemala City. I had previously booked my ticket using flight miles, scoring a Polaris class ticket on United. The flight from Sao Paulo to Houston was almost 10 hours and I had a 3.5 hour layover in Houston before my flight to Guatemala. Polaris class proved its weight in gold as I was able to use the lounge in Houston for a proper breakfast and shower during my layover. As my sister’s flight arrived almost at the same time as mine we passed through customs and immigration together, which was very smooth and quick, with only a QR code required upon entry for customs. I had arranged for a car to meet us at the airport and soon we were on our way to what would be our home base for the next 4 nights, the city of Coban, Guatemala. Why Coban? Coban is 5 hours by car from Guatemala City and unreachable by air; however, its’ location provides a good central launching point for Semuc Champey and Bombil Pek, both within a 2 hour drive (each way) from Coban. Additionally, an 8+ hour drive to Semuc Champey after a 13 hour flight was much less appealing to me than a 5 hour drive and a comfortable stay in a hotel, so Coban it was.

The car I hired was basic, a 4 door Nissan, but sufficient and both my sister and I were glad for 5 hours of travel instead of 8+, as the roads were as windy and full of traffic as my research promised. Almost the entirety of the 5 hour trip was spent on two lane roads passing big, slow trucks, tuk tuks, motorbikes and stray dogs. Upon arrival to the city of Coban, my impression of was not favorable as the city itself didn’t have much to offer and was a bit dirty, run down and smoggy. However, this impression was quickly proven wrong….

I had not booked the tours to Semuc Champey and Bombil Pek prior to my arrival in Coban, but had communicated with the hotel previously about tours to both and they indicated it would be easy to book upon arrival at the hotel. At check in I confirmed tours to both parks, starting with Bombil Pik for the first day and then Semuc Champey for the second. As our tour was to start at 9am the next day, my sister and I turned in early for the night.

The next morning, after a delicious breakfast at the hotel, our tour guide met us and we headed off to Bombil Pek, a park with caves for hiking and rappelling. The drive to the park’s entrance was 2 hours long on the same windy, two lane roads we experienced on our drive in from the airport. This time it also rained the entire way, which was a surprise to me as November was supposed to be dry season in Guatemala. I began to wonder if the tour would be cancelled as the rain only seemed to intensify as we got closer and closer to the park. Unbeknownst to me, Coban is rainy year round, unlike the rest of the country, and my tour guide had no intentions of cancelling. When we arrived at the park’s ‘entrance’ (merely a covered park bench off the side of the road) and our guide indicated that we should put on our gear and start the trek to the caves.

The tour included treks to two caves and a rappel, for a total of 2.5 hours, not including drive time. Our guide did not instruct us on equipment to wear or bring prior to the tour, but I was glad I had a rain jacket as it was about to be put to good use! The trek to the first cave was a muddy, wet 40 minute hike and when we got to the entrance, which was pretty much a hole in the ground covered in leaves, our tour guide, decked out properly in rain boots and a plastic bag rain jacket, handed us flashlights and led us into the cave.

The interior of the caves was muddy and wet, but the scenery was well worth it as it was only my sister and myself in the cave and no other tourists around to spoil our experience. After a good 20 minutes of exploring, we climbed out of the cave and back into the rain for another 20 minute hike to the second cave that we would rappel 80 meters down into. The rappel site consisted of a small wooden platform and a metal 5 rung ladder. To perform the rappel one had to walk backwards on the platform and ladder while feeding the rope with one hand and guiding yourself down with the other. To do this while soaking wet on a very slippery surface was slightly precarious, to say the least, but the rappel down into the cave was worth the risk – what a rush!

After the rappel, our guide started to walk us into the second cave to explore. At this point, my sister and I were a bit tired of being wet and muddy and not really up for another, dirty, sticky climb. However, our guide tried to assure us that the next cave was not muddy, so reluctantly we agreed. He then proceeded to begin guiding us up a very steep portion of the cave that was indeed muddy and slippery, with nothing to hold on to but the cave walls, which was near impossible in the pitch black with a hand held flashlight! When we reached the top, he pointed to a VERY small hole in the side of the cave wall and told us that was the entrance into the next portion of caves. My sister and I looked at each other in amazement and asked the guide if he was joking. Indeed he was not and said that when you go through it symbolizes being ‘reborn.’ Still not believing that we could fit through the cave opening we told the guide to demonstrate how it was done. Our guide, who was a very small man, both shorter and smaller than either my sister or myself, then proceeded to push his body through the opening, which was also wet and muddy, through to the other side, landing in a puddle of mud. After observing how we would pass into the cave, my sister and I both said that we would pass on that portion of the tour – we had already been born and did not desire to be ‘born again’ through a mud hole!

