How long had we been in Rocha for? Two weeks? Three? I couldn't remember. The days were drifting into one and life had definitely slowed down. What felt like a month, was only a week. But not in bad way, it was just the way things were going here.
It was time to leave. We were all happy to go, excited and nervous again about the next stage. After a couple of days deliberating how we were going to get back to Argentina, we decided on probably the most difficult way.
We took a bus back to Montevideo where we could stay for a few days, working everything out and seeing a few sights. New phone chargers had to bought because a thunder storm in Rocha had blown most of them. Edith needed a new t-shirt, because quite frankly, she's a dirty midden, and we couldn't keep on top of all her washing. The kids needed more drawing paper, as they were keeping a scrap book of drawings, flyers, tickets etc of their travels. And we wanted to hire a car for another road trip.
We took time out to visit a Gaucho museum, the closest I had got so far to a horse. Gaucho's are still seen today, riding their horses alongside the roadways, similar swaggers to how John Wayne rode in the movies. The saddles, bridle wear, whips, stirrups and drinking vessels all glimmered with silver, velvets, dark wood and other amazing materials. The building the museum was in was just as spectacular as the exhibits and you could sense the pride Uruguayans took in these people.
We also visited a square with a passage that took you underground and on display, sitting in dark lighting, alone apart from two smartly dressed soldiers, sat an incredible, large, wooden vessel. We can't read Spanish, let alone speak it very well, but it appeared to be an artefact from the independence revolution and we gave it the respect that it was obviously expected to have.
Our next stop was the beach and a walk along the promenade, where we came across an old abandoned dock and a play park so we stopped to let the kids have a go on the swings. Axel found a tree and decided he wanted to climb that instead. Now in Rocha, Axel had permission to help with us a lot, using knives, rusty saws, hammers, lighting and tending to fires. He never once hurt himself and was respectful of the tools. So it was with great surprise and horror when we turned round to see him careening off a wall headfirst and landing on concrete. The screams came immediately on impact and with his arms under his torso, we immediately assumed he'd broken his wrist or arm or both. We picked him to up to find a lump the size of an egg quickly forming right in front of our eyes. He was inconsolable. Edith was inconsolable as she was worried about Axel. Lorne was inconsolable because he freaks out at anything to do with blood or bruises.
I wasn't sure who to tend to first......
After making sure the lump was the only injury on Axel, I suggested we headed to get some ice cream and a drink of water somewhere to help cool him and everyone else down. It certainly perked everyone up and normality resumed.
The following day we went in a different direction and came across the old abandoned railway station. Lorne advised me it had closed in 2002, where he got his information from, I don't know, but we'll take it as fact. We had been told before that the bus companies in Uruguay had huge leverage and whenever whispers of a return of the rail track were heard, they were quick to slam them down again so as to keep hold of their position in the public transport field.
It was vast, Victorian looking and had simply been forgotten about, a 6ft fence hastily built around it and left. It was sad to see something of that magnitude and architecture to be left to rot, instead of at least converted into something else. We turned a corner and found railway carriages also just abandoned on the old lines. It just looked like all the railway workers just stood up one day, went home and never came back.
Day three in Montevideo and it was time to pick up the car. As rental cars go it was ok and through Avis. The plan was to drive it from Montevideo up to Salto then back to Paysandu, where we would leave it and then get a bus over the border to Argentina.
We got just south of Paysandu before we decided to stop. The journey had taken a little longer than expected due to wrong turns and our inability to realise just how much bigger these countries were compared to Scotland.
The only hotel available was a beautiful wee estancia with just eight bedrooms. We had a bit of luxury, not by choice, but it sure felt good. Danni, our host was so cheery and friendly, we immediately fell under her spell. Dinner was made up of the best empanadas we had ever tasted (and on this trip, we've had a few!) for starter, then a lovely piece of pork with vegetables and lemon pie for dessert.
I had the best sleep I think I've had since arriving in South America, although I did wake at one point to hear the thunder and rain passing over. In the morning there were umbrellas waiting for us outside so we could walk to breakfast and not get wet.
The rain had stopped by the time we were leaving, and feeling refreshed we headed further north to Salto, where we had been told there were hot thermals that you could swim in. The weather held out for the most part, the land stretched out ahead of us. No hills, mountains, forests to greet us, just long stretches of flat land. Far off on the horizon a massive fork of lightning flew down from the sky and hit the ground. We were driving in that direction.....
