Montevideo, Uruguay

12/16/2014

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.

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!)

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.

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!

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.

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.

Made it here, to Feria Tristan Narvaja, which is a street market only set up on Sundays.

Musicians playing outside a cafe.

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.