A little bruised and a lot wet, we finally reached the entrance to the park and began the 30 minute, very wet, very steep climb to the viewpoint of Semuc Champey.

Semuc Champey had been on my bucket list for a long time and I was determined, regardless of the rain, to see the famous turquoise pools. As we reached the top of the viewpoint, the rain slowed, the clouds parted and wow, the view was indeed all that I hoped for! Pictures and words can’t quite describe how gorgeous those pools are in person, but I can honestly say that every wet, muddy minute was absolutely worth the reward.

After the viewpoint hike, the tour allowed time for us to swim in the pools and, because of the rain, the pools were almost void of people and my sister and I had a blast splashing around in our ‘private paradise,’ letting little fish nibble at our limbs, enjoying the gorgeous scenery. Even the rain let up during our swim!

The tour was supposed to include a candlelight tubing visit to the nearby caves, however, the rain had made the caves impassible; instead we ended the tour early and headed back to our hotel. As we had already experienced wet caves the day previously, I cannot say that I felt like I missed out on that portion of the adventure and was glad for the earlier return time to dry off!

The next day was a planned rest/dry off day and my sister and I welcomed the opportunity to do laundry and relax as we would be driving 5 hours back to Guatemala City the following day to meet up with the rest of my family.

Overall, my visit to a bucket list destination proved to be as adventurous and rewarding as I anticipated and I could not wait to see what the rest of Guatemala had in store for me, with Lake Atitlan, Antigua and El Paredon on the remaining city itinerary for Guatemala. Join me on the next portion of my trip in Part 2 – the Bushes take on Guatemala!

TRAVEL MILE COUNT: From Buenos Aires to Sao Paulo, to Houston & Guatemala City, to Coban, Semuc Champey & Bombil Pek = 8,160.2

TRAVEL METHOD COUNT: 3 flights, 5 car rides, 2 pickup truck bed rides

TRAVEL CASUALITIES (Items lost): 0

So, how does one plan and pack for 3 months on the road? How can you forecast what you will need and what you can do without? The answer lies with a LOT of research, trial and error and practice packs!

Firstly, I knew I wanted ONLY carry ons as I hate checking bags (just too much risk, especially with as much travel as I wanted to do). Secondly, I tried to choose countries and routes that were somewhat similar in terms of terrain and temperature for my travel plan. I knew I was not going to be hiking Patagonia, and would likely be doing some combo light hiking, walking and water activities, in mild to warmer locations. When I travel, I like doing adventure activities such as hang gliding, rafting, climbing, and such so I needed to pack to allow for those activities as sometimes gear in foreign countries can be expensive if you have to buy it there.

Shoes: for me these were the hardest to factor in, but finally decided on a pair of super comfy Hoka brand trail running shoes that could double as walking, exercise and hiking shoes. I love my workout Hoka shoes and the Speedgoat 5’s were perfect. My second pair needed to be sandals as I love wearing flip flops, but also needed a casual shoe that would let me feet breathe while still looking somewhat cute for a night around town. My Sorel Explorer Blitz in green / black (I know, green??) actually were the perfect fit, feel and surprisingly looked decently cute on my feet!

Clothes: I tried to stick to things in mostly one color that I could easily layer. Tops: From my recent trip to Bolivia I already knew my Kuhl stretch rain jacket would be a perfect layer and light jacket, along with my Alo yoga layering long sleeve t-shirt, a light grey sweater and a hoodie sport long sleeve pullover would suffice for the long sleeve activities and walks about town. Other tops included: 1 t-shirt, 2 ‘dressy’ tops, and 4 tank tops. Bottoms: Bolivia also served me well for choosing my pants which included a stretch pair of lightweight water resistant Marmot pants and Kuhl boot cut yoga pants. For this trip, I also invested in a pair of stretchy black jeans – sticking with the all black theme. I also packed 1 skirt, 4 pairs of shorts (2 regular and 2 workout/water shorts). Dresses: 2 sundresses, 1 long dress (for conservative countries) and 1 coverup.

