"I see a hill!"

I have returned to Argentina. From where you say? That nearby country, Uruguay! I feel like I am becoming quite the world traveler, receiving oodles of salida and entrada stamps in my previously barren passport. This past weekend I took a trip to Montevideo, the capital of Uruguay. Legend has it that when Magellan's ship happened upon this new land, someone shouted "Monte vide eu" which in Portuguese translates to, "I see a hill." Another story involves the Spaniards, roman numerals and latin which I didn't quite follow as my traveling companion read aloud from the guide book. Whatever the actually story of how the town got its name, I am so glad I went to visit this city, that apparently has the highest quality of life of all the cities in Latin America. I found it quiet, laid-back and slightly crumbling. 

To get to Uruguay from Buenos Aires is actually quite easy. There are many ferries across the Río del la Plata each day. The Buquebus ferry was very nice, very speedy, and overly air-conditioned. It was spitting rain when we arrived in Montevideo but luckily it cleared up later that afternoon. We dropped off our bags at the hostel, that was filled with many international youths as all hostels across the world are, and then headed out to explore the streets of Montevideo. We spent most of our time in the ciudad vieja, so my impressions of the city are probably a bit different than had I spent a week getting to know all the different neighborhoods. 

Walking around, one can still feel the European influence in the architecture, but the buildings have not been maintained as well as in Buenos Aires. There are many statues on many corners, commemorating past war heroes, political leaders, and the such. One of my traveling companions told me this interesting tidbit of information, that I have to confirm, but thought I would share anyway: if the horse in a statue has one hoof off the ground, the man received wounds in battle; if the horse has two hoofs off the ground, the man actually died in battle; and if all four hoofs are on the ground, then the man died of natural causes. We don't know what it means if three hoofs are off the ground, and we didn't see any statues like that, but I did have fun the rest of the weekend checking out the hoof position of all the statues we saw.  Apparently José Gervasio Artigas, the Uruguayan liberator pictured below, received wounds in battle, but did not die from them. After a quick Google check, José does not seem to have died in battle, but the connection between raised hoofs in statues and battle wounds seems to be a myth. 

We wandered through the old city passing mostly tourists on the streets. The city felt very deserted. We had read in the guide books that Montevideo feels like a ghost town, but being the capital of Uruguay, and with a population over a million, I wasn't ready to believe it till I saw it. The books were right this time though. Perhaps because it was a weekend, perhaps because we were in a certain neighborhood, but whatever the cause, more often than not, we would turn down a street and see only two or three other people around. It was very peaceful, but also, sometimes a bit eerie.

Strolling along the coastline on Saturday afternoon, we watched the people fish, chat, relax, and of course, drink the ever present maté. This is an herbal drink that is very popular in Argentina as well. Everyone drinks it out a very particular cup, and a metal spoon. It is a social activity sometimes, with people sitting around, passing around the maté cup. While I have yet to try any maté, it seems to popular with people of ages, and walks of life. While maté is surely popular in Buenos Aires, it really is ubiquitous in Uruguay. They all have their little thermos of maté tucked in the nook of their elbow, and a cup in the other hand, sipping as they go about their day.

Sunday we went to Playa Ramírez, a twenty minute walk from our hostel, and pictured below. Unfortunately, the sky did indeed look like this all day. Nonetheless, we got burned anyway, tricked into thinking cloud=no sun damage. I never seem to learn this lesson no matter how many times it has happened to me. It was still a nice day, and I felt so lucky to just be able to sit on the beach all day, with literally, not a care in the world. 

We took the last buquebus back to Buenos Aires late on Sunday night. I still can't believe that I was actually in Uruguay this weekend, but it happened and I have some great memories from the small time I was there. I ate some good food, soaked up the sun, and even learned a little military history (almost)!