Uruguay has been a much needed breath of fresh air… in more than one way. Not only is the temperature much more pleasant in Uruguay (averaging between 20 and 25 degrees celcius), but the country has a heavy European influence, making it feel very first world and safe. Brazil was amazing, but it is loud, hot, and intense. I felt uncomfortable quite often when wandering the streets, and being in Uruguay has been a nice change of pace from that. Uruguay has a total population of about 3 million people, nearly half of which reside in South America’s most southerly capital city: Montevideo. Sandwiched between it’s big brothers, Brazil and Argentina, Uruguay often gets forgotten about, and after spending a brief period of time in the country, I think it’s safe to say that this is truly a shame.
Ryan and I were deliriously tired after our overnight bus from Porto Alegre and our total travel time of 24 hours. Arriving at Destino26 Hostel in Montevideo, we were incredibly happy when the owner allowed us to check in early and relax for a couple of hours. It was not until my stomach growled ravenously that I was motivated to move off my bed. We finally ventured out to explore the neighbourhood of Pocitos and to find a bite to eat. We were located a few blocks from Pocitos Beach, which was beautiful. We sat on the sea wall watching the water lap at the shore, discussing how perfect the city was and how wonderful the temperature was. It wasn’t until later when sun set and the wind picked up that I felt cold for the first time in over a month. I was forced to whip out my sweater and my leggings, which have sat untouched in my bag since Cotopaxi National Park. Along with being chilly, I was a bit uncomfortable to discover that there was a child and his mother staying in our dorm room. I have spent a lot of time in hostels and I have never seen this. Don’t get me wrong – I am open to all types of people, but this child was noisy and bratty, which was incredibly annoying. On top of that, he needed the mattress from a top bunk put on the floor for him. For those of you who have spent time in hostels in South America, you will know that this made the room quite cramped. There wasn’t much I could do, so I shoved my ear plugs in, in hopes that this child would sleep through the night. Luckily, he did!
The following morning, Ryan and I set out to explore Montevideo’s Ciudad Viaje, or old city. We took a walking tour from the beautiful Plaza Independencia, and down to the water via a pedestrian street. Here we learned that the water was actually a river, called the Rio de La Plata, and not an ocean, as one would have thought. We also learned about Uruguay’s famous president, Pepe, who is most commonly known for legalizing marijuana. Don’t get ahead of yourself – it’s only legal for Uruguayan citizens! From there, we headed over to the port market, where the tour ended at the market, and we were able to try medio medio (half white wine, half sparkling wine), and traditional Uruguayan BBQ called asado. We each ordered a cup of the house red wine, and were presented with the largest and fullest glasses of wine I have ever had. On top of that, I was given a piece of chicken the size of my head. Ryan’s beef was also massive, but he somehow made his way through it successfully. Although I ate a ton of chicken, I had enough left over for dinner that evening… for both of us! We left the market with a bit of a buzz, and after enjoying a dulce de leche filled empanada, we made our way back down the pedestrian street and towards Plaza Independencia. At some point, the buzz wore off and we both became incredibly tired and sleepy. We wandered into a cafe yawning uncontrollably to get a cup of tea before making our way back to Pocitos by bus. That evening, we set out to find some dinner in one of the local supermarkets. Uruguay seems to enjoy 90’s pop music, and I had to resist the urge to break out into a supermarket dance party as “Love Shack” pounded through the loud speaker overhead! Alongside the ingredients for dinner, we splurged on a box of wine (for $3 CDN!!) to make tinto de verano. It was the perfect way to end the day!
The following day, we got up, enjoyed breakfast, and made our way by bike back to Ciudad Viaje. We biked along the beautiful prominade, overlooking the water and the city. As I observed the beautiful old city on my right, I thought to myself how wonderful of a city Montevideo is. After biking 8km there, we both had pretty sore butts from the terrible seats, and we began to dread the bike back home. We grabbed some food, popped our heads into a few shops, meandered along the streets, and then made our way (much more slowly) back to Pocitos. After biking 16km, we were both pretty tired, we spent the night lounging and relaxing, in preparation for our journey to Colonia the following day.