Hello again! Well, it’s February 17th and I haven’t published in far too long. I’ve done a lot of writing though, so now that I’m back home in Melbourne and don’t need to spend my time applying for jobs anymore (hooray!) there’s no excuse. Sadly, for some reason I have zero photos of Uruguay other then those on my ‘good’ camera that I’m yet to access (still house sitting and not truly settled), so apologies for the lack of visual entertainment.
Just across the bay from Buenos Aires is a whole other country; Uruguay! For Australians this is a big deal. It’s really cool to be able to travel for a couple of hours and arrive in another country. Other than taking a flight to New Zealand, Australians can’t really travel internationally that easily. So, a visit to Uruguay was a must.
In mid-May 2014, I took a Monday and Friday off work and we headed to the port for an early morning, one hour ferry to Colonia. From there it was a four hour bus ride to Montevideo, Uruguay’s capital. Using AirBnB, we stayed in a flat in the centre of town with a good view from a rooftop garden. Our host, Edilson lived there with his partner Humberto. Both were lovely and spent time telling us about the city and how to get around. We could do most of it walking, so we headed off to spend the afternoon exploring.
Our first stop was a state government department building, as it’s roof has the best views and entrance is free. Montevideo a sprawling metropolis, broken by parks, churches and many small plazas. We walked along the Rambla; a mainly industrial an disappointing waterfront, strolled through some plazas and went into a small Anglican church perched on a hill. For dinner, we took some bread, salami and cheese back to the apartment. We’d heard Uruguay was expensive, but it didn’t really hit home until we bought the groceries, and earlier in the day we were charged $6 for one small coffee.
Edilson’s AirBnB ad said they accommodate two people, but it turns out this was an error. Tristan gallantly let me sleep on the pull-out couch, while he slept on its cushions on the floor. We had to ask for pillows and bedding and only a thin sheet wall seperated us from the kitchen / dining area. The flat was tiny and they really shouldn’t be offering space on AirBnB. Or, they should make it clear that there’s only a single couch practically in the kitchen, and charge less than $15 a night each. There was also no hot water. We were only there for one night though, and in the morning we gently spoke to Edilson about it. He gave us half our money back and changed the ad. So overall, I wasn’t too annoyed. On the other hand, we left some bananas there, which I really wanted. Sometimes when you’re backpacking, it really is the small things!
The next day we visited the Legislative Palace (from the outside), more plazas and had lunch in a barbeque smoke filled and delicious smelling market; a nice reprieve from the drizzly day. We browsed vintage market stalls and went to the Metropolitan Museum and a theatre. I’d been looking forward to seeing Montevideo’s Statue to Sexual Diversity, even though I’d heard it wasn’t that exciting. Turns out it’s elusive too; we never found it!
Maybe I didn’t give Montevideo a long enough chance or find the right places, but I wasn’t that impressed. It’s a very European city and very expensive, but reflecting Uruguay’s awesome President, it’s also very contemporary and open. For example, everyone gets free university education and work rights.
Los viajes de Bianca. 