Expat & Travel Resource Guide
It has been really hot here, so we’ve been trying to find creative ways to cool off. Since Zoë is allergic to dairy she can’t have ice cream, but she loves sorbet. So, over the weekend she made her own Peach Sorbet in a Ziploc bag.
She had a ton of fun making it and even more fun eating it. The video is below, but if you want the recipe, you’ll have to come back on Friday for the Recipe of the Week!
This is one of Brian’s best recipes. If you like Chinese Orange Chicken, you will love this recipe. Because we are in Uruguay and the beef is awesome here, he does a Chinese Orange Beef that is spectacular as well. The best part about this recipe (besides the fact that it tastes fantastic) is that it’s quick and easy to make.
Ingredients:
Sauce
Batter
Other
Directions:
Tips and Modifications:
We haven’t uploaded pictures to Flickr for a few months (okay maybe longer). Over the last couple of days, we’ve uploaded hundreds of pictures from Uruguay.
So, if you haven’t checked out the Exploring Uruguay Pictures’ Photostream on Flickr recently, now is a good time!
Of course, most of the pictures are of Zoë… how can we resist with how cute she is? But there are plenty of other pictures of our life in Uruguay and our travels to places like Punta del Diablo for you to enjoy.
We’ll try to keep our Flickr page updated much more frequently in the future.
One thing neither of us had done much of before moving to Uruguay was use public transportation. In San Diego, the public transportation system is poor at best and everyone has a car. We’d hop in the car to go ½ mile to the store. That would never happen in Uruguay – at least not for us.
We tend to walk as much as we can. And, while we’re guilty of using taxis much more than the bus system (they’re just so cheap compared to the States!), we recognize how great the public transportation system is in Uruguay. In fact, on the corner where we live, the buses stop going in every direction.
You can get practically anywhere using the bus system. Whether you just want to go somewhere in Montevideo or take a long haul bus ride across the country, you’re sure to find a bus route to suit your travel needs. And some of the bus lines are even equipped with free Wi-Fi!
We’ve taken buses within Montevideo and to Colonia, Punta del Diablo and Pan de Azucar, and they have all been quite comfortable. You actually have more legroom than you do on an airplane (and you have a lot more flexibility on what you can bring on board).
There are two websites that we’ve found especially helpful for figuring out bus routes and schedules:
The first is Montevideo Bus. It’s a great tool. You simply mark your origin and your destination on the map and hit “Buscar Recorridos” and a list of route options will display for you on the left hand side of the page.
If you want to see more about the bus lines on a particular route, most of the bus companies have their own websites. Just Google the name of the bus company + Uruguay and you should find what you’re looking for.
The second website we’ve found helpful is the Tres Cruces website (Tres Cruces is the main bus terminal in Montevideo). This is where you’ll find routes and prices for the longer haul bus trips. Just click on “Horarios y destinos” and you can enter your origin and destination to get options for your trip.
One thing I wish this website offered was online sales, but they aren’t quite there yet. You’ll need to purchase your tickets either over the phone or in person at the Tres Cruces bus
station.
What has your experience been using the public transportation system in Uruguay?
There was one video we didn't have time to upload to YouTube before yesterday's blog post and it was just too cute to wait until next week to share.
Besides swimming, one of Zoë's favorite things to do is dance and sing around the apartment. She loves when her Daddy plays the guitar and sings for her. It can literally keep her entertained for hours. Here’s the video of Zoë and Daddy from a few days ago:
Last summer, we enrolled Zoë in ISR (Infant Swimming Resource) swim lessons, which basically teaches infants how to survive if they fall in a pool (great investment). From all of the screaming that emanated from that pool, you would think that she would have no interest in swimming.
Well, last week we finally set up her little inflatable pool on the front balcony and she absolutely loves to go swimming in it. Most days she’s out there twice for 30 minutes to an hour. So, we had to share a video with you:
Of course when she’s done swimming, she has to be wrapped up in one of her blankets for a while to warm up (as if it’s not warm enough!):
Last week Nana’s final Christmas package arrived as well (apparently it had been sitting in Montevideo for a couple of weeks and just hadn’t been delivered). Zoë got a new pair of Sketchers shoes and she is absolutely in love with them.
Since it has been hot and humid out, she has mostly just been wearing a diaper around our apartment. That is, until she got her new shoes. Now, she’s mostly been wearing a diaper and her shoes (although I’m sure as soon as I pull her Tinker Bell hoodie off the clothes line that will be added back into her ensemble).
I put together Kaylee’s bouncy seat (thanks to Mimi for sending that down for us!) this week and Zoë thinks it’s funny to climb into it and play with the toys like a baby (notice the shoes).
She loves being funny so much that one of her new favorite phrases is, “I funny.” That, along with, “I a helper.” I’m not sure which one is cuter.
These twice-baked potatoes go great as a side with steak or chicken.
Ingredients:
Directions:
Tips and Modifications:
It was time for us to renew our visitors’ permits again, so we decided to take a day trip to Buenos Aires last weekend. We wanted to make sure we got that taken care of before the baby’s arrival.
