Last weekend, the internationals and I had grandiose plans of getting out of the city and hitting up the sand dunes of Rocha, going to the beach, and possibly hiking in an Ombu forest - but guess what - it was rainy again. Evaluating the circumstances (money, weather, etc.) we decided against it. Besides, I get to be here for the summer, so it's definitely worth it for me to wait! But that meant I was going to be in rainy, grey Montevideo, which wasn't all that enticing either. Sunday morning, Katarina, Antoine and I decided to go despite the rain. We all felt like moving and breathing some fresh air. So we decided on the Cerro Pan de Azucar, a nature preserve only about an hour or so out of the city.
No sooner than five minutes on the bus, it started pouring rain outside. I don't mind hiking in the rain and I figured it would die down eventually anyway. Half an hour into our bus ride, smoke started coming out of the bottom of the bus, and boiling water gushed out from under the middle seats and rushed all the way down the front of the bus. Making an emergency stop on the side of the road to investigate, we were back on the road some five minutes later. Then again, the smoke started coming out - so we stopped a second time. Five minutes later we were on the road again (phew...). The water and smoke started up again, and the drivers finally gave up and called the technician (without informing the passengers what we were doing, what was going on, etc.). So we all waited *somewhat* patiently. An hour later, I was getting extremely antsy, hating the fact that I was in the middle of nowhere and couldn't do anything but wait. I was wondering why I left the house, when I could have been cozy at home, instead I was in the cold bus, in the rain, a ways away from our destination that was slowly losing its appeal to me anyway.
About an hour and twenty minutes, we were back on the road, and arrived in Pan de Azucar town half an hour later. By the time we got there, it was past 1pm and we were somewhat concerned with time - we still had to GET to the hill, climb it, come down, and catch the bus back before 6:30. And the next bus going in that direction wasn't coming for another half hour. Luckily by then it had stopped raining.
So we stuck it out, and ended up at Pan de Azucar nature preserve, all itching to hike! We were delighted to see animals (in caged areas, unfortunately, but still in a wild area). Tiny jaguar-like animals, animals that were a mix between pigs and guinea pigs, tons of birds, and other animals I had never seen before in my life greeted us along the walk to the trail entrance. As soon as we got into the forest, everything was so peaceful and beautiful, and the little train soon became full on scrambling, requiring the use of both hands to get up and weave between the boulders. Absolutely divine! Once we came out of the forest and started getting closer to the top, we were faced with INTENSE wind! It was blowing so hard, we couldn't stop laughing! http://www.flickr.com/photos/borderlys/2879984085/sizes/s/ We were well inside the cloud, and the sound inside the big cross was ..... FREAKY! ...we took our photo ops and hurried down (safely, of course) down to the forest.
Snacked at the bottom, had some tea and made the bus back in a nick of time - everything flowed perfectly and we were home by 8pm!
Since last Sunday, the sun has come out from the clouds, the days are getting longer, and people are starting to poke their heads out from their huge wooden doors. The city is showing a completely different side now (one that I've also been anxiously awaiting!), and it's colours are starting to show themselves. Tonight I am going to some of the festivities that are being put on to celebrate the arrival of spring. Tomorrow, I might hit up Piriápolis, a near by city on the water. I think I am also going to go soak up some of the sun on the rambla now...
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