after only a few days after my buquebus arrival in colonia, i have come to the undeniable conclusion that i really like uruguay. green countrysides. laid-back attitudes. genuinely nice people. fanatic mate culture.
the country itself is roughly the geographical size of the US state of north dakota and the population barely exceeds 3 million inhabitants.
each and every one of these 3 million inhabitants walks around with a mate in hand and a thermos of hot water under that same arm. at all times. i kid you not.
uruguayans have got it all figured out. they don't stress out or worry. they get everything done. they ride around on scooters. they don't pressure you to buy things. they smile. they treat people (including tourists) well. they seem to always be in a good mood. they are lovely lovely lovely people.
so why am i in uruguay? and why in the world am i only staying briefly before heading back to bariloche?
it just so happened that my mother's vacation time coincided with my visa expiration deadline. and so did our interest in traveling to uruguay. it was a done deal.
i took the overnight overland underwhelming bus ride to buenos aires. with a front row seat in the swaying double decker bus, i enjoyed a fabulous 180 degree view of the argentine countryside. we passed small dusty towns, roaring cities, and crawling sprawls of land with interesting rock formations. names like piedra de aguila, cipolletti, and neuquen... names that had only been blips on my argentina roadmap manefested themselves in living, breathing,
churning civilizations. when the curtain of dusk blanketed the view, i curled up with a movie and then closed my eyes for the next few thousand kilometers.
i woke up just in time for breakfast and our arrival at retiro, buenos aires's bus-train-chaos station. upon arriving to the buquebus terminal, i met my mom and promptly got my cellphone stolen.
it was great to see my mom and we had the hour-long boat ride to catch up and to loosely plan out the following few days. highlights of the ride: new york bagels and japanese rice crackers. lowlight: being enclosed in the buquebus bubble unable to feel the salty seawater ruffle and tangle my hair.
first stop. colonia.
and yes, as the name implies, we were greeted by quaint cobblestone streets, low crumbling colonial stone buildings, greenery and flowers, and quite the array of tourist traps. after leaving our bags at a hotel, we took off exploring.
there was a lighthouse, sailboats, artesans (one of whom, a mendocino, gave me a small green stone as a gift after i made it obvious that i wasn't going to purchase one of his beautiful hand twirled anklets), and hundreds of chivito stands.
chivitos??? in argentina, chivos are goats. thus, chivitos would be little goats. but i found it terribly hard to imagine all of these little restaurants and cafes serving little goats. especially for 100 uruguayan pesos.
i didn't end up having my first chivito until montevideo, the almost-too-tranquilo-to-be-a-capital-city-in-my-opinion-anyway. the trip to montevideo took us through beautiful fertile countysides. kids flying kites. fruit groves. what a beautiful country!
from the bus terminal, tres cruces, we tried our luck with the public bus system. despite a completely illogical interior design, the buses seem like a convenient easy and practical way to get around the city. if the distance is unwalkable.
we walked a lot in montevideo. from our hostel in the historical centro, to the port market, along the pedestrian walkways, up the main avenue, poking through long corridors of cheaply-made expensive clothes, and visiting every single artesan market.
i know i've already mentioned the mate consumption, but it deserves repeating. it is phenomenal. and because, when in uruguay.... this chameleon adopts the local colors. que manera de tomar mate!!
en fin. montevideo meant lots of walking, lots of mate, lots of chivitos (which ended up being a slice of meat packed into an overstuffed sandwich usually accompanied by french fries), lots of quality time with mom!
back in colonia. this time our hotel had a gorgeous patio, perfect for having mate. outside, the school children paraded to celebrate the beginning of spring.
for the return trip to buenos aires, we opted for the colonia express instead of the buquebus. this would be my suggestion for anyone else thinking of making the trip.
from the port, we walked (and walked and walked) to our hostel in monserrat. mom is such a trooper. it was quite a walk.
and it wasn't over. from the hostel, we walked to the microcentro in search of a new phone. up and down the crowded streets. wading through the crowds. after finding a phone, we played tourist for a little while.
after dinner that night, i somehow managed to navegate the subte to palermo to meet wes. after a few games of pool, a few beers, and a few hours of stirring up the dance floor, i returned safely to the hostel only to chat another hour away with some hostelers and cuba libres.
two hours of sleep later. it's breakfast time and i say goodbye to my mom. it was great seeing her and i'm super appreciative of her taking the time to come dowm to visit. thanks for a great time, ma!
made it just in time to the airport to board my flight. chau buenos aires!
i meant to sleep on the flight. but i was worried i'd miss the descent into bariloche. so i stayed awake the whole time... waiting... waiting...
and it was well worth the sleepless wait. the andes appeared as a white line on the horizon. at first i thought they were clouds. as we approached, the perfectly detailed snow-capped mountains came into focus. stunning. absolutely stunning. then the pilot turned slighly left and gave my side of the plane the most amazing view of mount tronador. i could hardly believe my eyes.
upon arriving in the airport i scouted out my options. i would have to wait one hour for public transport to the city. i would have to wait half an hour for the less expensive of the private transports. what to do?
hitchhike?
i had never hitchhiked from the airport, or any airport for that matter. so i gave it a shot.
it was a beautiful sunny flawless day. two cars passed. smile. hopeful thumb. nothing. a hotel-owned van passed, i gave it the thumb not expecting it to stop, normally private companies don't stop. this one did. and was going right passed my house. i couldn't believe my luck.
i got dropped at the door of my house. just in time to get ready for my birthday asado... which i think i'll save for the next blog post.
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