uruguay: salto

we got up early in montevideo, thinking we would catch an early bus to salto, then cross into argentina by noon...that definitely didn't happen...we really should've checked bus times for salto ahead of time...as it was, we got to the bus station, then had to wait for hours...ooops...we arrived in salto after dark and found out the next bus to argentina was the next morning...argh...
so, we spent the night in salto...originally i had thought about spending a full day in salto and trying to have fun with the thermal springs in the area...we changed our minds, so maybe i'll go back another time for this experience...

finding a decently priced place to stay in salto proved to be a challenge...this was a time when school had a break, and since it was winter, places like salto were full...everyone loves a warm escape during winter:)...oh well...
we eventually found a place to stay, dropped our stuff, then walked to find a place to eat...i love it when traditions in a country/city mean that menus are displayed outside a restaurant...i love being able to look without feeling rude if i decide to walk away...we eventually chose a buffet type place...nothing special, but it was enough...
a bit further down the road we found a large supermarket, and picked up snacks for the next couple days...as we were exiting, we ended up chatting with a couple mormon missionaries, who seemed surprised to hear american accents...

the next morning we were up early to catch our bus to concordia, the town on the other side of the river, back in argentina...

uruguay: montevideo

our bus to montevideo dropped us at the bus station, and since i had juan's address, it was easy to grab a taxi...juan was a friend of miranda, (the chick we'd stayed with in buenos aires) and she had put me in touch with juan...he'd offered bo and i the chance to stay with him and his flattie, which was great...he had sent me a message with the information we needed to get to his home, it made the transfer very easy...
we arrived and put our stuff down, and hung out in the kitchen as juan made dinner...lasagna...soooo good...after the meal was nearly ready, juan asked us what we do for work...he was surprised when bo said he is a chef, and said bo should've spoken up earlier...hee hee...

we woke up later than expected and found a note from juan telling us what bus to take into town, and the wifi code...bo cooked breakfast, and eventually we got going into the city...
montevideo is the capital of uruguay...it doesn't really feel like a big city, and there is nothing particularly outstanding about the city...
we started in plaza independencia, which, not surprisingly, has a statue of a guy on a horse...(it seems like every city in uruguay and argentina has at least one statue of a man on a horse)...one building around this square looked to use like it was a rocket ready to blast off...

we followed a pedestrian street off plaza independencia for a while, there are shops and cafes along the way...
we took a turn off this street and found our way to the water...it was super windy, but i loved it...something about being near water always calms me down...my hair was going every which way in a couple photos:)...we passed the port, which was full of containers, and cranes...i would've been happy to turn around and walk back and forth near the water for several hours, despite the wind...it would've been fun to get to other areas of water in the city, but we didn't really have time:(

almost by accident we found the mercado we had previously decided would be our location for lunch...it's called the old market, and instead of being filled with fruit, veggie, and meat vendors, it was filled with grilling restaurants...you can walk around the area and check out different places, though they all generally have the same menu...MEAT...LOTS OF MEAT...i ordered kebabs, they ended up being a lot bigger than i expected...ooops:)
on the way back through town the rain started...have i ever mentioned how much i hate rain? we stepped out of the rain for a few minutes in an ice cream shop...

we weren't paying enough attention on the bus ride home, and missed our stop...ooops...part of the reason is that we didn't know where the stop was on the other side of the street...fortunately, i recognized our street as the bus went past, so we were able to get off at the next stop and walk back...juan's flattie danny made seafood paella for dinner that night...i need to go back to montevideo so i can stay with juan and danny again just so i can eat their food!!
the next morning was the same, we slept in later than expected...and again we got off the bus in plaza independencia, and walked on the pedestrian street...

this time we stopped in one of the cafes, i had my first chivitos...it's basically a steak sandwich, how awesome is that?!?! i made room for a chocolate torte for dessert, though i probably shouldn't have eaten the cake...
we found the entry to the carnaval museum, it was on the opposite side of the building from what we expected...carnival is probably best known for taking place in venice, it U20 world cup qualifier...we stayed for a while, it was fun to experience the atmosphere...uruguay won:)
we picked up wine on the way home for dinner, of course bo had more fun picking it out than i did...

danny made pork and potatoes for dinner...YUM...apparently this is one of his best meals, and i could see why...none of us could stop eating...flan for dessert:)

uruguay: colonia

i hadn't originally planned to go to uruguay at all this summer...everything i'd read said it is quite expensive...and it was, the prices seemed american...maybe i've just spent too much time in cheap countries...howeva, bo needed dollars to exchange for argentine pesos, and many atms in uruguay dispense uruguayan pesos and US dollars...i don't know why...anywho...miranda hooked us up with a place to stay in the capital city of montevideo, which was awesome...
we started the day in buenos aires by getting up heaps earlier than we wanted to, and taking a taxi to the port to catch our ferry...it turned out there was another strike of some sort, which messed with traffic where we needed to go, so the cab ride took longer than we anticipated...

getting through the ferry terminal onto the boat involved emigrating argentina and immigrating to uruguay...nice to do it all in one go, we didn't have to go through any queues after landing on the other side of the river:)
a smooth, three hour ride, and we docked across the river, in colonia, uruguay...the official name is longer, but i don't remember what it is...what i do remember is that we decided to spend the day in colonia because the historic center is a UNESCO sight...
walking to the historic center involved walking through a gate in the wall that goes around much of the area...quaint :)

we found the bus station in colonia, took note of departure times for buses to montevideo, and started walking toward the historic center...both of us remarked that we were too jaded to be overly impressed...it was a nice, small town though, and we enjoyed the wander...
i ended up enjoying the areas closest to the water more than the buildings and town itself...nature running wild i suppose...i liked the houses that had traditional tiles on their exteriors...
the search for postcards was not particularly fruitful...not only were the few i found rather expensive, but they all came with envelopes...argh...

we didn't find a cafe that sparked our interest, but one place had decent brownies and cookies:)...our 'real' lunch came from a small supermarket in the form of cheese, bread, crisps, and sausage...
sometime during this afternoon bo found an atm, and withdrew the dollars he would need back in argentina...we walked back to the bus station, and took the next bus to montevideo...since it was just after sunset when the bus departed, we didn't actually get to see much of the countryside...