Other odds and ends included: 10 pairs of underwear, 3 pairs of socks, 1 rash guard, 2 swimsuits, a money hider, money belt, regular belt, dry bar shampoo and conditioner (I tried them out months before I left), 1 large scarf, gloves, 1 headband, a small stuff sack, large microfiber towel, headlamp, laptop, extra battery, charger, converter, sleep mask, combo straightener and curling iron, inflatable travel pillow, makeup, toiletries and headphones (both wireless and wired).

Yes! It all fit in my two bags! I did have to swap some things out a few trial times, and try everything on multiple times, but this is what it looks like all packed in – I only used one compression sack for my bulkier clothes, the rest I used color coded bands to pack similar items together around the bag. This method seems to work best for fitting what I need rather than multiple compression bags, which took up more room than my method. My larger bag fits nicely in (so far) all airline carry on overheads with my smaller bag under my seat. Will my shoulders survive the trip? Check out my next post to see….!

With my journey through Uruguay now complete, it was time to begin making my way up towards Guatemala. While I had previously booked my ticket to Guatemala, it originated from Sao Paulo, Brazil (GRU airport), which allowed me the flexibility of flying from Montevideo or Buenos Aires, depending on where my travels took me. Buenos Aires was calling me from the weather gods, so I decided to spend two nights there and fly from there to GRU. More on that experience later…. first getting to Buenos Aires via ferry.

Boarding the ferry to Buenos Aires requires one to pass through immigration and security at the port. The lines were a bit long but relatively easy with no hassles and soon I was in my seat on the ferry and on my way to Argentina. The ferry itself is huge with two floors of seating, including two cafes and a shop. The passage was very smooth and because it was during the night I almost could not tell the boat was moving! I booked a business class ticket for $10 USD extra and while the seats were only slightly bigger than the cheaper ‘tourist class’ and the seating area a bit more private, the upgrade was a huge bonus because we got to get off the boat first and avoided the huge crowds at exit and baggage claim, worth every penny in my opinion for the convenience. As it was almost 10pm when I arrived, rather than walk the streets with my backpack, I caught an Uber to my hotel and checked in….which also proved to be quite interesting with a just-in- time lesson on the current Argentinian economy.

Once I decided on Buenos Aires as my next city, I began searching for hotels, which, to my shock, proved to be incredibly difficult as almost every hotel, hostel, Airbnb, etc. was completely booked and what was not occupied was over $1,000 USD! per night! After 3 hours of frantic searching, I finally found 2 hostels (one for each night) that had openings. Unbeknownst to me, Taylor Swift was in concert along with some other artists that weekend and had taken over the city’s accommodations. I booked both hostels via Booking.com and while the terms indicated payment due at the hotel, this was common as hotels typically charge your credit card upon arrival. My first hostel was $115 USD / night, which was a bit expensive, but I had little to no choice and honestly happy to have a bed to lay my head on. After giving my check in details, the host at reception asked if I would be paying with cash for the room balance and I indicated that credit would be the form of payment. She then proceeded to tell me that if I did that I would pay double the price in Argentinian pesos and it was best to pay in cash. As I do not travel with hundreds of dollars on hand, I did not have enough cash and it was too late for money exchanges and ATMs to be open, so there was no option but to pay via credit card. After much discussion with the reception desk we figured out how to charge the agreed price in USD to my card even though it would’ve been half the price to pay directly in pesos. Needless to say, priority on my list the next day would be to get USD cash and exchange it into pesos. But first, a little sleep….

The consensus in Uruguay was that I needed to be careful in Buenos Aires, but I was excited about exploring a new city. After checking out of my first hostel and checking in at my second one, getting and exchanging some cash I was off! First stop was a random side street grill cart for the famous Choripan – let me tell you folks, it was absolutely delicious, topped with spicy chimichurri, pickles jalapeños, tomatoes and onions. Worth every cent of the $1.50 it cost me! My hands were a sloppy happy mess but I ate the entire thing!

When I travel, the first thing I like to do in a new city is get out and walk, while trying to getting ‘lost’ (of course with Google maps downloaded), as I find it the best way to feel the vibe and discover cool things not often found in research. From the minute I walked out of my hostel, I knew I would fall in love with Buenos Aires. I could sense the culture and beauty solely from the architecture, décor, restaurants, and music. My hostel was based just outside of Palermo, a lovely district filled with shops and restaurants and after a mere 10 minutes of walking I stumbled upon a free zoo – right in the middle of the city! The zoo itself was located within a park and besides the lovely foliage, the zoo featured small animal exhibits and even a giraffe and buffalo! After an hour or so taking snaps of animals and enjoying the zoo’s park scenery, I continued exploring the city, in its abundance of greenery, architecture, street art and people watching for another 5 hours! My feet were definitely hurting by dinnertime!

