Pan de Azúcar

Saturday we headed to Cerro Pan de Azúcar, a hill near Piriápolis that we planned on going to the top of, but then got sidetracked by the big playground and wildlife reserve on the side of it. Ah, we'll climb it later. The wildlife reserve is called the Estación de Cría de Fauna Autóctona, but we just call it the "wildlife park," or "los animales." Those roll off the tongue a bit easier.

There were lots of ant trails all over the playground. Not trails exactly, more like highways. See how wide and worn into the ground they are? The ants were kind of big, but not exceptionally so. They must have been using these same paths for a long time to make them so distinct -- they were really cool!

And then the little cars were spotted...squeals of excitement filled the air! Zachariah didn't squeal exactly. That's not manly enough. Let's say...he "grunted" with excitement.

Nuala was trying and trying to push it, it was really funny. Alas, no luck. They also loved the merry-go-round and slides. And swings. And these lizards and zebras, etc. made out of tree branches. And everything else. But they kept going back to the three little cars that were there.

Zachariah and Bran with Cerro Pan de Azúcar in the background. Can you tell it's smoky out? They're burning a lot of fields in Argentina, and here in Uruguay we benefit by getting their smoke. Some days are smokier than others, ugh. It was okay in the morning when we got there, but by the time we left it was getting smokier.

The wildlife reserve was great! It was zoo-like, in that the animals were confined, but with more room and in more natural environments than the actual zoo. They were all animals native to Uruguay, of course, and Bran and Nuala LOVED it. We did, too, it was a lot of fun and an enjoyable walk. These capybaras (carpincho, in Spanish) were so friendly. There were quite a few of them, and they were right up by the fence, sniffing at Bran and Nuala. Even after being poked several times in the noses (not too hard, though) they kept trying to sniff them.

Okay, I guess you can't really see them here, but that capybara walking off is being trailed by her three little babies -- so tiny and cute! I totally want one. Even when they grow up, they're cute! Nuala is sucking on a bottle cap she found. We like to document and then share our neglectful parenting...

Then we entered...the Labyrinth! There are 4 or 5 labyrinths, paths that wind through the trees and scrub. The enclosures for the animals here were a little bit small, but at least they were kind of in their native habitat. This picture is dark, but Nuala's signing "gato" (cat) for the little gato montes we saw. You pluck at your cheeks like you have kitty whiskers, she's pretty good at it.

Unlike the gato montes, this margay was friendly. The gato montes growled and hissed at us, but the margay started purring super loud when we hoisted the kiddos up to see it. It kept purring the whole time, too. If it had been a larger cat, I might have thought it was purring because it thought it was going to get a juicy little treat, but since it was small, I prefer to think it was just friendly. And don't worry, the fence was strong! Also, just see above about documenting and sharing...

Bran taking a break on a bench. That was favorite part of the excursion, too, conquering the benches.

The ocelot was also very interested in Nuala and Bran. I love ocelots! Growing up in the Rio Grande Valley, the only place in the US where wild ocelots still live, I remember learning about them often in school and at the various wildlife refuges we'd go to sometimes. They are gorgeous, and this is the closest we've ever gotten to one. Nuala was just talking away to it, I love how little kids talk to animals!

Nuala watching a collared peccary, aka javelina, defend it's pile of food from two other peccaries. It kept gnashing its teeth together loudly, which apparently was very worrisome to the other two, especially since they were only about a third of its size. (Ahem...bully! It's not like it wasn't already pretty pudgy.)

After an hour and a half of animal watching, we headed down to the entrance for some ice cream. Yummmmmm....so good! Ice cream makes us happy.

And 2-1/2 hours at a park and walking around looking at animals makes us tired. It was time to go home, and we hadn't even seen the whole reserve!! We'll be back.