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Published: January 12th 2006
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Montevideo Statue
He seems to have the whole world almost sitting on his shoulders When I enquired about excursions from Buenos Aires, the last thing I expected to hear about was a trip over to Uruguay. An opportunity to tick another country off of the list, and see for myself how different the people are to the Argentinians? Well of course I went! Two days full of smiles. Except for the beginning.
I took the ferry over to the capital city of Montevideo and stepped into the biggest rainstorm I´ve seen in a few months. I was lucky to not be carrying around my big pack as I stomped through the puddles. I muttered under my breath over and over a saying that a friend from Vancouver once told me, ¨It´s just rain, you´re not sugar, you won´t disintegrate¨. And yes this is true, but it can still make you damn miserable. My thoughts soon turned to images of how pruned my toes must look underneath my layers of footwear. Shouldn´t I be seeing the sights? How perfect that I looked up and found my hostel at that exact moment. Aaaaggghhh, a quick change of clothes and the tour began. Even the rain had stopped for me. Uruguay is lookin good!
Road to the Rio de la Plata
How many people have adored this view over the years? The first thing I noticed during my jaunt through the residential streets, is that they were lined with such enormous trees. It´s similiar to the area where I am staying in Buenos Aires. To me it shows a good standard of living, from the outside anyway. The houses had a touch of class and sense of history and were there when those trees were first planted.
The next corner that I rounded had a wall of graffiti that made me rethink my original view of derelict drawings. The combination of stencilled pictures was intriguing. I never would have thought of putting Winnie the Pooh, Finding Waldo and a uniformed dumbstruck looking cop on the same page. But now that somebody has, I´m sure a lot of endless philosophical conversations will be taking place.
The southern tip of the Montevideo consists of a coastline filled in with the ferry terminal, a naval base, a market and a seawall allowing passers to look far out into the Atlantic. This is where I was able to capture the last of the daylight and enjoy a cup of tea with the locals. I was drawn here with hopes of a
Graffiti Art
Without a doubt, graffiti stencilled art gleaming sunset, and instead found a heavy sky dropping over a few rays of pink. The statue of a naked man was certainly at the right spot at the right time, or perhaps that was me? (next time I won´t be aiming for a statue that´s for sure!) The sky was being held up by the statue, a display of mans´ strength I suppose. After ogling the immobile man, I sat on the wall looking at all the tankers waiting to be loaded or unloaded. I was quickly approached by an elderly couple offering me some of their tea. It´s clear that Starbucks didn´t invent the commuter cup afterall, thank God. Every other Uruguayan seems to be carrying a flask of hot water under their arm. Sometimes they have the leather pouch holding their ingredients, sometimes just the cup. Wherever they are there is a moment to sip from their straw that filters out the loose tea leaves. And there are no Starbucks in Uruguay. Yet.
After a conversation enhanced with flailing arms (I´ve not mastered Spanish yet) I made my way over to a recommended restaurant. When I looked at the menu I finally understood the actions
Palacio Salvo
It was once South America's tallest building, now it looks like it should be slot into the cityscape in a StarWars movie of the tea drinkers. ´Otter´was clearly the specialty of the house, so best I try it eh? I struggled for a few moments before plunging my fork and knife into the tender meat. It´s really hard to not think of those cute little critters floating in the water basking in the sun. Well, sorry veggies, but the otter was a hit. Though I´m not so sure I can face ordering it again.
In the morning I made my way to the bus stop at Plaza Indepenencia. I boarded the bus and faced an awkward moment with the driver. Not knowing how much the bus fare was, and as I was searching for some change that looked to be the same amount that the other passengers gave, he just looked at me and ushered me to seat. A free bus ride? Of course he couldn´t be bothered explaining to a non Spanish speaker, but it was a random act of kindness that certainly made my day! I then had a smooth connection to my second stop in Uruguay, Colonia.
The afternoon sun was such a pleasure after the chilling air conditioning on the bus. I was even
tempted to join a group of kids swimming on the waterfront, but thought I should have a glimpse of this historic town first. I was so grateful for the suggestion to make this trip. The cobblestoned streets, coffee shops and colourful characteristic delights were on every corner. I climbed up the lighthouse in town and caught a view of the towers in Buenos Aires. I poked my head into the touristy shops and was overwhelmed with the smell of leather goods and sparkle of precious stones. Yes it is a touristy place, but the atmosphere was easy and relaxed. I snagged the best waterfront table and people watched over the pages of my book for several hours. In the end I think I only read a couple of pages as it was such a joy just sitting, and watching. The most common mode of a transport was a golfcart or a classic car, doesn´t that say it all?
I was leaving for my return to Argentina somewhat early, so I enjoyed an early dinner and watched the sunset with all the tea drinkers. What a great 2 day getaway, next time I will certainly devote a lot more
Plaza Independencia
It's a big square, I couldn't quite cover it all in one shot! time to Uruguay.
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Valentin (Val)
non-member comment
Mistake
it was NOT a TEA...it was MATE, very different infussion. Learn about it. Hope you return soon. Val