One cannot visit Buenos Aires without a tango experience, and I was determined to put that under my belt, but I didn’t want to simply see a ‘show’ with dinner and the usual tourist activities. My Outlaw research found a self-entitled ‘Underground Tango Experience‘ through Airbnb, which included visiting 3-4 local tango music locations, with wine and empanadas for $38 USD. After a little dinner snack of street tacos, I hopped in an Uber to the tour meeting location – a quick 8 minutes away. The host then proceeded to guide us to 3 tango locations/bars within walking distance of the meeting spot. The first two were local performers singing famous tango songs in their own voices – both places I definitely would have never found on my own! The first was a woman singer with her guitarist and the second featured two men playing guitars, each performer showcasing a very different style. The woman was probably my favorite with her intense passion. The two men were much more mellow, almost a sing along style, but still fantastic. The third place was a large dance hall, decorated in true Argentinian style – with little random antique nick knacks everywhere. Locals were dancing the tango to recorded music – not performing – and oh what an experience! Even though my understanding of the lyrics was limited, it was still incredibly powerful – tango music is such an emotional genre! It was a bit of a crazy night with the number of locals participating at random levels of inebriation, but it proved to be one of the best and most unique travel experiences I’ve had so far – a top 10 rating!

The evening ended a bit late – at 1am the party was still going but it was bedtime for me as sadly, with Taylor Swift in town and the weather gods abandoning me, I had to head off the next day to GRU (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

I found a decently cheap flight to GRU from Buenos Aires’s local international airport (AEP) rather than the larger (EZE) airport in Buenos Aires and I figured it would be easier and closer to get to, so why not? Much to my surprise, while only a few miles from my hotel, it took almost 40 minutes to get to AEP with traffic and the puzzling roundabout route (get it together Buenos Aires)! At the advice of my hostel, I arrived 2 hours earlier than my flight. At the airport, I was met with throngs of people, and was glad my hostel advised me to arrive early. However, I quickly discovered that 90% of the people were checking in for domestic flights! With no bags to check, all I had to do was head upstairs, pass through immigration and security – I was through in no more than 10 minutes! The international terminal of AEP was actually quite small with only a 2 cafes, no lounge and one kiosk store, so I was a bit disenchanted that I had arrived so early. With hours to spare and nothing to do, I worked on my blog and then….the rain started! For 3 hours it poured rain, with severe lightning and thunder, grounding all flights in/out (thank goodness I scheduled my GRU flight to leave the following evening); just as I started to think I might be holing up in the airport overnight, the rain finally cleared, we boarded our plane and I settled in my surprisingly comfy ‘premium economy’ (essentially business class) Aerolinas Argentina flight for a quick 2.5 hr trip to GRU.

Final verdict – how did Buenos Aires rate on the ‘Outlaw scale’?
FOOD: YUM!!! Everything I had was so delicious and soooo cheap in Buenos Aires (the strength of the USD paper money is real) – I spent $15 total for two days!
SAFETY: Everyone I encountered was very friendly, but they also told me to be careful in the city by myself. While I didn’t encounter anything dangerous or intimidating one should use general street smarts while exploring the city.

LANGUAGE: Spanish, Portuguese and English is spoken in various places, I found that English was easier to find near the upscale and touristy areas of the city.
THINGS TO DO: So many! I couldn’t even do all the things I wanted to! Next time more tango, more gaucho, more everything…
TRANSPORTATION: I used Uber to get around the city mostly, as it was very cheap and easy.

MONEY: As per my story on the current (Nov 2023) economic situation in Argentia, USD bills are king, especially $50 and $100 bills. Credit cards are somewhat accepted in various venues but you will get a low value for your money.

VALUE: Outside of a freak Taylor Swift concert weekend, Buenos Aires is a fantastic value for the money!
OVERALL: Buenos Aires, you captured my heart – I fell in love with your culture, passion and beauty – top marks!

