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VW Bus
There are many VW busses in Montevideo and they all seem to be in immaculate condition Hello wonderful friends and family, I hope this entry finds you in good health and good spirits! I am currently in Lima winding down the trip and getting set to come home tomorrow late in the evening! I have had a wonderful time in South America but I am excited to be coming back for a spell and to see you all! I know I have posted a few blogs about my travels recently as I catch up on all that I have been seeing and experiencing. I left you last in Puerto Iguazu and the brilliant waterfalls and beautiful butterflies of Iguazu National Park in northeastern Argentina. But enough of the past and on to the, well, more recent past.
From Puerto Iguazu I hopped a bus to travel south towards Montevideo, Uruguay. The bus trip was long: thirteen hours to Colon, Argentina, an hour to cross the border into Uruguay and then another five hour ride to Montevideo. Between the waiting time for buses and the bus trips themselves the adventure lasted nearly twenty-four hours. The bus trip from Iguazu to Colon was odd. Firstly, I sat on the bottom of the two tiered bus in the
very front of the section of seats where there was little window covered by a curtain that opened to the embarking area for the bus, the toilet and afforded a small view out the front window. Well, the bus attendant came back to do some things and told us that we had to keep the curtain closed, without any sort of explanation why...okay. Furthermore, though there were overhead lights they were insufficient for any actual reading but, unfortunately, the personal lights did not work. Finally, after being given a small dinner packet the overhead lights were promptly turned off at eight PM and he refused to turn them back on. I felt like a young child at camp, forced to sit in the darkness and squirm as I sat unable to see anything and completely awake. It was hilarious, odd and annoying at the same time.
To top it all off, after stopping in numerous tiny towns not listed on the destination manifest on every other bus ride, the stop for Colon was a truck stop and gas station on the side of the road nowhere near to the town. Luckily, a saving grace was afforded in the form
of a very kind Uruguayan man who stepped off the bus just before me. Not only did he get us a joint cab to the border crossing, but he helped cross the border and even paid for the taxi from the other side of the border crossing all the way to the bus terminal, insisting on no compensation and then helped with a bus ticket to Montevideo. Though this was the first time such a thing had been offered on the trip, I am constantly struck by the kindness of some of the people in the world, their happiness to help and their generosity in the process. Experiences like these make one strive to be kind and helpful and giving in their own lives and are the rewards for doing so. I am totally convinced of this cyclical nature of things and on this morning was thankful for it beyond measure.
The bus trip to Montevideo and the city itself were beautiful. Uruguay is about the size of North Dakota and probably about the same landscape, boasting a booming population of around four million. The country is wide and flat, covered in green green grass and healthy trees. Nowhere
in the country rises more than 500 meters above sea level and the sky is wide and beautiful as are the people. Oddly enough, the architecture and dress and even the look of the people reminded me far more of the very small amount I know of eastern Europe than the Latin American country I knew I was in.
The city itself was beautiful in architecture and feel. The metropolis smacked of Buenos Aires and had a distinctly European feel. A truly enjoyable time was spent in Montevideo, exploring the city, walking near the water and viewing both the gorgeous architecture and the collapsing decrepit mansions of the downtown residential area. You see, Uruguay was highly reliant on Argentinian tourism, their desire for beef and investment in their banks. When foot and mouth disease struck Uruguay in 2000 it causing severe decreases in beef exportation and the withdrawal of Argentine investments throughout the country´s economy. From there it was all down hill. The value of the peso plummeted and the country has been slowly climbing back up the mountain towards recovery. Though such tragedies are slow to heal the people are kind and relaxed and friendly. The only difficult
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Sorry, this one is fuzzy thing about Uruguay was having to multiply dollars by twenty-four, our exchange rate. I was not that rich though, prices were roughly equivalent to both Peru and Argentina. Within the city itself rest was had at the wonderful Hotel Ideal in the middle of the "old town" and a delicious parrilla dinner at La Torre.
Two days after arriving to Montevideo, a tiny beach town called La Poloma whispered from the deserted Atlantic Coast to the east. A short bus trip ended in this charming and off seasonally quiet beach town far from hustle and bustle, worries or cares. Though about three quarters of the downtown shops, restaurants and some hotels were boarded up for the off-season, it mattered not. It was refreshing to have nothing to do but walk as far as possible in either direction from town collecting shells and washed up sea stars, skipping stones, reading on the beach and playing in the ocean. It was truly wonderful and relaxing...
Peace and love, Simon
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