Advertisement
Published: November 8th 2010
Most people don’t really look at Uruguay as much of a travel destination, which I didn’t realize until about 3 weeks before my trip. I was in Barns & Noble trying to find a tour book for the country but I was struggling… The closest thing that I could find was a book for Argentina that, under the title in smaller font, it said “and Uruguay”. After a little more research, I found a Lonely Plant guide but they actually admit in the description that they just took chapters from their Buenos Aires book on day trips and repackaged them with a new cover that says Uruguay. The prospects weren’t looking good! A few years back, I had actually been one of those tourists that was in Buenos Aires and had a little extra time and decided to take a day trip to Colonia Del Sacramento. It’s as if travelers who visit Uruguay are just passing by on their trip to Argentina and say “I’m here, might as well check it out.” But having the opportunity to work in the country, I’ve been given the chance to see it in more depth than the typical day visitor and as a result
I actually prefer Montevideo to its big brother, Buenos Aires.
From Buenos Aires, Jeff, Azita and I took a 3 hour ferry across the Rio De la Plata to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Arriving in the port of Montevideo, it seemed as if there were a lot of similarities to Buenos Aires but soon after it became clear that it was a smaller and quieter version of Buenos Aires. That’s not to say that the people are quiet, they’re actually far from it. From my experience, it’s almost as if their entire lives are one big social event. At work they are always joking around and playing music while outside of work they eat dinner late and party until early in the morning. The fact that it’s not a big tourist destination and it doesn’t have as many people makes it a much better place to spend a long period of time because people are more friendly and are genuinely interested in making sure that you see what makes Uruguay unique.
My first few days in the city were spent getting situated including figuring out where to catch the bus to work and meeting people from LynkOs,
the company I’m working for, and Endeavor, the non-profit who organized my fellowship. I’m actually working outside of the city in a tax-free business area used mostly by international businesses, so my commute turns out to be about an hour each way. The trip is long but I'm often trying to get some sleep so it works out.
Working at LynkOs has been a great experience! I arrived about a week before they launched the first version of their web-based enterprise software. The software will be used by financial service brokers and their clients as an information service that spans the entire chain from product providers to brokers to clients. The software helps management monitor broker performance, helps back office personnel electronically process transactions, provide customers with balances and account info, and connect customers with new product offerings (among other functions). LynkOs has about 10 full time employees but there are about 30 developers that are being outsourced from consulting companies in both Uruguay and Argentina that are assisting with the development. I am working directly with the founder, Federico, who is beginning to look for outside financing with potential venture capital investors to help grow the business. Federico’s
Federico about to launch a football at a coworker
Same game as my office in LA plays but different "football"background is very impressive since he is only 33 years old and this is already his second start-up company. His first was an insurance provider called AIVA which provides services throughout South America and employs about 150 people. Specifically my job is to help him build a long term forecast for the company and provide calculations of estimated returns for potential investors.
Given the short time frame to complete this work, the hours have been longer than I anticipated but the company is extremely organized. Federico has already put together a very detailed business plan and has a lot of impressive PowerPoint presentations to assist in the process. I’m also impressed with how hard everyone works, despite the fact that they joke around during the day, they often get into work around 9, eat lunch at their desk and leave around 7 or 8. I think the hours at LynkOs might be a little longer than other places due to their deadlines but even so it is still really impressive to see everyone working hard and not complaining. I guess I could learn a lesson from them, the only issue is that I don’t know how they stay so
positive! With the upcomming launch it's clear that there is pressure, but they don't seem to let the stress get to them.
Outside of work, I’ve had a couple weekends to explore Montevideo including the older part of the city which is creatively named, Ciudad Vieja. The old part of town is almost like traveling back in time since most of the buildings haven’t been remodeled or renovated in 50 or 60 years, and that might be an underestimate, so it certainly lives up to its name. During the week, many people work in this area but on the weekends it’s a lot quieter except for the street market that is set up in one of the squares and the Mercado del Puerto. Around 2 in the afternoon on Saturdays this big old warehouse called Mercado del Puerto is filled with Uruguayans drinking whiskey, they pronounce it “wiki” which is funny to me for some reason, and eating Asado. Asado basically means BBQ in Uruguay but they are very specific about the preparation. They set up a large grill and burn wood in an iron basket above the grill and then when the wood turns to coal, it falls
underneath the grill. The cook then sweeps the coals under the meat, potatoes, cheese, chorizos, and peppers that are on the grill. In Uruguay this is so common that you will likely eat Asado 2-3 times a week and it will always be the same system. I don’t even think anyone’s ever thought to use charcoal or natural gas to cook the food, which is probably partially why their meat tastes so good. The reason why they eat so much meat is because it’s extremely cheap. Take a 15 minute drive outside of the city and all you will see is grassland with a bunch of cows and sheep. If you drive through the middle of Uruguay, you can drive for hours and all you will see is farmland.
My favorite restaurant in Montevideo is a place called La Pulperia, which is a hole in the wall Asado place that has some of the best ribeye steak I’ve ever had. Think about a steak that tastes better than what you would get at Morton’s or Ruth’s Chris but only costs $8 dollars for 12 ounces, and that’s a half order! It’s insane, but after about a week I got
La Pulperia
My Favorite Restaurant so tired of eating red meat that I’ve ended up hunting around the city for salad or anything with vegetables. The other two popular dishes in Uruguay are Milanesa and Chivitos. Milanesa is like chicken parmesan but it’s often made with beef and Chivitos is basically a steak sandwich, so it’s nearly impossible to have a meal without meat!
While Buenos Aires reminds me of a South American version of New York City, Montevideo has some characteristics that resemble Southern California. The scattered palm trees are the first indication followed by the people's laid back attitudes, but the biggest reminder is La Rambla. La Rambla is a boardwalk that lines the coastline and spans the entire length of the city. Along La Rambla, people will ride bikes, run, or just hang out and drink Mate with their friends. In Argentina mate (a type of tea) is popular but here it’s on another level. People will literally carry their mate cup (a carved out gourd with a metal straw) and their thermos with them everywhere. It’s hilarious, when I'm waiting for the bus nearly everyone is juggling a big thermos in one hand and a mate gourd in another, which
leaves them with no hands to carry a briefcase or laptop. It’s extremely inefficient, but at least you know where there priorities are!
Anyway, this entry is getting ridiculously long so I’ll cut it off here and send out another update with some pictures from some of my weekend trips along with some more on Montevideo. The last two weekends I went to Colonia Del Sacramento and on a camping trip with Federico and some of his friends. The camping trip was certainly an adventure that not many visitors get to experience!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.043s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 8; qc: 24; dbt: 0.0212s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
brent
non-member comment
Hey Ryan, I am so glad that you are doing this blog. I lost your email and will have to get it from someone else. Who would have thought Uruguay was a cool spot? Well, it could just be your eloquent writing. Great pics to bud. Keep this blog going at least weekly. I look forward to the next. Be good my friend.