After spending the morning in Colonia, took a bus to Montevideo through the Uruguayan countryside. Lots of open space and agricultural activity. Arrived in Montevideo around 5 in the afternoon (a 3 hour bus ride), and decided to walk around the area.
I thought I was going in the direction of the Plaza de Independencia, a tourist and historical landmark but it turned out I went in the opposite direction. This means I went away from the tourist area and more into local scenes. Came across a gathering of young people (was it the university?) and saw this truck that looked like it was doing some kind of political rallying.
Awareness.
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There were people on the back of a pick-up which was enclosed by chest-high sides so that the people could stand, shout, sing as it drove along. Pretty sure they were campaigning for political candidates. I wonder if their guy won (the liberal!)
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Read about this Uruguayan sandwich, called a chivito. So for dinner, went into restaurant Facal, which I picked because it looked clean and bright. It turned out to be a good spot as it is associated with a tourist site, the Fuente de Los Candados or the Love Locks Fountain, where people leave locks to symbolize undying love. I had no idea of its significance, thus no picture. I did love the chivito there.
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The next day, a Sunday, I went walking and much of the time it was just serendipitous exploring. I had some things in mind that I wanted to get to, but I kept getting lost, going in the wrong direction. I did reach the places I had intended to get to, it just took me longer. Along the way, I came across parks and monuments that I didn't intend to go to, but were nice to come across.
Plaza Juan Fabini
This cafe La Pasiva was across from the Facal that I ate at the previous night, so I returned to this area, where I had a recommended treat, panqueque de dulce de leche. Sweet!
Saw this on the steps under the Artigas statue, where a memorial is located. Took it as a good sign, even if it may have been dead. It was GOLDEN!
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Really? It wasn't open, so I couldn't ask for an explanation.
Plaza de Independencia. Uruguayan patriot - Jose Artigas.
This is a beautiful theatre. I missed the tour and did not want to come back in a few hours for the next one.
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The Rambla, very long -20 km - path along the river, but it looks like a beach with sandy areas and fishing.
One of the stalls at the street market. A pet store.
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Made it here, to Feria Tristan Narvaja, which is a street market only set up on Sundays.
Musicians playing outside a cafe.
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Ended the day at Parque Rodo. Because it was Sunday, the park was full of people out with friends and family, hanging out, relaxing, having fun. I followed the music to the pavilion, where there were people tango dancing, in a very casual atmosphere, but still lovely as ever. As I was watching the tango, I made a friend who shared his mate' with me and another Uruguayan custom, a fried bread treat, tortas fritas. We watched the sunset and he told me that it was a Uruguayan custom to applaud when the sun goes down. We applauded and I expected the whole park to break out in applause, but it didn't happen. So, maybe it was just his thing. Nice thought though.
Kids playing in the fountain.
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I thought this statue of Confucius was interesting.
The fountain was surrounded by these mosaic benches.
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