These are photos from before we left on our round-the-world trip. They show us getting our travel shots, selling everything we own, saying goodbye to friends and family, and boarding our flight to Buenos Aires.

Our first stop was Buenos Aires where we stayed 1 week (the first time). We saw the Mothers march in the Plaza de Mayo, took in a Tango show, found Evita's tomb in Recoleta, and made a number of new friends.

After Buenos Aires, we passed through Montevideo for 1 night on our way to the beaches of Uruguay. And 1 night was enough time for us to determine we were not fond of Montevideo. (Hence, there aren't many photos in here.)

After the stressful weeks...months...well, hell, the stressful year leading up to our trip, we needed a place to unwind and relax. La Paloma turned out to be the perfect place. A little coastal town in Uruguay, it captured our hearts.

Our next coastal town in Uruguay was Punta del Diablo. If there had been an ATM in Punta del Diablo, we would have never left. This place just may be our heaven on earth.

Having fully relaxed on the beaches, we made a very brief visit to a town called Chuy (located on the border between Uruguay and Brazil) and another visit to Montevideo (see: horse's ass).

Next, we returned to Buenos Aires for another 6 days. We shopped, we ate, we drank, and we made merry.

Eventually we decided we wanted to see at least 10 penguins, and so we took a 20 hour bus to Puerto Madryn. We toured Peninsula Valdes (home of various animals) and Punta Tombo (home of the largest penguin colony outside of Antarctica). And we also met up with some good friends and painted the town red!