Capital city: Montevideo

Monday, January 10, 2011 – Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Another capital city explored.  My two days in the capital city of Uruguay have been a mixture of sightseeing and relaxing.  On arriving in the major bus station, Tres Cruses, at 4:15pm I purchased my ticket to Durazno and jumped in a taxi for the hostel.  A girl from Brighton was relaxing in the room and we talked about our travels.  She told me a horrible story about another girl in the hostel whose camera got nicked the previous night because it was hanging from her wrist.  Definitely put me on alert.

I was finally getting ready to leave the hostel around 6pm when I started chatting with a Cuban man (he’d been talking with Maria, the owner) who lives in Uruguay but spent a ton of time in the States.  He was asking about my time travelling and couldn’t believe my story.  He was fascinated by me (so he said) but I insisted that I was not the only solo female traveller out there and tried to finish the conversation.  An hour later, I’d finally freed myself and went to have an early dinner, seeing as it was 7pm and my only food since breakfast was a vegetable empanada before boarding the bus.

Walking down the pedestrian street Sarandi I passed various shops and street vendors before hitting Burger King and McDonalds, both on the Plaza de la Constitucion (the oldest square in Montevideo), right next to the Cathedral.  Oh, the joys of globalization.  I came to my intended stop, Café Bacacay, and sat down at a table next to the window to enjoy a dinner of Milanese with “salad”.  Since I’d forgotten my Kindle, I spent time analyzing my Lonely Planet and Footprint Uruguay pages.  Even though I was full after the chicken, I ordered half a tiramisu since Maria (from the hostel) said it was the best in town.  I’m not sure I agree with her assessment, but it was tasty enough.

Thoroughly satisfied, I strolled back to the hostel as I had no interest in being out after dark on my own.  The two other girls in my room (the one from Brighton and a Brazilian girl) were busy getting ready for the evening, but I was content to chill out and get some pictures online.

Yesterday morning I woke up in time for breakfast at 10am.  After talking to Maria about my plans for the day (she noticed my last name and asked if I was Jewish, telling me about the Holocaust memorial), I decided to take a bike ride along the coast.  The hostel rents bikes but because she wanted to get a better seat for my bike, she offered it to me free of charge. 

I easily found the coast and started riding.  It was already noon and the sun beat down in full force.  While I’d covered myself in sunscreen the lack of shade along the path meant that I was sweating in no time.  Luckily a small breeze cooled me down but was pushing against me, making it harder to move.  Six kilometers on the coastal path later I made it to the Holocaust Memorial, a small area of bricks and stones along the beach commemorating those Uruguayans who’d died. (If I understood the Spanish sign correctly, they had moved to Europe, although this doesn’t make a ton of sense to me.)

Maria had suggested I explore the area near the memorial, it’s a wealthy part of Montevideo, but my ass was so sore from the hard seat, I could think of nothing but hightailing it back to the hostel to get rid of the thing.  Back I went, riding past the couple small sand beaches swarming with bodies, only stopping a couple times for a drink of water.  Getting back to the Ciudad Viejo (old city) I was tired and hot.  I sat in the lounge trying to cool down near the one fan and open windows.  The Lost Girls kept me entertained until I headed back to the streets for lunch.

Two in the afternoon is a normal lunch hour in Uruguay, so when I arrived at the Mercado del Puerto, a 19^th century market building filled with restaurants serving grills cooked on huge charcoal grates.  After at least 30 minutes walking around, looking at menus, and trying to decide where to eat, I settled on La Chacra del Puerto, especially after the host served me a mini-glass of champagne.  Knowing that two dishes would be too much, but desperately wanting to try both, I ordered one chorizo and one queso con oregano.  Since I arrived in South America, my love for cheese skyrocketed.  I don’t think I realized how much I liked the stuff until I was deprived of it in Asia and noticed it on offer here (so much ham and cheese everywhere).  Kate even commented on my cheese-eating habits during the Tucan tour.

Sitting at the restaurant bar (most of the restaurants had both tables and a bar where you could watch the grill) I heard English coming from the couple sitting near me.  Never one to be shy about saying hello, I started a conversation, “Where are you from?”  Turns out Jason is from Ohio while Valeria is Argentinian.  They were introduced when Jason visited Argentina and he moved to Cordoba six months ago to be with her, hoping that in less than a year they’ll return to the States.  Young love.  We talked all through lunch (I shared a piece of my excellent cheese since I had way too much food, so delicious though) and they offered to have me over for mate when I’m in Cordoba.  We eventually parted ways and I walked back to the hostel again to read until the afternoon tour of Teatro Solis at 5pm.

