Uruguay is in the same time zone as Argentina, approximately four hours behind the UK during British Summer Time (BST). I was visiting the country with my family, although due to time constraints, we only visited two areas: Colonia del Sacramento and Montevideo, and it was the last leg of my six-week trip in South America.
Colonia del Sacramento
Day 1
After taking the Buquebus, a ferry connecting Argentina to Uruguay, we were picked up by a driver and dropped off at our gorgeous hotel, located by the seafront. We had a delicious lunch at the hotel (a poké bowl for me), before beginning our walking tour of the town.
After running into a mime artist, which was slightly creepy but entertaining, we were taught the Uruguayan way to make mate, which differs from the Argentine way as three quarters of the pot is filled with the mate tea, rather than one third, lukewarm water is added prior to the boiling water in order to avoid burning the tea, and the tea is much more thinner and more powdery.
We vosoted the most photographed street in the town, Calle de Suspiros, and learnt about the town church, the drawbridge, and the lighthouse. Interestingly, Portugal actually 'discovered' the town, however it was passed between Portugal and Spain seven times before finally becoming part of the Spanish empire. This made for very interesting juxtapositions throughout the town; for example, the pavestones often interchanged between typical Spanish and Portuguese cobbles, as did the houses and the church, instead comprising features of each. The tour guide was very knowledgable and the town was gorgeous, but surprisingly very small indeed. We also learnt that Uruguay won the first ever World Cup, despite having a tiny population of three million. After the tour, I went souvenir shopping with my mum and then for dinner we tried a local dish, chivito, which is similar to a Portuguese 'prego', and the local Tannat wine, which was delicious.
We went on a little walk post-dinner and I was shocked by how quiet the streets were; no one was out and we were right by the seafront, so could hear the tide coming in and out, which was very relaxing. Before bed, I learnt that various of my email and social media accounts had been hacked, so spent the next few hours trying to access my accounts and change my passwords, which I mostly managed, other than the Instagram account for this blog, which I haven't since been able to retrieve, unfortunately.
Montevideo
Day 1
After enjoying a delicious breakfast selection in Colonia del Sacramento and a gentle stroll, we drove for two hours to Uruguay's capitak: Montevideo. En route, we passed a lot of greenery, as well as some cows and the odd horse or dog, however it was very windy and started to rain, which wasn't ideal. Nonetheless, we soon arrived at our hotel, where we had lunch. The meal was one of the best we'd had, comprising ham croquettes ('croquetas de jamón'), ceviche, and seafood spaghetti, among other things. We had a seaside view from our rooms and the seafood all tasted delicious, so much so that after exploring the neighbourhood, Pocitos, in the afternoon, we then enjoyed a sushi dinner too, whilst listening to a live band by the bar in the lobby.
Day 2
We had a city walking tour, which I was very excited about as I knew little about both the city and Uruguay generally. We started by visiting Palacio Salvo, located on the main square and the twin of Palacio Barolo in Buenos Aires. We then visited Palacio Estevez, a museum dedicated to Uruguay's presidential history. This was fairly sombre as, like many other South American countries, Uruguay had a period of military dictatorship, and we learnt that even nowadays the locals do not celebrate anything related to the army, such as Independence Day. It was also here that we learnt that of all South American countries, Uruguay is the least religious and has no natives. We then visited the Executive Tower, the current official workplace of the President of Uruguay; here, security was very lax but interestingly, there was a sculpture called 'Jugadores de Truco' of Charles de Gaulle, Winston Churchill and another famous figure, cheating at cards. We learnt that the government repaid a chunk of its debt by using the money of the people, but with the promise that they'd repay half of the money one year, and the remainder the following year (using a rate relative to the USD), which they did; nonetheless, the population is still struggling, although not as badly as Argentina's perhaps. We also learnt that Candombe music is popular in Uruguay and was brought over by the slaves during the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
We passed by the theatre, Teatro Solis, where every seat costs USD 10, so is relatively affordable, and then visited Constitution Square and the Metropolitan Church. We explored two art museums: Museo Torres García and Museo Gurvich. Although there were definitely similarities between the artists, I definitely preferred the latter as the work was more varied. Our guide was very funny and no-nonsense, making it clear that she herself didn't appreciate Garcia's artwork at all. We then had lunch at the market, Mercado del Puerto, and tried a drink called 'media media', which comprises half sparkling wine and half white wine, which was divine, before returning to the hotel. At this point, I was also reflecting on the different legs of my entire trip to South America, and as much as I love the food and comforts offered by the hotels I stayed in with my family, I felt that we didn't meet anyone other than the tour guides and staff working in the hotels and restaurants we visited, which isn't my favourite way to travel, at least not in the long term. Saying that, I acknowledge that it is obviously a great privilege to be able to have the balance of staying in a variety of accommodation throughout the trip.
In the evening, my mum and I went for a walk on the beach, which proved to be a bad idea as just then the rain decided to join us on our walk too. Nonetheless, our spirits remained high, so we headed to the bar for a welcomed G&T. We bid adieu to the day with a film night and room service, which was the perfect end to the most incredible trip.
Day 3
Our final day in Montevideo allowed us to (finally) see the ciy in its full glory, as the sun decided to make an appearance for the first time. As we drove towards the airport, we saw locals kite surfing and wind surfing on the beach, which seemed the perfect way to start the day. We soon arrived at the airport, where I bought alfajores for the office, although I was dreading returning to work. During the flight, I started the book that I'd bought in El Ateneo in Buenos Aires, however each sentence in Spanish took me significantly longer to read compared to in English, so I quickly switched to watching films instead (namely Blade Runner 2049, Wedding crashers and Anatomy of a Fall). Sadly, this was the first flight I'd taken in six weeks where nobody clapped on landing, and after a layover in Madrid, we finally arrived in London: home sweet home.
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