A home for my words.

Uruguayans on average live a good quality of life, both in health and education. And some of the costs of living there, such as rent, are comparable to those of the US. Montevideo is Uruguay’s capital and 1.4 million people, or roughly half of the country’s entire population, calls the city home. I learned on a tour that much of the rest of the country is farmland. I would’ve loved to see more of the many farmlands, but I was only there for a long weekend on a short break from digital nomading in Buenos Aires.

Given my timeline, I just stuck with the usual highlight destinations: Montevideo and Punta del Este. The latter is a popular beach town for travelers and locals alike. Montevideo also has a smattering of simple beaches throughout the city. Those beaches are humble, but still offer a nice respite from city life. I remain loyal to Viator when I’m booking travel excursion, and I bought my full-day Punta del Este tour here.

My travel dates overlapped with the US’ thanksgiving holiday, so I called family members who were stateside and made sure to still celebrate the holiday a bit by treating myself to a meal at a nice restaurant. I actually quite enjoying setting up how I’ll enjoy a holiday while out of the country or solo at home. I get to make it special just for myself. But I also fondly look back at my years as an expat, where Friendsgiving would be celebrated for two or so weeks to allow for those who were traveling to be with family, but also wanted to celebrate with their newly formed bonds outside of the States. It was always beautiful to see people share space and cuisine together as well as inviting non-American friends into the celebration. 

While in Montevideo, I also visited the famous Mercado del Puerto and ate some red meat, which I did for ‘when-in-Rome’ purposes. I coupled that with a glass of red wine and continued watching the World Cup games that were streaming throughout the market and the world at the time.

Candombe

I really wanted to see a traditional neighborhood Candombe, a communal musical experience rooted in practices carried over by Africans who were enslaved, but my dates didn’t align with any. But a kind woman working at a food shop wrote down the street where I could find one if I were going to be in town longer! It was a simple and kind gesture that really warmed my heart. Thankfully, I would go on to join in on a Candombe celebration a few months later on one of my final days in Buenos Aires! I literally just walked around a neighborhood known for its Candombe bands until I heard drums beating and was able to sniff out the crew.

Museo Andes 1972

My personal highlight for Montevideo was a museum I’d had starred on my Google Maps for years, ever since I’d first heard of the story and before a movie was made: Museo Andes 1972. It’s an incredible story of survival and I love hearing about how people have overcome things like natural disasters and accidents. I made sure to book my ticket in advance here.

I spent hours in the museum absorbing every bit of information. The German man who runs the museum kindly chatted me up and offered me some snacks, which was very helpful considering how much time I was passing there. He was surprised at just how interested I was in the content. If you can stomach the intense subject matter, I highly recommend visiting the museum. The artifacts bring home just how ingenious the group was. And I pray those who perished on the mountain rest well and are at peace. 

Side Note (read: rant)

I visited Cafe Brasilero, the oldest cafe in the city known for the novelists and artists who frequented it. I arrived during a slow hour of business and was able to enjoy its decor. Yes, I would suggest visiting if you’re in Montevideo; this rant is about something else. For whatever reason around this time, bars seemingly in every corner of the world thought that all foreigners were obsessed with aperol spritzes! Indeed, I met many fellow nomads who loved them — they were the people that first introduced me to them — but I’m just not personally a fan. So while I originally asked for a drink I thought I would enjoy, I was steered towards the more expensive aperol spritz and disliked it just as much as the first time. I forced it down gradually, but up until this very day, I say no thank you to an offer of aperol spritz.

Other Adventures

I also visited Casapueblo, a place that serves as part home and part sculpture. It was created by the artisit Carlos Paez Vilaro, and he used the grounds as a workshop for some of his creations. There were many adorable cats in the area and I even spotted a hang glider!

I stumbled upon an exhibit on the Valencian tradition of Las Fallas. Having lived in Valencia in the past and being a massive fan of Las Fallas, I enjoyed strolling down memory lane by visiting the exhibition. I shared a few photos with a native-Valencian friend and she marveled at how her culture was being exhibited all the way across the world. After that, I happened upon Fiesta de las Migraciones, an intercultural festival, completely by chance. It was beautiful to see a small country celebrate the diversity of residents from around the world who now called it home. 

Apparently, I also briefly visited a now inactive prison before taking the ferry back to Buenos Aires. I remember the visit being underwhelming, but I’m not sure if it was because most of it ended up being closed off or something else. I do remember there was an impressive display of garbage sorting accompanied by text and visuals so that visitors could do their part in properly disposing of waste. Now that I think of it…that reminds me of the cool interactive garbage sorting experience in Kyoto, Japan!

Uruguay Street Art

Street art is something I’ve been a fan of for well over a decade. And I saw pieces I liked even though I stayed in Uruguay for just a few short days:

Overall

I was impressed with how easy it felt to fit in all of the highlights of Uruguay and how easy the living seemed. The hotel I stayed at was far past it’s heyday, and it was a lesson, just like the overpriced bar in Tokyo, that reading the lowest reviews can be just as helpful as seeing an establishments overall rating. Besides that, Uruguay made for a perfect long weekend trip from Buenos Aires. I see some potential for the country to organize excursions for tourists to have farm experiences in locations across Uruguay since that as well as solar energy are so crucial to its economy. If you take the Buquebus ferry like I did between Buenos Aires and Montevideo, just arrive early and with patience as immigration lines can grow crowded and sometimes move slowly. That’s the best way to reduce stress around the trip. Even if you get through quickly, you can enjoy the water views and relax.