BOAT ON THE BORDER

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Boat on the Border

BuqueBus Ferry

My Day Trip from Buenos Aires to Uruguay



In Buenos Aires I went on line to check my bank balance and make some transfers. I had recently changed my return date to the United States, extending my 2016 dive tour by ten days. On my statement there were six or seven withdrawals on the same day. This made me anxious, for I pay foreign transaction fees to Argentine banks as well as to my U.S. bank. During my short trip to Ushuaia the ATM limit was only $100. Thus the excessive fees.

When planning my trip to Argentina I had read about the “blue” dollar and travelers agreed one should bring lots of American cash to Argentina. The exchange for American dollars is almost 16%!o(MISSING)n Florida Street (blue dollars), while the banks give only 9%! (MISSING)I didn’t bring enough American dollars so I decided to take a day trip via the ferry across the Rio de la Plata to Montevideo, Uruguay where the ATMs will dispense funds in pesos or American dollars.

When I researched the trip I discovered that the fare for the fast boat direct to Montevideo is about $260, so perhaps I won’t save so much on ATM fees but I won’t have to look at another page full of bank fees on my bank statement caused by withdrawing money in small increments. And I can have another adventure, get another stamp on my passport and see another little corner of the world.

I bought the ticket for the ferry and ordered a taxi to pick me up at 6 a.m. That is really early for me, but I managed. I got to the boat just on time; it left at 7:30 a.m. and I had to find the check-in counter, exchange my e-ticket for a real one, pass through the luggage scanner and find the gate. There were plenty of seats available on this early boat and the snack bar was open. I got some tea and a croissant like bread called a midi Luna, or half-moon, and settled down in a comfortable seat for the crossing. Soon no land was in sight…it is a big river. Although named the Rio de la Plata, the Silver River, it is brown, and despite the bright sunrise I didn’t bother with a photo. Experience has taught me that you can’t get good photos through a wind and water sprayed Plexiglas window.

Arriving in Montevideo, Uruguay, on the other side of the river, we went through customs and soon I was on the street. I had that familiar and recognizable moment of doubt…where do I go now? What do I do? I glanced behind me and saw a young businessman who looked like he knew his way about and asked him if he spoke English. He said he did. He was from Australia but spends most of his time here in South America. He hasn’t been home for a while. His name was Richard and I asked him where the banks were. He took me to two banks and I made a withdrawal from each. Then he took me to several cambios, change windows, to get the best exchange rate. I changed fifty dollars into Uruguay pesos for walk about money. He reminded me to change the pesos back into dollars before I boarded the return ferry since they are not recognized in Argentina.

We walked about for an hour or more with Richard pointing out the sights in the Plaza Independencia in Old Town and filling me in with information about history, politics, and other facts as well as telling me a little about his life. We were at Uruguay’s hero’s tomb, the Artigas Mausoleum, when the guards changed, and I took photos of most of the buildings and the remnant of the original wall from the walled fort.

Then Richard chose a restaurant-bar inside the train station where we had a traditional South American barbeque called Asado. I had heard about these, but had not yet experienced one. There was a good sized grill laden with meat and vegetables roasting over hot ashes. Wood is burned in a container on one side and the ashes are allowed to fall underneath the grill. They are pushed under the food with a kind of rake. These ashes cook the different kinds of meat and vegetables slowly giving the food a different flavor than a grill using flames. We had steak, French fries and chorizo, a sausage sliced into bite size pieces. The restaurant treated us to a small glass of wine and Richard ordered a beer. My filet mignon was huge and three and a half inches thick, perfectly cooked to medium rare. I ate what I could and shared the rest with Richard.

After lunch Richard pointed to the boardwalk that runs the length of the city along the South Atlantic Ocean. He suggested I walk it since it was a beautiful day. He had to go to his business meeting. I really wanted to shop the street vendors but felt obliged to take the boardwalk. It was more interesting than it sounds. I discovered that in Uruguay people take drinking mate to a whole new level. Mate is a popular drink in Argentina but it seemed that everyone on the boardwalk in Uruguay carried a small thermos and the hollowed gourd mate cup or guampa, filled with dried yerba mate leaves and hot water. If there was a couple there was still just one cup for the mate, which is sipped through a metal straw called a bombilla. People share.

There are exercise stations at regular intervals along the way with instructions for working out. I passed a fairly large outdoor skating rink which was a mother’s nightmare. Toddlers lurched along on teensy skates with a brother or sister holding their hands. Teenagers did amazing aerial tricks on skateboards and adults practiced serious gymnastic routines on roller skates; bicycles even roared past on one wheel. I especially enjoyed one dog getting his daily exercise pulling family members on a skateboard in the fray. There was no line of direction, just everyone doing their own thing, seemingly without incident.

It was a long hot walk and soon I was wishing for an ice cream. I spied a shop and crossed five or six lanes of traffic to get to it only to find it closed. After about an hour and a half I realized there was no real point in walking the entire boardwalk and turned around and returned to the port area. There was just time enough to enter a small shop for tea and an ice cream. Then I exchanged my remaining Uruguay pesos for dollars, with no questions asked. I think I spent less than ten dollars for the whole day (the barbeque was on my credit card). It was a relief to get back to the ferry on time. I slept most of the way back to Buenos Aires. Hopefully I have enough money in my pocket to last the rest of my stay in Argentina, and I had a lovely day in Uruguay.

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Photos

ENTRANCE TO THE FORTRESS OF MONTEVIDEO
You can see Old Town on one side and modern Montevideo on the other.

MEAT-EATERS PARADISE
One of many small eateries inside the Mercado del Puerto, the olde train station, now a tourist market

OLD AND NEW
We were here for the changing of the guard.

MOUTHWATERING - It looks delicious
...and it is. The service and the food is amazing.

SOLITARY SENTINEL
Located at the near end of the boardwalk, La Rambla.

METAL SIDEWALK ART
Located at regular intervals, I enjoyed discovering each design.

MATE ON THE BEACH
A young couple sharing a hot drink on a brisk, sunny day.

SKATERS
It looks nearly empty here, but it was often packed. The dog is pulling the boy across the rink.

Comments

[D MJ Binkley]

An unrecognizable moment of doubt
A momentary leap of faith and you move on. Richard sounds like a great connection. Glad you ran into him. Wish you had a longer stay in Uruguay....that is a place we have wanted to go for years. Happy travels.