Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay, a once thriving city with the relics still scattered around - battered vintage cars and decaying grand colonial buildings. I hesitate, because I don't want to offend anyone, but I find it sad, and any comparison to Buenos Aires, I find odd. Poverty is in more evidence than in BA, and the people seem sad and downtrodden in comparison to the bright, savvy but gentle Portenos.

Many people seem to enjoy this city, though. Those I have spoken to, say that this is an escape from the clamour of Buenos Aires. Maybe I miss BA too much, or the task in hand is preventng me from seeing beyond the veneer,

I arranged to meet Robin about buying the bike, and here she is, all 650cc's of Kawasaki KLR...

But once again all was not what it seemed. The simple task of getting a Notario to certify the transaction is not happenng. All those approached say that they cannot do the business because the bike is not Uruguayan. To us, that is the very point.

Well, I posted a plea for advice on the Horizons Unlimited Community page for Montevidoe. I received a reply from a really helpful fella called Santiago, who said we should speak to a guy called Diego at Domingo Motos. Coincidentally, Robin already knew the place, having bought some bits for the bike earlier. We trundled off to the shop immediately, and they were so helpful, I cannot say how grateful I was. Monica who works there, researched everything for us, and found us a Notario who would do the business. She did say, however, the papers would not be legal outside Uruguay - not something that particularly bothered us.

So clutching our very official-lookind docs, we headed off to the British Embassy for a rubber stamp, only to find that they were on an extended siesta - alright for some!!

Sod it, I thought and the next day, I set out on my new ride for the Brazilian border, arranging to meet Robin at 1230 hours.

Break for the border - Chuy