In February 2017, I stepped on South American soil for the first time in my life. I had heard and read a lot, especially about Uruguay and Argentina. Amazingly these places did not only sound interesting to me. My friend Beverley from Botswana also wanted to look around there and another friend from my time in Maun had already settled in Uruguay. A pilot friend from Germany and his wife also wanted to go on vacation there. So we all met in Uruguay.
From the first moment I set foot on Uruguayan soil I felt very comfortable. It is this positive gut feeling that just sets in or it does not. I took the ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia del Sacramento, a place that I instantly loved.
Of course the first trip through Uruguay was not entirely without flying. After a few attempts with my little knowledge of Spanish, I managed to locate the Aeroclub del Uruguay and to arrange an appointment with the chief flight instructor for a 3 day tour to the Gaucho Festival in the north of the country, see Fliegermagazin 02.2018. The tour was incredibly beautiful and I knew that it was not my last one.
The following year I came back to South America, this time with a more time to spend and the intention to get to know the area around Uruguay. The trip took me to Argentina, Chile – see Facebook post at Eisenschmidt -, Bolivia and finally back to Uruguay, where I clearly liked it best. A new place for the gloomy winter months in Germany and back to my life concept of the many years in Botswana, I’ve wanted that for a long time. Nobody offers pilot trips in the region around Uruguay. A gap in the market. The idea was born – Fly in Uruguay became my new project.
