C & C globetrotting around the world…

Uruguay’s capital and by far its largest city (half the country’s population lives there), Montevideo is a vibrant, eclectic place with a rich cultural life. Montevideo is the southernmost capital city in the Americas, and the third most southerly in the world (only Canberra and Wellington are further South.

Arrived in Montevideo, the first thing we did was to visit the Soccer Stadium. We left our luggage at the bus station and walked to the Soccer Stadium, having lunch in a small street “comedor” on the way. We visited the Stadium where the first Soccer World Cup was held in 1930 and the Museo de Futbol. Uruguayans are very proud that the First World Cup was held there and they won it too. We walked back to the bus station to pick up our big backpacks and took a bus to our hostel. It’s the first time in South America that we dare take a public city bus with our big backpacks without fearing being robbed (although we took the commuter train in Buenos Aires and it was ok). The higher standard of living and safety it palpable. Our hostel (Dolce Vita) is run and owned by 2 Italian guys and opened about 6 months ago. You can see they are still very enthusiastic and care about your well-being.

The next day we set out to do a walking tour in the city after a good breakfast. The city is small enough to walk around, but still big enough to have some great architecture. The self-guided walking tour pointed out many beautiful neoclassical buildings built around 1900-1920. Walking on Av. 18 de Julio, we crossed several nice plazas, such as Plaza Cagancha, Plaza del Entrevero and arrived at Plaza Independencia where there’s a statue of Artigas, Uruguay’s biggest hero. On the way, we also visited a small exhibition of photos of inspiring women. From Plaza Independencia we took a quick look at Teatro Solis built in 1856, but unfortunately the visiting hours had finished, then entered the Ciudad Vieja, the Old Town. Here we continued on a pedestrian street full of cafes and vendors, with music and a nice atmosphere. On Plaza Constitucion we visited the Cathedral and walked on admiring the architecture of the old buildings, legacies of the beef boom. We arrived at Mercado del Puerto, an old market wrought-iron hall that now shelters lots of restaurants, mainly grill houses. We would have liked to eat there, but it was really expensive, so we decided to go back to the hostel. We found an interesting place close to the hostel that was nice and cozy and not too expensive. Downstairs there was a market and upstairs there were 2 restaurants serving simple but delicious meals. We each had a schnitzel topped with ham and cheese (actually typical of Uruguay). After a quick stop at the hostel, we walked along the Rambla, a riverfront promenade. Here many people come to walk, jog or to sit with friends and sip some “mate”. It’s pretty funny actually because every Uruguayan always has his mate and a thermos with hot water on him. It was fun to people-watch and we walked to Parque Rodo, a nice big park in the area with some open-air exhibitions. From there we walked through a neighbourhood with nice tree-lined streets and huge mansions, many of which have been transformed into embassies. Our stay in Montevideo was very short, but we enjoyed this city. There are lots of free museums and the cultural calendar is also pretty full, but that will have to wait until next time.

From Buenos Aires, we crossed the Rio de la Plata by ferry (3 hours) to Uruguay. The “River of Silver” is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and Uruguay with the major ports and capital cities of Buenos Aires and Montevideo on its western and northern shores, respectively. The coasts of the Río de la Plata are the most densely populated areas of Argentina and Uruguay. It is a funnel-shaped indentation about 290 km long. It widens from about 2 kilometres at the inner part to about 220 kilometres at its mouth. Some geographers consider it a gulf or marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, while others consider it a river. For those who regard it to be a river it is the widest in the world (220km). The Río de la Plata behaves as an estuary in which freshwater and seawater mix. The Río de la Plata basin is the second largest drainage basin in South America. The river was first explored by Europeans in 1516 in search for a passage between the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

Arrived in Colonia del Sacramento, we walked to our hostel and checked in. This small town of about 25,000 inhabitants was founded by the Portuguese in 1680 to smuggle goods across the Rio de la Plata into Buenos Aires. It was later captured by the Spanish and today is a charming little place. We had lunch in a restaurant and took “Chivito for 2”, the special of the day. Chivito is an Uruguayan dish of thin grilled meat served with ham and cheese and accompanied by fries and salad. Afterwards we walked around town to explore the historic centre. Since it’s very small and compact, it didn’t take very long. We passed some museums, old houses and lots of cobbled streets. There were many cute little terraces on the various plazas and by the riverfront. We walked around, saw the famous “Calle de los Suspiros” with its original colonial houses and cobble stones, but were not so impressed by it. We also saw the fortress wall and walked through the former city gate. The next day we took a 3-hour bus to Montevideo, seeing lots of cattle and sheep on the way (Uruguay is a big exporter of beef).