Anniversary Getaway

This pictures are in somewhat of a reverse order. Start at the bottom and it will make more sense.

This is our guide showing us the old trees and how there are some trees that grow toward the sunshine and create really odd looking trees. It was quite interesting to see!

Janice loved playing with the little puppies.

In the afternoon we all loaded up and went for a tour of the ranch on the wagon.

This is the gate that leads to the forest with all the big trees and to the lake.

Looking from the house area that overlooks the lagoon / lake

This is a catus that is climbing up the side of the house and then spreading out. It is very odd to see a climbing cactus plant.

She is quite small compared to this HUGE tree / plant.

This shows the thick pulpy material that makes up the tree / plant. It is very different than a regular tree.

This shows the hollow part of the tree / plant

The "Taylors". They are serving as the Branch President in Castillos. They are the only other Senior Couple that is serving in our Mission at this time.

This area has a type of tree that is unique to this area of Uruguay. They can grow to be huge. The experts are divided between calling it a tree and a plant. The center of the the tree is hollow like a plant and the outer woody type material is not as dense as a regular tree. It is kind of a cross between the two type.

There is a courtyard between the houses that is covered in an arbor with flowers and grapes.

This shows some of the construction methods used to erect the houses. The stone was kind of a slate type rock. It was chipped out of some veins that run through the area. It was then transported to the the house area and cemented into place. A very hard and tedious process.

This is the view from the dining are to the lagoon.

Another part of the house that is for viewing only. It has some of the old furniture and artifacts in it.

These are some of the old artifacts that they have displayed in the house. From birdnest to armadillo shells.

These are some of the salads that we were served with our asado lunch. They tasted great!

Elder John and Hermana Alicia Taylor joined us for the day. We had a very relaxing day together. Enjoying the peace and quiet and the beautiful scenery!

This is the area they feed the guests an "asado" BBQ for lunch.

For our 31st anniversary we visited an old Spanish Military guard post outside of Castillos. It is located on the banks of a large lake called the Castillos Lagun. Sometimes during the year the lake is filled with salt water from the ocean. This is a view looking from the lake back the the house and barns.