We were told by a few expats that as of January 1st, 2010 there is an entry fee for all U.S. citizens entering Argentina. After doing a little digging before our trip, we discovered that the Reciprocity Fee of U$S 131, for now, only applies if you arrive at the Buenos Aires Ezeiza Airport (EZE).
However, you only have to pay the Airport Reciprocity Fee once every 10 years and it covers multiple entries. More information about the Reciprocity Fee can be found here.
Even though we found some cheap flights to Buenos Aires, we decided it would be best to take the ferry to avoid the Airport Reciprocity Fee. Last time we went to Buenos Aires, we took the Buquebus ferry direct from Montevideo to Buenos Aires. This time, we decided to take the bus to Colonia and the ferry from Colonia to Buenos Aires.
It actually worked out quite well for us. We arrived at the bus station around 7am and Zoë slept the entire bus ride out to Colonia and was refreshed when we got to the terminal there. She had a blast talking to everyone from her seat on Daddy’s back
When we arrived in Buenos Aires, the forecast was for sun, but it was raining quite to our surprise! We didn’t come prepared for that. We were headed to a friend’s apartment who only lives four blocks from the Buquebus station, so we thought we’d try walking. Big mistake. The rain was coming down much harder than we anticipated.
So, we decided to grab a taxi. The only problem was that all we had on us were Uruguayan Pesos – we still hadn’t stopped at a Cambio to get Argentine Pesos.
We asked the taxi driver if he’d take Uruguayan Pesos and he agreed, so we hopped in the cab and off we went. He definitely took us for a bit of a ride. Then, when we got to our destination, the total fare was about 18 Argentine Pesos.
Brian handed him 100 Uruguayan Pesos and was planning to give him an additional 20 UY Pesos for a tip if he was honest. By the way, 18 Argentine Pesos equals about 92 UY Pesos… The guy looked at us like we were nuts and asked for 70 more UY Pesos. He really must have thought we were morons. He said that we had to pay for him to return to the place where he picked us up at.
So, Brian told me to get out of the taxi with Zoë and he gave the guy another 20 UY Pesos and said that’s all we have. And, we left.
It’s amazing how some people think it’s okay to take advantage of people that way. We had been warned about taxi drivers in Buenos Aires so we weren’t completely surprised though.
After arriving at our friend Lyle’s apartment, we decided to head out to find a Cambio and then some lunch. We walked over to Florida Street (a big pedestrian street that is a tourist trap) first to find a Cambio.
There were some guys standing out in the middle of the street soliciting a cambio. We grabbed one of the guys and he took us to what looked more like a travel agency, but whatever. We went inside and to the counter. Brian handed the woman 1700 UY Pesos. She did some calculations and gave him 170 Argentine Pesos.
Luckily we are more informed about exchange rates than the average tourist would be, so Brian tried to give the 170 ARS back and the lady acted like she didn’t know what we were saying (they were speaking English when we first came in). After a brief exchange the lady reluctantly and obviously irritated gave our money back to us… She thought she’d just made a little extra cash off of some ignorant gringos. Wrong!
We found another Cambio about a block away and guess what… We got well over 100 ARS for the same 1700 UY Pesos. Moral of the story? Be informed and aware when you’re traveling as a tourist anywhere.
At least we got the bad encounters out of the way early in the day. The rest of the day was very nice. The rain cleared up and we had a nice lunch and good conversation.
Our ferry was headed back to Uruguay at 8 pm, so we got to the Buquebus station at around 7 pm so we’d have time to check in and go through customs. We boarded the ferry and were pleasantly surprised at how nice this one was. There were sections with couches and even a duty free store on board!
Luckily we were some of the first people to board since pregnant women get priority boarding and we were able to get one of the couches. It was great for Zoë because there were some other kids sitting in the same section. She had a blast playing with them for the duration of the ferry ride.
When we arrived in Colonia, we got on the bus and headed back to Montevideo. The bus ride definitely felt much longer on the way back. I think next time we might consider taking the bus to Colonia on the way out, but taking the direct ferry to return, especially so late at night.
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Zoë has been developing quite the little personality lately. She loves singing and dancing and being the center of attention. And, if she’s not happy about something, she’s not afraid to let you know!
When I was getting ready for my doctor’s appointmetn this morning, Zoe was eating Jello. It’s only the second time she’s had jello and she loves it:
Apparently after I left, she started singing while she was eating her Jello, so Brian grabbed the video camera:
After she was done eating, she needed a shower. She loves being bundled up in a blanket or her towel after a shower. She gets mad and starts to yell at you if you take her out of the towel before she’s ready:
She still loves dressing up, and even though it is very hot and humid in Montevideo right now, she insists on wearing her TinkerBell hoodie all of the time. She brings it over to us and says, “help,” and after we get it on, she asks us to “zippy” it for her.
And anytime she can get a hold of something that belongs to mommy or daddy, she wants to wear it:
She also loves playing games. One of her favorite games right now is to hide from us in the boxes that her Christmas gifts came in. We still have this box in our kitchen because she loves it so much – it’s pretty much become part of her toys:
Even though some days it feels like the terrible twos have come to live with us early, at the end of the day, she’s still our sweet, snuggly little girl who just wants to curl up and go to sleep: