The Rambla in Montevideo, Uruguay, looks like it is made for cycling. It winds around the shore of the River Plate, overlooked on one side by the city skyline and on the other by the vast expanse of the South Atlantic. Technically the Plate may be a river but the delta at Montevideo is so wide it is more ocean than river.
Be careful what you wish for!
The kids and I learnt long ago that you have to be careful what you wish for in the Lindfields' household. An unguarded moment spent musing about - say - ' we've never been to Uruguay' - and next thing you know you can find yourself sitting on an aeroplane wishing you'd had more time to brush up on your spanish.
A bridge too far - or maybe not!
Anyone who follows me on twitter @thelindfields may have noticed my profile picture. It was taken a few years ago at Sandy Creek Inlet on Lake Hume. We were cycling the High Country Rail Trail and we hit a snag.
High Country Cycling - Part 2
https://thetravellinglindfields.blogspot.com.au/2013/12/high-country-cycling-australian-alps.html - Part 1-
Hot again! Back to the High Country. This time we made it to Hotham. We parked the car at Whiskey Flat - what a great name! - and continued on from where we turned around. The trail became a lot easier but we were never going to be able to do it in one go starting as late in the afternoon as we had.
Hot again! Back to the High Country. This time we made it to Hotham. We parked the car at Whiskey Flat - what a great name! - and continued on from where we turned around. The trail became a lot easier but we were never going to be able to do it in one go starting as late in the afternoon as we had.
High Country Cycling - the Australian Alps
Our first rule of cycling is "find a cycle path separate from the road". Our second rule is "make it a flat one". You might think that Alps and 'flat' are mutually inconsistent but, strangely, in Victoria they are not. It is possible to do all the hard work in the car, then unload the bikes and cycle along the tops of the ridges through magnificent scenery and spectacular views.
The Great Ocean Road - Cape Otway; UFOs, lighthouses and koalas (part 2)
For part 1 click - here
UFOs:
In the early evening on October 21, 1978, Frederick Valentich left Melbourne's Moorabbin airport for a flight to King Island in Bass Strait. Valentich was a 20 year old pilot flying a Cessna 182L. At about 7 pm he was just off the coast at Cape Otway when he and his aircraft disappeared. In the minutes leading up to his disappearance he was in contact with Melbourne Flight Service Control. Having asked the controller whether there were any military aircraft in the vicinity, he described a large object which he said was "playing some sort of game".
The Great Ocean Road - the world's largest war memorial (part 1)
For part 2 click - here
The Great Ocean Road is 243 kilometres of National Heritage listed road on the south-east coast of Australia. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 it is the world's largest war memorial - dedicated to the dead of World War I.
The Great Ocean Road is 243 kilometres of National Heritage listed road on the south-east coast of Australia. Built by returned soldiers between 1919 and 1932 it is the world's largest war memorial - dedicated to the dead of World War I.
The World's Best Riesling
Today we tasted 'The World's Best Riesling' - at least that is what the lady trying to sell us a bottle said. We are in the Clare Valley, one of Sth Australia's best wine growing regions. It is wet, cold and windy. Not good conditions for fair-weather cyclists. Unless the weather improves, this year's holiday in the Clare is going to be a lot more about drinking and a lot less about cycling.
Sydney to Adelaide - Meandering along the Murray.
One thousand, three hundred and seventy-six kilometres - according to Google Maps that's how far it is from Sydney to Adelaide. It feels like more. If you allow for the odd wrong turn, occasional side trip and following the scenic route, it is more - but even in a straight unwavering line it is a long way. If Australians have a national obsession, it has to be travel. At any given moment half the country is out roaming the world in a vast international diaspora. D and I try to do our bit - but when we get tired, as we occasionally do, of travelling the world we come home and travel Australia instead.
Colonia del Sacramento:- Uruguay in a day.
We had no real idea of what to expect of Uruguay. I was apprehensive. David wasn't - until we saw the ferry dock. It was at least a hundred years old; rusty, decrepit and decaying. Oooooppps! - what happened to rule number one - 'travel within our comfort zone'.
The ferry berthed, the doors opened and we had no choice but to join the crowd and be swept along by the collective force of humanity deserting the ship. We stumbled along the rickety third-world gang-way, navigating its maize of corridors, stairs, and corners losing all sense of time and direction until finally we were expelled into the arrivals hall. Here we found ourselves surrounded by chrome and glass. This was ultra modern state of the art architecture - a brand-spanking new ferry terminal building. What a relief! ( Note to the Uruguayan authorities - if you want international tourists to get a good first impression do something about the wharf.)
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