A few quiet days in Montevideo

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We arrived in the capital city of Uruguay, Montevideo, after a two hour bus trip travelling through flat unexciting scenery. Montevideo was founded in 1724 as a port city on the banks of the wide Rio de la Plata. Buenos Aries is on the opposite bank of the river. A taxi took us to our pre booked hotel, the Palacio, conveniently situated in an historical building very close to the main plaza in the old city(ciudad Vieja). We had a comfortable room reached by a lovely old fashioned brass cage lift. After settling in we left the hotel to explore. We were to discover the central city area was compact and very easy to explore on foot. The streets were lined with grand neo-classical buildings in various stages of decay. As it was Sunday the streets were very quiet though we found more activity centred around the various plazas which dotted the city centre. The hotel was just off a long narrow pedestrian only thoroughfare (Sarandi) which unfortunately also acted as a wind tunnel - every time we rounded the corner from our hotel we had to brace ourselves against the bitter strong wind which roared through it! Sarandi Street was lined with antique stalls set up on the pavement leading up to a larger group of stalls grouped around a fountain in the centre of Plaza Constitution. In this square were two buildings built the year the city was founded - the Cabildo, formerly home to the government and court of justice, and the Metropolitan Basilica (church).

At the end of Sarandi Street stands a segment of an old stone wall - it is very tall and has a gate in the centre through which you pass into the large central plaza, Independence Square. It was a very effective way of separating the old city from the high rises of the new city, as it allowed visitors to get a glimpse of both sides - the old and new architecture of the city. In the centre of the plaza stands a huge statue of the country’s greatest hero, mounted ready for battle on his horse, and opposite is a very impressive art deco styled building with an amazing copper domed roof. This building, Palacio Salvo, at 26 stories high was for decades the tallest building in South America! As the daylight was fading and it was becoming very chilly we headed for the warmth of a popular restaurant close to our hotel - a very busy venue where we were fascinated to see most of the locals consuming a meal which to our eyes looked like breakfast - orange juice, coffee, eggs and rolls….

Next day we set off to find a large trash ‘n treasure market that we had seen advertised - it was a long walk through the streets of the new city before we eventually found the entrance to it in a side street off the main road. We passed an interesting fountain - the rusty fence surrounding it was strung with hundreds of padlocks and copies similar 'fountains of love' found in other cities around the world. Legend has it that padlocks engraved with the initials of the lovers means their love will be forever locked and they will return to the fountain one day.

The market was enormous as it lined the footpaths of many city blocks - there were hundreds of stalls selling all manner of second hand items. The area was very busy and we pushed through crowds most of the time as we explored the wares on sale. It was fascinating watching the local people as they wandered, mate cups in hand and flasks of hot water (to top up the mate cups regularly) under their arms. Drinking mate is not a hands free occupation! Mate is a concoction of green crushed leaves from the yerba plant which nearly fill the cups, many of which are made from decorated gourds. The herbs are infused with hot water and drunk through metal straws with sieves at the end. We had seen evidence of mate in other South American countries but everybody seemed to be attached to the cups in Uruguay.

We left the market and wound our way through the streets back to the old town and the area surrounding the port. A large wrought iron building, (constructed in a factory in Liverpool, England, and assembled upon arrival in Uruguay) today houses a popular weekend market and eating area. The main attraction are the restaurants which offer the traditional Uruguayan barbeques or Parillas. It’s not a venue for vegetarians as I’ve never seen so much cooked meat in one place before. It was very busy and the aroma of sizzling meat filled the air. Every internal organ of the cow seemed to be laid out as well on the wood fired grills. The steaks were enormous (and delicious) as we discovered. We enjoyed an enormous meal in what was a very vibrant atmosphere and concluded that if all Uruguayans ate that much food at lunch every day no wonder they only eat a small meal in the evening!

I visited the very colourful Carnival Museum after lunch. It appears that Montevideo celebrates the longest carnival in the world - it goes for 40 days from January into March each year. I thoroughly enjoyed the museum - it was well displayed and full of intriguing costumes and masks. We walked slowly back through the cobbled streets of the old town to our hotel - there were some really lovely old buildings though many were sadly in quite poor condition. Another meal in the restaurant across from the hotel - we didn’t want to venture too far as it was bitterly cold.

Next day was spent quietly - the streets were much busier as it was a working day, and we spent a happy few hours browsing through a wonderful craft market full of high quality products and soon added a few more kilos to our luggage… Late in the day we ventured down to the very wide Rambla (a footpath) which followed the river and eventually made its way to the beach side suburbs of the city - an area where we were to spend the next couple of days.

The next three nights were spent in an the beachside suburb of Carrasco, about a half hours bus ride from the city centre. It was a bit of an odd suburb - we thought we would be staying in an area where the beach would be lined with trendy bars and restaurants but it was very much a residential area, though a very exclusive one. The beach was wide and windswept, but totally deserted and edged with a wide road which lead to the airport. The suburb was full of very expensive houses and we were staying in a family home that had been converted to a guesthouse. It was slightly run down but full of antique furniture,and the owner was very welcoming. On the beach front was another lovely art deco building, built in 1921 as a hotel/casino which was currently closed for renovation though due to reopen shortly under the Sofitel brand. We wandered the streets admiring the gardens and houses and also discovered many embassies, including the Chinese embassy which was virtually next door to where we were staying. It looked rather formidable with it’s high walls and razor wire….

Over the next couple of days we walked or caught buses to the nearby beach suburbs. One day we had lunch at the yacht club and another ended up at a cinema in a shopping centre watching the new Woody Allen movie. On our last evening in the country we walked back along the beach path towards our guest house but after walking for hours ended up catching a bus back the remainder of the way - the bus we had caught out that morning had obviously gone much further then we had imagined!

There were only two more weeks of our trip left and we had reached the stage - for the first time ever in all our travels - where the holiday budget had been spent! We enjoyed our time in Montevideo though we could have spent a few days less there - and it is a country I doubt that we would ever wish to return to. Next day after the usual 3 hour wait at the airport we boarded a flight for Santiago in Chile - the last country we were to visit this trip and where we were to spend our final fortnight in South America.

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