TRAVEL MILE COUNT: From Uruguay to Buenos Aires = 39, around Buenos Aires = 20

TRAVEL METHOD COUNT: 1 boat, 4 Ubers, 1 bicycle

TRAVEL CASUALITIES (Items lost): 0

UP NEXT: I’ve visited Brazil a few times in the past as well as Sao Paulo and with it being only an overnight stopover what would I get into? Stay tuned….

After 4 days of rain and cold, the weather finally picked up and it was high time for me to get on the move! I was determined to make the most of a few days of ‘lost time’ and thus began my quest of chasing the sun. My hostel’s host suggested that I rent a car to continue my journey throughout the country. He told me that in Uruguay, renting a car was very safe and the easiest way to get about. While Uruguay has nice tourist buses, they mostly run direct from big city to big city and it would be hard to get to all the places I wanted to see. I easily found a nice little ‘whip’ via Dollar rental in town and was off! Right off the bat, I found the roads to be clean, paved, safe and very easy to navigate. I ultimately wanted to end up in Cabo Polonio, a small city within a protected park on the far east coast of Uruguay and knew it would take me only a few hours of driving to get there, with a few scenic stops along the way in the towns of Jose Ignacio and La Paloma.

On the way into Punta del Este I had the opportunity to see some of the countryside of Uruguay and my drive along the coast proved even better! Uruguay is full of rolling hills, estancias, wineries and farmland – so incredibly picturesque with photo opportunities as vast as the countryside itself! As I don’t drink wine, a winery visit would have been lost on me but it was still amazing to see horses, cows, sheep, ducks and chickens everywhere and I had some fun selfie opportunities!

Next it was off to La Paloma, about an hour from Jose Ignacio. La Paloma was a slightly bigger town than Jose Ignacio, but I found the town to seem a bit rundown and only worth a lighthouse and city sign photo opp.

Another 40 minutes of driving and I was at the entrance of Cabo Polonio. I parked my ‘whip’ and purchased a ticket on the 4×4 into town, which looked like a safari vehicle! I scored a seat up top for the grand entrance view, loaded up my bag and off I went!

Aside, the 4×4 gave the impression that the journey was going to entail huge dunes, but it was more of light hills in the sand, definitely not like my trip in Lencois Maranhenses on the north coast of Brazil! But, it was fun and interesting just the same to ride in on a 4×4.

Upon entry, Cabo Polonio exceeded my expectations. I had read mixed reviews on the town, but my impression was nothing short of spectacular. There is no wired electricity, lights or vehicles and each home is built with plenty of space between one home and the next. It seemed that everyone worked for what they had – horses, chickens and ducks roam around, and even the ants were bust carrying bits of flowers to their home. The town seemed almost trapped in time, like something out of a movie. Needless to say I took wayyyy too many photos!

Luckily, as it was off season, I was able to score two nights (with a free upgrade – wahoo!) at the town’s only ‘luxury’ hotel – La Perla. I hiked the 400 meters to my hotel bags in hand and checked in (with the hotel’s check in desk animals close by – a cat and two dogs). La Perla is located right on the ocean with spectacular views and my little room was cozy with heated blankets and a robe. Luxury!!

Soon it was time for sunset and I hiked across the hill to the catch the gorgeous colors that seemed to last forever and waited for the star show to light up the sky. As there are no lights in town the galaxy seemed almost endless. After a delicious meal at the hotel, at the recommendation of the host, I set off to explore the town’s only bar – it is only open one night a week and I could not pass up the ‘unique’ opportunity as my host described it. Indeed the bar was unique – visited by locals and non locals who go to Cabo Polonio specifically to party in a small building with 1 pool table, a fire outside, drinks and dancing. Under the stars of Cabo Polonio, with a fire blazing, I could see the appeal, but after an hour, it was bedtime for me!

The next morning, after a lovely breakfast at the hotel I went off to hike the larger dunes and see the sea lion colony around the town. I had fun jumping around like a loon all by myself and enjoyed my hiking ‘buddy’ a local greyhound who followed me all the way to the sea lion colony. The rest of the day was spent sun bathing and enjoying the good weather as the next day I was off to make my way back towards Montevideo.

