Montevideo, Uruguay

We got up at 8am and had breakfast. Our Uruguayan receptionist wasn’t there so we couldn’t say goodbye and thank her for her help. After some quick packing it was time to head to the bus terminal. We walked with our packs on our backs over the very uneven cobble stones and broken pavements like real backpackers.

At the station we were sure if we should wait inside or outside. It was freezing so we went inside. At quarter to 11am we went outside, where a lone backpacker was standing. I asked her if she spoke English – she did! She was a backpacker from Denmark and it was so nice to have a normal conversation with someone in English. We hopped on the bus and it was super comfortable. The seats reclined almost to flat – a man in front of me put his right back instantly so I couldn’t reach my bag.
We travelled through green farmland that looked so like the Waikato I felt instantly relaxed and only occassionally remembering I was in South America when I saw a Vende sign on a farm house.

We arrived to the bus station around 2pm, it was slightly different to where we thought it would be. A lady in a tourismo office told us how to get a bus into town. We also purchased our ticket for Punta del Diablo, the beach town we’re visiting next. There were complications with purchasing the ticket to Porto Alegre in Brazil, it turns out we need to get a hour’s bus to the border of Chuy first. But we’ll sort that out when we go back.

The bus into town was very full and we had our big bags. But it was easy enough to navigate, we got off at the right stop. Our hotel was just off the square, it is very cute and has an old fashioned elevator and a grand old building. The check-in lady spoke no English, but somehow we managed to communicate we didn’t want a double bed, we aren’t married, and that we need to return our key to reception when we go out.

We have two rooms, one for our bags with a chair and desk, and one with our beds and a big bathroom. It is quiet here, not just the hotel but also the city, it is very tranquil compared to Buenos Aires.

We headed out for a walk around Ciudad Viaje, the old town where we’re staying. It is very pretty but doesn’t really compare to the World Heritage site of Colonia we just left. There were lots of healthy organic shops, normal clothing shops and also weed shops (as marijuana is legalised here only for locals). It’s an interesting place. We also walked along the waterfront in the afternoon sun.

For dinner we went two doors down to this lovely bistro. But we were the only two people eating there and a few dodgy characters were wandering outside. I had a big delicious glass of Malbec (the pours are huge here) and a tomato, caper and anchovie gnocchi. The gnocchi were like big mash potato dumplings and melted in my mouth. So yum. Dessert was an apple pie. Our bill was the most expensive yet – over 2000 pesos, and we paid to the dollar. The waitress who was really friendly told us we forgot to include a tip, it was really awkward. We gave her 100 pesos and left.

Day 2 – Hotel Palacio Montevideo

Today we woke up to a grey morning. There was a protest outside our window, down on the street. We had a coffee downstairs then headed out on a post shop mission, to send some of Susie’s extra luggage to Joao in Santiago. The fedex place had a man that lived in the US for a couple of years, so we could have a normal conversation with him. We asked about the protest outside, now letting off loud fireworks. He said it was the public servants protesting security. He also told us to go to the national post office instead for a cheaper price.

It was in a grand old building we had seen yesterday. The man there didn’t speak much English and he told us we needed a passport to send it. So we went back to our room. It was now raining. We grabbed a yoghurt and muesli pot from the organic cafe we went to yesterday and headed to the square – the free walking tour must have been called off because of the weather – there was no one there. We returned to our room once again to layer up – in the rain it was freezing! I wore my full ski jacket and beanie, and still was cold.

Because we only had one day in the city and still wanted to see it, we went to the beach suburb. We caught a public bus there. It was similar to the rest of the city but it had a large mall and a few restaurants around. We walked on the seaside walkway, framed by slightly delapitated high rises, and tried several cafes. There was a steak bar, coffee club-esque cafe, a hemp cafe with a dodgy guy inside. Right when we were getting hangry, we stumbled across a residential bistro called Vanguard. It had a set lunch meal of mains, dessert, coffee and a drink for only 390 pesos – one of the cheapest meals we’d seen in Uruguay! We couldn’t understand what the mains were at all, but we decided to order it anyway. We received two hamburger patties with sauce, and roasted potato, kumara and onions. Then we had pavlova with vanilla syrup, raisins and custard for dessert, with a coffee and water. It was almost a kiwi meal!

After lunch we decided to do a free walking tour. We felt as though we knew nothing about Montevideo yet and becuase our hotel was so silent with only Spanish speaking staff, it was like we hadn’t talked to anyone for awhile. The tour met outside the mall. A man called Gonzalez and a brazilian tourist were waiting. One more brazilian tourist joined, but luckily everyone could speak English for our benefit. The tour started with telling us how the mall was originally a jail, where 110 prisoners escaped by digging a tunnel with cutlery under the fence and across the road. One of those prisoners went on to be the president of the country! It was like the Shawshank Redemption.

Next we tried Mate tea – a green tea that all Uruguayans drink, constantly. It is made in these circular cups covered in leather with a metal rim. The cups are made out of pumpkin shells. It tasted bitter, like green tea that had brewed too long.
Then we saw this insane castle one man had built for himself in the early 1900s, then gifted to the government, and now it was a cafe. We ended our walk along the Rambla – the seaside walkway. We caught the bus back with one of the Brazilians, he was so lovely and polite.

We exchanged more cash then went to the supermarket for a cheap dinner. They had nice salads and empanadas there. On the way home, we saw this grand bookshop had a restaurant upstairs. After dropping off our groceries, we went back out for a glass of Vino Tinto (red wine) amongst the books.

Now we are packing for Punta del Diablo tomorrow. We expect to quiet there, a hippie town like Raglan in winter.

Montevideo has been nice, it is similar to Buenos Aires on a much more intimate scale. It also feels very safe, but also a little boring. The city is so quiet at night, much quieter than Auckland. And our hotels, the restaurants all seem empty. The country is incredibly liberal, it has the highest number of atheists in South America, marijuana, abortions and same sex marriage are all legalised. Our guide today said that Uruguay is constantly living in Argentina’s shadow and people get the two cultures mixed up easily, much like Australia and New Zealand. It has been interesting but I’m glad we visited.