We reached our next hotel, which again was a wee bit of luxury. A log cabin on a lakeside, with free entry to the thermal aquatic park. The sun had come out again so we went straight to the park. It was a water park with slides, different pools, showers, waves etc, but the water was hot, and it was all provided from the thermals underground. Everyone had a great time then we returned to the cabin to make our own Asado (BBQ).
Axel and Lorne tended the fire, while Edith and I watched the sun set and got a bath ready. The bath was a jacuzzi bath, so before dinner, the kids jumped in with bubbles filling up over their heads. They had a play, washed their hair and relaxed in what looked like one of the best baths ever.
Then after about twenty minutes the unexplainable happened. Something dark bobbed up through the bubbles. I looked at it thinking "what is that..?" But before I could finish my thoughts, it bounced out of the bubbles and onto the side of the bath, about the size of a chicken dipper, but green.
"Oh! Look!" I suppressed my fear and continued "A wee frog!" The kids stopped what they were doing and stared at it. I moved in to try and get a photo but it jumped about a bit too much sending Axel into hysterics and wanting out. Edith just sat there, she'd got a new pet and she was having a bath with it, amazeballs! That was her train of thought anyway. The frog disappeared into the bubbles and I took Edith out and made Lorne put his hand in to lift the plug out. I sprayed some cold water from the shower over the bubbles to see if Edith could get another glimpse of it, but by the time the water had drained and the bubbles were gone, so too was the frog.
That night we fell asleep soundly until I was woken at about 3am to the most amazing thunder storm I have ever heard. The sky was like a flashing light bulb for about two hours, the thunder right above our heads. Huge acorns and bits of branches were crashing onto the roof above me. I peeked out to watch the lake light up like a celebrity walking down the red carpet, flashbulbs aglow. The other three slept through the whole ordeal, while I sat awake listening to the thumps and groans all around me.
Next stop was Paysandu itself, where we stayed in yet another hotel and where, the following morning I had to drop the car back at the local Avis office, by myself. The town was like many others in Uruguay, a block system of streets running parallel and horizontally against each other. The only problem was most were one way streets so picking the right street was the problem. Google maps showed me where I needed to be, but with no data left on my phone, I needed to do it by memory and get there by circumventing the one way system. I drove for about 15 minutes before finding the street and then all I had to do was slowly crawl up it reading the numbers to find 1807. Cars beeped me from behind as I slowed down the closer I got to my destination. And then there it was. Hallelujah!
I parked the car and jumped out, running to the door, grateful my journey was almost over. But it turns out, it wasn't. The door was locked. I peered thru the window to see a small room, with a reception table, a single chair and a fan. Nothing and no one else. Shit. It was 9.30am, the office should have been open at 9.00, we had agreed to drop the car off at 10.00. Ok, so maybe the guy was late. I stood around for 5 minutes before thinking, "sod it". Breakfast at the hotel finished at 10.30. If I hurried back, I could grab a quick bite then come back after 10 to see if it was open. This was Uruguay after all. People work differently. Maybe if he knew there was no one until 10.00, he wasn't going to bother opening up until then.
I turned around and decided to try to find my way back to the hotel, leaving the car parked outside the Avis office. I walked to the corner of the street and read the street sign. "What the actual ...." The hotel was literally round the corner. I had driven for 15 minutes and the hotel was a 30 second walk away.
Our bus wasn't until 3 so we had plenty of time luckily to sort it all out. A quick phone call to the office in Montevideo explaining the situation resulted in the man being there 15 minutes later.
Our bus passed over the border to Argentina with no hiccups. A lady came and stamped our passports without us having to leave our seats and an hour later we were in Colon. We had no hotel reserved, but after Lorne did a quick reccy while I waited at the terminal with the kids, we found a hotel just a few minutes walk down the road. It was basic, but our next bus to Rosario was at 6.30 the following morning, so we just needed somewhere to sleep. They did have a small swimming pool which the kids insisted on going in. The kids and Lorne lasted about a minute before realising that not all pools were thermals like the ones we'd been in previously. I didn't get in at all because I could tell it would be quick.
5am we were up and by 6am we were out of the hotel and trudging our way up to the terminal. We'd paid an extra £5/seat to get the bed seats, which, after the past few sleepless nights I had, I was so grateful for. We all slept for most of the journey and arrived in Rosario six hours later where we had an Airbnb waiting for us for six days to recover and recuperate. I think it was once we arrived at the apartment, I finally let out a breath of air after what felt like a week.