May 20, 2013 “I love our place in the town of Carlos Paz, Argentina. I wondered why Chris had chosen to overshoot Cordoba and stay here first. Now I know why. The views are stunning. We look out to the…
Leaving Uruguay, going to Argentina
May 14, 2013 “How are we still in Uruguay? It is May and we had planned to be in Argentina long before now. I guess we have really “learned” to relax. I have loved our time here, but I am ready to…
Our first brush with police corruption
April 26, 2013 “What a drag. We were stopped by a policeman, actually a small group of them. The guy who walked up to us ran through a list . . . we had everything. So they thought up something and “fined”…
Capybaras: The Worlds Largest Rodents
DIDYA Did you know . . . CAPYBARAS Capybaras are large rodents. In fact, they are the largest rodents in the world. They are a close relative of a guinea pig. They look like a cross between a…
Mocona Falls, unexpected
April 25, 2013 “Mocona Falls is nothing like Iguazu. It is small but unique. The falls split the river down the middle, so the water flows not only down river, but from one side to the other. The boat ride would…
The Jungle: Subtropical Rainforest
April 24, 2013 “On our way to Mocona Falls, we spent 2 nights at Don Enrique’s, a jungle lodge. We trekked the jungle. Hard to believe this is all that is left of a once vast jungle. The lodge cost…
The 3 Greatest Waterfalls in the World
DIDYA Did you know . . . NIAGARA Falls vs. VICTORIA Falls vs. IGUAZU Falls. It is hard to compare these three waterfalls. Each is worthy of the bucket list. Niagara Falls is made up of three areas:…
Our last day at Iguazu Falls
Our adventure is nearing its end. Climb up for our last day. First, we will follow the blue line, line C, at the top of the picture. That is a long walkway, much of it over water. In…
Tarantula
DIDYA Did you know…. TARANTULAS My daughter claims she is afraid of spiders after living with me. Probably true. I hate spiders. It is a visceral response. I can logically argue that I have been bitten by far more…
More Iguazu Falls . . .
Climb back on my shoulder . . . ready to see more of Iguazu Falls? We returned from our walk on the metal walkway perched along the rim of the falls. Where the yellow line meets the red line we continue to go straight…
Iguazu Falls in Argentina is #1
April 21, 2013 “I can still hear and feel the falls. I am so impressed. I thought Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe was incredible. Niagara Falls wasn’t bad either. But after seeing Iguazu, I know why Eleanor Roosevelt said “poor Niagara”.…
Our time is ending in Piriapolis, Uruguay
May 10, 2013 “We have only a few days left here. We will truly miss new friends. Never know when we might meet again. The beach house has been a treat. The warm weather has left and the cold winds are…
Love my Nook! Traveling with an eReader
April 28, 2013 “Chris just checked out my 100th book from the library. One hundred!! In 4 months. Free!!And they all fit in the palm of my hand. I love my Nook!” – If you like to read and travel,…
Life in Piriapolis, Uruguay
March 25, 2013 “It is hard to believe we have been in Piriapolis for 2 months already…time has gone fast. We head to Minnesota tomorrow for a few weeks. Time to see family, pay taxes and visit my Oncologist.” Two months went…
Hundreds of vintage cars in Uruguay.
February 15, 2013 “I was amazed at how expensive it is to buy a car in Uruguay. A ten-year-old car costs as much as the same car new in the US. We were surprised to see so many vintage cars…
Colonia del Sacremento, Uruguay
April 26, 2013 “We had heard so much about Colonia, I was thrilled to finally be here. What a nice town. Time always seems to go too fast when you don’t want it to. I would gladly spend more time…
Four places to visit in Uruguay.
February 1, 2013 The past weeks we made up for lost time visiting other places along the coast. Now that we have our car, we can go anywhere. We drove to Punta del Diablo, almost at the top of Uruguay.…
Lost in paradise. Need a GPS. TomTom vs. Garmin
January 30, 2013 “Good lord…there are no signs for streets, towns, beaches, etc. We brought TomTom with us; however, we can’t get a download for Uruguay. Argentina they have…Uruguay no! We’ll download Argentina when we enter – want the newest update – the current one is due.…
Patagonia in the Spring
Patagonia August 2015. Just wanted to share this picture. Molly and Chris Koehler SouthAmericaDrive.com
Mate and Coffee in South America
January 21, 2013 “Mate is the drink of choice for most people here. You will see people everywhere…and I mean everywhere, carrying their gourd/cup with mate. It is like the US where everyone is carrying a Starbucks coffee. The gourd has…
Uruguay’s beaches are getting crowded.
January 4, 2013. “When we arrived, the beach towns east of Montevideo were still relatively quiet…almost deserted. That all changed in the past month. Some due to the holidays. Mainly, the weather has warmed up. Hundreds of cars arrive each day. I have never…
Moving to Piriapolis, Uruguay, had bag stolen.
January 14, 2013. “All the extra stuff that arrived with the car made my packing job tougher. I was up half the night. It is my job to pack the bags. It is up to Chris to put it all…
The internet in South America
January 8, 2013 “How did anyone travel before the internet? I guess we did, but I would be lost without it now. It is our lifeline to the rest of the world. An internet connection is at the top of…
Our car cleared customs in Uruguay
January 4, 2013 OMG!!! Our car is ours!! It is sitting on the street below!! Finally! It took forever to get it through customs. We had planned to be in Piriapolis by now. I had forgotten how much stuff we…
New Year’s Fireworks in Montevideo, Uruguay
January 1, 2013 “Wow! I am speechless. Never seen a fireworks display like this. Stood on the roof watching hundreds of displays going off at once. Not a hundred fireworks, but hundreds of displays: 360 degrees. The sound was like continuous thunder punctuated…
Merry Christmas from Uruguay – Missing family!
