Uruguay In 3 Days...

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In our final weekend in Buenos Aires we decided to duck over the border for 3 days into Uruguay with people from school. We took a ferry from BA to Montevideo, which is the capital of Uruguay. Not that you would know. When we got there, the town seemed dead.... but our tour “guide”, the crazy Venezuelan Christian, assured us it was because it was going to be a “fiesta en la noche!”. So after a bit of site seeing for the day, most people went back for a siesta before we headed out for dinner at the usual Buenos Aires time (about 10pm).

The next day with sore heads we got up and went into town for a parilla (barbeque) for lunch, followed by some more sightseeing... Montevideo is a quiet town, and many of the old buildings are now makeshift flats for the many financially challenged people of the city. It was sad to walk around and see so many people living this way. One of our friends gave some money to a begger, only to see them walk of with the money and straight into the pub. But what do you do?

Later that night a few of us went out for a few quiet drinks and a yarn over grappa con miel (rocket fuel and honey). It was a strange mix of people at the table: an American guy, a guy from Holland, an Italian, an Englishman, and us two Aussies. Needless to say, we had a few laughs, especially when we left the bar (the american had toilet paper hanging out of the back of his jeans). The night progressed to a few more drinks, but a relatively early night.

The next day we went to Colonia, a historic town in Uruguay that was originaly settled by the Portuguese as a port, where they smuggled goods into Buenos Aires. Its a beautiful town, we feasted on paella and wondered the streets. They have a great Portuguese museum there too, with many old maps from the time that the Portuguese were exploring the world, and pictures of the traditional clothing worn by people from Madeira (where my family is from). Great day and fantastic sunset.

That night we returned to the bright lights of BA and went out for dinner (steak, of course) for final goodbyes with friends. One of our friends was leaving the next day, and we were planning to leave a couple of days later. Honestly, it felt strange returning to BA and our apartment, like it was the right time to leave.

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Photos

Sunset in Colonia, Uruguay
Beautiful sunset and a fantastic way to finish a weekend away.

Montevideo, Uruguay
A little run down but not without its charm.

Colonia, Uruguay
A quiet street in the historic town.

The Crew in Uruguay
Most of the people who came to Uruguay with us for the weekend.