Maureen writes.....
The most common question I am asked about my travels is why do I do it, why not take a tour, have things organized make things easy for me!!
Today I know the answer to that question.
We are driving along the wild eastern coast of Uruguay towards the Brazilian Border; I have Atlantic breakers to my right all day (last night I slept with them pounding my ears). We have seen countless beautiful birds, cattle grazing in fields that have palm trees in, goats, sheep and of course Gaucho´s.
it has taken all day to cover 93 miles; our final destination being a kind of yard at the side of the road, this yard contains 2 or 3 truck/bus/safari style vehicles. We are at Cabo Polonio a nature reserve which has extensive sand dunes and a large colony of sea lions - We hire one of the trucks for approx 4GBP a head and head off towards the ocean. This is going to be a very bumpy ride 
. it is very cold and windy, the tuck has a tarp over the top which keeps out most of the wind. I have to sit at the back IN the wind hoping to hang on to my lunch!!! we are all well wrapped - coated - booted. the drive through the dunes is lovely, more birds, tiny houses, even strangely grazing cows! we drive along the beach to a fishing village and light house this is truly wild and windy. at the light house we leave the truck and scamble over rocks; we climb up and over the highest rock. Then there they are - aprox 90 sealions sitting on rocks, this is awesome, breathtaking there are just 9 of us, it is real, it is wild, we are sat in their house 
within yards we could almost touch them! no tourists here, nothing made up, nature as it really is - we sit on the rocks - watching, listening and taking photos - the sea is full of sea lions. there is even a creche with the little babies waiting for their mums to come back with fish, the noise, the smell it is all just wonderful. Just off shore are a couple of rocky islands that are also full of sealions we look at these through the Binoculors. we have not, this day, seen penguins!!
To have the priviliges of seeing beautiful animals and birds in their own unspoilt habitat free from the tourist trap makes every thing worth while for me.
My stomach did not make the trip back 
I had to get out of the truck and walk, Peter walked with me. We spent the night in the yard, which had water and a toilet dump! also a bird hide for the morning.
This whole area is very underdeveloped has very few foreign visitors, all of which help to make it such a wonderful place to visit.
I have enjoyed Uruguay for the short time we have been here. I will be sad to leave, I would like to see more .....................................maybe one day!!!
i also had a text tonight (tuesday) which says they have been whale watching, within 20 feet of a mother whale and her baby at Praia dp Rosa and Garopaba, it was AWESOME.
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