Teatro Solis was packed with people, all present for the tour of the oldest theater in Uruguay which was recently restored.  Fortunately, most of the tourists were Spanish speakers, and our English group consisted of three Americans, two Germans and me.  I struck up a conversation with the American girls (Amber, Rebecca and Mona), finding out they spent two weeks studying in Buenos Aires as part of the Texas Law program.  It was their last night abroad before heading home.  We chatted during the silent moments of the tour and they asked me to join them in the café afterwards.  We sat having coffee (Amber tried mate) talking until they kicked us out then proceeded to check out the costume display in the basement of the theater.   

When we parted ways, the girls invited me to join them for dinner.  I mentioned that I’d had such a big lunch that I wasn’t sure I’d be hungry but to contact me anyway.  (Turns out we ate lunch at the same place and they’re pretty sure they saw me at the bar.)  Between the bike ride, the big lunch and walking around in the heat, I felt exhausted so I went back to the hostel to unwind (yes, again, for the third time).  At 9:30pm I got an email from Amber with a place and time to meet them.  Figuring I could always get something small, and checking with the guy at the hostel that I’d be safe walking a few blocks on my own, I decided to join.

Slightly worried about my safety, I took a good look at the map (I only needed to turn left onto the street of the restaurant), put some money (and my chapstick) in my pocket and headed out the door at 10:45pm, unable to believe that I was eating as late as the locals.  The streets were a bit quiet, but I kept my head up and walked in the light.  When I got to the street to turn, I saw three police officers standing on the corner and felt safe in their presence.  But then I heard one of them say my name.  I paused, not believing that he could actually be talking to me, and hesitated a few seconds before moving down the street.  Not seeing the restaurant at the stated address, I turned back up the street and thought maybe the girls had left some kind of message for me with the cops since there was no other way to contact me.

I slowly approached the policemen and one of the guys said something in Spanish about my friends going to a different restaurant.  He pointed to the other side of the street and told me it was on the left.  I tried to confirm his directions in Spanish (not because they were difficult but because I wanted to make sure I understood) and walked the opposite direction I’d been going.  Fortunately, the street was busy having lots of restaurants and bars, but this meant I wasn’t sure which one to go to.  I had almost given up hope when I got to the end of the small street, and as I turned to look in the window, there they were, sitting at the table.  They were as relieved to see me as I was to see them; they’d desperately been hoping that I’d get the message and find them.

We had a lovely meal together over some Uruguayan wine.  I ordered a salad with ham and cheese to keep it light.  It was past midnight by the time we finished and I declined to join them for a drink at the nearby bar.  Instead of simply saying goodbye and leaving me on my own, they walked me back to the hostel.  I felt comforted by this kind gesture, especially as we walked down the quiet street passing only a few single men.  My dorm mates were still awake when I got back, so I ended up staying up even later than I intended.  At 2am, I finally crashed.

This morning I had no interest in waking up early, but I wanted to catch breakfast and check out was at 11am.  During breakfast I realized that I was incredibly itchy on my arm and foot.  The bites appeared to be in groups of three, concerning me that they could be bed bug bites and not some other blood sucking bug.  I could only hope that they hadn’t gotten into my backpack as I scratched around the slightly bubbled bump (similar to the ones I had in London).

Storing my pack for the morning, I went to explore more of old Montevideo.  There were a couple museums to see, but I passed, choosing to walk down some small streets and enjoy the two plazas.  I checked out some of the street vendors and wandered into the Cathedral.  I really didn’t feel like I had much else to do, so I sat in the square reading a bit before going for lunch.  I’d found the restaurant we’d wanted to eat at last night (it does exist, but it seemed to be at a slightly different address) but it was a set menu to pricey for my liking.  Set on keeping my lunch costs down, I ended up at California Burrito Company (part of the same chain as the one in Buenos Aires) for a self-crafted burrito.                                                                                   

Now I’m sitting at the hostel, waiting until 3pm to leave for the bus station.  I’m excited and curious what my time in Durazno at Antonieta’s house will be like.  Back to The Lost Girls for now.