Adios for now ...

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My last few days in South America were spent in Montevideo, Uruguay. Finally a country that uses heaters! It was a bit warmer there than Porto Alegre; about 55 degrees F (12 degrees C) and in Porto Alegre it was 32 degrees F (3 degrees C)! I’m ecstatic to be going to Morocco where it will be hot, hot, hot, but sad to be leaving South America. I’ve had such an amazing experience over the past 2 months. I’ve been to over a dozen cities, seen some stunning sites, met wonderful people, and eaten fantastic foods! My Spanish has improved a considerable amount and I’d like to come back and live here for a few months just to become fluent. Plus it’s incredibly cheap so I can put off going to work for a few more months. 😊

Montevideo is a quaint little town on the coast known as the Switzerland of the Americas because of its high standard of living, cultural events, and cleanliness. Uruguay has a 98% literacy rate. Not many countries can say that! It’s a small country of about 3 million people with a love for soccer and barbeque. 😊

Brazil is famous for it’s barbeque but Uruguay has delicious dishes just as good or even better. The meat is cooked in an open wood flame which gives the meat a unique taste. I went to a local market and there were grills filled with meat everywhere I looked! I thought a lot about my dad and brothers - it’s a meat lover’s paradise!

Montevideo is the capitol of Uruguay, as was obvious by all the government buildings and statues commemorating fallen soldiers. In the 1920s, Uruguay hosted the first World Cup for futbol (soccer) and won twice. Since then, they haven't had much luck. They have a huge futbol stadium which seats up to 80,000 people and a futbol museum as well.

It was nice to be able to talk to people and be understood again. The past 2 weeks in Brazil had been really frustrating because I don’t know Portuguese. It was difficult to communicate and really limiting. But it was a wonderful experience. Brazil is an absolutely beautiful country (full of waterfalls and beaches) and I'd love to visit again one day - perhaps for Carnival! 😊

On another note - I had been really disappointed over the past few weeks that I wouldn’t have a chance to see any part of Argentina this time around. Especially Buenos Aires - I have heard so many wonderful things about the city. I had even thought about taking a ferry from Montevideo but it was $100 to take a bus then a ferry and I would only have had 3 or 4 hours to explore the city. It wasn’t worth $100 and 6 hours of travel time just for a few hours. I bring this up because I had a connecting flight from Montevideo to Marrakesh in Buenos Aires and my flight was delayed by 4 hours so I missed my connecting flight and had to spend the day in Buenos Aires! The airlines paid for a hotel and for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I got to see a city I had wanted to see for weeks, had some nice food (gratis), and stayed in one of the nicest hotels I’ve been in so far. I’ve been staying in budget hostels for the most part for about $10 a day. So you can imagine they aren’t the most luxurious places - more often than not, it’s just a bed and a shower. Which is fine - I’d rather spend my money elsewhere. But it is nice to be pampered a little bit. Especially when someone else is paying for it! 😊 Sometimes fate steps in and leads you in a completely unexpected, wonderful direction!

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Photos

Flan with caramel
Uruguay is famous for its caramel. Most desserts I've seen have some type of caramel in or on them. Yuuuummm

Government building
This building was beautiful from the inside. The walls were made from 52 different types of marble.