December 25, 2012 “Christmas is a big deal here. Families seem especially close. One of the hardest things about travel is being away from family. We are too far away and it is too expensive to make the trip home.”…
We learned the “American Rate”
December 20, 2012 “We stopped at a small café for ice cream. Pointed to a picture of the largest bowl of ice cream. We were handed a small cup, but the price seemed really high. We know that pictures are…
Our car arrived in Uruguay…but customs won’t release it.
December 16, 2012 “ “Yea! Good news – our car has arrived. Bad news – there may be a problem getting it through the port. We have already talked with our agent 6 times today.” We tracked our car on http://marinetraffic.com…
We chose a Toyota 4Runner for our South America Drive
December 15 “I can’t wait for our car. We feel so stranded in Montevideo. It is too expensive to rent often. We thought our vehicle would be here and we would be on our way to other parts of Uruguay.…
Parrilla – South American wood grill….. and the weather
December 14 “The world’s best smell – grilled meats. This is no place for a vegetarian. There are grills everywhere. Each evening walking along Sarandi, we see make-shift grills set up in the street. Kids run around. Parents visit, share a drink while…
ATMs, credit cards and misc in Uruguay
December 11, 2012 “Milk comes in a bag here. Chris says he had this in Wisconsin in the country – I’ve never seen it. Need to buy a special pouring container.” December 12, 2012 “Glad we left a signature stamp…
Eating out at night. Restaurants open late.
DECEMBER 7, 2012 “TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY. Happy birthday me. Chris made reservations at a nice restaurant. He gave me earrings made with a native Uruguayan stone. They are perfect. Once again, we arrived at a restaurant before they opened. The first reservation…
Safety in Uruguay.
December 2 “Loved having the policemen across the street. Makes me feel safe.” Safety in South America was a big concern for us when planning this adventure. Compared to the USA, the police here can be very intimidating. They dress…
Need Meat! Not just veggies! Visiting the markets.
November 29 “Craving a steak. Meat smells so good on the neighbor’s grill. Our little farmer’s market does not have meats. It does have two cheese/salami trucks and two fish/seafood trucks. Most cheeses I don’t recognize. Cheese lady can’t understand me saying “mozzarella;” how…
Rare sighting: Mythical Patagonian Ski Bull
We were so excited today when we were able to catch a glimpse of the elusive Patagonian Ski Bull. There it was traversing the ski slope below our gondola. It seemed unaware of our presence. We remained quiet so as not to frighten the beast.…
Green Parrots! Beautiful!!
Current news: today, August 30, 2015 Since we could not ski at least we were treated to the beautiful sight of a flock of bright green parrots. I barely had a chance to snap a photo before the whole bunch took…
Love our Farmer’s Market in downtown Montevideo, Uruguay
November 24 “OMG – at our little farmer’s market we saw a couple featured on House Hunter International. What are the odds? We had walked past their place, but we never really expected to run into them. Our farmer’s market is small. Need 100…
Walking and Eating in Montevideo, Uruguay
November 19, 2012 “On our first day in Montevideo, we walked…and walked. It’s the only way to get to know a new place and feel more a part of it. Our lack of Spanish is a bit of a problem.…
In Uruguay…missing my bed!
November 21 “What do I miss….my bed from home. Our bed is super uncomfortable. It is rock hard! I have to turn all night because my arms fall asleep” OK. Nothing is worse than a really hard bed. I think…
Montevideo has colorful graffiti. Dogs love the green parks
November 17, 2012 “I’m happy Chris was not driving yesterday. The drivers are crazy. I grabbed the armrest a hundred times during the van ride to our apartment. Glad Chris could look around – the graffiti is amazing! It is literally everywhere. This would never…
Arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay – time to get dogs through customs
November 16, 2012 “We arrived!!!! My heart is pounding. Months of planning, now we are here. The Montevideo airport is packed. The lines are long. Used my cane – leg was acting up – they took pity on me and let me…
Miami Airport: Preparing dogs for flight to Uruguay
November 15, 2012 “This is terrible. We are at the airport and the dogs are a mess. I feel so guilty. Perhaps it was not such a good idea to bring the dogs. Next time sedation – for dogs and…
On our way to Uruguay…South America. Car packed. Dogs in. Front door locked.
November 14, 2012 “We will be pulling out of our driveway at 6pm. The car is packed. The dogs are fed. I have my “Bucky” in the front seat. Chris likes night driving. We have an 18 hour drive since…
Shipping our car to Uruguay
November 5, 2012 “We just paid for our car to be shipped to Montevideo, Uruguay. Chris made the reservation just 4 days ago. It feels like we are cutting it close since our flight leaves in 11 days. The cost…
Preparations to leave the USA for South America
October 30, 2012 “Chris gave notice at work. The estate sale is done. The last few things are either in our storage unit or donated. Plane tickets are bought. Shipping the car is arranged. Our friends and family think we…
Not your typical blog. Not your typical travelers.
This is pretty much verbatim what is written on the “About This Blog” page. I just felt I needed to say it out loud. This blog will not be like other travel blogs, posts and publications (like International Living) where you…
Bought airline tickets for us and our 2 dogs to Uruguay
July 2012 “We bought our plane tickets to Uruguay, the dogs too! We fly November 15th – Miami, Florida to Montevideo, Uruguay. It was more expensive than we thought. We could fly roundtrip to Europe 2 ½ times with the…
South America with our two dogs: Journal entries of our drive
Join us as we drive through South America with our two dogs. Have you ever thought about leaving everything behind? Flying off to a foreign country. Possibly bringing your 2 dogs. Possibly shipping your own vehicle. Starting with no set…