After catching the 2pm 4×4 (they have schedules to /from town that run every 2 hours until 4pm daily) to the park entrance I made my way back towards Punta del Este and decided to spend the night in Jose Ignacio to break up the drive. I scored a cute little hostel – Wanderlust Jose Ignacio – where I was the only guest and had a delicious meal of kale empanadas for dinner! The next morning, chasing the sun again, I headed back into Punta del Este, stopping at the famous Casa Pueblo for some photo opps. The rest of the day I spent roaming the beaches, making friends with all the animals (feeding the dogs and birds who ate right out of my hand) of La Barra in Punta del Este before returning the rental car and catching the night bus to Montevideo.

As I had a flight out of Sao Paolo on Saturday, I had to make my way to Buenos Aires to fly to Sao Paolo eventually, but I was still chasing the good weather, and undecided how much time I would spend in Buenos Aires as I still wanted to see the town of Colonia Sacramento before leaving Uruguay. After a quick sleep in my hotel (the very basic and fit for purpose Hotel Gema) I set off to explore Montevideo, which proved to be a bit of a let down with nothing much to see or do. While the boardwalk was nice and there was nothing bad about the city, it was just not that culturally interesting compared to other cities I had visited, so I made a quick decision and booked transport to Buenos Aires that night via the bus to Colonia Sacramento and then the ferry to Argentina.

The total fare to Buenos Aires was $100 USD, including a very comfortable 2.5 hour bus ride and 1.25 hour ferry ride. Thank goodness I read the small print of my bus ticket, which required me to be at the terminal 2 hours (yes!) before my departure. As it was international, the desk needed to verify my documents, however, they also boarded the bus completely full almost an hour before scheduled departure! This turned out to be even luckier as that meant I had a good hour to explore Colonia Sacramento before boarding the ferry – wahoo!

Colonia Sacramento is a UNESCO site and indeed absolutely lovely, a very small, quiet town with historic and picturesque buildings, cobblestone streets and gorgeous trees, but there is not a lot to do and I was glad it was only a quick stopover to catch the sunset (and some really good snaps) before boarding the ferry to Buenos Aires.

Final verdict – how did Uruguay rate on the ‘Outlaw scale’?
FOOD: While I read many good things about Uruguyan beef I was underwhelmed with the restaurant and street food options (almost none!) and had to really search for something that wasn’t Italian, pizza, empanadas or medialunas (like small croissants with meat and cheese). And ham, so much ham everywhere.. Food, like most everything in Uruguay was actually surprisingly expensive as well.
SAFETY: Everyone I encountered was very friendly but not overly so, you never felt like anyone was ever trying to scam you and the entire country is incredibly safe – I could easily leave my things on the beach and no one would blink an eye.
LANGUAGE: Spanish, Portuguese and English is spoken in various places, however, English was a hit or miss in both big and small cities, Google translate is a necessary back up.

THINGS TO DO: Although the country itself if breathtaking, I felt it lacked a bit in terms of true adventure activities, 10 days is plenty of time to spend to get a good feel for the country.

MONEY: I only had to use cash for one bus ride from the airport, credit cards are widely accepted across the country, even in little cafes and stores.
VALUE: Uruguay was expensive – I stayed in mostly budget hotels but was hard pressed to find anything under $50 USD a night with most ranging towards $100 for budget accommodations. Meals could easily run to $50 USD for food and drink (I usually had one large meal a day and used groceries to fill the rest) and my rental car was $48 per day. Luckily I visited in shoulder season, but I cannot imagine the cost in high season.

TRANSPORTATION: I rented a car, took buses and Uber – all were very easy, clean and without hassle. Road travel is the most common in Uruguay, but it is a small country, so quite efficient to get from place to place.
OVERALL: Uruguay seemed to be quite livable with its safety, cleanliness and beauty. It is a gorgeous country to visit with a lot of scenery and coastline towns that are wonderful to drink in as eye candy. That being said, my style of travel tends to lend itself towards a bit more rough edges of culture and activities, so for me it landed in the middle of the country rankings. I’m very glad I got the chance to visit and happy with the amount of time I had.

TRAVEL MILE COUNT: From Houston to Uruguay and around Uruguay = 5,565

TRAVEL METHOD COUNT: 3 flights, 3 bus rides, 4 Ubers, 1 rental car, 2 4x4s

TRAVEL CASUALITIES (Items lost): 2 – my beloved scarf and workout bands (:@(()

UP NEXT: While I have crossed borders via plane and car, I had certainly never crossed via ferry – what a cool way to enter Argentina and get my second stamp! So, what was the ferry like? How long would I stay in Buenos Aires? Tune in to the next entry to find out!