A cold day in Uruguay

Trip Start Apr 30, 2007

Trip End Ongoing

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Flag of Uruguay Montevideo, Uruguay
Wednesday, June 24, 2009

As far as possible travel locations go, Montevideo was somewhere around the bottom of my list of "must see" places. Apart from having a really cool name I didn`t know anything about the place. During my travels in Peru I learned that not far from the capital is a famous beach (well famous to those who have heard of it) Punta del este, again not a must see place in the cold of winter.

So from my couchsurfing host`s house in BA I got an early bus to the ferry terminal and crossed the mouth of the Rio de la Plata and arrived in the aptly named colonial town of Colonia del Sacramento around 9am. Colonia, the oldest town in the country is apparently one of the major tourist draws in Uruguay. My opinion is that it would be nice if you`re a couple who wants to sit in an empty cafe and sip coffee. Its history is much more interesting than the actual town (a World Heritage site) having changed hands twelve times between Portugal, Spain, Brazil, Argentina and finally to Uruguay.

Arriving in Montevideo was a breeze, the tourist information guy acted like someone was forcing him to take this job against his will so he gave out his very useful advice on buses in the most disinterested way he could! I caught the bus into the center of the city, which reminded me a lot of Buenos Aires but much grayer and colder, kind of like a communist version of BA. Sorry Montevideo again maybe it was just the chilly weather.

I walked around the city a bit and found that after walking for around 20 minutes you enter the historical part which feels totally empty and a little unsafe. I walked back to the main plaza which includes Montevideo`s main theater and the Palacio Salvo which upon completion in 1925 and standing 100 meters was the tallest building in South America.

While waiting for my night bus-ferry back to Buenos Aires I did partake in some of the local culture, well I went to one of confiterias a cafe/restaurant. They were offering some kind of menu, for a few dollars which included a Russian salad and something which was going to be a surprise because I had no idea what it was. Well what I ordered turned out to be a plate of hot chips with a steak covered in cheese, ham and egg... a super health food! Together with the coffee it helped me warm to Montevideo just a little!

I got the night bus/ferry combination back to Buenos Aires without much drama, just a little cold in the middle of winter.

Montevideo hotels

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