So, right now, I am taking a homework break (wrote one of my two essays due tomorrow for Spanish, the latter has to be based off a book we're supposed to read by Argentine author Adolfo Bioy Casares [La invención de Morel], which, of course, I have not read yet; among other things due for only tomorrow). A much needed break this is, where I can write in my native language. Because as much as I love the look, the sound, and the speech of Spanish, sometimes I just need a break. Being all encompassed in a second language can be overwhelming, especially when the brain is worrying about so many other things... but I sure as hell know I am going to miss speaking Spanish when I'm gone. This means frequent visits to my high school to chat with my favourite (and dearly missed) teacher, and phone calls to my roommate where we have already promised to only speak to each other in our now (somewhat) developed castellano so as not to lose it.
And now to answer the question I ask in the title of this post: my roommate and I traveled to Uruguay for a weekend, April 20-22, exactly a month ago today. So what images and memories linger about the country that is just another stamp on my passport? And the answer truly is... a lot.
My host mother is originally from Uruguay, born in Montevideo and everything. She has one of the biggest souls I have ever met in a person, and a very relaxed spirit. This more or less reflects the way of life in Uruguay, extremely relaxed and a slower pace... and I thought porteños took it easy!!
First, we took the ferry to Colonia del Sacramento (from Buenos Aires to Colonia is the ferry route, so we made it our first stop). The historical district in Colonia makes it a World Heritage Site, adding another one to the list of those I have seen! It's located on the Río de la Plata, and has that characteristic brown water that treks all the way to Buenos Aires as well. Uruguay is generally the place people go to experience real beaches; I have been told that the Mar de la Plata (about four hours from Buenos Aires) isn't up to par with something like Punta del Este, for example. The clean water is the attractive force. This still does not exist in Colonia, but there aren't 'beaches' exactly, as much as there are little pockets of sand here and there mixed amongst the forests that dip into the water, which I may actually enjoy more than commercial beaches of any sort. To exemplify:
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| View from our hostel window in Colonia |
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| Taken by Susannah - me by a 'beach' in Colonia |
Our hostel was away from the city center, which we were skeptical about at first because of the hike, but it ended up being for the better to get a peek into residential life in Colonia. Relaxed, and immersed into beautiful and abundant amounts of nature.
There's not much to do in the city center but shop and eat, but the EATING is just as godly as Chile's chorrillana... the traditional meal of Uruguay is called chivito (more or less a combination of chorrillana and the simplicity of Argentine food), also a common platter for sharing.
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| Our first chivito (al pan, para dos) at La Pasiva, a chain restaurant in Uruguay our host mom recommended to us |
Meat, roasted peppers, caramelized onions, lettuce, tomato, ham, cheese, fried egg, mayo, and sometimes more on a giant sandwich. When it is not al pan, it is served just like this, no bread, with fries on the side. We made sure to get our fill of chivito, after falling in love right away, before leaving.
Beyond the city center is the historic district, which you can learn more about by visiting the above highlighted World Heritage Site link. It is an incredibly pleasant area with rich history and few people walking around, save some tourists (who are usually coming from somewhere around South America, or even just Uruguay). Colonia is a nice town to walk around on a sunny day and have some maté with friends, but I'm not sure if spending more than a day or two there would have been entirely worth it.
Our next stop was just a two hour bus ride to the west to Montevideo. Suddenly, we were back in a big city, and in a hectic part of town: Tres Cruces (where the bus station is). We get a cab and head to our hostel which was located on a pedestrian street, just a few blocks away from Plaza Independencia downtown. It was hard to say just what part of the city it was compared to Buenos Aires, but it definitely gave off vibes of microcentro and the pedestrian street of Reconquista, save the stretch of bars like The Kilkenny and add more living complexes, but keep all the kids drinking their beers sitting on the benches in the middle of the cobbled street until the wee hours of the morning.
We were also very close to the water, which on our first day there (after the night we arrived) we discovered was a gorgeous blue!! I took the following picture just a couple of blocks away from our hostel:
The night before we explored a lot of what was up and down on Avenida 18 de Julio (essentially the equivalent of Avenida 9 de Julio en Buenos Aires), so this day we decided to see the water and go to some beaches. That blue water was truly mesmerizing. Our host mother recommended Playa Pocitos, which holds all of what was in my preemptive images of Montevideo: a mix of lovely sand and water with the city in the background, kind of like Miami, but cleaner and prettier.
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| A quick shot I took of Susannah on Playa Pocitos |
Even though it was fall and cooler, it was still warm and sunny enough to be able to walk barefoot and dip our feet in the water, something I had craved since coming to South America, and Montevideo gave me my fix. Also it being out of 'beach season' it was fairly empty, which was even more pleasant to me, since I'm not much of a crowded beach goer.
After this, we headed back towards downtown after seeing some of the barrio of Pocitos. We ended up arriving at a market on 18 de Julio that was a mix of my Latin American experiences so far: artisan objects like that of the fairs in Buenos Aires, but then also boxes of baby chickens and ducklings like that in Guatemala. I of course, was sucked into all the little baby animals of which I spent more than enough time with. Susannah had trouble dragging me away. But seriously, HOW COULD YOU WALK AWAY FROM THIS?? :
Little baby bunnies, a box of puppies, a cage of kitties, and of course, my friend I made for the day: a little puppy who looked exactly like my puppy Richie Rich (may he rest in peace) who I picked up and fell in love with especially after he decided to be my friend, too and snuggle up into me. I still miss him!! And to prove he is a Richie Rich, Jr., here is a picture of my wonderful dog I had throughout all of my childhood, and until I was 18 (he passed away when he was 15 years old, what a feat!) :
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| Jumping into nostalgia's arms: high school graduation, and my belated puppy dog. Love you and miss you still. |
So, overall, Uruguay was an amazing experience. I would say that I liked Montevideo more than Colonia, however, but the two cities are still very unique in their own respect. Also something I love about that country: MATE. I thought people drank mate here pretty frequently. Well, I was incredibly mistaken. In the big city of Montevideo you couldn't walk down the sidewalks or through the parks without seeing every other person with a thermos around their shoulder and a gourd in their hand. It was such a beautiful thing. And, as my host mother explained to me, it is for all classes. You see the wealthy and the poor and the old and the young always drinking mate. I found that to be a very honest and lovely statement about the culture of the infused drink. And because it is so widespread, Uruguay is where you go to get the GOOD STUFF. Susannah and I came home both with new gourds and a giant bag of Canarias, the best of the best brands of yerba mate in South America. I have got to bring this stuff home (I'm having some right now, it is insanely delicious) to the states. Thank you, Uruguay, for all these experiences and for your delicious mate!
That sandwich is a work of art.
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